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My dachshund Lucy is now starting her 3rd week of conservative home care for IVDD from C1-2 with paralysis of front and rear legs with deep pain present in all extremities. She is currently on gabapentin, prednisone, pepcid, and methocarbamol. I’m trying my best to stay hopeful however she still has pain with any movement. The only time I move her is for repositioning, cleaning, and feeding. I can’t afford surgery due to spending several thousand at the ER vets where she was misdiagnosed numerous times. I will however do anything in my power to keep her happy, functional, and pain free. I’m fine with her ending up in a quad chair if that’s the best we can do. Am I doing my best?
This is the third day without Atlas — Apollo’s littermate, alpha and captain. We lost him due to hemorrhage and dehydration. He just recently turned 4 months. Apollo hasn’t been eating and drinking water today. Was asleep all the time, too. Previously, he wakes up at night and cries so he comes to me in bed to wake me up. Last night he started vomiting and having loose stools. I can also here rumbling in his stomach, and i think is passing gas. Earlier that day we went on a walk and had munched a few plants/weeds on the way. He has also accidentally taken in expired milk he left the other day. Today the stool had a few blood patches in it. I’m worried he might end up his brother. Is he only suffering from dog depression, or is there other medial conditions?
This sounds very serious… the lethargy, the blood in the stool and loose stool. Not how a four month old puppy should be acting. I would make an appointment with the vet right away. The first fear that comes to mind is possibility of parvo… which can be deadly. I hope your puppy is ok.
Thank you so much.
I agree with Sarah. Anything abnormal in a puppy goes to the vet immediately. Period.
Hello. I appreciate your input.
My cat is about 14 years old. Male. Last week really noticed he goes to litter often but doesnt go. But sometimes he did have a few times of clumped urine litter. So took to emergency clinic Sat 12/13/30. They could not get any urine to test. Sent home with antibiotics antiflamatory- pain meds and told to get in see regular vet.
Took to vet today 12/15/20. They were able to get a good stream of urine out as well as these blood clots tissues. See image. Said that I would need to ck his bladder ongoing to make sure it doesn’t get rock hard baseball sized. Gave me a medication to help dilate. Did blood panel and Im waiting to hear back on any other medications.
I feel like imaging should be done like yesterday.
If this blood clot tissue can happen again should he have been keep at vet to do something ?
Was this blood clot a actual plug and blockage. So since they got it out the blockage is gone at the moment?
I am just worried and dont want to make a mistake and not know if he has a full hard bladder.
Or did this clot coming out as he is good currently. How long would it take for another clot to form?
Any input advice would be much appreciated
Hello,
I think that all of the questions you pose are excellent questions to ask yourself vet. I also talk to parents about feeding watered down canned food. I often add a steroid and I give cats Sq fluids daily to help flush the bladder. Just things to talk to your vet about. I get super aggressive with these guys. And I offer lots of options for parents to do at home. Along with showing them how to palpate a bladder to monitor at home. I hope this helps. Good luck.
In June my Labrador developed a lesion on her side. She was treated with antibiotics and a medicated shampoo with no success. Her hair started thinning and she developed a lesion on the opposite side. Bloodwork was run to test for Cushings which was negative. As she started to take a Cushings type appearance her docs followed up with an ultrasound. In October she had a punch biopsy. She was treated with Apoquel with no improvement. She has lesions on her chest, both sides near her hips and one near her hind end. I have never seen her itching or chewing. The lesions are crusty and pretty dense. Hair loss is only on her trunk.
A little history: my dog is 10 1/2, has spay induced incontinence, history of frequent UTI’s, frequent urination, and megaesophagus. She is on Dasuquin, Cranmate and Welactin. Despite her plethora of health issues she has never had skin issues. Typically her coat is blue-black, thick and shiny.
She doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable but she seems to have a pretty high pain threshold.
Thank you for your time.
My small 12 pound terrier/chihuahua mix has suddenly (in the past 24 hours) stopped jumping up on things – couch, chair, etc – which is very unusual because she prefers to be on the furniture. She will stand and stare at the couch and seem like she’s going to jump, she even starts to a bit, but then she won’t follow through. If I pick her up and put her on the couch, she will not hesitate at all to jump down when she’s ready. She will let me touch and move all of her legs and has not vocalized in pain. She walks and runs normally and will come up and down the stairs with no problem. I assume she has injured something. Is there an injury to a specific place that would cause her reluctance to jump up but not affect other behavior? (I should note that she is very independent and doesn’t like to be picked up, so it’s not that she’s preferring to be lifted up)
Hello,
Well I would start by saying that I wouldn’t encourage jumping on or off of the couch. I would get her a ramp and train her to use this. My concern is that someday she will land wrong and either strain/sprain/fracture a leg or injure her back. Next the best way to try to understand what’s going on now is to have your vet examine her. I can’t tell you what is going on here without an exam.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I called the vet but she seems to be back to normal now. I will still keep her from jumping for a while just to be sure.
My pup started about 3 days ago having skin tags on the exterior of her mouth. Now she has them appear inside her mouth, on top of her head, one on an eye lid, and based on the amount she’s itching one ear there’s likely a wort-like growth inside, too. Is this oral papillomas?
Good morning- I would call the vet and get her in to be seen right away. They can get a better look at things in person, and then will be able to provide you with some form of treatment. Hope pup is ok!
Hello,
It looks like it might be. Keep her quarantined and don’t share any bowls with other dogs. They have always been self limiting but they are highly contagious.
My dog has episodes of severe gas pain every 1 – 3 months. I have taken him to the ER Vet and her regular vet on several occasions and they do x-rays but can never find anything wrong. They prescribe meds for the pain, but I would like to know how to avoid this happening in the first place. Any advice?
Honestly, I would talk to your regular vet about it. Discuss what you’re feeding, how you’re feeding (type of bowl, frequency of meals), and ask their advice. They know your dog best and may have suggestions.
That said. I would worry very much about possible bloat in his future. I would invest in a slow feeding bowl and feed scheduled meals. If you don’t want to get a slow feeder, using an old muffin pan is an option worth considering. If you feed dry food, a food dispensing toy is a good option. I have a breed with a higher than normal likelihood of bloat due to chest size, and we opted for a Kong Wobbler for breakfasts and the occasional lunch (as she gets her breakfast dry) and a slow feed bowl for dinners. She is always fed 2-3 meals a day. She is never allowed to graze from an always-full bowl.
I would also look at activity levels around meals. Keeping a dog calm prior to and immediately after a meal is ideal.
My cat (4 yr old domestic) has recently been snubbing his dry food (Hill’s Urinary Health). He’ll eat a little, but will mostly ignore it and beg for wet food for most of the day. (They both get wet for dinner.) This has been going on for about 2-3 weeks. I worried his mouth or teeth were hurting him, but he doesn’t seem to have issues eating wet food. Both of my cats seem hungrier than usual – is that just because it’s gotten colder? Or because I’m now home all the time? How do I know if he is just being fussy or if there is a larger health issue?
Hi there-
The only way to really find out if there is an underlying issue is most likely a trip to the vet. You know your pet…. keep track of bathroom habits, eating habits (as you’re already taking notice of) and whether they seem more lethargic than usual or any other changes to share with your vet. Hopefully your cat is just being picky????
Our Morkie, Stella, is having an allergic reaction since last night. She was licking and biting herself all night and when we finally realized she wasn’t just being just neurotic (she has some weird behavior sometimes) we took her to her regular vet.
The vet told us she is having a serious allergic reaction and they gave her a shot (cytopoint 20mg).
We think maybe she got into something that was really no good for her because while the shot seemed to help for a short period of time, it basically has now stopped working.
The vet thought maybe it was the food were giving her, but we’ve been giving her the same food for weeks.
She is now panting, refusing water and treats, and going back to biting and itching her sides and legs. Her ears are bright red inside which is a common allergy sign for humans but I know nothing about what that means for dogs.
She just seems itchy and twitchy all the time. Our vet is currently not open and is not accessible by phone.
We’re wondering if she maybe got into essential oils or massage oil we used for ourselves and licked it up. Nothing seems too scary right now but she does just seem completely uncomfortable and twitchy.
What should we do from here Pawbly? Please give us some guidance.
Hello,
Well. I am going to answer this as your friend. Some of it is general advice and some is more personalized.
First. Every allergic reaction should be treated as a possible topical allergen. Bathe! Bathe! Bathe! It doesn’t really matter if you use doggie shampoo or detergent. But get the pet completely wet. Lather in shampoo. Rinse well. Repeat three times. Dry with a towel. Too much hot air from a dryer might worsen the red skin. (If it is red. And lots of allergy dogs get red).
Next think about oral diphenhydramine. One mg per pound. If the face isn’t swelling. Facial swelling can lead to possible throat closure which is a severe reaction. So nothing oral if having trouble breathing. These cases go straight to the ER! If you’re have intense itching, redness or hives and/or swelling I give injectable diphenhydramine and a steroid. In my experience it is the best way to stop these clinical signs. I also send home both. (Diphenhydramine is otc). If the clinical signs worsen I have the pet return. If they aren’t better in a few hours I have the pet return. It bugs me to pieces that vets don’t provide help after the vet. I call it documenting and sending home instructions for “if this, then that” scenario. Just for things like this. Too often it isn’t a single one stop and you’re cured.
Also once you have a reaction you are more prone to others so ask to have these meds available to you for your at home pup first aid kit.
Lastly Cytopoint is not for allergic reactions. It is for itching due to allergies. I don’t think it is the best choice for this case. (Just my opinion).
Call me if you need anything. You have my number. ????
Oh. And cytopoint can take four days to take work. Apoquel is faster. But it’s still not my go to for an acute severe allergic reaction.
So much love to you for commenting on this so quickly. Do you think we can give her a little bit if liquid children’s benadryl if she doesn’t feel better after a bath?
We gave her some before the vet gave her the cytopoint. Both seemed to help but not permanently.
PS- the bath totally did the trick (at least for now). Thank you!
back in june i had to take a kitten to the vet for a broken femur. he had been closed in a door at his last home. the vet was able to put it back together and it healed nicely. however the kitten is in pain still and not well. yesterday we figured out it is because of damage to the growth plates in his hips. the pelvic canal is too small and he is having pain with passing stools (primary issue), pain with walking (he waddles, is almost always stationary and has zero kitten-like attitude) and stunted growth in general (he is 1yr old and is the size of a 3 mo old). the vet is an amazing person. he thinks that if he removes a rib he can use it as a spacer to widen the pelvic canal. however, as with all surgery, it is no guarantee. i feel terrible because i dont know what to do. i am inclined to euthanize the poor baby because he is suffering that much, i dont want to put him through more trauma just to end up at the same outcome. what are your thoughts or opinions?
Hello,
This is my personal opinion after working with pets for two decades. I never euthanize without trying. Even if you can’t afford surgery maybe you could manage the difficulty defecating with a canned food only diet? If the hip joint is the issue perhaps an FHO could help? I don’t know we ought about the case to offer more advice. But you can always get a second opinion to help too.
Hello,
Without knowing the doses that you are using I would say it might be helpful to see if you can get into a neurologist ASAP. I would also ask about increasing the doses of the meds with your current vet. Also acupuncture might help. Lastly I think that at this point you may have to consider rechecking xrays to make sure this isn’t a fracture or neoplasia. I guess I would suggest to regroup and reassess. I hope this helps. Good luck
It does help. We do have an appointment to see a vet acupuncturist but with the holiday they are booked until Jan. 13. We have consulted on Zoom with a neuro who read her CT. Thank you!