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Pawbly | 7 years ago
My Dog Had Surgery 3 Weeks Ago To Be Spayed I’ve Just Noticed A Lump…

My dog had surgery 3 weeks ago to be spayed I’ve just noticed a lump under her scar but she’s fine in herself?

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Please call your surgeon and ask them to inspect the incision. It’s always better to be safer than sorry. Hopefully it’s just some post op swelling. But the only way to be sure is to have your vet check it.

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Shiria | 7 years ago
Has Anyone Experience For REM Sleep Disorder In Cats? Ezra Is An Ca. 8 Year Old…

Has anyone experience for REM Sleep Disorder in cats?
Ezra is an ca. 8 year old female cat. When she was in our shelter she seemed to be somewhat slow in her movements/reactions. She also had a weird way to walk – she moved her front legs a bit like a prancing horse. She also was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Otherwise she was very affectionate and cuddly, always eating good and didn’t seem sick.
However very often in the morning we found her bed wet. When we were around she always used the toilet and we never saw her urinating in her bed.
When we gave her to the vet, they found out, that she already was neutered and had an urinary tract infection. It was succesfully treated, but the problem still remained.

X-Ray and Ultrasound showed nothing special, same with bloodwork.
Her movements most likely were due to ataxia. Wether due to an accident or if she was born with it nobody knows.

So we found a new home for her and we informed them about her “problem”. I had contact with the new owners and it turned out she only pees when she sleeps. It looks like she has a seizure while she’s in deep sleep and she urinates during that. She may fall down from the chair our wherever she sleeps on due to her rapid movements – and wakes up confused.
When she’s in such deep sleep it is hard to wake her up, but possible.

An MRI then was done without result.

Medication for epilepsy was tested, but she became very quiet and tired with them, without solving the problem, so they were stopped.

Des anyhone have ideas what could be done to help her? Ezra itself doesn’t seem to suffer from this, as she doesn’t realize she’s peeing. When she wakes up she just goes away. But the danger of falling down is still there. The peeing is also a problem, which is why she is not allowed to sleep on the couch or bed when nobody is around.

The owner uses special pads on her chairs etc. depending on Ezras sleep those sometimes are completly shredded.

Maybe someone has an idea how to help in this situation?

3 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    What an interesting kitty. My initial hiught was perhaps cerebellar hypoplasia. But I will do some research and digging and see if I can find anything. It is so wonderful to her that she found a home inspite of her uniqueness.

    1. Shiria Post author

      Hello,
      I know it has been a year by now. But Ezra is back at the shelter for a few months now, since her new owner died.

      She roams free at aour station now, as she won’t really find a new home (but is obviously still up for adoption). When she came back another epilepsy medication was tried, but with same solution than before, so it was stopped.

      Her problems still remain. And now that she moves freely we can often see her “seizures”. She nearly always falls down from where she sleeps during that. Luckily she mostly sleeps on the lower things. When she falls down she wakes up, but sometimes will just lie there, looking absent – as if she only slowly realizes what has happened.
      What I noticed too – she is extremely sensitive on her whole back and sites. When you touch her there, her whole fur will twitch (rolling skin syndrome?) and/or she may start licking herself or hands in reach and/or scratching with her hindlegs in the touched spots (seems like a reflex caused by touching her there).

      However she still demands attention and loves cuddling.

      A while ago she as started pulling out her fur on the left and right site of her back symmetrically on small areas. Blood works came back fine, the skin is fine, too. No parasites either. It looks like she is grooming herself, like cats soemtimes do with their theeth, but she starts pulling her fur during that. I think she pissibly has some sort of “frong feelings” there?

      So I’m just curious if you could find something?

  2. Shiria Post author

    I thought about “cerebellar hypoplasia”, too. I guess that’s what I meant with Ataxia. (We call them “Ataxie-Katzen/Ataxia Cats”. We sometimes have kittens, that show wobbly gait, problems with judging distance and similar – however despite this they are still normal, playful, active kittens. The worst case was a little red tabby whose mother most likely had contact with cat-parvo. He could hardly stand when he got old enough to leave his box. His littermates were wobbly, too but not like he was. He had a hard time to walk at the beginning. But after he got the possibility to run around and train hismucles, he learned how he can run and walk – it still was wobbly, but he was not falling over all the time anymore.
    However none of the kittens ever showed the symptoms Ezra does when she is asleep. And none of their new owners ever called because of soemthing similar.

    Please let me know if you find somwthing. I would love to learn more!

    It seems there is not much to be found for her specific problem. But maybe I’m looking wrong as English is not my native language. I only found a Youtube Video and some short texts on google, but nothing really helpful.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
What Is The Best Way To Treat An Open Wound From A Dog Fight?

What is the best way to treat an open wound from a dog fight?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    The best way is to see your vet for help. In my opinion EVERY dog fight wound is infected and EVERY wound needs a vet for assessment, antibiotics and pain medication. I should also mention that in many states not getting help can be considered neglectful and in many states this can be punishable. Please get help for your dog Iif they have a wound.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
Hello Dr. Krista, My 3,5 Year Old Shiz-poo, Male Got Paralyzed On March 29, Just…

Hello Dr. Krista, my 3,5 year old shiz-poo, male got paralyzed on March 29, just playing at home with another dog. Next day we went to EI and we were told that his injury is (slipped disc) at T13-L3, based on xray. Surgery would have been 10.000 $, with 50/50 chance of recovery according to doctor, no chance with steroids. We couldn’t afford the surgery. Our home doctor gave us little hope and Shadow has been on steroids since March 31. After 7 days there was no improvement,doctor recommended euthanasia but with minimum chance we asked for 7 more days of meds. He has very weak deep pain sensation. His back legs are paralyzed, he poops and pees without control, has good appetite and when let out of cage he wants to run on his front legs dragging the back. I just ran across your videos on youtube, not to give up on those dogs, but i am not sure if a miracle can really happen. Is it really possible that he would walk again? I dont want him to suffer but not sure what to do. Could you please let me know your opinion about it, thank you so much! We are desperate…Anita

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  1. Indiana Carroll

    do what you can to help your pup and i hope you the best
    if you believe that your pup will be able to live through the pain then he will so never give up
    hope the best

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I would never tell anyone that miracles can’t happen. They do. Although they are far and few between. Is it possible to care for him as a parapalegic? Can you manage him as he is? Can you keep him clean and dry and manage the bathroom difficulties? If so why not continue to do so?

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
Hi, My Pregnant Dog Is On Day 65 And 28 Hours Ago Her Temperature Dropped…

Hi, my pregnant dog is on day 65 and 28 hours ago her temperature dropped to 97.8. For the first 13 hours she showed little discomfort. Following this she began to pant and had loss of appetite, and also began to dig in her nesting area. In addition there were several breaks in which she would sleep. These are all stage one symtoms. However according to many articles, she should have gone into labour already. Should I be worried?

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  1. Erika Formosa

    It’s not quite our first breeding however it is the first with this dog and everything seems to be a little different. She’s just sleeping normally now again as if she’s not actually in labour. I will try and call an emergency vet however it is 1am where we are right now and our vet system in Malta isn’t so great….

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I always worry when hing’s don’t seem as they should. Please see a vet. Ideally every new breeder should have a local breeder to mentor through the questions and rough patches. Is there anyone locally who can intervene tonight? If not please seek vet help.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
HI Everyone. My 12 Year Old Female Japanese Spitz Has Pyometra. It Breaks Our Hearts…

HI Everyone. My 12 year old female japanese spitz has pyometra. It breaks our hearts as we had her since I was just in gradeschool. We were advised that she needs to undergo surgery but we are kinda hesitant because we do not know if she can still survive the surgery with her age. My mom does not want to let her undergo the surgery but me and my dad wants to take the risk of giving her the treatment. Please I am begging you to please give me an advice so that I can fully decide. I love my dog so much and I don’t know what to do. Thank you all.

16 Responses

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  1. Anonymous

    Whatever you do, PLEASE act quickly. Pyo just killed a young Doberman bitch from my breeder – she was at a show, came down with a fever, and she was gone within a day.

  2. Krista Magnifico

    I agree with Jana. I always tell my clients that I would rather know that fate dealt a hard hand with me trying everything I could to give my pets the happiest and healthiest quality of life possible. Then to not try at all.

  3. Elaine Medina

    Thank you so much for the response. We are just concerned because she is already 12 years old. But I would really like to give her the proper treatment that she needs.

  4. Shiria

    I would do the surgery – yes thwere is a risk and it may be higher due to her age, but at least she has a chance. If she is otherwise fine, I think she has good chances to survive thew surgery. To determine that I would do blood work and a check up before the surgery.

    If she doesn’t survive – you at least know that you did everything you could to help her. Pyometra is not nice – I only knew it from cats and rats and both suffered without surgery.

  5. Anonymous

    She’ll feel SO MUCH BETTER once she recovers!

  6. Elaine Medina

    Thank you! She’ll be under observation by the vet within 24 hours. The vet says that there might be a complication like liver failure but we are all hoping that it won’t happen. My dog is a strong fighter and I am praying and hoping that she’ll survive this and she can go home healthy and back to our arms again.

  7. Shiria

    I wish only the best for you and your dog! You did the right thing!

  8. Jana

    Elaine, so sorry about your baby. I believe that she is more likely to survive the surgery than the pyometra. Do a pre-op blood work and wellness exam to catch any specific issues that might need to be accommodated for with the anesthesia protocol or issues that would prevent the surgery. Anesthesia protocols can be adjusted and are quite safe these days. I do believe her chances are better with than without the surgery.

  9. Elaine Medina

    UPDATE! Hello Everyone! Thank you all for all your amazing responses. We just had her undergo the surgery earlier and she is still recovering as of the moment. 2kg of angry uterus filled with puss was removed from her. Thank you all so much!

  10. Shiria

    That sounds very good! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks a lot for letting us know how it went :).

  11. Elaine Medina

    Yes thank you! We are not aware of this kind of sickness in dogs though. We do not have the intention of breeding her and she was also our first dog. I immediately told this to my friends who owns a dog because it is very life risking for our loving pets.

  12. Anonymous

    Well…let’s just say you got VERY lucky. VERY.

  13. Elaine Medina

    Hi all, I just think you also need to know about this. My dog just got discharged from the veterinary clinic after being confined for 2 days. She is now doing pretty good and is now starting to eat again. She could now also stand and walk slowly but we still make sure to be there to support her while she tries to walk. She is taking a lot of medicines right now including antibiotics and vitamins. I am really proud of her as she was so strong. When I went to the vet and she sees me, she immediately stood up and tried to walk near me and I literally cried out of joy. I brought her there with an almost hopeless case and she came back to me like this. I am really overwhelmed and thankful. Thank you all so much!

  14. Anonymous

    Thanks for the update, Elaine! For the future, if you have a bitch in your home and keep her intact for proper growth and maturity, try to spay earlier than 12. 😉 For larger breed dogs, 4 seems to be a good age…assuming there’s no cancer in the lines.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
8 Year Old Shih-tzu Maltese Diagnosed With A Bulging Disc :( Hi, Thank You For Making…

8 year old Shih-tzu Maltese diagnosed with a bulging disc 🙁

Hi, thank you for making all of the videos on youtube. I have found them very helpful with my little guy Benson…it’s nice to see a vet that goes the extra mile for their patients. Our vet clinic is also caring and affordable as well, which is hard to find these days.

Benson is a miracle dog. He has already survived a grade 2 mast cell inguinal tumor so Cornell and our local vet love him and call him their miracle dog (this was 2.5 years ago)

Now for his most recent issue which is why I’m writing; For a week, he was dragging his front left paw. We took him to our vet (on Monday, March 19th) and she diagnosed him with arthritis….things got worse throughout the week to the point where he would knuckle his front left paw. Our vet had only told us to limit his activity and no jumping so we didn’t restrict him to a crate. By Sunday morning (March 25th) (and he was on 5mg of prednisone since Monday) his back left paw was now knuckling and he was getting worse to the point where he could barely stand up.
We took him back to the vet and they did x-rays and found a bulging disc right around his shoulder blades. He has been on 10mg of prednisone, Methocarbamol, gabapentin and in a crate 24/7 ever since Sunday the 25th. Luckily, he is really only affected on his left side of his body.

We are seeing a little bit of improvement at times and at other times, he is still just as bad as he was on Sunday.

He has never lost the ability to pee or defecate (thankfully) annnnd Benny loves to eat (or drink) so that will never be an issue haha…

However what worries me is the fact that he is ALWAYS as stiff as a board in the morning when we get up or when he gets stressed/excited. It’s as if he re-injures himself because he can’t walk and can barely stand. It takes him at least an hour to recover, stop panting and then relax again until it seems like he is not in pain anymore….

Is there anything we can do to prevent the “morning/excited episodes” or is it all just part of the process? I thought the muscle relaxer would help but it isn’t. I have even gone so far as to put signs on our front door asking visitors to not knock or ring the doorbell.

Last question-do you have an opinion about a dog chiropractor?

Any advice you could give, we would appreciate! We love our little guy-he has such a personality and adds so much fun to our lives.

Thanks so much,
Megan and Missy

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Thanks for being such a kind parent and for all of the nice things you commented on. I think that some of the morning stuff is normal and that the pain has been unmedicated overnight sonit often takes a little while after the morning meds to see them relax and feel better. I think asking about acupuncture is a better place to start than chiropractic help. By massage is also beneficial. Also aquatherapy when she feels stronger might also help her recovery. You can also ask about laser therapy. I hope this helps. Very best of luck.

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Stephanie Picard | 7 years ago
My Beagle Is 2 Weeks Post Op From Her 2nd IVDD Surgery. Despite Steroids And…

My beagle is 2 weeks post op from her 2nd IVDD surgery. Despite steroids and pain meds, she still yelps when picked up and sometimes when she repositions herself. I don’t recall her yelping after her first surgery, but I know this procedure was more delicate because of spinal cord maniplulation (removal of calcification from first surgery) along with nerve root issue, but is it reasonable to expect she’d still be in pain after 14 days post op? Her vet is continuing steroids and pain meds. So discouraging when she goes almost 24 hrs with no audible signs of pain only to end up yelping on a routine potty break. Truly feels like one step forward, two steps back.

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m so sorry to hear about your pup. I think it is super important to lean hard on your vet and their expertise. BUT don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you are feeling lost and concerned. Sometimes it takes a second eye to see things in a different light. Also please reach out to a neurologist for help. They are excellent resources to utilize.

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Karen Guckert | 7 years ago
I Have A 9 Month Old Cavalier King Charles Puppy. He Has Just Started Drooling…

I have a 9 month old cavalier king Charles puppy. He has just started drooling a lot (enough to leave a big, very wet spot) when is is laying around or sleeping. He hasn’t done this up to now. What can cause this? Is it normal? Should he be seen by the vet?

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Drooling can be caused by many things; nausea, eating something that is caustic, or tastes bad (be careful with plants, house cleaners, etc), something stuck in the mouth, and even be a sign of impending disease or even something like a seizure. I cannot tell you which, if any, this might be, but if you are concerned, it is worsening, or persisting, it is always better to be safe than sorry and see your vet.

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suerena schaefer | 7 years ago
I Have 5 Cats And 2 Dogs. All Of Our Pets Area Rescues. …

I have 5 cats and 2 dogs. All of our pets area rescues. We just took in our second rescue dog. She is 7 mths old and is terrorizing the cats. I need some advice on how to have a happier home with all the pets. The cats are indoor/outdoor but spend most of their time outside. 3 of the cats tolerate the new dog the other 2 won’t come near her. I did the proper introductions, I’ve given the cats a “safe space” but nothing seems to help the last 2 cats. The biggest problem is that the new dog likes to chase the cats. She is a small dog, smaller than the cats. She doesn’t nip at them or try to bite them, she’s just curious and wants to play with them. All of my cats love my other dog who is 11 years old. They were raised with him, sleep with him and play with him. I’m sure the chasing and the spontaneity of the new dog freaks out the cats because they are nor used to that. I am at my wits end trying to figure this out. Countless hours of research has not helped at all. I am not giving up not am I giving any of my pets away, as has been suggested. I know this can work out, I just need help. Or just possible reassurance that my cats won’t be permanently scarred and things will work out as time passes. My anxiety level is at an all time high and everyone tells me just leave them alone and let them work it out. I don’t think I can do that. HELP!!

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    A safe place for the cats is a place the dogs can’t get to. It is the place that they can hide and take refuge from. Also it is time to start training the dog who is harrassing them. This might include crating them for periods where the cats can come and range freely, keeping the dog on a leash attached to you at all times outside of the crate so you can train and in general establishing boundaries and safe calm scenarios. It takes time. And a lot of dedication. And patience. And most importantly safest for your cats.