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By dog has bloody diarrhea. He was bit by a tick a little over a week ago and I’m concerned. He also will not eat or drink anything.
Good morning, I’m looking to get a 2nd opinion as to which flea and tick preventative is safest for a dog with history of seizures (5 year old golden doodle with 3 random seizures in the past year and a half.) My current Vet said NexGard is safe although, the online information states it is an “isoxazoline class drug “and caution should be used in dogs with a history of seizures or neurological disorders Anv guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Hello,
I do not use, or advise the use of these products if the patient has a history of seizures. Try something else. There are lots of good products on the market.
Ask your vet for another option if you are also worried about the black box warning.
7 year old female beagle with a history of allergic reactions (bee stings, environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)- started to exhibit serious scratching and head shaking. I have a cone at home so I used that to deter the scratching and head shaking. I also tried these “allergy aid” treats (picture attached), and /or Benadryl to try and calm down the allergic response.
She was starting to get small hives on her head and one of her ears was swelling . She’s had the ear hematomas before in both ears, and the hives before in her head and back.
I was worried it may be fleas or ticks with the smaller hives, so I did the topical flea &tick K9 Advantix with no improvement.
I also gave her a bath two days ago with her mild oatmeal shampoo, and gave her a good scrub just in case there were any mites or critters.
My other half said she threw up yesterday when I was out and had some anal leakage? And now she is not eating- she didn’t poop today when I took her out, instead she peed, did her usual walk around and then just sat down like she was uncomfortable. So I am wondering if she’s constipated and that is why she’s not eating.
Hello,
What advice has your veterinarian given you. ? It seems like there are lots of options for you they should be offering.
I think it’s a good idea to start with them. If you are worried about a budget be honest with them. They should be able to offer lots of things to try after they confirm it is allergies. These cases always start with a thorough discussion of history and a list of things to try. Some are over the counter and others are more expensive like apoquel or cytopoint.
I hope this helps.
Thanks Dr Magnifico. My dog is actually a current patient at Jarrettsville Vet and I plan on calling tomorrow to make an appointment. I called today but with the holiday they are closed. Totally understandable.
We have some medicine from her bad reaction last summer, but I was worried to try those because I am not 100% sure what the cause of her symptoms are this time around.
Only one of her ears is swollen this time, so I am curious if it’s an infection- but no foul smell or odd colors. Definitely red & swollen though.
I was mostly concerned about her not eating. Thank you for the advice, again I plan on calling the office tomorrow to hopefully get an appointment if there’s been no improvement.
was wondering if I could ask a question.
About my Shih tzu MeiLing:
MeiLing is not having symptoms. My question is related to lab values. She is 14 years old and just acts tired at times.
1. The paperwork shows that she is positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Her vet did not offer any treatment advise on this or even mention this to me during the visit. I happened to find it later when reviewing her lab work. I have never found a tick on her since I rescued her 9 years ago.
2. Other lab work:
BUN 41, had been 33 year prior, one month after that was 29;
ALT 227 was 134 year prior, one month later 117;
ALP 673 was 668 one year prior and 1040 one month after that;
MCV 59.3 was 61.1 year prior and one month after that was 59.8;
Platelets 504 was 542 year prior and 561 one month afterwards;
Plateletcrit 0.62 was 0.66 and 0.68 one month later.
Based on some of the labs in point 2 the vet started MeiLing on Hepato Tru Benefits which supports healthy liver function and is telling me that we should do an MRI.
I love my dog and would like very much to do whatever is necessary for her health. However, I am retired, living on social security and am not able to afford a monthly payment for health insurance for her much less $1000 or more for an MRI. So my question is, with these labs, considering she is having no symptoms, granted she is not as lively as she once was but she is 14 years old, in your opinion how necessary is it that she have an MRI? Also why would he have not even mentioned the Anaplasma phagocytophilum? Should I seek another opinion?
I don’t expect that I will be able to afford other treatments revealed by an MRI.
I know I am asking a lot here but if you could just help me with a little guidance I would deeply appreciate it.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Hello,
I think that I would ask for a second opinion from a different vet at another practice. I say this because I cannot interpret lab values without an examination. These go hand in hand to make an accurate assessment of a patient. Ask your friends and family who they use and trust and go there.
I also think you should bring all of the things that you mention above to your old vet.
Also I think it is important to talk to your vet about your financial abilities and ask for diagnostics you can afford. This is your right and the vet’s responsibility in my opinion. If they cannot help you find answers that are meaningful to your pet and their care go elsewhere.
Lastly I have been a vet for almost 20 years. I have not had many patients able to do an mri. And although I may offer we always (always!!!) tell about more affordable and readily accessible diagnostics like an ultrasound. I also ALWAYS talk about why I am asking questions them to do this. I fear very few vets do this. There is almost no point in asking you to do (and pay for) a diagnostic if we cannot do anything about the disease or problem from there. So what is an mri going to get you that is treatable? And Would you be able to afford that? If the answer is no why are we worried about the mri?
I am in obx and I have been looking for help with my dog . I have saw your blog and your videos on you tube and wanted to reach out to you. My dog might have disc disease . She is in a hospital on another island down here . Actually it is my grandsons dog, he lives with me alone and this has been his best friend for 4 years . He is 11 and we adopted her . She woke up Monday and her back legs were shaky and then we took her to hospital and she has been there ever since . They have treated her with meds incase it was a bacteria or tick disease but she still can’t use her back legs. She still can’t stand . She is still in vets resting and getting great care. We don’t have much money so we can’t get her an mri but I grew up near jarretsville(went to John Carroll high) and when I saw your blog and video I thought maybe you could give us some advice. Can we email you? My email is Marygrace58@aol.com . I thank you so much! The vet here is so awesome and still gives us hope! but they are saying I might want to consider putting her down. Which I understand but I saw your videos and thought I might reach out. My grandson wants to bring her home but she can’t walk and use bathroom. Was hoping you could give us some help or advice. I just called up to your office because I was hoping to talk to you. The lady that answered the phone said this was the best way to contact you. My phone is 804 814 5068. I do not want to put the dog down. I would like to try and would like some ideas from you. Thank you for your time. Marygrace and AJ
Hello,
I am happy to help you here. I have a lot of information on my blog KMDVM.blogspot.com and my YouTube channel. If you go to them there is a lot (I hope all that you could need) there.
I have to say that I rarely advise giving up on these cases until a few weeks has gone by and they are not making any progress. It usually takes these patients a few days (at least 5-7) to get to a stable place where assessment can even begun to be made. In that time it is very important to keep them eating, cage rested and clean. In some cases I water down the food to make it easier to pass and less painful for posturing to defecate.
These patients need time, dedication and a devoted family and vet to help get through the first few (often hard and painful) days. Please see these blogs for help;
https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2016/05/ivdd-dr-kelcourses-advice.html
https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2016/08/ivdd-days-immediately-following.html
https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2017/01/hank-cervical-disc-disease-management.html
and my youtube channel here; krista magnifico and search IVDD
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7z_qtov_Al1dEEfjZt8iQ/search?view_as=subscriber&query=ivdd
i hope this helps.. if you can get your pup to me in Jarrettsville I am happy to help,, it is very difficult to help someone without seeing the patient.
i hope this helps, i wish you both the best, safe safe and be well
Thank you for responding . Lucy’s vet says she cannot feel much in her back legs. but when they do the test on her and pinch her legs or paws she moves a bit. She also had rectal feeling. but they say she is not in any pain. SHE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPTONS BEFORE I FOUND HER. SHE WAS RUNNING AROUND LIKE NORMAL AND SHE WOKE UP LIKE THIS . She has never cried out in pain, even when I first found her and she could walk much on back legs. Even when we visit her she does not cry out in pain. She just wines cause she wants us to tak her home. but now she seems content at vets and they are so good to her.
She can use her front legs but not her back legs. We want to
bring her home but don’t know how we would get her to go to bathroom. She is alert and eating and drinking. She looks very normal
except she can’t move her back legs. Her paws are turned back under she does not lay them flat so I can’t stand her up. She has been in the vets since this past monday. she is still on antiobotics and steroids. they are keeping her there still. Because I can’t take
her to bathroom. they think i should consider putting her down if she doesn’t change. I can not afford much since I am unemployed from virus and raising a grandson alone. My grandson does not want to put her down.
I know it is hard for you to help me without seeing her but any suggestions would be great. I was also thinking if I knew someone that could help me with her to recover we could bring her there. If you have any suggestions please let me know.
Lucy is a lab/border collie, 4 years old, 55 lbs and in great shape . she loves running after squirels and is very very active here in
OBX.
Thank you
Marygrace and AJ
We would like to bring Lucy home and see what we can do . I am wondering if you knew anyone that can help me? Work with her if I brought her to them?
My grandson that is 11 really wants to try
I received an email saying someone responded for my help questions? but did not see a new post. If you can
please respond if you can help us. thank you
My dog is13 1/2 years old. He is a dachshund/German Shepard mix. More dachshund. He has 5 fatty tumors that have all been biopsied and are not cancerous. They do seem to continue to grow in size. Not substantially but still grow. He had to go In for emergency surgery 2 years ago from cutting his artery in one of his paws during a walk. He has been a little different since then. More afraid of things. Urinates in the house every so often. I don’t know if it is from the surgery or just his age. But my question is whether or not I should have his Tumors removed with his age and how he responded to his last surgery. He is in very good health except for one health issue one time. A year ago he fell down and couldn’t walk. Took him to the vet. They kept him over night. They said it was old dogs disease. It went away 2 days later and hasn’t returned. Other than that he is very healthy. Gets his vaccines, heart worm, tick and flea meds. So do I remove them at his age or leave them alone. I keep debating this in my head and can’t make the call. I want what is best for him. I just don’t want to chance issues with going under anesthesia.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Hi there ???? I think I would chat with the vet at his next checkup and see what their thoughts are. There is always a risk with surgery, but if the pros outweigh the cons, then the answer is obvious. At this stage though, if your vet feels they aren’t a threat and you feel that the dog’s quality of life isn’t effected, then those would be strong factors in determining what the next step would be. You and your vet know your guy best, so that would be where I would start my discussion. Best of luck!!!
Hello,
I agree with Sarah. This needs to be a decision that you make with the help and guidance of the surgeon. You can get as many opinions as you need but they need tone from someone who can examine your dog. Find a vet (or two or more, or even a boarded surgeon) and ask for advice. Very best of luck.
I have consulted my vet and she told me it was my decision. The tumors are not in the way of his normal every day activity, Yet. I’m just afraid left unchecked they might become too large to handle. I just don’t know what the recommendations are for an almost 14 year old dog in regards to surgery. I know with every surgery there is a risk and I would assume his risk is greater than others due to his age. My gut tells me to remove them but will they just grow back? My heart tells me to leave them alone due to the fear of losing him under anesthesia. I’m absolutely torn.
Just thinking more about your situation…. wondering if you could just have it with your vet to have more frequent visits to check the tumors and make sure they aren’t growing or changing? That might help give you some peace of mind should you opt out of surgery.
Hi pawbly friends….
One of our GSD, Butch, is in his twilight years, approaching 14. It has been very eventful here with the addition of two new GSD rescues since July, and there have been some scuffles, but everyone is managing great now. All the “teething troubles” seem to have been worked out. When we lost Butch’s best bud, he stopped eating and lost about half of his body weight. The rescues kind of helped put some pep back in his step and he is doing great. He’s still underweight, but not like before. My question is, I’m worried about preventatives. With so much of him gone, I’m afraid to give him his dose of parastar, but I also fear Lyme disease, especially given his age. Being that it isn’t winter, I hate to admit, I haven’t been giving him his dose. Now that spring is around the corner, I am more concerned about ticks because of the warmer weather. Thoughts on preventatives? Should I give a lower dose? Regular dose? Every other month? I’m just worried because he is compromised enough and underweight, but Lyme is also very serious and would be awful for him as well. Any advice is very appreciated. Thanks!
Hello,
Preventatives are always tailored to the patient, their environment and risk of exposure. They are also dosed based on ideal body weight or current body weight in cases of current physical body status. In some cases I also use a drug that I am more comfortable with or have used for a longer time and have more experience with. I also always recommend that clients keep notes on when they were given and note any adverse reactions and then further tailor from there. I understand your concerns. For the last year of my pup Jekyll’s life I was very sparing on these. I only used them sporadically. But I did check a lot of fecal samples. I hope this helps. Xox to you all.
I rescued a young Golden Retriever in May. She had spent the start of her life abandoned in a small cage, she was emaciated, covered in fleas and ticks and of course living in her own waste. She is a wonderful dog, everything is new and she has very much been a blank slate. She is well exercised, is very social with our other dogs and has successfully completed a basic obedience class and will be moving on to 2nd level training and beyond. Thankfully she does not hold her rough start in life against humans in the least. Her only downfall is that she eats stool from our other dogs in the yard. We keep the yard clean, however we have 5 dogs. Even cleaning the yard daily is likely to leave a pile. She will even wait for our smaller dog to go to eliminate so she can eat it as fresh as possible. I imagine that she probably ate her own feces when she was starving, I am quite sure that this is a learned behavior. Over the course of 5 years my family has fostered 80+ dogs. I know that this is a very hard habit to break, however “poop kisses” are rather disgusting so I would love some input on what has worked for others! Thank you in advance.
Hello My Dear Friend,
My rescued beaglette does the same. She also has the same back story and yucky penchant for poop. Here’s what I do.. clean up waste asap (yes, honestly I am not the best at this as I recommend others to be). I also use a clicker or beeper to break her of it while she is doing it. Some non-vocal (she doesnt really want to listen to me anyway in the fever of the fervor to eat anything) cue to say “HEY! YES! I mean you need to stop that!” It takes a while but all of my other dogs have grown out of it.. It takes time and patience like everything else in life. Be with her at all times outside. Use a leash if you can to correct her at exactly the moment she goes for it, or use a whistle to get her attention,,, try to only use it for the absolute dire corrections so it doesnt get as monotonous as our voices have.
Let me know what works for you guys.
Question for Krista
Hi…wondered if you could give me some advice? As you know I’ve had Blue with Anal Sac Carcinoma and his mum Rio with Thrombocytopenia. My gut feeling is to keep all chemicals away from them both. I’ve been using a Homeopathic Essential Oil Flea spray and putting Rose Geranium on their collars as fleas and ticks hate the smell.
Not seen a flea all Summer till yesterday when a big one crawled off Blue and onto my arm. YUK! It was pretty slow, I caught it easily. It obviously didn’t like the spray on Blue’s coat otherwise it would have burrowed in not crawled off. No blood in it so hadn’t bitten him. However one flea and there’s probably more fleas. I wondered if you think Frontline Spot on would be safe to use on them both? It just sits in the hair follicles and doesn’t go into the bloodstream like some of them do. Thanks Krista hope all is well with you xxx
RESPONSE FROM KRISTA VIA EMAIL..she suggested I put this on the site as it may well help others.
“Hello! I always recommend my patients will be ok with a flea and tick preventative. Even with concurrent health issues. If you don’t use one you will get fleas. I don’t know of a safer product that has worked better. I know many of the Holistic Vets try other things but I just haven’t seen them be effective.
Regards Krista
Sending lots of hugs from the left side of the Atlantic! Xoxo
Sending big hugs (and licks from the crazy Spaniels) back ?! Xx
My 5 yr. Old chihuahua has a tick in ear ,can I safely flush it out and with what ?
How far down in the ear is it? If you take a q-tip and dip it in rubbing alcohol then rub it around where the tick is attached it will help release the tick. You want to do this before you use tweezers and pull it out because you don’t want the head to get stuck in the ear! Hope this helps, we get ticks all the time. Make sure to get your dog on some flea and tick meds, it will keep ticks from attaching and releasing their toxin! 🙂
Hi Desiree – this is now emergent. Not eating or drinking means something is very wrong. Please get him to the vet TODAY.
Hello,
I think that you should seek help from a veterinarian to help understand what’s going on with your pup.