9 year old female healthy and happy lab seen for a full physical and check up a week ago. Hip/knee mild pain not really improved on Dasuquin. Also new onset of itchy feet (pet is chewing and this happens yearly) from season allergies.
Recommended and started on Gallaprant for a week trial in conjunction with Fish oil 2000mgs daily. Started on gabapentin 3 days ago 300mg bid……Haven’t see any improvement yet.
For the feet, Benadryl 75mg po bid for the past 5 days, which is somewhat effective but wears off quickly. Neo predef foot powder, which helped in the past, unavailable, therefore started on prescription foot bath solution bid. Unfortunately, Foot bath is clearly not decreasing the chewing.
My main concern is that as of this morning, she is now in discomfort with what appears to be an upset stomach. Refused to eat breakfast which has NEVER happened before (even with previous GI illnesses). Not sure which medication might be causing this?

Hi Dr. magnifico! Curious on your thoughts on gabapentin for pain? I’ve read mixed reviews. My pup has a painful back leg. Originally she saw a vet at our practice who thought is was due to Lyme because she had tested strong positive and did not feel a drawer sign when checked. We did antibiotic treatment and the lameness got better for the most part. She would have some days where you could see it was bothering her. Then a few months later she was back to not bearing weight on it. Saw a different vet this time at our practice and this vet said he felt the drawer sign and said he felt it was injured CCL and reccomened a surgeon. Surgeon said would need to have x-rays to confirm which I haven’t had the money for. So we did pain meds (gabapentin and tramodyl) and rest for about a month and lameness went away again. She’s been good for about a year up until the past month or two and the vet gave gaba again. When she’s on it, she looks sleepy and scared. I’ve never had an issue giving pills with her in cheese on lunch meat or something but now she tries to spit it out. It’s like she knows what it’s going to do to her. I’ve read mixed reviews. I’ve also read it’s more for nerve pain? So I’m not sure if it’s actually relieving her pain or not. I’ve also read the reciptors that tramodyl targets, dogs don’t have? Curious on your opinion on all of this. I would like to see if she’s still a candidate for surgery even though it’s been some time but I need to come up with the funds for that so I’m trying to help her in the mean time. I give her vitamin supplements for her joints. I don’t want her on pain meds all the time but want something that gives her some relief on those bad days without making her feel drugged up.

My male cat is 2 yrs old and he has a small history of urinary issues. He went in for not being able to pass urine in May 2019. Vet #1 suggested prescription wet food(hills c/d multicare) and perineal urethrostomy. While he was hospitalized with a catheter and IV fluid therapy I did my research and the surgery seemed risky and I wanted a second opinion. After my boy was discharged I went to vet #2. Vet #2 reviewed urinalysis and bloodwork and didn’t see reason for surgery at the moment as cat was passing urine okay. Vet #2 said to continue with the food and gave dasuquin supplements.
Fast forward to present day April 2020 almost 1 year later he’s still on the c/d wet food, hasn’t had any blockages since. I want to change his diet to Open Farm which is a higher quality food and I am a bit nervous. Should I get another urinalysis or bloodwork done before making the transition? Is it necessary to make an appointment and ask my vet? The c/d is ranked below average for nutrition and ingredients from what I have read and I don’t want to be paying for food that’s not the best but it has a high price tag! I currently feed him 1 can/day and add salmon oil.

Our 4 month male lab/husky (a patient at JVV)
He has episodes of “attacking/biting”. Today he went after my 5 year old grandson. Bit him in the leg. Not provoked. He also has biting episodes at night. My daughter, his mom, puts him in a hold and he calms down. CN u offer advice how to train him to stop. This is scary. Thank you

I have a chocolate lab chewing her fur raw all over her body

Hi Dr. Mag, Gatsby and I need your help.
I came across some of your videos on YouTube and that brought me to your blogs and finally here to Pawbly.com I feel so fortunate to have found your videos you seem so knowledgeable and more importantly empathetic. The care you have for animals truly shines through. I feel so helpless When it comes to my little guy Gatsby. He is 8 years old and has been very healthy all his life, But within the last six weeks we have been experiencing some urinary issues. I did think he had a blockage because he was unable to urinate for close to 24 hours, he seemed lethargic and did not want to eat. I took him to the vet first thing in the morning and he was given an x-ray which did not show any signs of kidney stones. He was given fluids under the skin, an antibiotic shot and sent home with 5 days dosage of Prozasin. The vet diagnosed him with feline lower urinary tract disease, yet he did not take any urine samples because he said that Gatsby’s bladder was very small and he was unable to collect a sample. He did not take any blood either. Within a couple days Gatsby was again exhibiting the same symptoms so I asked around for personal referrals and took him to a different vet. This vet said the same thing, Gatsby’s bladder was very small, but he kept him for a few hours to collect urine and did perform blood analysis and lab work. This was a Saturday and the vet suggested I switched him to a prescription urinary diet and informed me I would receive lab results that Monday. When the vet called all of his lab work came back clear, no infection, no signs of crystals, no signs of cystitis, kidneys functioning properly and he does not have diabetes. The vet suggested I keep him on a prescription diet and suggested that he lose weight because he is a big boy at 15 pounds. This was about a month ago and Gatsby has had two more episodes since. He is licking himself a lot. He travels to his box many times and is only producing small dots of urine, he has on a handful of occasions exhibited inappropriate urination, but only during these flareups which tend to last 2 to 3 days. I’ve called the vet to discuss Gatsby’s condition and his solution is to have the surgery performed. I have read a lot of literature, watched a lot of videos and have taken him to two different vets to try and find answers and help for him. It hurts me to see him struggling. He is on a wet food only diet, I do not feed him any dry food or dry treats. I have tried a urinary health chew which he receives once a day. I have noticed that he has not been drinking water as he used to prior to these episodes. I have a water fountain for him I’ve tried fresh water in different types of bowls, I’ve tried water with ice, he’s just very resistant to drinking water now. Any advice or guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 13 year old (best estimate because he was a rescue) Chi that needs a dental. He has CHF and takes 2.5mg of Enalapril daily, as well as 12.5mg of Lasix daily. Is it safe for him to have a dental?

How do you determine if your dog needs a dental exam? My dog is over 10 years old and has always had bad teeth. He is a Yorkshire terrier mix. I knew he would need several teeth extracted but we were not advised that he must have this done by x date. It’s been about 6 months. He has now had two teeth fall out and has another big tooth loose. I do not mind paying for a vet visit if necessary but I wasn’t sure if this was simply part of old age. Should we switch from dry food to wet food? He has a little redness in his mouth, no swelling, no signs of pain.

My 6 year old lab mix had TPLO surgery to repair a torn CCL on September 10. Prior to surgery, his liver enzymes were elevated but after 2 ultrasounds and bloodwork, they were unable to identify why. Because of this he cannot take anti inflammatory drugs to help with pain and took longer to be cleared after surgery. He was finally cleared on 12/11/19 and was doing really well. About a week and a half ago, he started limping again. We can’t pinpoint anything he did that would cause a limp. We haven’t let him fully run and don’t let him off his leash hardly at all. I do have another follow up appointment with the surgeon scheduled but wanted to see if anyone else experienced something like this. Thanks!

Hi Dr Mag. Our cat Tux is scheduled for a dental tomorrow with you, Monday 12/30.
He has diarrhea, and I dont think he is feeling good.
Is it Ok for him to have his dental tomorrow or should we cancel and reschedule?
Thanks!
Terri and Steve Stiffler

.