Itching
Q: My dog, a male shepherd/sheltie mix has suffered for approx. 2 years with itchy feet. in the last year, it has become an itch problem all over his body. initially, it was so bad, he would bite himself bald on his feet and legs!now his scratching is less severe, however, it seems more widespread and has extended to his eyes which are starting to drain. he is also constantly scratching his ears. he has been to the vet every month for the last year. he was getting prednisone shots and pills for a long time, but started developing cysts on his body and we feared long term organ damage. we have stopped the shots and pills. this is when the scratching became milder but more consistant. any ideas what could be the root cause? we have tried allergy diet foods recommended by the vet to no avail. if no cure is known, what about treating the symptoms? we have tried benedryl, no help. anything you can suggest would be appreciated.
A: I would recommend blood allergy testing to see if inhalent allergies involved like allergies to ragweed, grasses molds danders pollens, etc allergy vaccines can be made up. you could also ask vet about new drug for allergies known as atopica which is less toxic than chronic cortisone
Shop for: prednisone
My dogs nose is really dry
Q: Please tell me how to help my golden retrievers nose it is really dry and when we got him (harlie ) he had a real bad cold we took him to the vet and got pills to help that but i"m worryed about his nose being so dry not wet at all
A: I recommend having him rechecked by your veterinarian. there are many potential causes for the dryness. your veterinarian can help resolve this.
Cheaper rx food for 10 y/o male cat?
Q: Hi, i've had to pay for high rx food for my 10 y/o fixed lhd cat for many yrs. is there any way to get equivalent uti rx cat food, such as eukanuba low ph/s and hill's c/d? over the yrs, it has cost literally several thousand $, and i'm by no means rich. in fact, i'm quite poor. can i buy powder or pills? thanks muchly, paul m.
A: I am not a big believer in these urinary diets which create other problems. simply feed a good natural brand wet cat food (not dry) to your pet like pet guard or innova.
Female dog
Q: My female dog thatwas fixed wehn she was young and is now 12 years old all of a sudden started leaking while laying down and leaving wet spots and sometimes a big big wet spot not even knowing it. i saw her lay down and in minutes there was a big wet spot. i took her to the vet and she said sometimes it happens early in there life or later. she gave me phenylpropanolamine and said to give it to her every 12 hours. she said if this worked she wouldn't have to come back for blood work ect. seems to be doing the trick so far and she said if it does she would have to take it the rest of her life. is this true that she has to stay on it or can i take her off of it after the pills are finished? thank you so much for you time. a concerned pet owner
A: In most cases, pets that are placed on phenylpropanolamine therapy for urinary leakage will need to be on this medication for life.
Tapeworm
Q: If my cat has tapeworms, and i order the bottle with 3 pills in it will that be enough to get rid of them, or will i need more then 3 pills?
A: That depends on the weight of the cat and the medication you will be using. the veterinarian evidently ordered the 3 pills based on those factors.
Mistletoe poisoning
Q: Our 75# lab and 20# beagle ate a small amount of dry mistletoe ( a few leaves each), will this be harmful?
A: Should not be a problem. watch for digestive upset but should be ok if only tiny bits
Dog eats feces
Q: Is there a long term solution to this problem? we have given deter in high dosage to both our dogs to stop one of them from eating feces. this 7 yr golden does stop but then restarts when we lower the dosage or run out of the pills. although it is only cosmetic, it is hard to get friends/family to not mind getting licked by a dog that eats feces in plain view. surely there must be some remedy to kick this habit long term.
A: Nothing really proven to definitively get rid of it. i would make sure she is on good natural diet like pet guard or california natural by natura brand as well as good supplements like missing link from designing health as well as prozyme available from 1800petmeds
Shop for: prozyme, 1800petmeds
Heartworm meds
Q: My almost 3 yrs old part lab and part austrillian shepperd has heartworms. my problem is that i can not afford the $400 treatment. i understand that there is a shot that he can be given each month. my question is, can i give him the shot that he needs in order to keep down my cost, or do i have to find time each month to take him to the vet? thank you
A: No treatment exists other than what your vet offers. only other option would be to put your pet on once monthly heartworm pills to prevent further reproduction of the adult heartworms he has
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