Reliable pill flea treatmentQ: We live in a rural community where my dogs have an acre or so to roam in, and the fleas can be a problem, treating the fenced in yard, the house and even the in door cats is taken care of, but the topical treatments, such as frontline, etc don't seem to work well on my dogs, beagle and mixed breed, is there a reliable pill for flea control that i could give? i looked on the petmeds.com flea & tick chart and the two pills that are offered don't offer anything else in the way of protection. thanks. A: You might want to consider using program orally, and adding a good flea collar like zema.
Shop for: tick, frontline
Ear infectionQ: Hi, i have a king cavalier spaniel mix maltese. she is almost 9 years old. it's been almost a year and she has an ear infection i believe. only on her right ear. she keeps scratching and the ear sometime bleed and when i clean it she feels hurt. i've seen the doctor and the doctor gave the medicine, but it didn't work. the doctor been giving clavamox, periodosne, baytril ear drops and baytril pills, also opirinse for rinsing. but none seems works. please advise. thanks! A: Have ear cultured to see what is growing so medicine can be correct one. also have to look at underlying causes of ear infections like low thyroid and allergies which your vet can assess
Dog has bumps on his skinQ: My dog has small bumps on him after he pulls his hair out and chews open the lumps he stops the itching and chewing i take him to the vets at least 3 times a year and all he ever does is give him a chortazone shot and pills this works for a few months then i have to take him in again won't all of these shots and pills hurt him and why can't my vet tell me whats wrong. at 135.00 a visit 3 times a year he should be able to find out why he itches and chews and what the lumps are.. i have another dog and he is fine can you help A: I agree. you need definitive diagnosis if problem persists or reoccurs so that you can treat underyling problem. for example you may want to ask about blood allergy testing to find out what he could be allergic to such as inhalent allergens of grass, dander, pollens, dust, etc. also could be food allergic so should try low allergy diet like california natural lamb and rice diet by natura brand. also could have skin biopsy done of bumps if not simple infection
Excessive sheddingQ: I have a 4 yr. old yellow lab and a 2 yr. old golden. both shed terribly, which i guess comes with the breed. i have been told, however, there are supplements they can take to reduce shedding. is this so? my lab sheds way more than the golden and it's really out of control. would the fact that they're both on adult lite science diet or in the past adult lite eukanuba affect their coats as far as shedding? is there something missing from their diet? i see that brewer's yeast tablets indicate they help with shedding but the dosage is 1 pill per every 10 lbs. that would be 6 pills per day per dog. that seems a bit much. what do you suggest? A: I dont like these lite foods as i feel they do supplement nutrients as well as calories and therefore i find alot of dogs who eat these foods have poor quality coats. i would use supplements like prozyme from 1800petmeds as well as flax seed oil at 1 tea per 20 pounds of body weight daily, as well as lecithin and kelp from health food store. check out dr. pitcairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats by richard pitcairn for more suggestions and dosages
Shop for: prozyme, 1800petmeds
YeastQ: We have a 7 yr old sheltywhom we adopted when she was five. she has been itching and pulling her hair out chewing her nails etc. we attributed this to grass/flea allergy. we have been giving her benedryl. i was only giving her 2 pills a day and then read in your web site that she could have 4 a day. the vet said she could go as high as six per day. she developed a strong oder about her and i wondered as to whether her anal glands needed to be cleaned after reading articals on your web site. i took her to the vet and the vet said she had yeast really bad. we are now using a medicated antifungal shampoo three times per week, and ear wash every 12 hours and we are switching to a natural dog food of lamb and rice. i really can't afford the ketoconazole from the vet at $65. my question is can i give her fluconazole (150 mg) i also want to know if there is an antofungal spray i can use on her to give her more comfort. i know there are otc antifungal creams for yeast which could be messy with what little hair she has left. could a liquid spray such as tinactin be used on her under belly and hind legs? A: Tinactin would be fine to try. also consider ketachlor shampoo from 1800petmeds every few days. in case like this you need to address underlying causes of yeast overgrowth such as allergies or low thyroid or problem will recur and never resolve
Shop for: 1800petmeds
ItchingQ: 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
Female dogQ: 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.
