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Week 3 - June 08, Weekly Ask a Vet Q&A

 

  • Question : We have a 15 month old Pyraness-Sheppard Mix, Male named Simba. He weighs about 100 lbs. Every week he is favoring a different paw. He acts as if something is in it or cut. We search : We have a 15 month old Pyraness-Sheppard Mix, Male named Simba. He weighs about him over and never find anything - no cuts, thorns, etc. It seems like he has very tender paws. He is very good natured and loving, but not as active as he should be because his paws seem to give him pain. Earlier this week, it looked as if there were tiny blood spots located at the nails edge by his toes on his front paw under the nail. Is there anything we can do to help with the tender paws? He is an outside dog on a 20 acre ranch (he also has a sister named Nala and she exhibits none of these symptons and is extremely active and agile. Unfortunately, he is anything but agile - very clumsy (our big goof). He grew extremely fast (he's approximately 3 feet tall at the shoulders). He is not leash trained and it will be extremely difficult to get him to the vets. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
    Jane J, TX
  • Answer: From the signs that you have described there is one condition that I immediately think of that could be causing these signs. The disease is Osteochondritis dissecans or OCD. This is a disease that affects the cartilage in the joint. OCD is primarily a problem in large or giant breed dogs especially when they grow very fast. It affects male dogs 2 to 5 times more frequently than females, most likely due to the males’ larger size and increased stress on the joint. It generally occurs when the animal reaches adult body size from 8 to 12 months of age, though it can show up in older dogs. The front limbs are the most common affected. The lesions form most frequently in either the shoulder joints or the elbow joints. I do recommend that you visit a vcet to have this checked.

    There are currently two ways to treat OCD; conservative medical treatment or surgery. Conservative treatment may be indicated for dogs that have early mild symptoms of OCD or where a specific lesion cannot be identified on radiographs. Conservative treatment consists of strict rest for 4 to 8 weeks. Leash walking is permitted but no running or playing is allowed. Anti-inflammatories and painkillers are sometimes administered. Surgery is indicated in animals that show severe symptoms, in cases where large lesions are identified on radiographs, or when conservative treatments fail.
    Paw pain is common in dogs that walk/run on hard ground or pavements but I would think unlikely on the ground that you have in your photo!
     
  • Question: When your dog keeps scratching and biting his self and his hair falls out and he has sores on her and she stinks really bad you can bath her every other day but it dint help i had her to a vet he says she has allergeys but she didnt start this until she had to have surgery to be fixed could the surgery caused this it has been almost 2 years we have fought this could he have gave her something from the cages they put them in there has been other dogs doing this after the surgerys help
    Roseanna, Spring Websters
  • Answer: Allergies are very common and can cause all those skin problems. No body is really sure why a dog develops allergies, but I haven’t heard of surgery causing this. The only diseases I suspect that your dog may possibly contract from a cage would be a bacterial or fungal disease, though normally they wouldn’t continue on for two years. Appropriate treatment would normally cure these conditions.
     
  • Question: Hi, We have been away for a week and we had our dogs German Shephard and a Bichon in a kennel pension and after we returned the dogs won,t eat even tho we have 2 different kinds of food. Could it be that they have been used to the kennel;s food and now they won;t eat the food we provide them?? Princess,the Shephard wont eat a bite but this morning when i held a piece of bacon to her face she almost bite my hand so i know she must be starving and usually when i give her some of Cuddles the bichons food she takes it right away but she won;t eat that either so please tell me what it can be
    John F, FL

    Answer: This does sound a bit strange. I suppose it may be that they are being fussy as they have become used to the kennel food. Dogs don’t normally starve themselves for extended periods of time and I would think they would soon go back to eating their usual food. It may be worth finding out what the food at the kennels was and mixing this in with the usual food for a while.
     
  • Question: Hi . . . My daughter has a black female lab named Harlie . . . wonderful & loving dog . . . I think she is around 5 or years old now . . . problem is that about once every three months and for up to a few days to a week Harlie gets very stiff and can hardly walk at times [sometimes she favors a paw]. I think this started over a year ago . . . maybe longer . . . they thought maybe it was them changing her food so they didn't change foods or treats again . . . but Harlie still is going through these spells . . . she just came out of one that lasted for only a few days . . . my daughter's husband had to carry her down outside steps to go out [she had trouble walking about and favored a paw] . . . now she is good again . . . no issues. Her coat looks good, good eyes, good weight . . . got any ideas on this? We would much appreciate your thoughts of what is causing this problem. Thank you very much
    Kate S, PA
  • Answer: It is a bit hard to say without a proper examination. I think it is best that she is checked by your local veterinarian next time she has a bout. It is possible that she has some sort of joint disease such as degenerative joint disease (DJD) or Osteochondritis dessicans (OCD). Both which frequently occur in the Labrador breed. Usually there would be symptoms all the time with these conditions though the severity can change from time to time. I doubt that changing her diet would be the cause of this problem.
     
  • Question: Hi Doc Any guess as to what breed(s) my dog Ryker is? He will be three in October, He is 66 lbs and has herding and hunting instincts. His hair is straight and thin on the tummy but thick at the neck and tail areas..He is a nipper but soft mouthed, just nips to slow his prey down, never draws blood. When I rescued him, he was listed as Canaan Dog or Akita. My guess is Cattle Dog mixed with Canaan Dog. We walk every day and are asked very often what breed he is. I would like to honestly answer people. Can you tell me by this photo? Thank you for your advice Robbin Just curious
    Robbin V , CA

    Answer: He certainly is a handsome fellow. He has a sharp and alert look about him, doesn’t he! I would think that you are correct – that he has a lot of Canaan in him. From this photo he appears more Caanen to me than Akita.  Does his tail curl up over his back when he gets excited? (Both breeds do this). The only thing is that he seems a bit large for a purebred male. They are not to stand over 25 inches at the withers.  I’m also not so sure about the cattle dog cross. The cattle dog blue speckled coat is a fairly strong gene and I can’t see any evidence of that in this photo. Caanen cross is my guess.
     
  • Question: Why do I need an rx to get comfortis? My dogs are already on it and now my vet said he does not write rx so we can purchase it online. What are my options?
    Sue C, TX
  • Answer: Whether or not a product needs a prescription or not depends on how the FDA has registered the product. The FDA has classified this product as a medication requiring a prescription.
    In most states it is illegal for a vet to refuse to write an Rx for a medication that they would normally dispense. I suggest you contact your state Board of Veterinary Medicine to find out where you stand on this issue.
     
  • Question: I have a 9 year old cat that I have had since she was 8 weeks old. I recently adopted a cat of approximatley the same age so she would have a playmate. The new cat keeps peeing on my sofa. I have never caught her doing it, so I haven't been able to spray her with a water bottle. I have tried getting the new cat her own litter box, which helped for a couple of days. I put a plastic sheet over the sofa whenever I leave, she just pees on it. I live in a small apartment, so cutting off access to the living room is not an option. Whenever she does pee, I clean it up and spray repellants. I've had the new cat for a little over a month, so I am getting attached to her. Any ideas on how to break her of this horrible behavior???
    Diana S, CA

  • Answer: This sort of problem is quite common when introducing a new cat into an existing home with cats. The new cat would be suffering from stress and some anxiety from the move and also having to share her new home with your existing cat. Spraying her with a water bottle will only make her stress worse so I wouldn’t recommend this!

    You should look at providing each cat with a safe ‘room’ or ‘pen’. A place that they can each retreat to. Have her food, water, litter box, scratching post, toys and bedding in that place. When you go out you may be able to confine her to that spot. Supervise the time they have together and try to make this time fun, by playing or grooming. In time they will learn to accept each other.

    Pheromones such as Feliway have been shown to help in these situations. Feliway is a product containing a synthetic version of a naturally occurring pheromone which promotes a state of well being and calm.
     
  • Question: What do you recommend for me to use on my german shepherds for flea and tick treatment? I am currently using advantix but it is not working as well as I anticipated. After just weeks of putting on the one vial treatment they had several ticks on them that were alive and swelling.
    Robin, Chase City

  • Answer: I have normally found the Advantix to be quite effective. No one product will stop 100% of the ticks though. In areas of high tick incidence I recommend using a tick collar such as the Preventic collar at the same time as one of the monthly ‘spot on’ type products such as Frontline Plus or Advantix. A few other measures that help are: 1.Try to keep wild and other domestic animals out of your yard. 2. Keep vegetation to a minimum and keep the lawn mowed and 3. reduce the access your dogs have to thick vegetation.
     
  • Question: We have three malti poo's. We have been using front line plus. We recently move into a home that the property is heavily wooded. We have a severe mosquito problem in our yard. Should we continue to use the frontline plus or change to the product with the mosquito preventative. Thank you
    Rick C, Round Lake, IL
  • Answer: I think it would be better to consider the Advantix as it controls fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Ticks are often a problem in densely wooded areas as well as mosquitoes.

 

  • Question: If my dog was on a Heartworm Prevention medication and I need Flee medication. If I use Revolution, will I have to use a Heart prevention too? Or can I just use Revolution for both flee and heartworm prevention?
    Tammy O, Austin, TX
  • Answer: Revolution has active an ingredient called Selamectin that not only effectively treating fleas, it also treats heartworms, ticks and ear mites. So generally there will be no need for you to purchase a separate heartworm meds for your dog if you start on this product.
     
  • Question: Hi, I have two cats. I want to purchase Revolution for them for flea control as Revolution seems to be the only product that actually works. I notice that it's only sold on this website for cats that are 5-15 pounds. One of my cats is almost 25 pounds. What do I do for him? It seems that there used to be dosages available for bigger cats. Wassup wit dat?
    Karen, CA
  • Answer:The manufacturer only has 2 sizes in the cat Revolution. One for puppies and kittens up to 5 lbs, the other for cats 5.1 to 15 lbs. They do not make a larger version. Could it be the dog size that you are thinking of? The active ingredient in both the dog and cat version is Selemectin and many cat owners with very large cats use the dog sizes instead of the cat version. Alternatively you can give 2 vials of the cat version each month for cats up to 30lbs.

 

 

 

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