Are you looking for pet advice?

You are 100% correct about the hydrochloride. It is absorbed better and therefore more effective.

 

Dasuquin is a great joint supplement. It does not require a prescription because it's a nutraceutical and not regulated by the FDA. You can find it on Amazon.

 

Didn't you advise against supplements that aren't regulated? Mainly because of something to do with the ingredients.
The supplement above is not longer available, I'm sure there is something very similar. According to the comments on it it does not contain condroitin.

I ordered some of the stuff that @Kerch71 recommended in the first reply. Super reasonable compared to other supplement prices for 132 count. Now hopefully Lincoln appreciates all the hind leg massages...Thanks for all the input people.

 

We had a Great Pyr with hip problems and gave her Cosequin DS and meloxicam for years. It seemed to help her. We had to take her off once or twice for a short period of time because of some other issue and you could really tell a difference.

 

Hi doctors,

Please give advice, its seems like my 6 yr old American bulldogs tear duct is bloody or bursted. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

@Kerch71 Take me after the poor pup with the eye issue.
Our 15 month old has had these around her snout for a couple of days. can't say it's been in the same spot. She has it on both sides.


Is this normal for a growing pup? Her sister doesn't have anything like this. Any suggestions?

 

looks like she stuck her nose into something and is allergic to whatever. might need a steroid shot to help get her over the hump.

 

Hey there
It's difficult to assess eye issues with a picture. Dogs can certainly get a blocked tear duct, which can be due to allergies or infection. The tear duct normally drains at the nostril, so if it's blocked drainage will occur at the inside of the eyelids where they join. But, with anything related to the eye, you should have your vet do an ophthalmic exam. Some dogs require anesthesia and tear duct flushes to correct the problem. But, you want to make sure that the cornea isn't scratched. Certain eye drops with steroid can help with inflammation or blockage of the tear duct, but if the cornea is scratched, you CAN'T use steroids in the eye.

 

Yeah, rashes around the nose are usually due to allergies, but there can also be an underlying skin infection (puppy pyoderma) that requires antibiotic treatment. I tend to avoid steroids in young pups, but some do require them with antibiotics.

 

Thanks, we'll get her to the vet and see what's up.

 

Thanks doc(s)!

 

@Kerch71 and @jaredmillerdvm I spoke to you guys last August about our 7 year old Malinois mix with kidney disease. He was pretty stable up until last week when he just stopped eating and got diarrhea.

We've had him in and out of the vet every other day and they have been amazing but we're not sure what's going on. They have him on Benazepril and just increased his dosage to 50mg but we did that AFTER he stopped eating. We've also got him on a medicine for blood pressure. Yesterday morning was the first day he really ate in almost a week. He acted perfectly normal until last night when he stopped eating and got lethargic again. Today he hasn't eaten but he was alert and playful this morning. His BUN and Creatinine levels have climbed significantly in the past 30 days.

I just don't know what to think. I'm willing to accept if he's shutting down but it's odd that one minute he is acting fine and then next he's not. Overall, he's still pretty alert. He just won't eat. The vet has been giving him fluids and also tried an anti-nausea drug to see if that would get him to eat. It didn't work.

Any suggestions? Have you had any success treating kidney disease with something other than Benazepril?

 

Hey man sorry to hear about this. Yes I have put some of my kidney dogs on benazepril. What other medication is he on? You basically have to treat the symptoms, as BUN and CRE climb more issues will arise. If they have climbed significantly then unfortunately the kidneys may be shutting down. There may not be anything else that will help. I would recommend a minimum of 48 hours of aggressive IV fluids along with anti nausea meds, appetite stimulant and any meds needed for blood pressure if that’s a problem also. As you are probably aware kidney disease isn’t reversible and at some point you will have to make the call. From you post it seems like he is having a lot more bad days then good? If so I would be leaning towards putting him to sleep since we know that it’s likely only going to get worse. We have the means to prevent suffering unlike in human medicine, if needed exercise that option for him! I know it sucks but it’s what is best for the pet not the owner! Sorry again hope this helps.

 

I want to preface by saying I am not a vet, but here is my advice, you may not want it, and that is ok.

A few months ago I went through a situation similar to yours, except it was with my much loved Fluffy (cat). She was 13, and seemed perfectly healthy, to the point that we thought she would still be here when she was 20. One day I noticed some redness on her face and around her eyes, with hair loss. I took her to the vet and he was concerned because she had lost a pound of weight in a month period, and he thought she had allergies, but he was concerned she may have cancer or some other issue. They couldn't find any obvious cancer with ultrasound, so my assumption is she had FIP or cancer they just were not seeing. I tried for WEEKS to cure Fluffy, even though her body made it obvious it wasn't curable. I tried force feeding her, force watering her, and took her to the vet repeatedly for fluids and to try any medication that may help. She ended up going into heart failure on top of everything else from the steroid they had to give her for the allergy, and she just couldn't eat. She had no interest in eating, and when she did it just came back up. She had no energy, and she wasn't enjoying being a cat anymore. What I know now is that her body was dying, which is why she had no interest in eating, like people animals stop eating when they begin dying. We can deny it, and that is normal and ok, after all you want to make sure it's not a temporary symptom. The thing is Fluffy had a rally day, where she literally acted like perfectly healthy and normal cat for an entire day. She blessed us with her youthful, playful self, despite being seriously ill, and my belief is that your dog blessed you with a similar day. I was fooled into thinking Fluffy was improving and that she was going to pull through, but like your pup, by the next day she was once again lethargic and unable to eat, and by Wednesday of that week I found her in the morning with her nose to the floor while scrunched up (a sign of significant pain/distress in cats), and I have no idea how long she had been there before I found her in the morning.

The point of my story is to let you know that it's ok to try and prolong the life of your much loved pup, but realize it also may be time to let him fly over the rainbow bridge. They can fool us into thinking they are going to get better, or are ok with those intermittent periods of perkiness and playfulness that break our hearts, but you know by looking into their eyes that it's time for them to go. My only regret with fluffy is that I didn't do it maybe just a bit sooner, so that she wouldn't have suffered for more days, but like you I was having some denial as to how sick she really was, and how poorly she was feeling, again feelings that are perfectly normal.

If you are struggling with the decision, just know that it's a normal thing, but also know that the ending will be the same no matter what you choose, it's just about making it easier with less suffering for your pup.

Bless you and your pup, and I am sorry you are going though a difficult time.

-T

 

Thanks for your response Jared. Prior to this the only other medicine he was on is Amlodipine Besylate for his blood pressure.

The Dr just prescribed him Mirtazipine to help with this. I just gave him his first pill a few minutes ago.

This only started a week ago but it's more like he fluctuates throughout the day being playful vs looking like he might be feeling bad. He's just sleeping more than normal. A week ago he was happy, energetic and mostly normal dog. We've known the kidney disease would kill him eventually, I just thought it would be more of a gradual decline in his health. Our other dog got sick last week too so we really thought both dogs may have gotten into something in the yard. But with his Bun and Cre levels climbing so rapidly I know that isn't good.

I certainly won't be one of those people that tries to keep their pet alive even if they are suffering. If he doesn't start to improve in the next few days then I guess we will have a decision to make. Thanks again for your response.

 

Back to this thread...

So my almost 2 year old GSD looks to have some worn/chipped canines and a few other chipped teeth. He is a sport dog but does not do bite work. High toy drive dog. Never has had a tennis ball, just chuck it balls and plastic frisbees. One of his lower canines looks like its pulp is showing. I will post pics later. I took him to a board certified vet dentist last week and they are recommending one root canal and four titanium crowns, talk about some money. A little over $10,000.

Any opinion on root canals and crowns? I could just get a root canal on the one tooth and do sealants on the other. That is about $3,250. I risk having to get other surgeries done on the other canines at a later date if the sealants don't hold.

I have pet insurance that will hopefully cover some of the costs.

 

My last dog broke all 4 canines and she still had a full grip..

Don't waste your money on Titanium they break off too. If the root or pulp is showing its painful for the dog. Our Mal had originally chipped his tooth the pulp was exposed, we had the titanium cap put on and that broke off in less than 2 years. I would only do composite. You can resurface as time goes by as well.

 

Also for frisbee. Try not to use any frisbee, check out the hero disc some are softer. Yet they tear them up quick if hard biters. I also stay away from Tennis balls as they're really bad for dogs teeth. Hard rubber or the orange chuckits are great. As your dog chomps on a tennis ball, the fuzz acts like sandpaper, gradually wearing down her teeth in a process called “blunting.” This can eventually lead to dental problems such as exposed tooth pulp and difficulty chewing https://www.herodiscusa.com/canine-dog-discs

 

Thanks for the info. Any chance you have a vet dentist you recommend or where you went? I’m in Southern California too.

So you are suggesting root canal and sealants? Then deal with other root canals later down the road?

 

He’s never had a tennis ball. I will check out that frisbee.

This is the frisbee I have.

$22 Hyperflite Jawz Dog Flying Disc - World's Toughest Training Dog Toy. Best Competition Flying Disc Toy for Pets, Puncture Resistant - 8.75" - Blueberry

https://www.amazon.com/Hyperflite-J...5802f37621d&pd_rd_wg=ZAic7&pd_rd_i=B002CM3O6G

 

Ive used these too but only the smaller jawz pup model. I liked them.

 

Dr. Niemiec is EXCELLENT! Dr. Furman is also in Irvine office. I think they practice in Ontario, Santa Barbara and San Diego too.

https://dogbeachvet.com/?fbclid=IwAR29P1Pwp85FKO1bQCQmR41BclCCtZahGzM8Y_KhGu3bN1XT3kmNcFIlVIM


You can probably save 50% or more going out of Ca as well. Whereabouts are you and I can steer you in a few directions possibly. I know alot of people in the K9 world haha

 

Dr. Furman in Irvine is the one I have the surgery scheduled for at the end of May. If I find something much cheaper, I can change it. Nothing so far though. I have contacted a few dentist outside the state as well. I am in the San Bernardino/Riverside area.

 

If you can afford that is the best around. You'll be in great hands

 

So I just found this quarter sized area on the size of my golden doodle puppy that is missing all the fur and appears to be flaky. Anyone know what this could be?

 

My vet is fully booked and the earliest appointment they can get me is this Thursday. Any idea what this can be and what I can do in the meantime? It’s about a half dollar big, fur has fallen out and it’s a little red. Thanks for the help.

 

It's probably a histiocytoma. Young dogs can develop them, but they will go away with time. I'd just monitor for now. If it rapidly
gets larger or changes color, then I would remove it and biopsy.

 

@Kerch71 Thanks. My vet saw it this morning and said that we'll first try to treat it as if it were ringworm or some other skin infection. I'm supposed to use Ketoseb + PS wipes twice a day for 3 weeks. Then if it doesn't change or it gets worse he will take the next step, which I assume means to biopsy. So it's about the size of a half dollar, hair has fallen out, flaky skin and is a little red. Funny thing is that my dog doesn't seem bothered by it. He doesn't scratch or try to bite it.

 

It's great that he doesn't bother it. Sounds like a good plan. Keep in mind that most lesions like this, that are called ringworm, are actually a Staph infection (or a histiocytoma). Ringworm is actually not very common in dogs. You can use a black light in a dark room to help diagnose because ringworm will glow if it's present. This test is not 100% but it can help rule out ringworm. Your vet is approaching it like I would. Keep me posted!