DiarrheaQ: I have a 4-year old labrador. each spring (usually around the month of may) he develops severe diarrhea - often a reddish/brown jellylike substance is mixed in with the stool. i notice this change in stool when i started giving him heartgard medication. do you have any alternative suggestions or another medication to recommend? he has been diagnosed with inflamatory bowel syndrome. i have been succeussful giving him nature's recipe - vegetarian formula and dick van patton's duck & potato formula dog foods. any help would be appreciated. thanks, cynthia champa A: If your dog has ibd, then he indeed could react to actually any of the monthly heartworm preventtives. you could try the other known as interceptor. if that no help you could even consider herbal alternatives like black walnut added to his food daily at dose of 1000 mg daily
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Ear mitesQ: I have a 5 year old 75 ld male dog, his right ear has a lot of dark brown build up and it has a very pungent odor, in the past my other dog had the same symptom. the vet diagnosed as ear mites. what can i use and can i order it thru petmed. A: I would not be so quick to call 5 year old dog with dark brown wax in ear as ear mites as more common in this age to have overgrowth of yeast or bacteria. if you want, you coudl try mitaclear from 1800petmeds but i would certainly recommend vet exam of ear for best treatment. also see article i wrote on ear care on education part of this website
Shop for: ear mites, 1800petmeds
Heartgard plusQ: My dog uses the heartgard brown but i noticed you have a heartgard plus what is the difference? A: "brown" refers to the strength of the product. heartgard and heartgard plus have the same ingredient to prevent heartworms but the "plus" adds on protection against intestinal worms, the round & hookworms.|you can get information on these products on our website.
Shop for: heartgard, heartgard plus
Irratable bowelQ: My cat just turned 10 years old she has had blood and mucus in her stool off and on since she was 5 years old. the vet puts her on metronidaz 50 mg. liquid form to control it. i would like to know if there is a diet that could help control her condition? she has been on select care neutral formular for 8 years. also can you tell me more about this condition and if it will get worse with age and if this medication is good to take as she gets older? A: This medicine is fine and safe for long term or intermittent use in cats. might want to consider low allergy natural diet like wellness brand low allergy diets that exist for cats or possibly california natural lamb and rice diet by natura brand as choices. also could consider home made diet as described in book the new natural cat by anitra frazier. inflammatory bowel disease is very common in cats and dogs. make sure complete cbc/chem and thyroid done as well as ultrasound done to make sure no other problems. many often eventually need oral prednisone if diet and metronidazole does not control
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G. shepherd puppies' first shotsQ: Please help, i have 10 5 weeks old puppies and i would like to do the shots or vaccinations myself. tell me please what vaccines i need to buy and please what about the schedule of those. can this be done with nonprescriptin medicines? a million thanks! A: I don't like to overvaccinate dogs. i prefer only distemper/parvo in combination without all of the others. i give two shots one at 8 weeks and one again at 12 weeks followed by a rabies shot 1 month after last shot separately.
Cushing disease & deramaxxQ: My 15 yr. old lab/pitbull mix has cushings disease. i wanted to try deramaxx for his arthritis. is there anything in the deramaxx that will harm him? A: Not really. just need to make sure you have liver/kidneys monitored periodically by your vet especially if he is on a drug to treat cushings like lysodren. also have to watch more closely for digestive side effects as dogs with cushings are more prone to stomach ulcers to begin with.
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Revolution and wormsQ: Do i need to use a wormer with revolution to prevent round worms and hook worms? i know that revolution prevents heartworms but what about the other types of worms? A: Revolution will kill and control worms in cats, but is not effective in dogs. if you suspect worms in dogs you will need to purchase a specific wormer.
Shop for: revolution
