Pimple/massQ: My fiance and i have a 7 1/2 month old english springer spaniel. i have a habit of massaging our puppy. one day i felt what seemed to be a little pimple on his left upper chest. within one to two weeks, this little pimple grew the size of a pea or little larger, looked pinkish or reddish in color. it was also hard, nonmoveable. it felt like it was on his skin, but hard to say. we took him to the vet, which the same day, he had emergency surgery, which we are waiting for the results of the biopsy at this time. the vet informed us that if we let it go, the mass could get bigger and start to bleed, which would be hard to stop the bleeding. i am afraid it may be cancerous, even thou he seems to be doing fine....his incision is about 3 or 4 inches long. it is a pretty big size with several sutures. the vet also informed us that if it is cancer, it can spread thru his body. can this be a hemangioma? are springers accessible to tumors? cancer? can you give me a little more information? i've been searching thru all kinds of animal books we have since having 3 different types of dogs..and none on english spring spaniels. in the meantime, we're still waiting for the results which will hopefully be this week. thank you so much. linda A: I would wait until you get biopsy back any day before i can comment or make recommendations. i can only tell you that in my experience most of these growths in young dogs are benign histiocytomas, which are very common, and actually sometimes can go down on their own. if that is what it ends up being, then you were alarmed needlessly
Feeding and vitaminsQ: A litter of kittens have found there way in my heart, as well as my home. there are four of them and they seem to have lost there mother they look very young they do have teeth but are very tiny too small to eat yet so i took them in and fed them my 4 month olds baby milk? is that okay ? how can i tell how old they are ? one of them follows me around they are less then a pound each and are as small as my hand , well i concerned if the formula is okay for them and should i give them any supplements other than the milk and is there anything special i need to do to take care of them . someone told me they wouldnt go to the bathroom on there on they had to simulated to go by there mother! is that true. i am going to take them to the vet but that take s time and money and at the moment i do not have alot of it. i order from pet meds all the time and they are great but they didnt seem to know very much about young kittens if you can give me any info on what to do it would be so helpfull i love my pets i spend alot of money at petmeds i put flea meds on my dogs and on my sisters dogs but if you could help me out her i would be so greatfull. anything i should know to properly treat them would be usefull donna A: I cant address all questions in brief space here. you need to have vet go over with you in office and show you directly with kittens how to stimulate bowel movements, etc. i cant tell you old they are without seeing them. baby milk is not best thing for them. i would get some sort of feline milk replacer such as kmar which you can get at local pet store and bottle feed them every few hours as much as they will take until can have vet visit.
Leg weaknessQ: My 12 yr old mixed breed has been having weakness in his back legs. he has been on glyco.flex i for about 2 yrs. as he gets older, he is having more difficulty getting up & down stairs. should we stay with the glyco i or is it time to go to glyco.flex 2 or 3 ? also he is on zubrin. thanks ! A: I would indeed graduate to likely glycoflex iii from your description. also add flax seed oil to food at dose of 1 tea per 20 pounds of body weight daily and give antioxidant vitamins like vitamin e at dose of 400iu daily and vitamin c in form of ester c at dose of 1000 mg twice daily
Shop for: vitamin, zubrin Hypo-thyroidQ: Hi - i have a 13 year old red dobe - she has been on solixine .06 for quite some time now, for a thyroid condition, which if memory serves me correctly, is for a condition called "hypo-thryoid". she was recently tested again and the dosage is appropriate (60lbs). my question is, i am looking for an alternative place to purchase her medicine. the local vet seems to be making a fortune off us! (monthly dosage = $30). it seems high to me, any suggestions? -jamie A: We have both soloxine and the generic equivalent levothyroxine in our pharmacy. please call for our price. also be aware that if you choose to go with the generic, it will probably be necessary to re-titrate your dog after a short adjustment period to be assured of proper blood levels.
SafetyQ: We have a 5 year old chocolate lab and are considering giving her frontline plus for her fleas however, we also have a 21 month old son who is constantly crawling all over her. what side effects, if any can occur to my son should he come in contact with the medication that has been applied topically? A: Keep your dog apart from your child for about 24 hours after application. once it is dry there is no problem. it would only be a problem if your child came in contact with a lot of the product while wet on the lab.
Shop for: frontline plus, frontline
Sudden bad breathQ: My dog's breath has gotten really bad just recently...it's normally not great but recently has gotten really putrid, almost fishy. this has been consistent for almost a week so i don't think it's something he ate. i'm planning to take him to the vet soon for a check-up but is there anything that you know may be causing this in the mean time? A: Could be build up of tartar on teeth or gingivitis or oral infection. might need teeth cleaning and antibiotic therapy. take to vet when possible
Revolution and heartwormQ: I chose revolution for my dog thinking it would not only protect her from fleas and ticks but for heartworm also. am i not correct in this? A: You are correct, it prevents both heartworms and protects agains fleas & ticks.
Shop for: tick, revolution
Dog eating own stoolQ: My puppy is 7 months old and i have been catching him eat own stools when he messes in the house. he does not do it outside or to his brothers stool. how do i get him to stop? A: Try using deter which should make the stool impalatable to him.
