Cushings diseaseQ: I recently was told by my vet that my mini dachshund may have cushings disease. i will have the test to determine for sure this is the case, but i want to know what my options are for treating the disease and also what complications could occur if untreated. A: You should have multiple diagnostic tests including considering both blood tests and ultrasound to look at adrenals. acth stim test or low dose dex suppression blood tests are ones to consider but some dogs have false positive test results which is why you want to also have ultrasound. options for treatment include drugs known as lysodren, ketaconazole and anipryl all of which have pros and cons. if untreated some dogs develop secondary infections from excess blood cortisol as well as being more prone to diabetes, and blood clots to organs due to hypertensive state which can lead to organ problems as well
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
PancreatitisQ: Dear dr., my 8 yr old vizsla suffered an attack of "pancreatitis" on mem day weekend. she was hospitalized and fasted, given iv, antibiotics and carafate. we gradually weaned her from hamburger/rice to dry dog food and she started to suffer again. her lab chemistry reports were all normal including lipase. amylase was 1538 and our vet suggested hamburger/rice and gradually wean to hills id this time. we are doing that but she seems so "depressed". could she be this way due to pain? how long does it take for the pancreas to heal so there is no more pain? should she be taking any other med or supplement to help the pancreas heal? A: Tough to say as each case of pancreatitis is different. despite sometimes even diet therapy some dogs can have relapses. usually most recover in a matter of days to a week. however i would make sure diagnosis is correct by having abdominal ultrasound done as many vets over diagnose this condition based on blood tests. also consider prozyme supplementation from 1800petmeds which can help long term as well as making home made diet as described in book dr. pitcairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats by richard pitcairn, dvm
Shop for: prozyme, 1800petmeds
Skin disorderQ: We have four dogs, only two are having skin problems. biteing, scratching and itches. large areas will become hairless and raw. been to vet's, no sign of mites, have spent a fortune already but nothing seems to work. can you help? A: Could try various antihistamines like benadryl at dose of 1/2 to 1 mg per pound twice daily. sometimes these dont help. then left with cortisone or newer drug known as atopica which is expensive alternative. best for long term control is allergy testing with blood test so that allergy vaccine can be made
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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
