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
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
Preventing ticksQ: I have a six month old golden retriever. she has a dog door so she is free to go outside all day long. she only had 1 or 2 ticks all winter, but since it been warmer the past week, she's become infested with ticks. please recomend the most effective solution to my problem. thank you joel herrera A: You should consider k9 advantix applied monthly, and possibly a preventic collar.
Shop for: tick, preventic collar, advantix
Cyst?Q: My dog is about 10 years old and has had problems with allergies from flea saliva. she has developed over the years a type of "cyst" about 1/4" large on her tail and another between her shoulders, i believe from areas where fleas have bit her. they are slowly getting larger. should we have them removed? are they anything to be concerned about? lisa ps: my dog is a maltese A: Tough for me to say since i would have to see them directly. many of these cysts are benign and i leave them alone as often they recur elsewhere so often i just monitor them as this will save you time and expense and putting dog through surgeries but should have direct vet visit to make sure cysts dont appear to be something more involved
