GeorgeofNE

If a catheter was used on her during the procedure, she could be a little sore in the whoo whoo. Call your vet just to let them know you have a concern. A UTI would be suspected when your dog can not hold it normally any more.

Yes, dogs get warts, but that does not appear to be a wart. If you already have an appointment on the 18th, that should be sufficient. Could be lots of different things, and your vet may suggest removing it during the dental which would be a great way to go since the dog will already be under.

Sounds like possibly allergies. It's probably her face that itches, and that needlenose is so narrow she's bashing herself in the mouth trying to itch. I'd take her to the vet for a quick check to make sure it's nothing else (mites, fleas, ear problem) and then talk to the vet about the possiblity of allergies and what you can do to start tracking down the cause.

Oh, I had a cat go through that. It was terribly frightening, but the vet diagnosed a deep, inner ear infection, and within a couple of days she was right as rain. I was SURE she had a stroke and that I was going to be coming home from the vet minus one cat, but it turned out to be a-OK!

That's a lot of pain meds to give a dog if your vet things he's sprained something; typically you actually want your dog to avoid using a sprain limb/strained ligament, etc., so the pain is actually a good thing. If you take away the pain, the dog is going to use the leg as if there isn't anything wrong, and that could just make the heeling process take longer. You should probably keep him on leash outside so he isn't tempted to over do it.

Why would it be too early? They routinely spay shelter animals that age or younger. No evidence that I've read that it's harmful.

Frontline/Frontline Plus do not prevent ticks--it does kill them after 24 hours, but it doesn't prevent them from hopping on board OR sucking your dog's blood. My vet advises Frontline Plus year round, because fleas can and do survive inside quite nicely. I think the only topical that actually repels ticks is K9 Advantix, which my vet won't let me use because I have cats and they cannot get it on them. My vet worries that their close contact with George could be enough to make them sick.

Here here. I put my dog down when he refused to eat. I knew he'd had enough--my gift to him was a quick end to what was a painful nerve sheath tumor that he lived with for about 8 months. Long enough for me to prepare myself and say goodbye. Hugs from Boston, Susan

It's unlikely that TWO dogs in the same house would start to itch at the same time unless it's some sort of external critter. You know? I find it hard to imagine they both just spontaneously got itchy dry skin on the same day. Have you done your monthly Frontline yet? If not, I would ASAP. Benadryl should help! You can give (confirm with your dogs' vet) it twice a day--start with one pill. Make sure it is NOT "allergy sinus." You want plain old fashioned Benadryl. Most dogs can handle two pills, but I'd start with one.

I would take her in to have it looked at. Dogs get melanoma just like people. If it's bumpy and bleeding--absolutely have it checked out. It's not an EMERGENCY, but I'd get her in.

What a LOVELY tribute! I'm sure her years with you were very happy ones! She sounds delightful!

If only we could prevent it! You can't--you can only ease the progression. Not all dogs end up with it at all, but at his age, you'd be wasting your money.

Some harmless "fatty" tumors can get to be remarkably large really fast! Don't freak out until/unless you have to!

You cannot cure kennel cough at home, if that's what they have, but you can get rid of it quite simply with proper medication.

Robin, I'm so sorry. My heart will just BREAK if I ever hear those words from my vet, "bone cancer." What a horrible disease. Sending you long distance hugs, Susan and George

Don't know, but I think he's probably got enough of the stuff down there to get through the weekend without worrying about. As you know, George was on Baytril for 14 weeks, and has zero issues at all with his tum--but then again, he does have a cast iron gut! Perhaps brother Vinny might too? Or what about yogurt? George sends chopper wags to his younger brother.

Ditto here: I take Tramadol 4x a day, and there is no "taper off" if you're just on it for a short period, nor does it affect my appetite (I wish!). My old dog was on it too (we shared, and he had no side effects at all). Since my dose is every six hours, I would think that after 24, it would have cleared the system entirely. I think something else is going on.

Why would bacon OR shrimp be a problem? The toothpick? I doubt it. Dogs have very strong stomach acids, don't they? If they can eat bones, I think one toothpick will probably pass through unnoticed! What's the alternative anyway? You can't make her throw it up without risking it causing a problem on the way out, and no vet is going to extract it any other way. Just keep your eyes on her--I'm sure she'll be fine.

I still cry when I see the picture I made of Otis thinking "dry thots." I miss you Otis, and we never even met! How weird is that? Hugs to you Linda, Susan

They sell really awesome dog beds on eBay through NGAP. Best, most comfy bed for the $$ IMHO. I have two, one for the dog, one for the cats! No worries about Scotchguard, and part of the profit goes to help hounds! Why even mess around with Scotchguard?

I'm with the lady above me; it would be very unusual for such a young dog to have arthritis absent a prior injury. I'm not suggesting there isn't joint damage, but I would be suspicious of an underlying cause. As to pain management, my last dog had very severe arthritis (two major surgeries on his leg) and he took Tramadol daily for about 2 years. It gave him 2 years he might not have had. I myself have athritis, and after many, many trips to doctors, they finally said, "Look. Your joints are never going to get better, we really can't do anything else, now we learn to deal with the pain." So when my vet suggested Tramadol, I said, "Can I share mine with him?" and she said sure. So Kramer and I took our Tramadol together and managed just fine. I never noticed any side effects (for either of us!). I would look seriously into tick borne diseases; in the meantime, it sounds like you have a good plan for management.

I think think the boyfriend should be cleaning up after the dog! Maybe he won't "forget" next time! I hope he feels OK. The pictures are awfully cute.

Chronic ear problems are OFTEN a sign of allergies from what I understand. My last dog had TERRIBLE allergies, and the poor guy scratched and scratched at his ears so much that he actually ruptured blood vessels in the flaps and got these horrible lumps and needed drains and it was just so sad! His were inhalant (seasonal) allergies, not food. Unfortunately if the infections are but a symptom of something ELSE...you know where I'm going...you have to fix the "something else" for them to go away.

Getting rid of the Giardia and feeding her SLIGHTLY more than normal would probably have gotten her to a healthy weight in a couple of weeks instead of basically tripling her food intake! I'm surprised, honestly, that you were told to do that. People tend to get nuts over the "racing weight" thing. Some dogs race heavy, some dogs race lean. Your dog should weigh what is a healthy weight for her--George actually weighs LESS than his racing weight (muscle is heavier than fat) and IMHO and my vet's, his weight is perfect. If I got stuck on the "XX pounds over racing weight" he'd be fat! I'm sure if you feed her a normal amount, she'll be just fine in a few weeks!!

If the tip is black, that means something interrupted the blood supply, doesn't it? Never heard of hypothyroidism causing this sort of issue--there are other very obvious symptoms, so absent any of those, highly doubtful that's the issue. Could be she broke one of the bones? Good luck. Don't fret too much if she has to lose the tip. My old dog had a "trim," and once it healed, you'd never have know any of it was missing!