Ask the vet sample question and answer (real question from K. Garrett)
My dog has developed an eye discharge mainly on 1 eye. She has always had bloodshot eyes and I'm wondering if it will clear on its own? It doesn't seem to bother her much but I am concerned.
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There are a couple of reasons why dogs get an eye discharge.
1. allergy - she can be allergic to something in the environment. Generally if this is the case, both eyes are affected and the discharge is watery and clear and it tends to be itchy. Allergies normally present with other signs as well eg itchy skin, sneezing etc.
2. conjunctivitis - caused by a virus or bacteria. It often starts off as a clear discharge which then gets pus-y. Eye ointment or drops are needed to clear it up (see your local vet).
3. trauma - dogs shove their faces into grass/plants often in search for new smells so they sometimes get a jab in the eye from grass seeds, twigs etc. This will also result in an eye discharge. Your local vet can rule out whether an ulcer has developed in the eye or not as a result of the offending jab in the eye. If there is an ulcer in the eye, the dog will normally have a squint in that eye.
I'd say wait a day or two to see if the situation improves. Definitely take the dog in to your local vet if it doesn't or starts getting worse.
sincerely,
Dr Lilian
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Dog with hypothyroidism and back problems
Our 9 year old beagle had been in good health, but had been getting fat and lazy in her older years. We took her to the vet for routine checkup and mentioned that she slept most of the day so the vet did some blood work and determined that her thyroid level was way low (0.1%). The vet started her on a medication of thyroxine, 0.4mg a day.
At first the dog was much more alert and seemed to have much more energy than she had before. She also lost a fair amount of weight very fast, from 37.5 pounds down to 31.5 pounds. Then, on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, she got really sick....
all of the sudden she could hardly stand. She couldn't hold her bladder, her stomach seemed bloated and she was panting hard. We took her to an emergency hospital and they basically said she had a stomach ache, that she was OK and sent us home.
She appeared to get better, and the next day we were out of town (the dog was with us) and she got a lot worse. We found a new emergency vet and he took xrays and said that she had back problems, basically a compressed disk. He gave us something for her pain, Rimadyl - 25mg.
We started off giving her one pill a day, and it seemed to help. But a few days later she was bad again. Our regular vet recommended increasing the dosage to twice a day, for both the Thyroxine and Rimadyl.
She has been on the twice a day rate for a little over a week now, and she has her good days and bad days. My concern is that overall she seems to be getting worse, and I don't understand how the symptoms match the diagnosis.
Even when she is feeling bad I can pet/scratch her back, including the area of this compressed disk and she doesn't indicate any signs of tenderness. Her stomach, however, gets very tender.
I have noticed that she will usually get worse right after she eats, like within 1/2 an hour of eating. Before she eats, she is bouncing around a little begging for food, 1/2 hour later she is walking like a drunken sailor.
She has been sensitive to being picked up for a number of years, which we have attributed to arthritus. She has always been the most sensitive to being picked up from under her rib cage. Conversely, she loves a good vigourous back scratch.
So, my questions is: should I accept what the vets have told me, or should I continue to investigate?
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