Beta fish stopped eating
I have 3 bettas, each kept in separate filtered tanks: a 2 1/2 year old, a 3 1/2 year old–and my youngest, who is has not yet reached a year–and who is also the sick one. Seeing him would do absolutely no good, as he looks perfectly fine–if not just a LITTLE paler than normal–he also appears to act the same–that is, no constant lingering at bottom, frenetic behavior, or the like. He simply will not eat (I use betta bites)–it’s going on 7 days since he stopped eating. I’ve used a PINCH of aquarium salt (one time–recommended by many internet sites) in water and add betta fix (daily–tomorrow will be the 7th day for betta fix). Any suggestions?
Note : Beta fish question from Ask A Vet. Click here for answer (answer available FREE for 24 hours after posting afterwhich you will need to pay $3.95 to view the answer). See other pet health questions.
Dog drinking own urine
This is a foster dog (1-2 yo mix breed female neutered) that has just come into my care. She is drinking her urine like it’s water. She was released by an elderly woman, don’t know if she was severely punished for housetraining or maybe didn’t receive water? Have had her medically checked, no infections and giving her vitamins to help if it is associated with poor nutrition. Any ideas on helping her stop this? Anything we could feed her to make her urine taste bad? Thanks for your help.
Note : Dog health question from Ask A Vet. See other pet health questions. Read answer here - answer only available FREE for 24 hours after posting after which it will cost $3.95 for the answer.
Dog with urinary incontinence and behavioral changes
My dog, Jenni (8yo Poodle/Lhasa Apso mix female neutered), has been suffering from general weakness/pain in her back legs for about three weeks now. History: 2 years ago, Jenni was put on a hormone for urinary incontinence. We took her off the hormone after about six months because the hormone affected her behavior (she became whiny, clingy and nervous), and the leakage did not return. Several months ago, however, we took Jenni to the vet for a urinary tract infection - she was leaking bloody urine. She was placed on an antibiotic, but the leaking continued, so she was put back on the hormone. After two days on the hormone, her back legs became painful and stiff, and the vet said her reflexes were poor. The vet took Jenni off the hormone, but there was no change in her legs. The vet then did an x-ray to check for spinal/neurological injuries and found none. Lyme disease test came back negative. No sign of bladder stones or cancer. Blood work normal. The vet put Jenni on dexamethasone 0.25 mg, and the leg pain/stiffness has somewhat decreased over the past two weeks, but Jenni is still uncomfortable - she is also behaving oddly, hiding in dark rooms and cowering after she goes to the bathroom outside (someone has to go out and carry her inside). The vet isn’t sure what to do next, and we live in a rather rural area with no veterinary specialists nearby. Any ideas?
Note : Dog health question from Ask A Vet. See other pet health questions. Read answer here - answer only available FREE for 24 hours after posting after which it will cost $3.95 for the answer.
Dog with extreme itchiness on face
My dog has been really rubbing his nose hard against the floor to the point where his whiskers are all broken. He also has had EXTREMELY goopy eyes and they will haze over. I thought it might be allergies, but we are now in Winter here(northern Vermont) and it is still bothering him. I make sure to keep his ears clean, etc. So I’m not sure what to do, benadryl helps a little, but not much and I hate to keep him on it if it doesn’t clear up. This has never occurred before. Please help.
Note : Dog health question from Ask A Vet. See other pet health questions. Read answer here - answer only available FREE for 24 hours after posting after which it will cost $3.95 for the answer.
Dog flu warning
It’s here. And the signs are ominous. Just as the world braces for a flu pandemic and the bird flu rages in Asia, signs of a new strain of influenza hitting the dog world has emerged. First reported in greyhounds as a mystery illness, the virus has now been confirmed to be a distant relative of the H3N8 influenza strain that afflicts horses. The disease started off as isolated outbreaks in greyhounds and seemed to be restricted to contact with other dogs on the tracks resulting in track closures across the states where it’s hit. Whilst this ‘mystery illness’ seemingly emerged from nowhere, researchers who’ve tested 70 shelter dogs and dogs in Vet clinics in Florida have noted that almost 97% of them already had antibodies to the virus. So whilst it may only be headlines now, the results show that it’s already widespread in the canine community and not an ‘emerging’ illness as we think it is. What’s known is that for such a large number to show up with antibodies would indicate that most dogs catch it with few or little side effects. There are other dogs who seem to come down with it and develop pneumonia (about 5% die from it). It was hard to pin it down initially because the symptoms were similar to that of kennel cough and veterinarians weren’t sure if it was a new variant of kennel cough or a new respiratory virus that we were dealing with.
The good news is that as yet it seems that the strain stays put in the dog species and hasn’t yet been transmitted to humans. This flu virus appears to be genetically different from the human flu virus and is also different again from the bird flu virus which is sweeping the world at the moment.
The bad news is that it’s spreading fast - usually through situations where dogs are in close contact with each other in groups eg doggy daycare, kennels, dog shows. And with the number of people planning to go away on holidays in Thanksgiving and Christmas looming, there will be a big upsurge in cases due to people leaving their pets in kennel type situations.
Symptoms to look out for :
- coughing
- low grade fever
- being ‘off color’ ie not playing or eating as they usually will
- runny nose
It can progress to difficulty breathing, severe coughing, marked depression. If your dog is showing any of the above signs, please visit your vet.