Dog and kennel cough
My dog (2yo male Boxer neutered) was boarded in a kennel for 2 days and has now developed a cough - sort of like a hacking dry cough like he has something stuck in his throat. He had the kennel cough vaccine - I thought he’d be protected from it? Is this life threatening and should I take him into a vet? He seems to be otherwise in good health ie eating, sleeping, running around.
Note : Dog health 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 questions.
Dog preventic collars and toxicity
My black lab mix Abby (57 lbs., nine years old, female neutered) just got her first tick of the season. We live in rural coastal northern California. Our local ticks are the usual pests, never the disease-inducing kind. I have always put a (Preventic, I think) collar on her (bought from our vet) and it has worked wonderfully. This year we have a six-month-old baby, my granddaughter Hannah, crawling around the house and heavy into her oral phase. She and Abby are getting acquainted (a bit of tentative mutual physical contact). My daughter is terribly worried that the tick collar will poison the baby. I have noticed that for a week or so after putting it around Abby’s neck, the collar smells toxic and emits a slight powder. After that the smell declines radically and the powder disappears but it continues to work extremely well for three months or so. Is it safe around the baby at this stage (after a week)? Manually removing ticks is completely out of the question — Abby reacts violently when this is attempted, going nuts, biting hard and drawing blood. We can, of course, separate the dog and the baby, but it will be difficult and very hard emotionally on Abby, but the baby’s health comes first, of course. What do you recommend? Thank you
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Cleaning dog teeth without anesthesia
I’ve had my vet of 15 years clean my dog’s (15yo male neutered Terrier mix) teeth every two yeasrs or so. Now that he’s 15 plus I’ve grown concerned over affects of general anesthesia.
I’ve talked with someone who does cleaning without anesthesia, and has a large practice for some years.
My vet says that doing it this way, all of the debris and blood is swallowed. Not good.
I am trying to get a trusted third opinion.
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Dog with bags under eyes
Felix (7yo male neutered ChiHuaHua mix) has semi-soft bags under both of his eyes. He’s had them on an off for a little while but they have been consistent for the past couple of months. It does not appear to come from his teeth/gums and putting pressure on them does not irritate him much - its only slightly uncomfortable - he does not show any other signs of discomfort or unhappiness. Can you tell me what this may be? Thanks for your help!
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Dog stumbling on front legs
Help. I have an appointment with a specialist hospital next week and I’m hoping you may be able to give me an insight as to what could be happening with my dog (9yo German Shepherd male neutered). Just so that I have an idea of what I need to look out for and discuss with them.
Spender had disc surgery for a ruptured disc (T13) that was compressing the spinal cord 6 months ago. He was knuckling his hind leg paws and hips almost sat on his hocks. All was well and he made a full recovery. Hind leg neurological function returned although there is a spongy effect in the hind legs when he walks. A couple of months after surgery, he had a very sensitive back which is now normal.
4 months after surgery, he started dropping on the front end, right front leg, as though his right paw had fallen into a hole. This happened occasionally but he corrected himself very quickly and didn’t appear to be in pain.
Anyhow, while this was happening occasionally, he developed a front left leg limp which appeared to come on during exercise ( Exercise consists of a 45 min walk with the occasional trot twice a day, we keep him quiet). We rested him for 4/5 hours although he up and about in the house. After 5 hours the limp had gone and by the time I got him to the vet, he was walking normally.
This has happened 4 times; a front left leg limp comes on normally during or after exercise and disappears within about 12 hours. On one occasion, I saw him doing it when he turned; he yelped and held left front leg up. So we rested him and when he got up to walk, the limp was in the RIGHT leg. ????? I took a video of this to show my vet because I thought I was seeing things. Again it resolved with 24 hours rest.
When this was going on, these little stumbles (right leg) still appeared now and then. So far it has always happened on grass and on carpet but not so far on hard ground such as concrete or tar.
Last weekend, the stumbles are becoming more frequent. But they appear to be now in LEFT front leg. On a side view when I watched him, I saw like a jolt in the pastern joint on the left leg. But on closer inspection he appeared to be putting the paw down correctly. At the moment he is stumbling more frequently and we are going to see a specialist. It looks as though the front leg is collapsing slightly when he puts weight on it. It’s hard to explain, but no dragging of paws and there doesn’t appear to be any knuckling that I can see. I’m beginning to question my own sight. Apart from that, he’s fine. Appetite normal, urine and stool output normal. Temperature normal and blood count normal.
I’ve spoken to my vet regarding his disc injury 6 months ago and if this may be a secondary affect. He says no, as T13 affects back end movement. So we could be looking at something new here. It’s really strange. Have you ever come across anything that vaguely resembles something like this? Is it possible that the limps and the stumbles are related? Would the disc injury (T13) have any relation at all? My vet is completely baffled.
I’d be really grateful for your thoughts
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