Gas & moreQ: My dog, a 3 yr. old jack russel terrier, has a more than usual problem with gas, my god is it a problem. he eats grass a lot to make himself throw up, recently. today my wife said he had blood in his stool as well. what could cause these symtoms and what can we do to treat it? his gas was bad enough, smelled something terrible!! now, with the blood in his stool, we are more concerned.we've changed his food severial times in the last month, it dosen't seem to help.this has been going on now for a few months now, please help. thank you, sincerely, tatum A: Needsd complete workup at vet including stool check for intestinal parasites includign whipworms, hookworms and giardia which i like to check at outside lab. if all negative sometimes we will still worm with broad acting wormer like panacure just to make sure. might want to try low allery prescription diet like purina ha as well as adding prozyme from 1800petmeds o help with digestion. consider slippery elm from health food store for symptomatic relief of upset stomachs
Shop for: prozyme, 1800petmeds, panacur
Do i still need heartworm with biospot?Q: I changed from using a flea and tick collar and interceptor to using biospot. it says it takes care of mosquitoes, so should i still use the interceptor? thanks. A: One of the enemy might sneak through and bite your dogs. be safe, use the interceptor or another heartworm preventative.
Shop for: interceptor, tick, biospot
How much worm medicationQ: I have a dog that is over 50 lbs and i bought the erliworm tabs, it says 1 tablet for every 4 lbs. so that means i need to give my dog 12 tablets? mary A: That is correct. however, you can mix the chewable tablets in with your pets food for ease of administration.
Shop for: erliworm
Unusual furQ: My dog has recently grown a odd white fur on his left side and it has a black ring around it. i was wondering what it was because my friend said it might be scabies. A: I doubt it is scabies which causes intense itching in dogs. likely some sort of innocent hair follicle change, but you should take to vet to examine
Hot spotsQ: My boy, noah, is eight years old. it seems that, every two to three years, only during the summer, he gets "hot spots". we have taken him to our vet. the vet, who has been his doc. since day one, gives him an injection of "o/c first?", some cephalexin 500 caps, and sends us home. now, this dog already has a thyroid issue. has been diagnosed for about a year with an underactive thyroid. he takes thyrozine, .8 mgs, twice a day. we are going on three weeks now, with this bout of "hot spots", an no results. he still bothers himself. it is starting to bother me. is there anything other than cortizone, to help relieve and heal my boy? we're very close, yet i find myself scolding him for irritating himself, so he gets more sensitive to my voice tones, well, he hides from me sometimes. i know it's just to chew on himself. this is going nowhere. please help comfort us! thank you for your time deb felts A: Try topical sprays to area such as gentacin topical sprays to hot spots. can also use antihistamines at same time as low dose cortisone including benadryl at dose of 1/2 to 1 mg per pound orally twice daily. also consider fatty acid supplement long term for allergies such as brite coat xs from 1800petmeds. if persists, then consider blood or skin allergy test to find out what allergic to so vaccine can be made for best long term relief
Shop for: antihistamine, 1800petmeds
Oral rabies vaccineQ: Is there a oral version of the rabies vaccine that can be given to my dog(rottweiler) although he is a great dog and has been trained he has a great fear of needles and becomes very aggressive when i need to muzzle him for this.. its to the point now that i need to have him sedated completely to accomplish this(which makes me feel terrible for days that i have to do this) although this only happpens once a year it would be nice if this type of vaccine is available for dogs as it is for wild/zoo animals. thanks jim A: There is no oral form of the vaccine. you might also ask your veterinarian about the new once every 3 year rabies vaccine that certainly be helpful in your situation.
Heartworm prescriptionsQ: My vet refuses to give me a prescription for heartworm medicine, unless i put my dog through blood tests for heart worms. she has been on heart worm medicine all of her life, and is very healthy. my personal feeling is that he wants me to only buy the heart worm medicine from him, so he makes it difficult for me. A: If your veterinarian has never asked you to give your dog a heartworm test ih the past and has sold you the product, your feelings are probably very genuine.
