Sudden deathQ: I had a 10 month old white boxer puppy. she was fine earlier in the afternoon. happy, healthy, playful. she was eating and drinking normally and exibited no signs of sickness. several hours later my husband found her dead. there were no signs of struggle, no blood, vomit, or foaming around the mouth. she seemed to have just fallen over dead while walking. we also have an adult dog in the same pen. she seems fine. no signs of illness. could it have been parvovirus or poison? A: Could have been viral or poisening or many possibilities. however in this breed i would place genetic heart defect at top of my list as cause of sudden death
EpilepsyQ: Our 5 yr. old, sunny, was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 1 yr. old. he took phenobarb for a couple of yrs. but the seizures were still coming frequently and some were quite severe. we were living in california at that time. we left there and moved to alabama almost 2 yrs. ago. just before the move, our vet there added potassium bromide to his treatment. he is doing much better now! it has been just over a year since his last seizure! our vet has said we can cut back on the medication some, and we have. i just wonder how much should we keep cutting back? is it possible he has outgrown the epilepsy? also, do you think the change in climate made a difference? he is a pure bred siberian husky- is epilepsy common in this breed? thank you for your help! he is such a loving dog and we want to keep him healthy and with us as long as possible! we also have his dad (10 yrs old) and he doesn't have epilepsy. neither does his mother, or any of the other pups. A: Epilepsy is very common in this breed and we often dont pinpoint why certain dogs develop this disorder. i would suspect that he will need to be on this medicine rest of his life which is fine as long as his blood levels and chemistries are checked periodically. if you want to try cutting down dose, needs to be done gradually under care of your vet in your area, but if things all well i would probably elect to keep things as they are
Ringworm treatment addition?Q: I know the common thought now is that the once hopeful treatment, program, does not cure ringworm. however, if you are not depending on program to do the job by itself, might it sometimes assist somewhat with a good ringworm topical treatment plan and house disinfecting? i heard that ringworm has a hard time reproducing without the chiton layer which program eliminates. also, could it help some pets ie., cats or dogs, young or old, more than others? (i have a four month old kitten.) A: It is controversial topic and i have heard opinions of many dermatologists on this one. probably cant hurt and might be useful in young kittens particularly those in cattery situation where ringworm is more prevalent. however by itself does not do job. but as you state can be part of more comprehensive ringworm control program which includes topical therapy, clipping, oral antifungals, etc
Shop for: ringworm RingwormQ: What oral med can i give my cats and dogs to get rid of their ring worm while the family is using the antifungal creams? (no time for 3x/week for 6 weeks of shampooing, as much as we love our pets!) A: You would need prescription for medicine like griseofulvin or another known as itraconazole
Ear infection and fur lossQ: My 13 year old dog always has ear infections, hair loss and flakes where there is the hair. the hair comes away easily. the ears produce a dark and smelly discharge that is slimey. he gets it in both ears, but the right one is the worst. i clean his ears and put antibiotic drops, but he keeps getting infections. the vet removed one of his testicles, because he had a tumor and that was causing the ear infections. the joint to his front paw is swollen, lost hair and is purplish with some discharge. the vet states that it could be flebitis and i was giving him antibiotics, it still is a little swollen with hair loss. he also had vestibular disease a couple months back. could the ear infections be caused by a skin allergy or are the ear infections causing him to be unstable (vestibular disease)(i know it has something to do with the brain) or is it a thyroid problem causing ear infections a the skin disorder? thank you. A: Ear problems are most commonly due to inhalent and/or food allergies but also possibly low thyroid which you should check. unless address underyling causes, then recurs. also in such a long standing case might want to culture ears to see what is growing in them and consider x rays of inner/middle ear which has tob e done under sedation as sometimes surgical drainage and flushing is needed. might need surgical specialist here
