Emily, DVM

Biography

I attended the University of Tennesee College of Veterinary Medicine from 2006-2010. I then practiced with the U.S. Army for five years treating the military working dogs as well as the pets of active and retired service members. After my Army duties I practiced emergency medicine for small animals in Hawaii. I currently reside in the southeast United States with my family and continue to stay involved in small animal emergency medicine.

Questions Answered by Emily, DVM

Hi there I noticed my 7 year old spayed pit bull /mastiff/ retreiver cross is having abnormal discharge she hasn’t before. It is a dark brown in colour. Her appetite or energy hasn’t changed, she is still drinking water as she regularly does and I haven’t noticed any excessive licking or changes in her urination however it looks like she may have small red patches or bumps by her vulva. She is up to date on her shots and there is no blood in her urine.

This could indicate an infection caused by a bacteria or fungus. Sometimes cleaning the area with a medicated shampoo helps but other times an antibiotic from your veterinarian is needed. If this isn't getting better after a few days of keeping it clean your dog should get examined by her veterinarian.

Within the last 36 hours, I've noticed that some large raised bumps showing up on my dog. They are on her paws, ear and face. They start out kind of black and crusty and then turn red and smooth. They don't seem to bother her when I touch them and I haven't noticed her licking or biting at them. Does this seem like an urgent matter that will require a vet visit? Or is there something that I can do at home?

I would be concerned that these bumps could indicate an infection like ringworm but a bacterial infection, mange, an allergic reaction and even certain types of skin cancer can looks like this. Because some of those causes can be infectious to humans I recommend your veterinarian examine Sandie and potentially do further testing such as a culture or biopsy to see for sure what is going on with her skin.

My dog, Joy is experiencing seasonal skin allergy. She been scratching and itching just on the one side of her chest, just above her right arm. What possible home remedies can be used in this case?

You can try an over the counter oatmeal based shampoo for several days to see if that helps. If the itching continues or Joy has any bumps, redness or an odor develops she needs to see her veterinarian as that could mean she has an infection.

I have a Labrador retriever and I found this on his body I don't know what it is

This skin mass could be a harmless/benign tumor like a wart or a cyst but skin tumors like melanomas can also develop. The only way to tell for sure what it is to take a sample of cells through an aspirate or biopsy and look at it under a microscope. However if it isn't changing size, shape, color, etc it is less likely to be a harmful mass.

My diabetic cat has been vomiting consistently for a couple of days now, yet, he was eating,drinking and acting normal until today. I just recently had him seen for this and he responded well to his antibiotics, but now I fear I'm back at square one. I was told he may have to be hospitalized upon a second time, which concerns me greatly. Also to add, there has been alot more stress/tension in the household lately, could this simply be the culprit instead? Advice would be appreciated!

Usually stress in the environment doesn't cause vomiting in cats. I would be more concerned Simba could have another infection (Diabetes does predispose him to getting those) such as a urinary tract infection but cats can get gallbladder issues, pancreatitis or even liver infections. If this vomiting continues, Simba acts abnormal at all I recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss rechecking him and maybe having blood work rechecked on him.