Vet Q&A-Dog

9 week old puppies been deworm ed twice now with diarrhea and some bloody mucus in feces going on for 4 days eating drinking normally no other changes

Bloody diarrhea of 4 days duration requires a trip to a veterinarian. The dewormer may not have targeted the correct parasites or something else, like an infection, is causing the diarrhea. Don't forget to take a stool sample with you to your appointment to make sure that the dewormer has done its job.

Why all of sudden would a dog sleep in corners?

Many dogs sleep in corners when they are anxious about something in their environment, such as during a thunderstorm or if there are fireworks going on outside. It makes them feel more secure. If this is more of a general behavior change with your dog, it may be related to age - some older dogs will have changes in their sleeping habits and sometimes in their overall sleep-wake cycle, similar to what sometimes happens in people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

My dog is seven years old is pregnant. Is she good to have puppies ?

In the pet's information, you have it listed that Cookie is spayed. If Cookie is spayed, she is unable to become pregnant. However, if that is incorrect, I am not sure if Cookie has had a litter of puppies before. A dog that has never been bred before who is an older dog such as yours might have problems whelping due to the pelvic bones losing their elasticity making for a very hard labor. Your dog may need a c-section to deliver. I would be prepared for this in advance. In addition, I would consider having her spayed at the time of c section (if she has a c section) because pregnancy is hard on older dogs, and I would not recommend her having another litter after this one. There is a higher chance than normal for a difficult delivery due to her age, and there some signs to look out for, such as a foul smelling discharge during labor, strong steady contractions for over an hour without any puppies being produced, the mother is very tired and/or vomiting during labor. I would suggest speaking to your vet about additional signs to look out for labor, and having your vet examine Cookie to make sure she is healthy during this pregnancy.

My dog's eyes have been watery and red. She's been acting very down, and not herself. She's also been drinking lots of water.

Red and watery eyes may indicate an issue such as an allergy to something, or even illness such as respiratory issues. You may see additional signs such as fever, lethargy, loss of appetite or even nasal discharge. An increase in drinking water may be related, or may just be an attempt to stay hydrated if your dog is dehydrated from not feeling well (you can check this by gently pinching the loose skin on the back of your dog's neck- if it is quick to go back to normal, your dog is hydrated, if it is slow or sticky in returning back to normal, it is an indication of dehydration). If her symptoms do not resolve within the next day or so, or if she shows additional signs of illness or worsening of already seen symptoms, then scheduling a veterinary checkup is best.

I have small children and two small dogs with fleas. What should I use that's safe around kids?

Most veterinary approved flea products such as Frontline and Advantage are safe to use around children. If you do use a topical product, be sure to just wash your hands and your children's hands if they pet your dogs around the area that is affected to keep from ingesting any product. If you are concerned about the use of a topical coming into contact with your children, oral products are available direct through a veterinarian. Products such as Capstar are a pill given in oral form that can help kill fleas within 24 hours. For your household, keeping the house clean and vacuumed, washing any affected bedding and keeping your pets on a preventive medication will help to keep the flea population away. DIatomaceous Earth (food grade) can also be used to naturally kill fleas through dehydration, and is not harmful to humans or pets. It can be sprinkled around the environment to kill fleas and flea eggs in it. A simple shampoo of Dawn dish soap and a flea comb can also be used to kill fleas on the body and make them easier to remove without the use of harmful chemicals.

My dog ate stuffing from her pillow and wont stop barfing. Please help :(

Stuffing can act as a gastrointestinal foreign body that results in obstruction of the bowels. If vomiting is persistent, this is a strong indication that there may be either a partial or complete obstruction preventing food and water from moving forward in the GI tract. An abdominal x-ray would be the next best step to determine if your pet has a radiographic abdominal pattern consistent with obstruction. This should be done asap (as in today), because dehydration and irritation/trauma to the GI tract will continue worsening the longer it is present. If there is an obstruction, abdominal surgery may be necessary to remove it. And that's the case, we want your pet to be as stable as possible for the surgery. The longer the delay, the more weak and dehydrated your pet will be, and thus potentially less stable for surgery. In the meantime, I would offer only a small volume of water at a time, to see if your pet can keep it down without vomiting. I wish you both the best of luck!

My male Pit Bull is loosing hair in random spots all over his body. I don't know what to do please help

My concern with K.D. would be a couple of things. Young pit bulls are prone to developing mange, and it often causes random spots of hair loss just like you're seeing. If he's not itchy, it's likely the demodectic variety of mange, which sometimes will resolve on its own if there's just a spot or two. However, if you're seeing multiple locations of hair loss, it's likely he'll need treatment. Sometimes these guys have secondary bacterial skin infections as well which need antibiotics. Unfortunately these things need to be prescribed by a vet, who can also scrape the skin and verify that this is in fact mange. If it's not mange it could be fleas, or possibly a nutritional deficiency, but I'd consider both of those less likely. Get him checked out so that you can get him on the proper treatment.

My puppy has parvo and she had diarreha and it was orange but now its green is that a good sign that shes gettin better and it dosent stink that much?

If your puppy has parvo, it is best to work with your treating veterinarian for care and help. Parvo is a very serious illness that can be potentially fatal and usually requires hospitalization or intensive care for treatment. Diarrhea in parvo can usually be blood-tinged indicating irritation of the digestive tract, or may be greenish in color indicating an increase in mucous in the stool (also a sign of irritation as well as shedding of material in the digestive tract). If your puppy's stool is changing color, it may be in response to the change in his illness or just a sign that his digestive system is still very irritated. It is best to speak with your veterinarian that has seen and is treating him for any further care instructions related to his illness.

My dog has stepped into a small amount of turpentine and is showing discomfort to his paws and is somewhat agitated....what to do?

The toxic effect of turpentine is very similar to petroleum hydrocarbon toxicosis. That is a severe and disease-like reaction that occurs when a dog is exposed to refined petroleum oil products, or ingests products of this type. I would recommend to take your dog to your veterinarian especially if you suspect he may have licked or ingest as well the turpentine. He will be bathed at the hospital, and possibly given topical antibiotics (and antinflammatories or pain killers) to prevent infection of the skin due to irritation. Your veterinarian will assess as well any other lesion that may be present in the oral cavity and tongue.