Vet Q&A-SmallAnimal

Hi, my dog is apparently a jack russell, by he has a curly tail unlike other jack russell and rather longer legs, so I am just curious if he is mixed with another breed or not ?

It's true that most jack russells have a straight tail but i have seen many pure breed jack russells with curly tails as well, i cannot tell you if he is pure breed or not, but him having a curly tail is not an indication to determine if he is indeed pure breed.

My miniature schnauzer puppy is shedding pretty bad, and I’ve always had this breed growing up and they never shed at all. I don’t know if this like ‘shedding a winter coat’ or something else?

Since we are moving into spring now and your dog is also about the age when puppies can begin to lose their baby fur. So this may be a combination of both...shedding the winter coat as well as shedding the baby coat...so shedding lots of hair. As long as she does not lose so much fur as to where she gets bald spots, I would not worry about it. You may want to brush or comb her frequently to relieve her of itching loose hair and avoid her shedding too much in the house.

Hi, my name is Kowshik I have a pet breed shitzu one year old every day we feed curd rice and one egg but, since few days it could't eat anything even Egg Also please give me some suggestions which nutrition food we should feed to my dog. We tried pedigree also suggest some foods in vegetarian ..

Hi Kowshik! Bittu is so cute! If he isn't eating, I would actually be concerned that he is sick. I would recommend taking him into the vet for a health check. As for what to feed him, I personally do not recommend feeding dogs vegetarian diets. Dogs by nature are not vegetarians, they eat meat, and it's good for them. Being a vegetarian is a human construct, and I personally don't think it's fair to place that on a dog when by nature they eat meat. Brands of food I would recommend for him include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I hope this helps!

My female lab is 11 months old and accidently latched with a friend's dog on her first heat. Will she survive the pregnancy she has her exams in and is healthy. We were supposed to breed her when she was older but she accidently got latched early, Do you think she is fine?

If she is a healthy dog, she should be fine. You can have her examined by your veterinarian. A vaginal swab can be examined in the clinic for the presence of sperm. There is a canine equivalent of the "morning after" pill for accidental matings. Your vet can dispense a 5 day course of a hormone pill to prevent pregnancy.

Can cow jock in puppies be cured? And is this genetic? And can you breed a dog with cow hock

Hello, thank you for using Boop by Petco. Being "cow-hocked" is a conformational anomaly. It is hereditary and it is not recommended to breed affected dogs. This condition is often associated with abnormalities elsewhere in the hindlimbs....hip dysplasia most often. You should have her examined by a vet and get some x-rays taken to evaluate the hips. The way Jade is standing in the photo makes me worried that she may have hip dysplasia. Hope this answers your question. Best wishes.

Hi, is it possible to get a purebred german shepherd puppy if the mother is 3/4 german shepherd and the father is purebred german shepherd.

No. You can only get a purebred German Shepherd if both the mother and father are 100% German Shepherd. This puppy is 7/8 German Shepherd and 1/8 mixed breed. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

can a seresto collar and nexguard be used together. my dog is a mixed breed 20lbs

Yes a Seresto collar and Nexgard can be used together, however both Nexgard and Seresto are highly effective against fleas and ticks and therefore it is not necessary to double up. You can just as effectively use either on its own.

A friend is wanting to breed puppies. What worming and vaccinations would be required for the bitch and puppies from the time of breeding until the time the pups are sold out (12 weeks)? What would you recommend

Great questions! The bitch will need the routine vaccines which include the DHPPi combination (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza) as well as rabies. She should be dewormed now and again in two weeks to kill any worms that may be present in her GI tract. After that, she should be dewormed every three months. I would recommend a health check with the vet for her as well before breeding. She will also need flea treatment and heartworm treatment. The puppies can start being dewormed as young as two weeks, and should be dewormed every two weeks thereafter until three months of age. They should then be dewormed every month until six months of age, and after three months after that for the rest of their lives. As for vaccines, they can get their first DHPPi combination shot at 6-8 weeks of age, and then will need two series of boosters four weeks apart (10-12 weeks of age and 14-16 weeks of age). It's very important to make sure the bitch is up to date on her flea treatment because newborn puppies cannot have any flea treatments until they are at least 6-7 weeks of age. The mother should be flea free. I hope this helps!

My dog as had a rash for about 3 weeks and not to sure what could cause it.We were feeding him BLUE Life Protection Formula® Large Breed Adult Dog Food - Chicken & Brown Rice I am attaching a picture so you can see what I am talking about.

It looks like he could have a skin infection and/or an allergic dermatitis. You could bathe him with antibacterial dog shampoo and see if that helps. Otherwise, have him examined by a vet for treatment. He might need an antibiotic, anti-histamine, corticosteroid, and/or other medications to treat.