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My 17 y old female Australian silky,( who is a rescue from a puppy mill that abused her by breeding her over and over again for several years) has had a serosanguinous-looking lump the size of a plum hanging from her abdominal area for approximately 6 years. Within the past week the lump grew in size a bit and started to leak dark brown fluid. The lump also feels hot to the touch. My dog has also grown more lethargic and unsteady on her feet over the past two days. I made a vet appointment but I have to wait 5 days as he has no other openings. Question 1) is it safe for my dog to wait that long? 2) if so, what should I be doing to help her until we get to see the vet?
Dr. Magnifico – My captain (5 month old GSD) started vomiting this afternoon. Threw up all the food he had in his stomach at the time and has since thrown up 8 other times. Mostly foamy mucus and liquid. Had diarrhea once so far that was very gassy and liquidy. He can’t hold any water down. He is now just laying down. I can hear his stomach gurgle every once in a while. I’m held up in the kitchen with him. This started around 6pm, it’s now almost 11pm. I don’t know if I should wait through the night or go to ER now. Help please.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about Captain. In puppies we worry about parvovirus, intestinal parasites, foreign bodies and eating something that doesn’t agree with them. With your pup I am not as concerned about the first two.
I am at the clinic first thing. We will fit you in.
Dr Magnifico
Thank you for following up. He is back to his normal self this morning. He has eaten fine as well. I guess something did not agree with him.
Hi, this inquiry is for Dr. Graf or Dr. Magnifico, both have seen my Blink for this mystery issue. Blink has had random nose bleeds on and off for about 6 months now and not really sure the cause. They are extremely intermittent and bleed from different parts of his nose (it’s never a lot of blood but enough to notice) He has no other symptoms and is behaving like his normal self although he does have sneezing fits sporadically. Him and his brother both have always had runny eyes etc. On 4/3, Dr. Graf recommended we start a steroid which we totally agreed to but truthfully we did not pick up because we were worried about the side effects and since the nose bleeds are so intermittent we thought we would watch and see. Today 4/21 was the first time we saw a nose bleed happen again (the last time was 3/27). I have included a picture. We just want to make sure we are doing the correct thing, is it still recommended for him to take the steroid?
One thing I realized that I didn’t mention before is that our neighbor is a heavy smoker (cigarettes) and not sure if this is contributing… we like to keep the windows open when it’s nice out so sometimes you can definitely smell it. Just wanted to add that detail as well.
Thanks!
Hello,
There are numerous things that can cause a nose bleed. Some of them may respond to a steroid. But until you have a good idea of what’s causing it (blood work and X-rays along with a good dental exam), it is just a guess that a steroid might help.
I can call you tomorrow to discuss possible options for this.
Dr Magnifico
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it and will wait your call
We had a cat in our shelter with similar symtoms. Turned out, she had a blade of grass stuck up her nose that wasn’t visible. It took a while but after one of her sneezing fits a bit of it poked out in the front and could be removed. Seems it caused a lot of iritation in her nose, but she had no problems after it was removed.
Dr.Magnifico/Pawbly forum
My sister has a 3.5 year old husky mix that has has started experiencing skin issues over the last few months. She’s tried cytopoint injections and more frequent bathing but is now looking into starting him on probiotics because she read it could be a gut issue. Recently, his ear became inflamed and there was some yeast but Zymox has seemed to really improve it, which is what lead her to think this could be a gut thing. He otherwise is a very happy and comfortable and playful dog but does have several instances a day where he is itching behind his ears or licking his paws.
Are there any recommendations of food or probiotics that you recommend?
He is currently on the Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach food. He has regular stools twice/day, no changes in appetite and no other symptoms other than this itchiness. He is up to date on vet visits and vaccines.
Picture uploaded of his cuteness!!
Hello,
This is a common reason why I see dogs. The difficulty is that every dog is different and there isn’t a blanket recommendation for these cases.
The best place to start is with your vet. And a good foundation for preventatives. From there we talk about diet, complicating conditions and a good baseline diagnostics plan. If these don’t yield anything we try medications to see if we get a positive response to treatment.
In all it can be a slow and gradual process of ruling in or out options.
I wish I could help more. But it has to be personalized.
Best of luck.
Krista
I have a question on a 9 year old boxer, back in January he was treated for respiratory cough, he was treated once, didn’t go away. Had to take him back to vet, and treated again was better but it continue for a few more weeks and finally went away. Now our boxer really isn’t eating properly will not eat dry food at all ,only if we give him people food. We rescue dogs and have 2 other dogs so we only have so much of budget.
Any suggestions of what it could be or what minimal testing we can do?
I start a work up for a cough with trying to decide if this is a respiratory issue (ie the lungs/trachea part of the body reposition breathing) or a cardiac problem (heart). An examination is key to this. After that I talk about an Xray or blood work. I wish I could help more than this but I think it’s time for a second opinion and diagnostics.
My dog has a patch on the tip of her ear that looks like a build up of something. It is dry and hard. I started picking at it and the hair started coming part. What is this and how do I help?
She also has other spots on her body that are just dry and thinning hair. Is there anything I can do to help with hair loss/thinning? Anything topical? We were told she may have an allergy to chicken so she is on a sensitive diet.
I suspect that this is related to allergies and therefore the answer lies in helping the body from the inside out versus trying to get topical products work for the outside in.
Please talk to your vet about the many options we have for treating atopy in dogs.
You may also need an oral antibiotic or medication for over abundant yeast.
Hello ! My 6yo husky have like a filter in her eye. She had this about 1-2 times / years, only for few days and it pass. But now, it’s been more than a week, don’t seem to disappear and worse than the other time. What could it be ? Did she need à vet appointment now or I wait a little more ?
Thank you ! – sorry I speak french, I hope my text is clear !
Hi there! While I am not a veterinarian, I believe that is your dog’s third eyelid. If it isn’t retracting, that could mean there is something wrong, and I would absolutely get your dog to the vet TODAY. I don’t let eye problems sit for too long without vet care – it could be something very simple, like allergies, or something significant that could lead to blindness if not treated immediately. Only your vet can tell you what’s going on, here.
Thanks a lot for your answer ! It retract yesterday, but I take an appointment. It happen few time a years so maybe the vet can tell me why / if I can do something about it. Thank you 
I’m have a 7month old female tortie who broke her left humerus last night. The ER vet at falls road animal hospital who was the only ER able to take her, and delayed a surgery to do so, said it was a spiral fracture and they were worried it could puncture through the skin. I was quoted $1400 for everything needed before surgery. They say they can do surgery Thursday which they estimated to be 4-5k but has always been higher in my experience with them so I am anticipating 6k. I do not have those funds. I made a gofundme, waggle, and posted to fb groups. I’ve reached out to other vets like JVC, timonium, padonia, spaynow for second opinions. Hoping to hear back. Especially from Dr Magnifico at JVC as she has come the mostly highly recommended on every post I’ve made.
Any help would be beneficial.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. I understand how expensive and difficult it is to manage an injury like this. This is a difficult bone and fracture to treat. In all cases of broken bones it is ideal to see an orthopedic surgeon and be at a facility that specializes in this. There are board certified veterinary surgeons in our area. You can google them for a facility near you. If you are staying at this hospital please inquire who is doing the surgery and what their credentials are.
This fracture is beyond the scope of what our hospital can do. For cases like this we would offer a referral to a specialist or cage rest and pain management. This is a young cat and it will likely heal with strict cage rest. In my opinion this should always be offered before discussion of an amputation. Your cat must stay in a small cage with a low bed, low sided litter box and rest for 4-8 weeks. Even if you have the leg surgically repaired these cats need strict cage rest for 4-8 weeks. Re-Xray every 2 weeks.
In 20 years of practicing veterinary medicine almost all of these cases were managed with crate test alone due to clients not being able to afford the $6-10,000 estimate for surgery. They have ALL done well with cage rest. I also recommend that she is spayed after healing. Best of luck.
Hey so a couple of months ago,my dog had a sort of a film that was covering his eye and it has been growing and it seemed like a bother ( I could see his perception greatly reduced. I asked the former owner about it but he told me that it might be age. I overlooked it until it started to become to disturbing, he’s been getting a lot of eye discharge. No matter how much I remove,it simply comes back the following day. I live in a very rural area and there’s no vetinary close and to top it off I’m ina non-english speaking country and I don’t know any other language besides that.so I decided to ask for help, and that’s how I’m here, I also took note that this film is somewhat forming in his other eye,very easy to overlook but I can’t afford to, if anyone can offer some sort of help or advice I would really appreciate it.
Hello,
I’m sorry but I cannot offer much help here. Even with good photos eye conditions are very difficult to diagnose without seeing them in person.
When all else fails I offer an ophthalmic antibiotic to see if this helps. Too often we struggle with the ability to diagnose (because we aren’t specialists) so we see if response to treatment offers any help. In some cases I might also do an oral antibiotic. This is especially the case for very young or old patients.
I cant get a picture because the website wont work on my phone for some reason but my cat lost one of his whole back claws, there is dried blood along the top of it should i be worried? He is sleeping rn and a little bit ago he was walking around like he wasn’t in pain, is this normal for cats? He got back from the vet about a month ago for an abcess on his neck from one of my other cats being a little too rough and bitting him, could this be the same issue of the cats playing too rough and his claw got ripped out?
hello,
In most cases this isn’t a problem that I worry about. But, infection can happen, and litter boxes are inherently dirty.
So, the best option is to seek veterinary care for an examination and perhaps antibiotic soak, or oral antibiotic option.
We will see about getting the photo option fixed.
Happy Holiday
krista
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Hello,
It sounds like this should be seen as soon as able. If it is open and leaking you can try a soft belly bandage to keep it from being traumatized and protected from licking and infection. You will likely have to have it surgically removed to resolve this. If cost is an issue ask if the local shelter or rescues might be able to assist.
Thank you so much for your comments and advice; much appreciated! We have a ‘male dog-type ‘ sling velcro’ed around her with a maxi pad inside. This morning we went to change it while we had her standing on a large pee pad and the entire sac had burst open. It now resembles a popped balloon. We tried to clean her up a bit and put a new sling with a fresh maxi pad around her abdomen. We are trying not to make the sling too tight but snug enough to support the leaking sac. She feels very warm in her underbelly near and around the sac. We are very worried about infxn. Thank you for the idea of asking a shelter for help. Funds are an issue for us now as we are both on fixed incomes. (We have always paid our vet bills; however, and we are not understanding why our vet can’t get us an appointment sooner
). Thank you everyone, Marilyn