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Cushings disease/shaking
Q: My vet just told us that our eight year chow could have a form of cushings disease. she was tested for everything, xrays, blood, etc and she has tremors, not all the time, usually in the mornings. we thought she was just cold as we had her shaved. the doc. told us she needed to lose weight. he did a test on friday and now he says she has a form of cushings and that the medicine will be $17.00 dollars a day. first of all, we can't afford that and secondly how serious is this for my dog. can she die from this disease? what is the cause? it just started about 2 weeks ago. thanks for your information.
A: First i would make sure your dog truly has cushings disease which is an overactive adrenal gland. many times under stress or because of other stress induced disorders, dogs can have false positive test results for this disease. i always like to combine blood tests with ultrasound of adrenal glands looking at their size in making diagnosis as well. most dogs with cushings have big increased thirst/urination and /or appetite as well as sometimes pot bellied appearance. if your dog has none of these i would question diagnosis. if truly cushings then should have treatment due to secondary infections, hypertension and diabetes which can occur if untreated
Cough
Q: My dog has been cough for a couple weeks know and mucas in it and know she got the runsand look like blood in it.
A: Need to go to vet asap to rule out infection from allergic/inflammatory from more serious internal problem, parasite, etc
Expired filaribits
Q: A behavior client of mine on a very limited income gave her dog filaribits (diethylcarbamazine citrate) last year at half the recommended dosage. she asked me if the remaining bottle (she'd started out w/two) with an exp. date of 02/04 would still be okay to give this year - the bottle is sealed and she told me she'd kept it away from heat and light. i told her i'd ask around for her. i feel it likely that she'll give it no matter what i say, but i'm concerned esp. that it might actually "go bad" and become hazardous, rather than merely losing potency. the dog is 13 years old. thank you.
A: I cannot recommend using any prescription medication past the manufacturer's expiration date. that is the date after which the medicine begins to lose potency. the concern is if the medicine loses potency and the dog develops heartworm then this particular medication can be deadly if given to a dog with heartworm disease.
Deramaxx
Q: My dog is taking deramaxx, does this medicine have any effect on her appetite? she seems very hungry lately.
A: Not really. if anything could cause a lower appetite
Shop for: deramaxx
Rabies
Q: What are signs of a dog effected with rabies?
A: Can have wide range from changes in behavior to suddenly aggressive or actually more affectionate to drooling, convulsions, heightened neurologic sensitivity, etc. most of time transmitted by bite of infected animal such as skunk or raccoon or bat being most common
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