Ear problems/droolingQ: My 1yr. 8 mo. old yorkie has been scratching her ears and shaking her head for the past few weeks. it happens mostly at night and it doesn't happen at all when we're outside. these past couple of nights i've been playing with her until she falls asleep so that she doesn't scratch ( i don't want her to pop any blood vessels) i tried changing her dog food and i tried the hartz ear mite treatment. neither seems to work. last night i noticed that she's drooling a lot. the vet. can be very expensive, they even charge when they cannot find a problem. do you have any home remedy solutions that i can try before i go to the vet. i will definitely go to the vet. but only as a last alternative. thanks A: She likely has underling allergies. you can try oral benadryl at dose of 1/2 mg per pound orally twice daily. likely needing to split a childrens dose depending upon weight. also might want to try 1800petmedsear cleaning solution. also excellent home remedy you can make from ingredients at store called blue ear ointment www.itsfortheanimals.com will give you more info. if persists, see vet for allergy workup
Shop for: 1800petmeds, ear clean
Our dog and accidents in houseQ: I wrote to you about 1 week ago about our dog. he is 6 years old and has off an on done messes on the living room rug. i thought that it was a manipultive jesture on the dogs part for he does not like it when we leave him to go to work or school. he does not do it all the time but, usually after we are home for vacations or summer time when he is with us more and then we go back to the routine that he is alone for 6 hours or so. we left for a weekend and my oldest son was home for the most part and and when he came in to feed him in the am after being gone for 6 hours in the night time theirss was a big mess on the rug. so, i thought i would change his food and then that would help his digestive system, ( we got him lamb and rice iam's) now he won't eat. so i've mixed the old chicken and cornmeal etc. with the l&r. he still won't eat. i don't know what is up. any help is greatly appreciated. A: If dog not eating, needs vet visit and exam and workup to find why. too many possibilities here that can cause loss of appetite
Expired filaribitsQ: 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.
Dog shakes ears repeatedlyQ: Our 80lb+ lab has runny eyes and sneezes often. the biggest problem is she shakes her ears -doesn't really scratch them much but they definately bother her. attitude is typical lab..always smiling and ready to play. i'll try benedryl 1mg 2 or 3 tpd like other answers offer, but what about those ears? does it help that too? A: If ear issue has underyling allergic component then benadryl can help in some cases. a 75 pound lab would get roughly 50 mg benadryl twice daily. but should really have ears examined with otoscope by vet to make sure no infections which are often secondary to underyling allergies.
