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Dear Holistic Action Clients,
I have been ordering Verm-X for the past 20 years to support gastrointestinal health and prevent intestinal parasites. It has been highly effective, including the prevention of transmission of internal parasites from mothers to their pups.
After many years of...
Remember Lil, these cognitive changes are gradual. All animals don't get all of the changes, and they slowly worsen over time. Supporting brain function early slows down disease progression.
There are good dietary supplements shown to support brain function in animals. I would not use...
Dear Lil,
Night time restlessness, behavioural changes, house training problems, and aimless vocalization are commonly seen as aspects of cognitive dysfunction of seniors. We should ensure that senior blood work is normal, ruling out any problem with the internal organs causing these signs...
Judy, here is a discussion of how to test for conscious proprioception:
Many elderly animals will have deficits in conscious proprioception due to aging. Other problems can cause this as well, but this is one of the most common.
Some male dogs, especially youngsters, will do silly things to their delicate penile tissue. This can happen when they mount and hump objects, or when they are cleaning smegma off their prepuce. Usually, as long as everything is normal, as Dr. Jeff has already confirmed with you, there is no...
Dear Lyndsey,
Umbilical hernias are quite common in puppies. They are not a problem as long as they are small in proportion to the pup, and contain only fat. Hernias require surgical correction if they are large, or if they contain abdominal organs, like intestine or liver. If your pup is a...
Dear Christine,
This does look like an old clot or debris. Each girl's physical configuration is a bit different in her vaginal / vulvar area. Usually all debris is flushed out within days of the end of the cycle. However, if a girl has a small vulva, or a tipped vagina, debris can get stuck...
Dear Christine,
Dogs bolt their food, so adding water to the food is not making a significant difference in the amount of cleaning / plaque abrasion provided by the food. Recreational chewing on bones, large, non-consumable chews (and it sounds like they would need to be quite large chews), or...
Dear Lil,
It is always hard to decide on the best choice for our Super Seniors, especially when they are feeling well and do not appear to be overly troubled by their lab work. I imagine his lack of control over his urine bothers him somewhat, though it seems like you are managing that quite...
The cytology shows the type of changes that are usually seen in cancerous cells - differences in size, and some cells with two nuclei. This makes the pathologist suspect a sarcoma, and the conventional treatment is removal. Since these types of tumors are highly variable in their behaviour...
Dear Lil,
As always, the best treatment is building up JJ's own natural resistance to cancer.
Do you have a copy of the biopsy that you could post?
Do you have blood (CBC, Chemistry) and urinalysis results?
Has JJ had a rectal recently to evaluate his prostate?
We need to know the actual...
Thank you for the clarification, Lyndsey! I consider transient lymphadenopathy to be a positive signs that the immune system has noticed an invader, and is dealing with it. My pups would frequently get a few groin pimples after being outside and running through the underbrush, or when I...
I'm not familiar with the acronym LAO.
Pimples in the groin (or other hairless, soft skinned areas) and circular lesions such as you describe are common manifestations of Staph hypersensitivity. The best treatment is gentle cleaning of the area. Plain mild soap and water, with a thorough rinse...
Dear Stacie,
I absolutely agree with Dr. Jeff that the basis of health is stimulating the body’s own healing energy.
Perhaps I can explain some of the changes you are noting. Banjo has calicivirus, and his body is not responding appropriately to it by eliminating it. Instead, the body is...
Please wait until Esmeralda has had no signs of Lyme for several weeks and appears to be in robust health before breeding her. She will probably stay positive for Lyme, and as long as she is symptom free, that is no cause for concern. All four of my litters were from Lyme positive bitches, and...
Dear Karla,
Breathe, and snuggle your Cricket!
There are two liver enzymes reported here, ALT and alk phos (ALP). I prefer the more comprehensive profile with ALT and AST (the two liver cellular enzymes) and GGT and ALP (the two liver bile stasis enzymes). It is better to have all four...
Dear Christine,
Dr. Dodds is definitely the go-to for assessing thyroid hormone test results. These results are over two years old, so it would make good sense to repeat them. Low thyroid function can contribute to many problems.
There are some arthritic areas in the digits. Arthritic...
Rocky has the typical high hematocrit and increased red blood cells seen in greyhounds - that is not an issue.
His creatinine and BUN have been increased or at the top of the range since June 2020, so that is not a change for him. That makes it less likely that it is significant now.
I don't...