DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Q. Our dog, now almost 7, has been on daily Proin since she came to live with us as a puppy. She had been dribbling urine without actively trying to, and we were told she needed to be on the medicine for life since the sphincter in her bladder was weak/slack, perhaps as a result of being spayed, and the drug would keep it more taut. Originally, we tried slowly increasing doses in order to…

In one of our countrys most unfortunate contemporary ironies, while opioids are destroying peoples lives and the lives of their family members throughout all strata of society - rich, poor, urban, suburban, rural - they are in short supply in hospitals around the country. This is true both for hospitals that serve people and those that serve their pets. Reports are coming in that in some hospitals, elective surgeries for people - gall bladder removal, hernia repair - are being postponed, while some people in postoperative recovery are said to be receiving less potent pain medication than they need.

Q My 11-year-old golden retriever has lipomas all over, as many of that breed have, but one on the inner rear thigh has gotten quite large. My vet has told me to leave it alone because surgery to remove it would be problematic with potential infections and possible involvement of the muscle. The dog has had it for a year or more, and although it has not limited his mobility and doesnt seem to bother…

Chances are youre part of the other 94 percent, meaning the 94 percent who dont have health insurance for their dog even though its so highly recommended. So when the veterinary bills start piling up, your credit card balance can get ugly.

My dog has just been diagnosed with a mast cell tumor, which my vet said is cancerous. She also said the cancer is a grade 2, meaning not as good as a grade 1 but still better than a grade 3, which she says does not respond well to treatment. She says the treatment plan should include surgery to remove the mass plus radiation. My question is, should I be taking my dog to a specialist at this point, or can her regular vet handle the treatment?

When it comes to the sense of smell, dogs leave us in the dust. They have nearly 20 times more primary smell receptor cells in their noses than people do. They can detect scents at concentrations at least 100 times less than humans can. In some instances, they can detect scents at concentrations a million times less than we can. And if you ironed out the aroma-detecting membranes covering the scrolled-up, coral like bones in a dogs nose, their surface would be the size of a pocket handkerchief, while ours would be roughly the size of a thumbnail.

I asked a receptionist at my vets office if she knew about the 3-year schedule for vaccines and why they still give annual shots. She told me that there are two different strengths, and they prefer to give the less potent one annually. Have you heard of this - two different strengths for vaccines?

Fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin combos, and green-lipped mussels are not the only ingredients added to food and dietary supplements to improve your dogs joint pain. Some veterinarians also prescribe polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, a constituent of joint fluid. Like glucosamine/chondroitin combo tablets, it can take several weeks to a couple of months to take effect, so if youre inclined to try it for your dog, dont give up without really giving it a go.

A lot of dogs dont mind having their teeth brushed. They like the sensation, they like the flavors of doggie toothpaste (beef, poultry, seafood, and so on), and, most of all, they like the you aspect of it. The more time you spend focused on your pet, the happier they are.

When I see a patient and take a history from the owner, asking How often do you brush your dogs teeth? I get responses like Oh, you need to brush their teeth? Or My groomer does it when he goes in for grooming, says board-certified veterinary dentist Bonnie Shope, VMD, past chair of the American Veterinary Dental Colleges Examination Committee and Training Support Committee. Sometimes they expect kudos when they respond that they brush their pets teeth once a month."

We all know that diabetes, whether in a person or a dog, can be treated-but what about treated with one injection that lasts for years rather than twice-daily insulin shots? Some exciting research out of Spain suggests it may be true, at least for our canine friends. The promise appears to lie in gene therapy.

Say heart disease when referring to people, and youre usually talking about narrowed arteries that impede blood flow to the heart muscle, which increases the chances for a heart attack. Say heart disease when referring to dogs, and youre usually talking about a faulty valve between heart chambers that keeps blood from flowing forward, as its supposed to. Instead, the heart enlarges from pumping harder than it should have to, and fluid eventually backs up into the lungs. Thats congestive heart failure, and it means the dog keeps gasping for air until he finally reaches a point that he can no longer breathe.