Pit Bull Puppy Not Moving Right
APBT Puppy with tetanus forehead wrinkles
American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) Puppy Suddenly Not Acting Right
When I say suddenly, I mean suddenly. This puppy saw Doc Truli the day before for a health certificate. He looked perfect. His two chunky, silver-grey sisters looked perfect, too. Now, he sat on the examination table and wobbled. He sat where we placed him and tried to stand up but instead, he kept rocking forward and back onto his haunches. When he tried harder, he fell over and had to throw out a paw to catch himself. If we stood him up, he could not take a step. He just stood there, frozen.
“I swear nothing happened to him,” said his human,”he just woke up this morning all messed up.” Read more…
Neck Pain Sends a Tai Pei Dog to Surgery
Tai Pei
Ten Year-Old Tai Pei Cannot Move His Neck
“Doc, Alex was perfect until yesterday after he came in from the yard. He barely wants to walk. He won’t eat or drink. He’s shaking, even for no reason at all. My daughter went to pet him and he screamed in pain, like she hurt him. But she didn’t do anything, I swear!” said the 10-year-old Tai Pei’s mom.
Alex looked miserable. He did not look up. He did not wag his tail. He walked very tenderly, like his front paws hurt. His eyes were half closed most of the time, then they would pop open suddenly when someone moved near him. Then he would go back to the resting, quiet stance.
The physical exam revealed extreme pain on the left side of Alex’s neck. In fact, he could not turn his neck to the left at all and would let out an excruciating yelp. Read more…
10-Year-Old Miniature Dachshund with a Swollen Face
Manny’s Face is Suddenly Swollen
This swelling showed up overnight!
“Doc, I swear he looked fine yesterday!” said the 10-year-old Miniature Dachshund’s dad.
The right side of Manny’s face above the upper jaw and next to the bridge of his nose looked swollen like a golf ball. It felt firm but not hard. A little spot of blood and yellow-green liquid eked out of a hole under the fur by the bridge of his nose.
“Manny ate breakfast and everything else seems fine,” said Manny’s dad.
At this point, Doc Truli knows that pessimistic people ask if it’s cancer and optimistic people ask if it is an insect bite. Almost nobody thinks of the obvious, most likely diagnosis. Read more…
Dachshund with a Swollen Face
What’s Wrong With My Dog’s Face?
Allergic reaction!
“Doc, Gertrude’s face looks wrong. She was just sitting on her dog bed in the living room and now this,” said the darlin’ dapple dachshund’s worried dad.
Gertrude is a ball of energy. So, immediately something sounds “off.” Why would this little spitfire sit quietly on her bed in the middle of the afternoon?
“Where was she a half hour before this happened?” asked Doc Truli.
“She was out back in the yard, chasing a squirrel,” said Gertrude’s dad.
“Looks like she was either bitten by a bee or insect or had an allergic reaction,” said Doc Truli, flicking a syringe full of clear liquid allergy relief medication. Gertrude needed two shots of medicine to get her face to stop swelling up.
“If you look closely, her left side looks bigger than the right side. I’ll bet an insect bit her,” said Doc Truli.
What to Expect as an Allergic Swelling Goes Away
Tooth Root Abscess
First, we stop the allergic reaction with medication. The swelling is caused by edema (pronounced eh-dee-ma). If you understand that edema is fluid build-up within the tissues of the body, not between the layers like an abscess pocket, then you understand how the body has to absorb the fluid back into the bloodstream over time.
(With a pocket of fluid, like pus, we can surgically drain the fluid and relieve the uncomfortable pressure.)
The swollen allergic muzzle will begin to go back to normal, but not before gravity starts pulling some of the edema fluid through the tissue layers and under the chin.
“It is perfectly normal for a soft swelling to form under the chin after a swollen allergic face on a dog. It is not a new symptom, it’s just the effect of gravity on the extra fluid,” says Doc Truli.
Follow-up Care for a Swollen Face Allergic Reaction
If your dog starts having breathing problems, that means the edema swelling could be around the throat, or in the lungs. Get to a veterinarian right away; breathing problems can be life-threatening.
Your dog might be very tired from the allergic reaction, the healing process, and the medications. Let him or her rest in a dark, quiet room.
Ask your veterinarian how long the medications will last. Many meds we use for allergic reactions wear off before the reaction is done. Your vet will let you know if your pet needs to stay under observation in the hospital, go home, or needs repeated doses of oral medication at home until the reaction is safely passed.
Gretchen must have been bitten in the yard. She felt “funny,” so she can into the house and rested on her bed. Her dad could not see anything wrong until her face looked swollen. Then he knew he had to do something for her and came to see Doc Truli.
Thirty minutes after the medication injections, Gretchen’s face swelling was smaller. Her dad repeated her medications at home in 6 hours and she recovered fully. We still do not know who (or what) bit her, but life is like that!
Step-by-Step Dog Food Allergy Elimination Diet
Allergy Elimination Diet Instructions
Fat Allergic Shih Tzu
It’s a diet to figure out food allergies by process of elimination. This process takes a total of 17 weeks, at a minimum. This means you and your family will commit to the plan for at least 4 months. That’s 4 months of feeding a “safe” diet like an expensive hydrolyzed protein diet or a novel protein diet. (You can consult your veterinarian regarding local options for your country.)
Allergy Elimination Diet Goal
The goal of your allergy elimination diet is to only feed special diet and special treats in order to help the body clear out it’s reactivity. Allergies are unforgiving. Therefore, you must even replace flavored heartworm preventatives with alternatives per your veterinarians instructions. Read more…
What’s This Hole in My Dog’s Elbow?
“Bear Has a Lump on His Elbow”
Senior Chow Chow
A stately, stiff-legged, arthritic 14-year-old golden-colored Chow Chow stared at Doc Truli and wagged the tip of his medium-length, slightly curled tail. Bear had his doubts about a visit to the vet’s.
“Bear, honey, go say hi to the Doctor,” said Bear’s well-meaning mom. Bear stood in the open exam room doorway, his shoulders in the room, his hind end strategically positioned in the hallway leading back to the truck. Bear was hoping he was getting a dog cookie and that would be the end of it.
“You want a cookie, Bear?” said Doc Truli.
“Lies, all lies,” thought Bear the Chow Chow, “Do they think I’m stupid?”
Doc Truli held out a cookie.
“Oh, a cookie,” Bear walked over, took the cookie with his front incisors only, careful not to touch the veterinarian with his delicate lips. bear threw the cookie down on the tile floor in front of himself and looked up at the Doc to see what her next move would be.
“He’s shy,” said Bear’s mom.
No, he’s smart, thought Doc Truli. Smart dogs are much harder to examine than silly, happy dogs.
“Okay Bear, we’re going to have you stand still while I examine you and especially take a look at that elbow,” said Doc Truli, hoping to recruit Bear through voluntary cooperation. A trapped, cornered Chow Chow is impossible to open negotiations with, Bear and the Doc needed to be on good terms from the start. Hence, the cookie bribe.
Bears mom started with her story. “Bear has a lump on his elbow for a long time. It didn’t seem to hurt him, so I didn’t bring him in for a physical. Then one day, it just looked like that.” Read more…
Relief for Dog Hip Dysplasia
14-Year-Old German Shepherd has Trouble Getting Up
“Bilbo has been slowing down for a few years, but now it seems to really bother him,” said the sweet, gentle shepherd-mix’s mom.
Sweet, patient Bilbo's hips hurt
Hind Leg Muscle Atrophy is a Classic Sign of Disuse
Doc Truli examined the 14-year-old hips. Bilbo’s leg muscles looked sunken and small. The muscles over the femurs felt mushy and weak. By contrast, Bilbo’s shoulders were developed and thickened from years of carrying his weight on the front.
“Dogs naturally carry more than 50% of their body weight over their shoulders,” said Doc Truli, but when dysplasia and arthritis attack the hips, the shoulders take most of the weight and the hind leg muscles atrophy from lack of use.”
Because Bilbo’s hind legs were very skinny, we could tell he had been compensating for hip pain and/or dysfunction for a long time.
5-Year-Old Ginger Cat Grows Alarming Black Spots
“What Are Those Black Spots on My
Cat’s Gums?”
Heavenly Ginger Cat
used to have these black spots in his mouth, did he?” asked Harry’s
concerned mom. “I know what you are thinking. You’re
wondering if your cat has melanoma,” said Doc Truli. Harry’s
worried mom bit her lip and nodded her head. Her red hair
bounced up and down from the force of her nodding. Her
freckled nose flushed redder than normal. Harry’s mom was
incredibly worried.
Cat’s Chest Tap Proves Invaluable
Castiel After Treatment
Castiel’s Thoracocentesis Proves Therapeutic and Diagnostic
Cas, the one-year-old domestic short-haired black cat could not breathe. In order to diagnose the fluid seen on his chest x-rays he needed an urgent thoracocentesis. Read more…
"Petcare decisions are practical, ethical, moral, and spiritual decisions" -Doc Truli
VirtuaVet 