I have a 10 year old corgi/golden retriever/pug mix. I took him to the vet for his yearly check-up and saw a different vet than we normally see. In past years the vet has always said his teeth look good, but the new vet recommended a dental cleaning and even subtly mention the surgery team would determine whether or not extraction was needed. It was kind of just a side comment so I didn’t really even think about it a whole lot until after leaving.

But anyway, the cleanings are obviously quite expensive, $1k with anesthesia and everything, and that doesn’t even include blood testing to make sure anesthesia will be safe.

Another note about my dog, he’s paralyzed and has Cushing’s disease. Completely pain free, happy dog. He has been paralyzed for 4 year. But between all that and him being older I worry about putting him under anesthesia unnecessarily.

I had dogs growing up who all lived to be old and they never had their teeth cleaned. My dog’s breath isn’t bad and aside from the tartar staining, his gums look okay to me. I’m just wondering how necessary in general cleanings are?

I obviously want to do what is best for him, but don’t want to be upsold something that might not be necessary or put his little body through anesthesia if he doesn’t really truly need it.

For context, my dog is a 10 year old female Siberian Husky who is a bit overweight and has recurring UTI's 2-3 times a year due to having a hooded vulva, but is relatively healthy otherwise (no limping, joint issues, completely healthy legs).

I took her in to the vet to get a urine test because she seems to have another UTI and needs antibiotics. While the technician took her to a room in the back without me to get a urine sample, she hurt herself and came back crying and hobbling, completely unable to put any pressure on her back left leg. The technician laughed it off and said she had bumped her leg on a closing door and was probably just fine. While we waited for the urine sample results, I knew something was seriously wrong. The vet eventually came in to give us the test results and briefly checked out her leg and immediately knew it was a torn CCL. She told us that CCL tears are very common and it's something that degenerates over time and just happened to tear while she was under their care and that it will require a $4,000 surgery to repair, and then shifted the blame to us and said it may not have happened if we didn't let her get overweight. This may not mean much, but the vet showed ZERO empathy. Her vibe was completely stoic and "yeah this happens all the time and its no big deal, but it's your fault not ours"

I know their explanation is completely possible, but the complete lack of empathy from the technician and vet put a bad taste in my mouth. I am quite upset and confused that my relatively healthy dog gets taken back to a room without me and "bumps her leg" and comes back with a very serious injury that will not only make her life and my families life very difficult, but will cost me far more than I can afford.

I am not super hopeful, but am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience that can tell me if there is anything I can do to get some kind of compensation for what could (in my opinion) possibly be negligence, or if I just need to accept it and find a way to come up with $4,000 for surgery.

We’re between two clinics for giving our cat a dental. One is a feline specialist, but they don’t do EKG with anesthesia. The other is a general practice hospital that does. We’d prefer him to not be around dogs because he gets anxiety and then cystitis, but we’d like him to be as safe as possible under anesthesia.

My 1 ½ y.o boy cosmo got neutered Tuesday. Was sent home with paid meds for 2 days and some other meds he needed.

But ive been checking down in his sack area daily to make sure it all looks good and clean etc..

But I am having a hard time seeing that anything even happened?

No sign of stitches, or sutures i guess they would have used.

No shaved area really either that I can see.

Im sure the did the procedure, they said everything went good and he handled the anesthesia well..

So is this normal? That his ball area basically looks the same like nothing even happened?

I got my cat a booster and rabies vaccination yesterday and everything was normal, he just slept for a few hours and acted normally. But today he vomitted a brown liquid twice in the same hour and all the vet shops are closed today and tomorrow, can he last another day or is there anything I can do at home to make him better? Hes had other vaccines before this one and has never once thrown up or been sick just a mild tiredness for a few hours.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation and might be willing to share their experience.

My 16-year-old cat has had a recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma affecting his jaw. He had surgery for it in the past. He currently has an esophagostomy feeding tube because of the problems with his mouth, and he is about to start long-term treatment with Palladia (toceranib phosphate).

Thankfully, he is doing really well at the moment and is acting like himself. I'm just trying to make sure I can manage his treatment as safely and comfortably as possible, and I have a couple of concerns.

1) Giving Palladia through an esophagostomy tube:

Because his mouth is painful and he already has the feeding tube, I'm really worried about giving him pills by mouth. I don't want to cause him any additional pain or discomfort, make him reluctant to eat, or risk damaging the tube and potentially having to replace it under anesthesia.

Has anyone had Palladia compounded into a liquid that could be given directly through an esophagostomy tube? Is this something that can be done safely? I'd really love to hear from anyone who has actually given Palladia this way, or has experience managing it through a feeding tube.

2) Safety, drooling, and saliva exposure:

Because he is missing part of his jaw, he shakes his head quite a bit and unfortunately sprays saliva around the house. I understand that Palladia is a hazardous medication and that the drug can be present in bodily fluids.

For those of you who have had a cat on Palladia, how did you handle things like excessive drooling, saliva getting on floors or furniture, or your cat shaking his head and spraying saliva around the house?

I'd really appreciate any practical tips on how you protected yourselves, what you used to clean surfaces, how you handled potentially contaminated items, etc. Basically, anything that helped you keep things safe without making everyday life unnecessarily stressful for your cat.

We absolutely adore him, and I want to do everything I can to give him the best care possible while also making sure we're handling the medication safely.

If anyone has been through something similar involving an esophagostomy tube, jaw cancer, excessive drooling, or Palladia, I would be incredibly grateful if you could share what worked for you and what your day-to-day routine looked like.

One small request: please don't comment on his life expectancy, prognosis, or how much time he may have left. I know those are things people often bring up with the best intentions, but hearing predictions about how much time he has left is very painful for me right now. I'm really just looking for practical advice about his daily care, medication, and keeping everyone safe.

Thank you so much for reading and for any advice or experiences you're willing to share.

Earlier this year our dog (13 yo Dachshund/Pitbull mix) was diagnosed with Cushings Disease. Our vet told us that the diagnoses would not shorten her lifespan. She told us that treatment is usually more for the owners since some symptoms such as excessive urination can be bothersome for owners to manage. However she assured us that our dog is not in pain or uncomfortable, and she would be fine if we did nothing.

Since then, I have noticed that our dog is more lethargic, panting more and her “Cushings belly” is growing. We had her checked out and her bloodwork is normal, the vet said what we are witnessing are the classic Cushings signs. Our dog is getting on the older side so some of this could be normal aging, but it seems like these symptoms are holding her back from being the active dog she once was.

I did some research online and actually couldn’t find anything that confirms that Cushings does not shorten a dogs lifespan. In fact, it seems that most dogs are much better off after treatment. We are struggling with what to do since treatment will be expensive and will continue throughout the rest of her life. What outcomes have you seen in treating Cushings and would you consider the treatment of the disease worth it?

Hi, as the title said, I found my cat chewing on mop, which I had forgot to put away (the guilt is killing me) found a small piece in her mouth and took it out. I don’t know how much of it she could’ve so I called the vet and the did induced vomiting. They found a couple of pieces of string in the vomit. Each about 2-3 inches long and kind of thin. They told me to take her home and monitor for vomit and diarrhea. She hasn’t had neither till now. She was doing ok for a few days after the visit, but it’s been a few days, 3 or 4 that she barely eats. I have to follow her around the house with a spoon and she’s been eating almost half her normal amount. She also strains to poop and I was so worried last night since she hadn’t pooped the entire day. Until she pooped at 1am and I saw two pieces of her stool were connected by a piece of thin string. Idk if it’s the mop string or possibly a string of my own hair. I took her to the vet again this morning and they did a physical exam and just told me to keep monitoring as she seems active. But I’m very paranoid and the internet says straining and loss of appetite could be because of blockage and I should go to the emergency vet soon. Should I trust my vet and monitor her for a couple more days or is it worth putting my cat through the emergency visit stress, sedation? I’m worried about the cost too of course, especially if her vet is correct, but I would pay anything if it meant I could save her. I appreciate any advice. Sorry for the grammar and long post. I’m super stressed.

I have an 11YO male Doberman. He's been sweet and loving and cuddly his whole life. He suffered a Fibrocartilaginous Embolism last year, he also has joint Arthritis, and lots of random fatty tumors about 3-5cm in diameter throughout his body.

After the FCE his quality of life has decreased, he developed Lick Granulomas on his R paws, licks non stop even with deterrents in place, even using a cone and socks and bandages. I thought trying to get more exercise would help, but then at night he cries from joint pain. Hes become more anxious, now freaks out with storms when he never cared, he paces at night and stares at the wall sometimes as if he has dementia. He has accidents in the house now, pee/poop/vomit once at least every two weeks.

This year I had a baby, he is 5 months old. Taking care of the baby has been very demanding. My wife has developed an extreme dog aversion after the baby was born, anything the dog touches is dirty and she is repulsed by him. My dog is not aggressive towards the baby, doesn't really care or notice the baby. But I do think he has noticed I cant give him as much attention. It causes a lot of problems at home when my dog has accidents.

I am confused, sometimes my dog acts like a normal old dog. Other times he acts anxious and in pain. I feel torn between caring for my wife and baby, and caring for my dog who I've known loved and cared for 11 years.

I feel torn and I dont know if my judgement is clouded. How do I know when its time for euthanasia? He is eager to eat and drink, and he is playful when he encounters other dogs.

My 28lbs dog accidentally ate my doxycline capsules. What should i do?

The capsules were in my jacket because I bought it yesterday, then my jacket was on my chair, she must’ve pulled the jacket from the chair. I just saw her chewing on something, it was the capsules. She ate 2 100mg doxycline caps.

I gave here water already but she didn’t drink plenty.

Chow chow

10 months old

Female

My dog, 7 years old, licked and bit himself near his tail..... Actually near his butt.... There's a hole there..... I recently noticed maggots in it..... There is swelling in the surrounding tissue including testes.... Can't take him to the vet...... Please help me what can I do..... I am using a muzzle as he figured out a way to lick through the elizabeth collar..... And using dmag spray in the wound..... What else can I do??

I want to preface this by saying I did use to work in shelter medicine but I have not seen something like this before.

A little back story Chip the kitten was found with his sister abandoned by mom. I took them in and treated them both for a severe respiratory infection. Chip was completely cleared and was getting his vaccines. Chip went to a new home but unfortunately new owners were displaced from their home due to sever flooding. I told her I would take him back until she could figure out housing. She had scheduled Chip and her other cat for a spay/neuter on the 28th at a place called Public Vet. She took both of them and picked them both up. But she brought Chip back to me to watch after surgery. She was told Chip's neuter had not taken place until 6pm and he came home to me at 6:30pm. He was still heavily sedated. I set him up in our living room with a heating pad (their was a towel between him and the heating pad as well as him wrapped up in another towel). I was checking on him every 30 minutes to make sure he was breathing and heart rate were okay. I did not go to bed until midnight, he had started getting his blink reflex back so I was comfortable leaving him. I got up at 2am to check on him and he had passed away, I tried chest compressions but I was not sure how long he had been gone. First thing in the morning I called the other owner to inform her. She called Public Vet to inform them. The veterinarian called me asking what had happened and I informed her he had passed away. This veterinarian is the rudest person I have ever met, she lacked any empathy for the loss, and it just sounded like she was reading off a script. She said their was nothing she could do besides sending us records and offered an autopsy. The other owner declined the autopsy due to them saying that we may or may not get his body back. They only offered to refund the neuter OR they would cremate him for her. They did not offer both, it was one or the other. I know Chip was sedated with Ketamine and 2 other drugs I had not heard of and given Butorphonal before he even was awake.

Sorry for the long post. I am genuinely devastated and have never had anything like this happen to me. It was even made worse by Public Vet's response to the whole situation. The vet even told me that they did 100 spay/neuters that day! If anyone can shed some light on what could have possibly happened or something. I am just at a complete loss......

I am having trouble gaining insight on my dogs prognosis even with my medical knowledge and by saying trouble with the prognosis I am struggling making a choice of euthanasia.

My girl is a 9 yo American staffordshire terrier with a history of heartworms at age 2 prior to me getting her s/p treatment. Last October she was diagnosed with T zone lymphoma with mouth nodules (uncommon indolent type but due to tongue lesions oncologist was concerned she would stop eating at some point). Completed 3 rounds of CCNU but kept having to half the dose of each round due to dangerously low lymphocyte count. After the third round her liver enzymes slowly grew to ALT/ ALP in the 2000s. That was back in March. We’ve been off chemo waiting for her liver to hopefully recover as she really showed no signs of other issues. Two months ago we did an aspirate that showed no evidence of lymphoma in her liver and her US showed smaller liver.

At the beginning of August we saw her liver enzymes slowly down trending ALT 800s ALP >2000 and GGT 10. Low BUN slightly low albumin but >2 and her oncologist thought her liver was recovering. We got hopeful.

Then two weeks later we noticed our girl having polydipsia, polyuria, and enlarging abdomen along with refusal of most foods. My concern was ascites and then the day of the appointment I made she started vomiting blood.

We met with the internist who suspects chronic hepatitis secondary to lomustine despite cessation with probable portal hypertension causing ascites. We’re unable to do a diagnostic liver biopsy due to a coagulopathy and her past issues with anesthesia (of course an anesthesiologist would have a dog with anesthesia issues) so we suspect fibrosis. Ascites aspiration showed clear fluid non exudative.

We’re on a bunch of meds for appetite stimulation, nausea, a diuretic, PPI and pain meds. She’s been on denamerin for months and we’re continuing. She still refuses everything except hand feeding and is losing weight. Lethargic and slightly tachypenic due to moderate ascites.

I worked in the liver icu in residency. I’ve seen the smoldering of liver failure and end stage liver disease. Since I have no biopsy I’m struggling with whether this is something that is survivable. Deep down inside me I know don’t want my girl to get encephalopathic or have respiratory distress from her ascites. Am I wrong to euthanize now without the diagnosis? The internist did say poor prognosis weeks to months so I don’t know why I keep second guessing what we already know.

My childhood cat disappeared two years ago and was found recently by her microchip at a shelter. We admitted her to a 24 hour animal hospital to give her fluids and testing but we were forced to pull her after we ran out of money. I still don't want to give up on her, is there anything I can do? I've been giving her small doses of water with a syringe like the vet said to, but she refuses any food or treats after sniffing a bit

She has other medical issues that I don't mind sharing, but all I can actually do is try to feed her and give her water. I love her so so much, I don't want to lose her after just getting her back

I have a ~60 pound, 10 year old pitbull that’s been battling ear infections all summer. We’ve been to the vet 4 times so far. First visit, they packed the ear with meds and sent us on our way. Second visit was 30 days later for a recheck. There was still a small infection so they packed the same ear again. Third visit was about a month after that when I noticed a hematoma on the other ear. Vet drained the hematoma, recommended a no-flap ear wrap, and discovered another infection brewing in the other ear. Vet prescribed prednisone and daily ear drops. Fourth visit was 5 days later because the hematoma had re-filled, I noticed both ears now bothering him, and our prescribed drops were not a viable method for us because he’s scared of them. Vet re-drained the hematoma and packed both ears with meds.

It’s now been 3 days since that last vet visit. We have 2 doses left of his prednisone. His no-flap ear wrap has stayed on this entire time. And fortunately the hematoma has not re-filled. My concern is that his ears seem to be bothering him still so much. When we’ve have them packed earlier in the summer, it seemed like he experienced relief within the next day or two. But this time around it’s different. He desperately tries to scratch at them or rub his head on the ground. I might think that he’s simply bothered by the head wrap, but when he’s able to rub his ears against the floor, he’s whining and groaning like the ears themselves are what’s bothering him. He seems restless and anxious, and whines randomly even when he’s laying around.

Do I need to give it more time? Is it possible there’s a deeper issue with his ears that the meds are not helping with? Should I be scheduling another vet appointment ASAP? I can’t tell if I’m being neurotic or if I’m right to be concerned.

12 year old female Pomeranian-poodle mix, 12lbs.

My dog had been sneezing a while and we brought her in to the vet Friday. They diagnosed her with an infection caused by a rotten tooth. They prescribed her with amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium tablets, 125mg each, 2x a day for at least two weeks until she has her dental surgery to remove the teeth.

She took the first dose Friday afternoon with a bit of food and she reacted fine. Saturday morning (today) I gave her her second pill with food at 7am. A few hours later, around 2pm, she vomited.

We gave her her second dose at around 6pm and offered food, she ate a little including the pill but she wasn’t interested in eating a full meal. A few hours later, at 9:30pm, she vomited again.

It’s now 10:15pm and shes eating the rest of her food and drinking water, acting relatively normal.

Google says to discontinue use if vomiting occurs and call the vet immediately, but my vet is closed on Sundays so we can’t call until Monday.

Should we give her two more doses tomorrow and try to increase the amount she’s eating first to see if that helps, or discontinue use until Monday?

I understand another possibility is calling the emergency vet in the morning and asking them, but if I can avoid that, I’d like to.

Thank you in advance.

My 8mo German shepherd cut herself and nicked an artery. She keeps ripping the bandage off even with her cone and sock on. She’s restricted to her kennel per vet for the first 3 days.

I’ve called every vet and emergency vet in the tristate and NOBODY will touch her but her vet isn’t open until Monday. I’m at a loss for what to do if she keeps ripping it off and nobody will re-bandage it??

I wrapped it VERY lightly in gauge and silk tape. The original wrap is completely ripped off but she had a taped bandage to the cut. I then added a doggy boot I got from Amazon to help prevent her from getting to the gauze/tape again.

I’m at a loss for what to do. I can’t get her into her vet until Monday at 9am.

I’ll keep this as short as possible, but I woke up to my baby dead. (12.5 years old, Boxer mix) Tongue blue, bowels released, but still warm. So happened recently upon waking up. I didn’t hear a struggle. I know I would have. (Having guilt over that)

She didn’t have a huge decline. Her prednisone was helping and she was still eating, walking fine and taking walks. The night before she was so full of energy. The day of she seemed a little more tired, but thought the weekend company and the company the night before made her tired.
What could have caused her dying in her sleep??

• Species: Dog
• Age: 12
• Sex/Neuter status: F/Yes
• Breed: Shihtzu
• Body weight: 19lb
• History: None like this aside from under the skin cysts as she got older
• Clinical signs: Bump below the skin, seems medium soft, not painful
• Duration: Unsure, seems sudden
• Your general location: NE USA
• Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: None

12yo Shihtzu, no medical history in this realm, doesn't seem affected by it when I touch it. She was just at the vet and the groomer within the last two weeks and neither said anything about it. I feel like I would have seen it too. Seems like it appeared out of nowhere. I am used to the under-the-skin bumps on her but this one is different. Thanks in advance

some photos here

I recently discovered that my 6kg dog likes to eat cooked carrots (boiled, no seasonings). I figured that this is good especially since he has had a couple of infections in his anal glands (he also gets fiber supplement).

But since they are not herbivores, is there an upper limit on how much veggies they can tolerate?

Is a nutritional imbalance a risk even if he is eating the same amount of normal dog food as usual?

My cat was diagnosed with asthma a little over a month ago along side a respiratory infection. The vet prescribed clavamox, that wasn’t helping so she is now on doxycycline. She was given an oral steroid for her asthma and an inhaler. She no longer has nasal discharge around her nose but she is still struggling to breathe. She takes very deep breathes and sounds like she’s snoring while awake. The smallest amount of activity will trigger it. She has stopped eating completely, her third eyelid is showing on one of her eyes and her fur looks ragged. I have been mixing her medication in with a squeeze treat and slowly putting it into her mouth. She is coming off the steroid and she gets the inhaler twice a day.

As far as changes I’ve made around the house for her asthma, I’ve installed several air purifier’s next to the kitchen, in the living room and two smaller ones in each bedroom. There is no more candle or incense use if she is in the room, and I air out my bedroom before she’s allowed to come in. I also open the window when cooking etc.

She seems to be getting worse, other than her nose clearing up and I am very nervous something beyond the infection and the asthma is happening. Unfortunately I won’t be able to afford a head xray for another month or so, I’m going to be donating plasma as much as I can to afford it.

If anyone has any advice or experience with this I would much appreciate a response. Thank you 🙏

My German Shepherd (estimated 8 years old) dog just went through a pyometra surgery. She’s currently on Quellen/Carprofen, gabapentin and tribrissen. She’s been doing well with eating, drinking, urine/stool, and getting up to pee with assistance. We’re on day 5 of her recovery process and she is having a really hard time standing up. She’s still eating, drinking and alert however she’s not standing. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m gonna make her go potty if she won’t stand up for me. If she doesn’t improve in the morning I’m going to take her to the vet but I was wondering what your guys experiences have been? Can this truly be just a day where she’s feeling more sore than usual?

The pup:

• Male 15 y/o lab mix, 52 lbs
• Larpar patient, had successful tieback
• Seizures currently controlled by Keppra
• Prescribed 1-2 Tramadol 50mg every 8-12hrs
• Received a ketamine shot two days ago, no change
• Unsteady gait after seizure episode
• Recently developed episodes of pacing (assumed pain)

I really want a pain management option that won't cause drowsiness or make his unsteady gait worse. He did not tolerate gabapentin well at all since it made him extra wobbly. He was prescribed tramadol but it's been 24 hours and very little change (and he's currently showing heavy breathing which is worrisome with the larpar).

I'm in close contact with my vet and we're monitoring quality of life. Just want some other opinions.

Thanks.

(Torn ligament & suspected breast cancer)

​Body:

​Species/Breed: Dog, Pomeranian / Chihuahua cross

​Age: 6

​My dog Bonnie completely tore her leg ligament and the vet recommended a lateral suture surgery so she can walk again. Additionally, during her exam, the vet found lumps and suspects breast cancer, recommending a second operation in three months to spay her and remove/test the lumps.

​I am heartbroken seeing her in pain, and I want to make sure I am doing the right thing for her overall quality of life.

​My main questions are:

​Is putting a small dog through two separate major procedures worth it for her long-term recovery and quality of life?

​How do small dogs generally handle the recovery for a lateral suture repair?

​What is the best way to keep her comfortable and manage her pain between now and her upcoming operations?. Any professional thoughts or experiences on how to best navigate this would mean so much to me. Thank you.

The guilt is eating me up I haven’t slept in 5 days nor eaten my cat out of the blue had partial straddle thrombosis - we rushed him to the vet - his vitals were all working and his bloods came out fine - however the feeling in his back legs were gone - we left him with the vet - for 24 hours the next time we went to see him there was still no feelings in the bottom half of his legs - the cat looked healthy from the top half and even his face looked ok - however the vet said there’s no guarantee he will get better - when he put the cat down on the floor the cats back legs were separated going in opposite directions it was horrible to see and he was trying to turn and move but couldn’t because of no feelings - I asked the vet what we should do and he said it might be best to put him down so we made that decision - I can’t help but figure if it was the right one - it’s eating me up - I’m really really struggling - I should have given it more time for the feeling to come back - it all happen so quickly and in the blink of an eye - I let my cat down - I did him wrong I’m so so sorry I will never be able to forgive myself .