My Shih Tzu has a dry flaky spot on his back. He acts fine otherwise. What could it be?

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• My shih tzu is 14 yr old. He has a large growth on him back and lungs (I think) that has never bother him, so it was never removed. But now (for the past month or so) he has a constant cough while active. It slows down when laying down and stop while sleeping. Is there anything I should do or give him to relieve this cough?

  Hello there,I am sorry to hear this about Tigger. In a fourteen year old dog with a new cough, my concern would ultimately be a terminal diagnosis. I would be most concerned for congestive heart...

  2 people found this answer helpful

• My dog keeps getting Paraphimosis whenever he humps a stuffed animal or anything - it seems like the hair around his penis gets stuck inside and has to be pulled out to bring the skin back out. Should he see a vet for this? Or should I just try to keep his hair cut short around that area? Not sure if this is a bigger issue

  Hello there,I am sorry to hear this about your Iggy. I think it's definitely a reasonable explanation that the excess fur could be causing this in a doodle. I would start by keeping the fur trimmed...

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• My 9 year old staffy is huffing coughing then gagging with some throw up. He did have congestion yesterday and I treated it with a steamy bathroom and humidifier. He’s not eating but is drinking. You can clearly see he doesn’t feel good is there anything I can do at home for him to relive his symptoms? Could it be kennel cough? What can I treat it with. Also, I’ve been a paramedic for 20+ years and grew up on a ranch my entire life.

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Leonard. Poor guy, he does sound like he's not feeling well, and it's concerning he's not eating. It could be kennel cough but...

  1 people found this answer helpful

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  Hello!I am sorry to hear this about Lucy. Tummy issues can be uncomfortable. I love what you are doing with the probiotics and gabapentin already. Your vet has probably already recommended a fecal...

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• Hello hope you're doing well, My adult male cat Oscar has a rash on his chin, which doesn't look like normal cat acne. He has a bald spot there as you can see in this photo. What should I do to help, and what condition do you think this is? I can't access a vet easily.

  Ouch, that looks like quite the hot spot. Unfortunately, it'd be hard to tell what the cause is, such as bacterial, allergic reactions, fungal infections, etc without a skin scraping from your...

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• My 7 year old Dogo has a growth on her front foot, been growing there a little over a year, Can you tell me what it is and what I should do. I dont particularly have money for the vet is why Ive not taken her there. What can I do ? Thank you very very much. Mark

  Hi Mark! Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Trouble and for providing a picture, it's very helpful. From the picture, it appears to be a benign growth but I can't say for...

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• The latest bloodworks from my senior 16 year old dog. He has been quite skinny now and not eating as much. But still has energy to walk around but probably fatigues easier than before. He has arthritis. Can any vet give their opinion on the bloodwork results? Is he near the end of his life? Since the ALT is over 1000

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• Hello I have a pet hamster his name is Freddy I had to clean his enclosure last night and while he was out of his tank i was giving him treats to make him less stressed and I didnt realize that the baby food that had fruits and veggies also had some lemon juice in it which can be harmful to them I am worried and would like to know if he will be okay or not I saw him this morning and he seemed fine but I couldnt exactly tell since he looks the same usually.

  Hello there,I think Freddy will likely be just fine. While citrus shouldn't be a major staple of their daily diet, a little bit in a treat should be okay. It's probably a preserving ingredient and...

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• Does this look cancerous? It's on the back of my dogs leg and she's been licking at it.

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Rosie and for providing a picture, it's very helpful. From the picture, it has the appearance of a benign growth, so I would suspect it is...

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• My 12-year-old female Cocker has always been calm but now is deaf and recently had a bad UTI. She’s on antibiotics and thyroid medication and has dry eye, for which I put an ointment in her eyes. She used to sleep next to me but now prefers the floor, and it feels like she wants to be alone. Her water intake and appetite are good, but she just watches my husband give dental bones to the other dogs instead of participating. She does go up and down the stairs much slower.

  Hello,I am sorry to hear this about Daisy. I know that must be hard on both of you. As they age and develop chronic pain, it's important to keep a close eye on their quality of life. It sounds like...

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• Hi Would you recommend vaccinating a cat (7 yo, indoor, no other pets) who has a fatty liver? His ALT has been between 140–180 units for the past 1.5 y, and CHOL ~ 7–8, despite being on a diet and having lost weight (he now weighs about 4.9 kg). He was vaccinated before, but after the liver issue was discovered, we stopped vaccinating him. If the fatty liver persists, would it still be advisable to resume vaccination, or would you recommend avoiding it to prevent additional strain on the liver?

  Hello there,This is a good question. The absolute safest and most proactive measure would be to take bloodwork vaccine titers to see if Dushe has any preventive antibodies from previous vaccinations....

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• Higgins started making the awful crunch noise this past November. He’s only making it when he’s sleepy, sleeping, or waking up. I thought it was teeth grinding but to be safe I brought him to the vet and they checked his teeth, said he has a little bit of plaque but over all looked good. I asked the doctor what she thought the noise was and she said it’s probably just him adjusting his jaw. She obviously knows way more than I do about pet health, I’m worried cause he’s never done this before.

  Hello,I can see why you would be concerned with a new onset of teeth grinding and noises. I'm glad to hear his overall oral health looks good. This definitely isn't a very common problem in dogs. My...

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• Hello, my name is Christine My two dogs ate a foam ball, like a quarter size of it actually. I called my vet and he said to give them some Hydro peroxide. I did and they threw up. I tried calling him back to see if there was anything else I needed to do or lookout for, but no one seems to pick up. Is everything going to be OK with my dogs? How long should I wait before feeding them and giving them water? How should they be acting after? One dog is about 7 pounds. The other one is about 10 pounds

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about your dogs. I'm sorry they ate a foam ball, but it's good that they threw up. If they threw up the pieces of the ball, everything should be...

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• Hi my cat was in a car accident and suffered a grade 2 tall pull injury and had his tail amputated after a couple weeks as it did not regain function. He has since had a constipation. Fortunately he is still able to defecate but are small hard balls. A couple times I have had to administer laxatives. I am aware this is a lifelong issue after such surgery. However is there anything I can do which will help his stool? Massages etc? For example, I have been giving pumpkin puree, which has helped

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about your cat. I'm so sorry he was in an accident but I'm glad he survived. If pumpkin puree is helping, then I recommend continuing to give...

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• My dog Bella is an elderly dog she’s around 16. She has started pacing around a lot and she has had A lot of trouble getting up and down steps and falling down a lot. She has had swollen front feet pads for around a week. Help . Please

  Hello there,I am so sorry to hear this about your sweet Bella. I really worry that her swollen feet could be evidence of serious disease, like heart failure. I also worry she could really hurt...

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