Max, my black lab is on Apoquel, a very expensive medication for sensitive skin. So I have 2 questions: Is there an alternative to Apoquel which is cheaper? Is it worth getting an allergy test and how much would this cost? Thank you Judith

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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...

  3 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  2 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  2 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  2 people found this answer helpful

• My 1 year old Labrador is on heat for the second time and whilst walking her this morning she was frequently stopping to urinate but very little if anything was coming out. Is this normal? Other than this she is her normal self and doesn’t have any other symptoms.

  Hello there,Lola is very likely normal. Dogs in heat may urinate (or try to) small amounts more frequently in order to spread around their hormones- trying to attract a boy basically. If she...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• My dog takes Fluoxetine and Gabapentin. I have run out of Fluoxetine and my vets office is closed until Jan 2. Do I need to take him to emergency vet or will he be ok without it for a few days? I have plenty of Gabapentin.

  Hello there,I think it's very likely Hagan will be okay without Fluoxetine for a little bit, especially given that you still have his gabapentin. Watch him for signs of anxiety or stress and do your...

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• My dog had an infected sebaceous cyst for months, and an abscess near it too. I took him to 4 veterinarians and each prescribed antibiotics. None of all helped my little buddy, and he didn't get better at all. I did labs for him few days ago for culture and sensitivity of pus and a doctor prescribed meropenem SQ 500mg every 12 hours. Should I give him this antibiotic?? Is subcutaneous route safe and good?? Should I drain the abscess ?? What else I should do while on antibiotic ?? Please help me

  Hello,I am sorry to hear all of this. It certainly sounds frustrating. I think you definitely need to use the Meropenum injections as prescribed- subcutaneous is a perfect route for at home...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• 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...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• 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

• My cat is 9 weeks pregnant, very large and looking like delivery is very soon with a lot of visible kicking kittens. I took her temp yesterday and it was 99.6. Today it is 100.4. I thought the drop meant labor was starting soon, so why did her temp go back up?

  Hello there,The drop in temperature is usually brief before returning to normal again and happens about 24 hours before she goes into labor. I expect that she will be going into labor very soon.If...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• My cat has had digestive issues since I adopted her 2 months ago. They have improved dramatically over time, but she still has semi-regular gas and seems to be in mild-moderate discomfort from day-to-day. I give her 1 Proviable Probiotic sprinkled on her dry food 1x/day (Fussie Cat Chicken and Turkey Meal dry food; approx 3/4 cup per day). I also give her 1 prescribed Gabapentin pill when she seems particularly gassy/uncomfortable. Is there anything else I could be doing to help her?

  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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• 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....

  1 people found this answer helpful