Rappie

Spontaneous bleeding can occur with a platelet count of <50 000, however we usually see it with <20 000. Whether or not to give a transfusion depends on whether they are clinical for anything other than a low platelet count. It's hard to replace enough platelets to make a difference, but certainly if the dog is anaemic as a result of bleeding (because their blood can't clot) then they should have a transfusion. ETA: External bleeding means there can also be internal bleeding, these guys need to be handled VERY gently and kept quiet. It's also not that uncommon to get an IMHA along with IMT.

Have a read of the back of a packet of any topical ectoparasiticide treatment. Somewhere on it, you'll find the words "NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE, OR IN ANY MANNER, CONTRARY TO THIS LABEL UNLESS AUTHORISED UNDER APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION". It is not permitted to alter the instructions applied to any ectoparasitic treatment in the labelled species.

I would remove that one. There's a small tartar deposit already and no convincing discolouration of the tooth to suggest that it's going to shift by itself any time soon. I think a chat with your vet is a good idea

Retained deciduous teeth should be removed if the adult teeth have already erupted. Leaving them in place can affect the position of the jaws and adult teeth and affect peridontal health as well. Have a chat to your vet, they are frequently removed at the time of desexing for convenience.

You've made every effort to help this little guy, but as I'm sure you've been told chronic otitis media is ultimately a surgical disease Sometimes we get lucky and intensive therapy will help, but sometimes not - you've been through all the options and you're making a decision for him and not you - so very best of luck, hope all goes well for you. At least after surgery, there'll be nowhere for the infection to hide and your little dude can be comfy again.

If there is pulp exposed and the tooth is left, it will abscess - it's a when, not if situation and the tooth needs to be dealt with. If you have a veterinary dentist nearby, they may be able to do a root canal treatment on the tooth to save it. Otherwise surgical extraction (if it is one of the large 4th premolars) is recommended.

Yes, smegma is produced by all male dogs. It's normal

You need the staple removery tool. For anyone that works in a vet clinic - you do not want to be the person that loses the staple remover. Your head will roll

Most of our specialist referrals are to SASH - I have only heard good things back from clients regarding Mark. I have not met him personally, but have spoken to him several times and always found him very approachable and helpful - the same can be said for the whole team there.

If you can organise communication between a local vet and your own vet, it might be worth seeing if you can get a prescription for a small volume of injectable valium to keep on hand. It can be given rectally in an emergency situation, which is safer for all than trying to give oral medication to a seizing patient (though you've done a commendable job getting your dog through this episode).

OH buys a lot of lenses on Ebay and we've accumulated a few filters that have been attached to them etc. The only one I have used is a CPL (circular polarising). We just came back from 10 days in New Caledonia and it was on my camera the whole time - it makes for lovely skies, but it also came in handy at the zoo and aquarium for taking photos through glass. We also took a gorilla-pod style tripod with us - was handy for setting a camera up on rocks to take timer photos :p

Tapewormer tablets are given at the same frequency of other intestinal womers - once every 3 months (unless you are in a hydatid region in which case once every 6 weeks).

Sometimes, not always. Depends on where it is - potentially we are searching for something the size of a pea in a whole abdomen. If we're lucky, it's found in approximately the right anatomical location. I did one recently where we found quite a bit more than expected in the way of uterine tissue with associated ovarian tissue as well. Yes it is. Although there is an increased risk associated with spaying in heat, bitches with ectopic (or retained) ovarian tissue don't have an entire reproductive tract to remove (well, usually don't ).

The mucus is just an indication that the gut has been irritated. If the puppy is bright, active, eating, drinking, urinating and pooping then a close eye on them is all that is required. I would be more concerned if you saw a pebble go in, and it didn't come out

IMO whether or not to remove the baby teeth depends on whether the adult teeth are fully erupted, and whether the alignment of the teeth and jaw is normal. With normal alignment, then I would generally wait until the adult tooth is at least 2/3rd erupted, if not fully erupted, before extracting a deciduous canine. If the alignment is abnormal or we have some concern about whether proper development will be allowed to occur then they come out earlier, but it should be quite a delicate procedure. I would rather give the teeth a chance to come out by themselves if it is possible. They are often very very close to the erupting adult teeth and there is some concern over damaging the peridontal structures of the adult tooth if one is over zealous trying to extract a deciduous tooth that is not quite ready yet. Sometime we do a spey at 5.5 months and the adult tooth is only just erupting, I prefer to wait with those even if it might mean another anaesthetic - but often they come out of their own accord after 2-3 weeks.

It depends where and how much ectopic tissue is present and what it is attached to. Finding it is often the difficult part. Let's not forget that an ovariohysterectomy, no matter how frequently performed, is still a surgery with a reasonable degree of technical difficulty and involving large, delicate vessels that live in close proximity to the kidneys and bladder. In the scheme of things a 'routine' enterotomy or foreign body removal, or even bladder stone removal is a less difficult surgery than a spey.

It will be an exploratory laparotomy, which can involve a full length incision from sternum to pelvis depending on the what the visualisation is like. It can also potentially become quite a long procedure if there is more than one focus of ectopic tissue or if it is difficult to remove. Sometimes we can be "lucky" and just find extra uterine tissue and the procedure would resemble a spey. It is a major surgery because it is abdominal surgery and it is not a 'routine' procedure. With IV fluid support and due consideration to pain relief before and after surgery, the recovery time will be a little longer than for a spey.

The use you are suggesting is not just off label, it's not allowed. Ectoparasiticides are group of veterinary chemical with a restraint applied, which means that the label instructions for their use are not to be altered, vet or no vet. This theoretically includes practices such as splitting ampoules of topical flea product.... If you read the label carefully you will find this information: NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE, OR IN ANY MANNER, CONTRARY TO THIS LABEL UNLESS AUTHORISED UNDER APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION. Appropriate legislation indicates that the intended use be covered by an off-label use permit through the APVMA. This is different to the general recommendations for the off-label use of other medications where vet may choose to use a veterinary medicine off label if the use is well accepted within the veterinary community, reported in a scientific publication, has a reasonable measure of safety and for which no suitable, registered alternative is available in that species (such as using ivermectin and doramectin for the treatment of mange). My suggestion would be to use a product that is registered for dogs - Advantix or Permoxin spray would be my choices if you want flea prevention too, otherwise one of the antiseptic /pyrethrin creams like Buzz-Off or Fly Repella.

A 2 year old dog that will has been vomiting, having diarrhoea and then lethargic, listless and refusing to eat and drink needs to go back to the vet. The skin of a well hydrated dog should spring back to itself normal position, by the time you noticed any delay the dog is already dehydrated. If you brought me a dog with that history and presentation, that looked "hang-dog" and said you were worried, I would have little hesitation running bloods (collect before fluids), starting on IV fluids and thinking seriously about an abdominal xray rehydration brought no improvement.

I've seen several cases of acute polyradiculoneuritis in dogs. Nursing care is absolutely very important until function returns, and as you've been told it can take a few weeks for improvement to be seen. Otherwise treatment is primarily focussed on supportive care until the dog recovers. I'm sure others will have personal experiences to share, but feel free to PM me if you wish.

If you understand and accept the risks involved with the anaesthesia, then treating severe peridontal disease is as important as treating any other disease. That said, this would be a situation that I (as a vet) would try to approach with as much information as possible before making plans and decisions. I would like to have done general blood work (aged patient with at least 2 medical problems) and taken chest radiographs prior to considering an anaesthetic. If the dog need treatment for their congestive heart failure (coughing at rest, reduced exercise intolerance etc) then I would start treatment and stabilise the cardiac situation before contemplating a general anaesthetic. Then I'd consider starting antibiotics a few days before the dental treatment and continue after as well.

It depends on which vaccines were used and which protocol is being followed. A C7 can use an 'annual' C3 (parvo, distemper, hepatitis) or the 3 year C3. If you have advised to only return in 3 years, it was likely just the 3 year C3, as the additional component (parainfluenza, bordatella, coronavirus and leptospirosis) are still an annual vaccination. Regardless of the vaccinations, an annual check up is still a very good idea. For example, we use a C7 vaccination with the 3 year C3. It means on the first year, it is given as a C7, on the second and third years only the C2i (corona / lepto) and canine cough vaccines are given.

Never say never :D In the last 12 months, I've speyed a cat with half a uterus and an abdominal testicle, speyed a dog with half a normal uterus and a blind ended pus filled sac on the other side, and found a misshapen uterus with a tiny ovary in an on heat, desexed dog. If this dog was 'normal', it would not be cycling. You could confirm it was in oestrus with a vaginal swab but the only way to fix it is to do an exploratory surgery to find the ovarian tissue (which can potentially be a 'needle in the haystack' experience).

Most urinary tract infections are sensitive to Clavulox so it is an appropriate choice - the error is usually somewhere in the diagnostic process (or commonly lack of). It is appropriate to treat a first occurence of an uncomplicated UTI with antibiotics, however I generally always try to get a urine sample to test in house at the same time (dipstick, test concentration, spin down to see if there is a sediment and if so view it under a microscope). This lets me see if there are any other issues that need to be considered as well - is the concentration too low, indicating kidney problems, or is there glucose that suggest diabetes? Second episode may warrant further investigation - certainly a urine culture but also imaging (either plain survey rads or ultrasound) to see if there are uroliths present. Male dogs are a little different - theoretically speaking they shouldn't get "uncomplicated" urinary tract infections so I always treat them with suspicion :D In many cases, the clinical signs of haematuria are a result of urolith that is already present in the bladder. Treatment with antibiotics clear up the signs, but do not solve the problem - catch 22. We might see crystals in a dog with an infection, but may see nothing in dogs with uroliths. Age is no barrier either - a few weeks ago, I diagnosed a complete urinary obstruction in a (then) 10 week old toy breed puppy. The culprit - a 1cm diameter urolith that resulted from an earlier infection.

A lot of it will depend on the dynamics of the joints involved. Often the early signs of pain are due to microfractures in bone and cartilage on the periphery of joint surfaces due to abnormal forces placed upon them. Often we take rads of these dogs and find 'loose' hips but no signs of degeneration - this come later when bone remodelling occurs. Severity of clinical signs does not always correlate with severity of changes on rads.