Are yearly vaccinations needed?
Q: I have a lab?chow mix and he is due for his rabies vaccination which i have to get at the vets. he has had these vaccinations @ 9mos. old: distemper-hepatisitis,parainfluenza,bordetella,canine parvovirus,coronavirus and rabies. what ones are really needed, i know rabies but what else? i know the vet is going to charge me a fortune. if i can i would like to do this myself. he will be 2 in nov. i also live in florida if this makes a difference.
A: I feel that most viral vaccines of dogs today give years of immunity with most viral agents of concern, in particular parvo or distemper which are only ones that i concern myself with in most cases. every 6 months and even every year would be too much in my opinion and even all vet schools now recommend at most once every 3 year vaccinations with core viral vaccines in most adult pets
Heart murmur/mitral valve disease
Q: I lost my cavalier king charles spaniel toby 3 weeks ago today. we don't know what exactly he died from, but we suspect he'd had a stroke. he was 8 years/8 months old. his half-brother skyler, also a cav., was diagnosed a week ago with mytral valve disease and a heart murmer between 3 and 4. he had an echocardiogram. our vet put him on 5 mg. enalapril and science diet h/r dry food. he will be 9 in november. my fondest wish is that skyler will be around a long time, but i am almost afraid to leave him. he is in mourning for toby, sleeps most of the day, is very reluctant to go outside to relieve himself, and i have to encourage him to eat. our vet said before the echocardiogram that he wasn't to have any exercise, so i won't even take him for a walk, and she's delaying any dental work because that requires sedation. we are planning a short vacation and we will need to board him for a few days. i guess i just want to know if we are doing everything we can. is there anything else we can do? my vets are wonderful, but a second opinion might help relieve some of my fears. cavs have a strong history of mitral valve prolapse or disease. what else can you tell me so i might relax and live a reasonably normal life and let skyler live his!?
A: I would try making him as healthy as possible with all natural diets such as pet guard or california natural by natura or more ideally a home made diet as described in book dr. pitcairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats by richard pitcairn. also consider supplements for heart such as coenzyme q-10 at dose of 50 mg daily as well as vitamin e at same time at dose of 400iu daily. also consider supplement known as formula cv from company known as rx vitamins for pets centered in scarsdale, new york. this excellent supplement has supportive nutrients for heart such as hawthorne berry and trace minerals for heart
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Lymes disease
Q: Yesterday i took my dog to the vet because it looked like he wasn't eating, because he barely had a bowel movement and was distended, the vet did x-rays took blood and said that my dog had lymes and it was in his kidney causing high amounts of protein in his urine. my first question is, is it possible for a dog to have such a high extreme of lymes without ever showing joint pain. and second, is there hope? please respond asap because today is the day. thank you dona wester
A: There are small percentage of dogs esp certain family of labradors who are genetically prone to kidney form of lyme disease. sometimes can be no warning. best prevention is good tick control i dont recommend lyme vaccination as has not been proven safe or effective in my opinion and not recommended by top vet schools like penn or cornell, two leading research institutions on this disease
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Adult cat and kitten with fleas
Q: We have two cats, one that is a year old and one that is 14 weeks old. both are totally indoor. the kitten came from a home that had dogs and she had fleas when we got her, so now both have them. we have treated with over the counter topical flea med., but they are still present. what can we do to rid our cats and home of fleas once and for all?
A: You do need to treat the house as well as the cats. you can use virbac knockout room and area fogger for the house. use frontline plus for the cats and give them capstar tablets to kill the adult fleas on the cat.
Shop for: capstar, frontline plus, frontline
Chiggers
Q: We do a lot of camping and a few people we camp with got the chiggers. can my dogs get them? if so what can i do to prevent them and get rid of them? we use a preventic collar and frontline plus. thanks, ellen
A: What you are using should be fine
Shop for: preventic collar, frontline plus, frontline
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