My dog bites of hairQ: I have a 5year old pitbull and he bites at his side,rear and tail and he loses hair at all the sites listed. A: More than likely allergy based. check for fleas or flea dirt with flea comb as well as possiblity inhalent seasonal allergies or food allergies. can try oral benadry at dose of 1/2 to 1 mg per pound orally twice daily. if no change see your vet for stronger meds
Ear infectionQ: My dog will not let me put drops in his ear . is there an oral med available for ear infections. A: Sometimes oral meds can help but best to treat topically to get ideal drug levels at site of infection. ask your vet about an ear flush which sometimes helps
Treatment for mesquitosQ: I am currently using frontline for my blue heeler and miniature dachshund puppy. they are outside during the day and some in the evening. is there a spray which can repel mesquitos? the k-9 advantix kills & repels mesquitos, but doesn't seem to be as good in the different flea categories. my puppy is scratching his ears and the vet says they are fine. i think it may be mesquito bites. A: I think advantix works just as well for flea prevention as front line and if your concern is mosquitoes then switch to it. keep in mind that scratching ears, etc can be due to other allergies like inhalent allergies or food allergies in dogs
Shop for: advantix, frontline
Changing foodQ: I have been feeding my cats ur formula cat food for many years. now that i have relocated, i am unable to find the food i used and vets charge so much for the food. i recently purchased purina's indoor food (they are strictly indoor cats )and gradually am adding to current ur food. is this going to create problems for them. only the one cat had crystals, no stones in the past and has been on the ur formulas ever since. thank you in advance for your attention on this matter and is greatly appreciated. these are my babies. A: I dont worry too much about issues you ask about as i am not big proponent of these types of diets as i dont feel they are proven and work in many cases. i prefer natural diets like pet guard as well as innova brands, and for cats with history of urinary issues i try to eliminate dry food from them and even have owners consider natural home made diets as described in dr. pitcairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats by richard pitcairn
Six monthly heartgard shotQ: I wonder if i could get some advice. i have three dogs and they have been on heartgard all their lives. however, last time i went to the vet they suggested the six montly shot, which i went with. however a colleague told me that the shot was not safe and that they are trying to ban its use. do you know anything about this. many thanks in advance for any advice. A: We can only tell you that there have been some negative reports on the internet. in addition, if you use heartgard plus, you also gain protection against intestinal worms.
Shop for: heartgard, heartgard plus