Archive for July, 2010

How Veterinary Coughing Cases Are Worked Up

Your dog or cat has a cough. You call your veterinarian for an appointment. What should you expect? That depends on: how ill your pet is. the nature of the cough. how many times he has had the same or similar cough in the past. For a mild, unproductive cough with little or no fever, [...]

Have You Used These Dog Products?

MyPetsDoctor.com is performing an unscientific survey. Recently I was working at my home office and had the TV on for background noise.  Upon hearing a barking dog’s voice, I turned to see an advertisement for a product, Bark Off.  It claims to be silent, harmless and painless, yet commands dogs not to bark!  Of course, as [...]

The Mississippi Gulf Coast

We live in a beautiful part of the world here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For those of us who are cold-natured, the weather is perfect two-thirds of the year. While I complain about cold days in winter, the weather soon warms up and gets rainy. Indeed, there are many days from October through February [...]

Pet-Loving Family Finds A New Dog

Amy Rohde, who has been written about and has even written for MyPetsDoctor.com (Story One, Story Two, Story Three) has a new pet and couldn’t wait to tell our readers about him. Here is the story in her own words. She calls it: Just Because I Cannot Leave Well-Enough Alone Because of our family’s experiences [...]

Atopy Or Atopic Dermatitis In Dogs

Atopy, Atopic Dermatitis, or Allergic Inhalant Dermatitis is a condition affecting 10% of dogs. Atopy is very much like hayfever in people. Both species inhale pollen, dust, molds, house dust mites or other allergens, then have an allergic reaction. The difference is what dermatologists call the “shock organ,” or reactive part of the body. In [...]

Local Anesthesia In Dogs And Cats

Having recently discussed general anesthesia we will today cover local anesthesia. General anesthesia is useful for procedures that are invasive, painful and require total immobilization of the patient. Some procedures, however, just don’t justify completely putting a pet “to sleep.” Instead, one of several local anesthetics can be used to prevent the dog or cat [...]

Pater Takes A Furniture-Making Day To Recuperate

After several days of taking care of eldest granddaughter Sara Rileyall week and fitting in a few hours of work, too, I was ready for some R and R in the woodworking shop.  That baby has more energy than a certain battery-powered bunny! Animal-lovers will appreciate this story:  On the way to deliver her to [...]

Sara Riley’s Day On Tuesday

As promised, Sara Riley got to go to Lynn Meadows Discovery Center.  She loves it so much that when we took her to a brand new play place on the Coast so that she would have a choice between it and LMDC, she wasn’t in the new place three seconds and her mind was made [...]

Sara Riley Visits Granny And Pater

Even the hardest-working doctor deserves a break now and then, and what better excuse for some time off than a beautiful grandchild?  Oldest granddaughter Sara Riley came to the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Louisville with her other grandparents BaBee and PeePaw, who were traveling on a business trip.  We were the big beneficiaries, though, as we got Sara [...]

Anesthesia In Dogs And Cats

Today we’re talking anesthesia. Let’s break the word down into its component parts to understand its literal meaning. The Latin prefix, an, means “without”. The root, esthesia, means “to feel.” So, anesthesia literally means to induce a state of the patient not feeling.There are many uses for anesthesia. The most common is to perform surgery. [...]

Lick Granuloma/Acral Lick Dermatitis In Dogs

When I graduated from Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980 the syndrome was called Lick Granuloma. At some point veterinary dermatologists decided on a new name, Acral Lick Dermatitis (ALD). Lick Granuloma continues to be the most commonly-used term among general practitioners. In the 80s the leading causation theory was injury. The pathogenesis [...]

Lumps Increase As Dogs Age

Junior has graced the pages of MyPetsDoctor.com before. Fortunately, today he has a far less serious problem. The big black and white dog had a bath two days ago and his owner is reasonably sure that the huge (33 mm) lump on his right side wasn’t present then. At age ten it is not surprising [...]

Got Bark Off?

I’m curious whether any of our readers have purchased the Bark Off device. As with many things on TV the slick presentation makes it sound very interesting, but they never say how it works. Nor does the Web site say how it works. So, if you have used Bark Off and have comments, positive or [...]

Diabetic Cats Who Stop Being Diabetic

Owners of diabetic cats need to be aware of a syndrome in which their cats are no longer diabetic. While that sounds like good news, it rarely is, for several reasons. First, this is not a predictable syndrome. One never knows when it is going to happen. It happens in but a small percentage of [...]

Doctors’ Extra-Label Use Of Medication

Today’s post is a followup to a previous post you may also wish to read, on Workups Of Dog Urinary Tract Infections. Reader Meghan writes: My 15lb female non-spayed Westie/Pomeranian mix had a UTI in April. She was treated with an injection and then given 2 weeks of oral Rx. The UTI went away about 10 [...]

Veterinarian As Practice Manager

Veterinarians find themselves in a unique position among healthcare providers. Stephanie’s recent surgery and absence led us to an interesting and challenging decision-making process a few months ago. Most of us manage our own practices day-to-day. Physicians, on the other hand, typically work for huge corporations or, if they own their own practices, have a [...]