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December 3rd, 2010

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Name: Jan
Pets species and breed: Standard poodle
Pets age and weight: 4 yrs -
Pets health status: Generally good
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food:
Animal owned for: 3+ years

Question:

My dog has ear infections continuously. She is bathed weekly and is clean but she has a very bad smell and bad breath. She likes dry kibble. We had her on raw meat and she got very sick. What type of food and/or supplements do you recommend to help with 1 – ear infections and 2 – the bad body smell she has.

Answer:

Dear Jan,

Thanks for writing in. The most common cause of persistent bad skin or ear odor is almost always some combination of bacterial skin infection (called pyoderma), yeast infection or a condition called seborrhea. The fact that the condition is persistent (and you say she has ear infections continuously) is evidence that she has some sort of underlying skin disease leading to these recurrent infections. Examples of possible issues include: inhaled allergies (called atopy), food allergies, flea allergies, mange, etc. Most often the infections will respond to appropriate medications and/or shampoos, but if you don’t address the real underlying problem..the infections will continue to come back and cause your pet to smell badly. I advise you to see your veterinarian to discuss this further. As far as bad breath.most often that is caused by periodontal disease (but can also be an indication of other illness). Periodontal disease is very common in dogs-in fact, 80% of dogs are affected by it by the age of 3. Plaque on the teeth contains bacteria and they can invade into the gums around the teeth and even the surface of the tongue-resulting in bad breath. The best thing you can do is to visit your veterinarian to discuss a thorough cleaning and then start with at-home tooth brushing or whatever else your veterinarian recommends.

Good luck.

Dr. Donna Spector, www.SpectorDVM.com.

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Ask the Expert – Multiple Health Problems

September 30th, 2010

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Name: Barbara
Pets species and breed: Wheaton Terrier
Pets age and weight: 6 / 45 lbs
Pets health status: Good
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: Switching to Go!
Animal owned for: almost 6 years

QUESTION:

My question is simple. I am slowly switching my dog to Go! Chicken and rice formula from California Natural Chicken and rice formula. The man at the pet store told my husband to mix the kibble with water, which I have never done with any of his kibble. Is there a reason I should do this? My dog likes the food, so there is no problem getting him to eat it. Thank you for your time.

ANSWER:

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for writing in. I cannot be sure why the man at the pet store made the recommendation to you…adding water to kibble is not necessary during a transition from one diet to another. One thing that IS beneficial to all dogs eating dry food is additional water intake every day. Dogs are similar to their human counterparts in that they do not drink enough water each day and many suffer from mild (sub-clinical) dehydration—just like us! Dry food has only a 10% moisture content compared to canned food (usually with around 78% moisture) so I often recommend a combination of canned and dry food every day in order to supply dogs with the additional water they may not be drinking. You can also get creative on increasing your dog’s water intake—give ice cubes for treats (no calories and great hydration), use free flowing water fountains, place numerous bowls of water around the house, use non-fat, no sodium broths to entice them. Hope that helps.

Good Luck.

Dr. Donna Spector

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Tags: multiple health problems
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Ask the Expert – Multiple Health Problems

September 27th, 2010

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Name: Linda
Pets species and breed: Yorkshire Terrier
Pets age and weight: 9 years; 8 lbs
Pets health status: See below
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: ZD
Animal owned for: 9 years

QUESTION:

Pancreatitus but under control. No flare-ups in several years.

CURRENT ISSUES: Collapsing trachea which just started a week ago (on meds); had knee surgeries (patellas) plus a torn ACL which is fixed. We stopped walking her due to the harness aggravating her trachea. She is now stiff and taps or carries her one foot; seems stiff with the other. Just started this yesterday. Ongoing allergies forever. Yeast in ears which is causing ears to swell. Using ear drops. Not helping. My question is that I would like to put her on a more natural diet. She is on ZD for her allergies, and I do not see this helping. Vet says that we have to watch the fat in her diet so the pancreatitus does not reappear. The leg stiffness is concerning. She is about 2-3 pounds overweight although I have decreased the amount of food she eats. She sounds like a mess, but I think a lot of this is due to diet. What would you suggest she be able to eat that doesn”t mess up allergies, pancreatitus, but yet helps her joints. Don’t know if trachea can be helped.

I love her very much! Thank you!

ANSWER:

Hi Linda,

This is somewhat complicated. ZD is often used as a treatment for suspected food allergies, however, many times dogs are having adverse reactions to certain components of the food (such as preservatives, meals, etc) but are not truly allergic to an actual protein or carbohydrate. Selecting a natural diet will eliminate your pet’s exposure to artificial colorings, flavors, preservatives and other harsh or synthetic chemicals which may be causing an adverse skin reaction. Many natural diets are quite high in protein and fat, however, and may not be ideal for her pancreatitis issue. Probably the best idea at this point is to make a home-cooked diet which would obviously put you in control of the quality of ingredients and amount of fat, etc. in your pet’s food—this is often very helpful for getting allergic-type reactions under control. When making a home-cooked diet it is very important to work with a veterinary nutritionist to get the proper balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates and vitamin-minerals for your individual dog.

If you are interested in that option you might consider calling the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Nutrition Service at 530-752-7892 for more information and pricing. As far as her arthritic joints, you might try a glucosamine.

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Tags: multiple health problems
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Ask the Expert – Drooling

September 24th, 2010

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Name: JoAnn
Pets species and breed: Male/English Setter
Pets age and weight: 14 yrs/60lbs
Pets health status: Good
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: ProPlan/Senior
Animal owned for: 14 yrs, Thank God

QUESTION:

Sir Winston has lost a lot of control with his drooling when he drinks water and sometimes just sitting quietly. I wondered if there was anything natural I can give him to control this better.

ANSWER:

Dear JoAnn,

Thanks for writing in. Sounds like your Sir Winston is probably making quite a mess! I would advise you to see your veterinarian as many times excess drooling is a sign of diseases such as mouth (bad teeth, periodontal disease, masses/tumors in the mouth or throat) or swallowing problems.

Good Luck.

Dr. Donna Spector

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