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There’s just one common cause of a lump on a cat’s face. Have a look at the picture above. I hope you can see that the left cheek isn’t chubby, it’s swollen. This is an abscess and it needs veterinary attention.
Continue reading “Facial Swelling In Cats”
Dogs can get all kinds of lumps and bumps, some serious, some not. That’s why I’ve previously written a guide to dog skin lumps with pictures.
However, there’s one very particular swelling that I haven’t talked about even though it’s important, common and easy to recognise.
It’s the tooth root abscess.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has A Lump On The Face”According to a recent survey of English cats, the average lifespan was 14 years old. Purebred cats were recorded as living to a lower average of 12.5 years.
These of course are only averages and include all causes of death from birth to old age. We regularly see cats with good care who do much better.
To help your cat live longer, it’s useful to look at the causes of death recorded.
Continue reading “How Long Do Cats Live?”Nosebleeds in dogs are rare and worth taking seriously. Unlike humans, dogs almost never get an occasional harmless nosebleed. Causes include injuries, foreign bodies, infections, clotting problems and tumours.
At the end I’ll tell you how you and your vet can work out which one it is.
Continue reading “Causes Of Blood From The Nose”
Losing the use of the back legs is one of the most common and serious problems of rabbits. It can happen either suddenly or gradually.
It’s critical that your vet considers all the common causes. It’s not a long list, and can quickly be narrowed down as you’ll see.
Continue reading “Help! My Rabbit’s Back Legs Aren’t Working”
What’s more natural than throwing a stick for a dog? We love it, they love it too, and every park is a toyshop. That’s why so many dogs get injured.
Continue reading “The Danger Of Throwing Sticks For Your Dog”
I’ve been a vet for a quarter century now. Over that time I’ve seen just about everything go wrong that can.
Pet disasters tend to go along recurring themes. If you know what they are, you have an excellent chance to avoid them. Some might be upsetting, but I hope you can see the benefit in thinking about them now.
Continue reading “Causes Of Sudden Death In Australian Pets”
This isn’t just a catalog of limping dogs. By knowing the leg problems that dogs get you have a better chance of preventing some, identifying others and taking them all seriously.
I’ve gone back through our records, found the top 20 with pictures. The list below is sorted into ‘puppy’, ‘adult’ and ‘common’ problems. Visit this page to see which problems happen in the front or back legs and how to tell which leg is sore.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Is Limping”
It’s not what you think. Once I tell you you’ll wonder why you didn’t see the problem straight away, and I bet you’ll never take the risk again. In fact, even after my mother pointed it out, I nearly made the same mistake as you’ll see later.
Continue reading “Why Kids Should Never Walk Dogs Alone”‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What to do
Have a look at the video below and pay close attention to how Rickey is walking. That’s not a limp caused by a sore leg. To a vet, that’s an emergency. If your dog ever starts walking like this, especially after a jump or fall, keep them very still and see a vet immediately. Their life may depend on it.
Rickey is ataxic. That means he’s lost some control over how his legs are moving, and it’s a hallmark of neurological disease. Something is interfering with his nervous system’s ability to move his legs.
Later I’ll give you a long list of possible reasons for ataxia, but one cause stands head and shoulders above the rest…
Intervertebral disks are the flexible pads that sit between the spinal vertebral bones in the back. They act both as joints and cushions, and are yet another marvel of nature. IVDD is when the disk fails, and although it’s often called a ‘slipped disk’, that’s not really what happens in dogs.
Rickey’s disk didn’t slip, it burst after he jumped off a chair. In Type I IVDD, the disk itself degenerates and the ring of fibres that holds it together weakens. Eventually it gets weak enough that a sudden compressive force, usually from jumping off furniture, causes the outer fibres to split and the inner disk content to be violently expelled.
The bad news is that when it ruptures, contents of the disk often travel towards the spinal cord. That’s Rickey’s xrays showing which disk is the likely culprit. You can see that the spinal canal containing the cord runs just above the disk. What we can’t see on the xray is that some of that disk material is now pressing on the spinal cord hard enough to stop the flow of nerve signals.
IVDD is mostly associated with certain dog breeds. These include:
What all these breeds have in common is a genetic defect called chondrodystrophy. The same thing that causes their cute body shape also causes premature degeneration of intervertebral discs. IVDD is always more common in overweight dogs of these breeds.
In our clinic, IVDD also occurs in very excitable and energetic dogs of any breed. This may explain an increased prevalence observed in male dogs. There is a higher risk in desexed (neutered) females that could be explained by increased weight.
Rickey was lucky; his cord injury was only partial, his owner brought him straight down and he responded well to treatment. All three of these factors can easily go the other way.
If a dog has lost all voluntary movement and pain sensation to the hind legs, there’s still a chance that rapid surgical decompression can save them. However, if paralysis can’t be reversed there’s not much hope for quality of life. I know from bitter experience that no matter what people say about how good their dog is on a cart, the reality of their life is very different.
I can’t stress enough that the diagnosis must be confirmed by a vet. Many diseases of the nervous system can look exactly the same, such as:
Visit this page for non-neurological causes of lameness in dogs.
Dogs with IVDD often have back pain at the time of the spinal injury, shown by arching of the back, shivering and lethargy. It’s especially important to be aware of signs of the disease in susceptible breeds such as the Dachshund, Beagle, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso or Pekingese. Sometimes the main problem is pain from nerve root compression, not neurological dysfunction.
Confirmation of the diagnosis is only possible with advanced imaging such as CT scans or MRI. However, in most cases the combination of the history and examination plus plain x-rays are enough for vets to be confident. X-rays such as Rickey’s often show a narrow disk space and/or calcified disk material visible in the spinal canal.
There are two options for treatment:
For dogs with mild to moderate signs, and no further worsening, conservative treatment is often very successful. However, I have personally seen too many dogs get worse with poorly managed conservative treatment.
The theory behind cage rest is that if the dog is kept extremely still, the disk material will stop moving and the body is able to wall off and repair the damage. Dogs must be confined in a cage that is only just big enough to fit their bed plus food and water.
The only times a dog should be allowed out of the cage for at least the first two weeks is while being held to go to the toilet. Yes, it sounds cruel, but if the dog is near the owner, they are usually happy enough. The consequences of failure are just too serious to take chances.
A vital part of conservative treatment is close monitoring by the owner and vet, with the readiness to change course quickly if necessary.
Surgical referral is best if a dog is severely affected, has repeated episodes, or fails to respond to conservative treatment. The option of referral is always available even in milder cases even if only for a second opinion and advanced imaging.
Rickey responded well and will eventually be able to return to a normal life. However, he’s always at risk of a recurrence so we’ve made a few changes:
Rickey’s case was successful for more than one reason. When his owner rang for a Saturday appointment, we were already booked to 5:30pm and the nurse, to her credit, didn’t hesitate to slot him in, even though it was ‘only a leg problem’. Who could have guessed over the phone how much danger Rickey was in?
Now Read: The Link Between Neutering & IVDD In Dachshunds
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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. These help topics are from a series regularly posted on email and Twitter. Subscribe via email here to never miss a story! The information provided here is not intended to be used as a substitute for going to the vet. If your pet is unwell, please seek veterinary attention.