Red odoriferous ear and vomitingQ: My 5 mo. golden pup had a really red ear with dark spots on it and a bad odor. i started cleaning it with alcohol and treating it with nystatin/neo/etc... which cleared up the ear problem. this similar ear problem occurs frequently in my 12 year old golden, and i always use the nystatin. is this correct, or should i be using something else? i've seen lots of products on here and i don't know what the ear problem is exactly, but the nystatin and alcohol seems to work. also, my 12 year old retriever never gets sick with the ear infections, but my puppy vomited for 12 hours. could this possibly be correlated to the red, odoriferous ear? thank you so much! A: The choice of medicines would depend upon what is growing in ear i.e. some dogs have mainly bacteria while others have yeast. i would have culture done at your vet to check what is growing so that best med can be chosen. what you are using is fine temporarily. also vomiting not related to ear
2 dogs, 2 sizes, 2 different frontline products?Q: Hello, my boys are both pretty large, my aussie/lab mix weighs 75 lbs. and my black lab/chow mix is 130 lbs. i have been buying 2 seperate boxes of frontline plus (very expensive) because i will not take a chance on over/under dosing either of my boys. is there possibly a happy medium or should i contnue as i have been? i want to be safe. thank you for your time & patience. sincerely, melissa A: Judging by the weights you show in your question, you need to use different strength products for each dog.
Shop for: frontline plus, frontline
Fleas & itchy skinQ: I have 4 cats. two of which seem to be reacting much worse to fleas. i have dipped them for the fleas using adams pyrethrin dip, but this seems to have irritated their skin even worse. their skin is very dry and itchy, and they are pulling out their fur around their back and paws. we want to try advantage or frontline but are hesitant to worsen their condition any futher. they still have fleas and are suffering, not to mention we are expecting a baby and would like to get rid of the flea problem as inexpensively as possible asap. thanks, kim parker A: I would try a few doses of oral capstar as well as oral program for quick kill of adult fleas well as preventing future reproduction. also consider home treatment with very safe product known as fleabusters which you can find on line
Shop for: advantage, capstar, frontline
ReproductiveQ: Will neutering an adult male feline eliminate spraying around the house. he does this at the windows when he sees other cats, mainly. he is, now, an indoor cat recently added to our family. there are no other cats in the house at this time. please advise. thank you. A: Neutering is certainly recommended and may help. allow a few weeks after neutering done to assess. also try feliaway from 1800petmeds which can act as deterrant
Shop for: 1800petmeds
Zema collar with frontline; horses?Q: You recommended using a zema tick collar in addition to use of frontline to someone previously. i have two outdoor dogs and cats, plus a horse; and we live in tick country. (lots of deer and other wild critters too.) should i try using both these products together? and what do you recommend for horses? A: I am not a horse vet so will refer you to your equine vet for that one. as for collar, one i like for dogs is preventic collar. for cats a good ovitrol plus collar is fine. i find preventic collar is best tick product on market for dogs and works for up to 3 months as long as dogs dont get it submerged in water or swim with it on whihc will inactivate it. i usually use preventic collar with advantage topical for flea/tick control, but front line is fine by itself if used once monthly on all cats and dogs
Shop for: tick, preventic collar, advantage
Ear mitesQ: I just got a pug/beagle mix puppy who is 2 1/2 months old. she was diagnosed with ear mites and has received one treatment of acarexx. we also have another dog in the house, a 2 year old black lab/sharpee mix, who frequently plays with the puppy. as of now she does not show the same blackish- grainy discharge typical of ear mites. what are the chances she could catch it and can she still catch it after the ppuppy has received her first treatment? also, are ear mites communicable to humans, and if so what is the risk? thanks! A: Not communciable to humans. also not likely other dog has problem if pup was treated once with that product
Shop for: ear mites
How to get medication without prescriptionQ: I went to my vet to get my two yorkies tested for heartworms and to get a prescription from the vet to order heartworm medicine over the internet and she will not do that. i just bought the medicine from the vet clinic. is there a way for me to now buy it from petmeds without my vets prescription? A: The law is very specific about requiring prescriptions for products where they deem it a necessity. you should have free choice as to where you purchase your prescriptions. in many states a written prescription must be supplied on request. the american veterinary medical society also advises their members to provide one when requested.