September 11-17 questions

dog heat

kitten heartworm

poodle warts

canine leptospirosis

dog incontinence

Question from:Kathy; Platsmouth NE My dog just had puppies on 7/30/05. We want to breed her again. Can you breed her when she comes in heat again, which would probably be in January or should we wait until the second time she comes in heat again, like in July? She is a purebred and had beautiful puppies.

Answer:It should be fine to breed your dog again in January. This gives her 5 months of rest which is plenty of time if your dog is young. But please be responsible and make sure you have people who what to purchase these dogs first to help control unneeded pets.

Question from:Kim; Kitten 5 months old blood test reads positive for heartworm and elevated liver functions. Could something have caused false positive? What could cause liver elevations?

Answer:Heartworms is not as prevalent in cats as it is in dogs, as the cat’s immune system can eliminate most infections. However, not all infections are eliminated after the mosquito carrying the immature heartworm bites the cat, and these immature stages develop to become worms in the heart and vessels of the lungs. Signs of heartworm disease in cats can include sudden death. Heartworm disease can be prevented by giving monthly medication. Kittens at 6 weeks of age can be started on heartworm prevention. Heartworm antibody tests typically become positive 2-3 months after infection with heartworm larvae, whereas antigen tests detect current infections with adult female heartworms. Accurate diagnostic testing is especially important given the low prevalence of heartworm disease in cats, frequent lack of symptoms, or variable nonspecific clinical signs of pulmonary, neurologic or other disease. So my advice would be to retest your kitten to rule out a false positive.

Question from: Kendra; Red Deer, Alberta I have a toy poodle that is 13 years old and now has quite a few warts on her body. Recently she has been constantly biting and licking a wart is there anything we can put on it so that she will leave it alone?

Answer: Warts are common in older dogs. They are usually benign tumors of the skin. The most common type come from the sebaceous glands of the skin. You can have these warts removed by your veterinarian if they are bothering your poodle.

Question from: Crystal; Detroit MI WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LEPTOSPIROUS?

Answer: The clinical signs of leptospirosis are nonspecific. Many times pets do not have any symptoms. Common clinical signs in dogs include fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe weakness, and severe muscle pain. Generally younger animals are more seriously affected than older animals. Infections are usually treated with antibiotics. Be careful because it is zoonotic, so you could catch it too. Keep your pet vaccinated as well.

Question from:Julie; Verona, PA My female housetrained dog is 10 yrs. old. I have had her for 2 1/2 months. She is having accidents and realized they happen while she is sleeping and has since we adopted her. What could this be a sign of? Should I rush to the vet or am I doing something wrong?

Answer:Incontinence is not uncommon in older spayed female dogs. This is often related to declines in estrogen, and is sometimes treated with a drug called phenylproanolamine. Talk to your veterinarian, sometimes these cases can be difficult to treat.