Albuquerque Journal Articles

A Thorough Diagnostic Workup is Essential for Life Question: My 7-year-old Akita mix has started drinking a lot of water. He was tested for diabetes and Cushing’s and results were negative. Is there something else that can be causing him to be so thirsty?   Dr. Nichol: Your dog’s excessive drinking (polydipsia) (CQ) is critically important; you may lose him if the cause isn’t fully understood soon. A heavy thirst is usually compensation for too much water lost in the urine. It’s dangerous in part because your dog becomes mildly dehydrated requiring him to drink a whole lot just to…

Often Difficult to Diagnose & Treat, Cushing’s is fairly Common Question: I lost a 9-yr-old Boston Terrier to Cushing’s disease. What is that? Could I have done something to save her? Should I have recognized early symptoms? Dr. Nichol: I am so sorry for your loss. I’ve seen other grieving pet lovers second-guess themselves. I hope a few answers will help.   Cushing’s disease results either from excess hormone production from the adrenal glands or from overdosing of corticosteroid medications like prednisone. The adrenals, which sit next door to the kidneys, regulate essential electrolytes and produce adrenaline, cortisol, and low…

Here is how to Train to Eliminate Anywhere Question: We adopted a puppy in March at 3 months old. We had no problem house training Duke. The problem is he will not eliminate when we take him for a walk, go hiking, go to the dog park, etc. He will hold until we get home and he went to the area we trained him to eliminate. How can I train him to eliminate when we take him for a walk or hiking?   Dr. Nichol: Duke follows the letter of the law. He connects that one location in your yard…

Poorly functioning adrenal glands produce low amounts of the body’s cortisol. Learn the signs of this disease. Also know how to recognize trouble with medication dosages.   Question: My 5 year old mixed breed dog was diagnosed with Addison’s disease last August. He is currently on 5 mg. Prednisone and 5 mg. Florinef daily. Since he started these medications he has been experiencing excessive urination, mostly when he is asleep. Is there something I can do to control this? I have several other pets so reducing his water intake would be difficult. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly…

Cursed with funky, misshapen vertebrae, Bulldog tails can plug the anus.   Question: Help! My bulldog has screwtail. I’d never heard of such a thing. What do I do?   Dr. Nichol: Screwtail is a problem seen in brachcephalic dog breeds (pushed-in faces like bulldogs and pugs). It’s caused by malformed vertebrae in the tail that cause it to grow in the shape of a corkscrew. It’s a problem if it grows in such a way that it interferes with the dog passing stool from the anus. It has also been a problem in bulldogs if the tail creates a…

Vibrissae Help Animals Feel their Environment Question: Dogs have warts on their jaw or under their chin or both. They seem to have inherited these from their wolf ancestors. What evolutionary purpose do you think these may play? Perhaps at one time they were identification marks?   Dr. Nichol: Rather than warts, those mounds of skin around our dogs’ muzzles have an important function. The long, thick hairs that protrude from them, called vibrissae, help dogs, cats, rodents, and lots of other creatures sense movement and feel their way around in the dark. Even a slight draft can be detected…

Severe flea infestations can cause blood loss anemia. Shock & death are a big risk.   Question: I have a small dog who has been passing out! She comes out of it when I pick her up . Yesterday she went into convulsions but again snapped out of it when I picked her up. The fleas are really bad this year, she was okay for one day after bathing , I sprayed the carpet and all was okay until she went outside and again was covered with fleas. Is it possible this can be caused by a reaction to the…

Dogs can Catch them from People This is an interesting reflex we share with our pets, quite literally with our dogs. It has long been recognized that when you yawn after seeing someone else do it you are showing empathy. Until recently it was believed that only other humans and great apes could catch human yawns.   Now we know better. Research has shown that dogs catch human yawns; of 29 pet dogs tested, 72% yawned when they observed an unfamiliar person yawning. This is better than the rate of catching yawns between humans. Maybe our dogs are more empathic…

Pets, without question, feel pain just as we do. Better pet hospitals treat & prevent pain.   Question: I have often wondered about cats and dogs and pain, especially when Skippy, our wonder cat with 3 legs, had most of his hind leg amputated to the hip.  He came home the evening of surgery and my wife and I took turns holding him all night.  He did not seem to be in pain, but rather out of it or a little crazy from the anesthetic. Isn’t pain medication typically given for this kind of thing, and for such procedures as…