Can cortizone cause a dog to lose hair?

My 3 year old Coton de Tulear has been losing his hair.

He has had 3 cortizone shots in the past year to treat itching/scratching. I feel the cortizone shots may be causing the hair loss.

What else can be done for the itching/scratching?

13 y/o cat losing fur on one side. Why?

My cat- about 13 yrs old and a neutered male is losing his fur especially on one side.

It is continues to grow to be a larger area.

He also seems to be scratching more than usual although otherwise he's seems to be ok.

Nothing has changed like his diet etc.

What would cause this alapicia and is it a symptom of something else?

7 mo. Shih Tzu with high liver enzyme count and copper in system

We have a 7 month old female Shih Tzu.

She was spayed on February 13.

She was supposed to get spayed on January 30, but her liver enzyme count came back really high. It was 864 and they told us that it was not supposed to be any higher than 118. So, we brought her back on February 13, to get spayed. When they spayed her, they did a liver biopsy.

The results they got back, it was either Microvascular Dysplasia or Liver Shunt. They also found a lot of copper in her system.

What would give her a lot of copper in her system?

We were feeding her Purina Pro Plan for Small Breeds, but after we found out that her liver enzyme count was that high, we thought it might have been the protein, so we switched her to Nutro.

After the vet got some of the results back, they suggested to switch her to Nutro which we already had done.

Can you give me an idea of how she got so much copper in her system? What can we do from here?

Please let us know.

My cat has been diagnosed with FIP

My cat has been diagnosed with FIP, (Feline infectious peritonitis).

Is there any alternative medicine. Like DMSO, or hydrogen peroxide treatments, of which both are known to treat viruses?

Is there anything you can do to prolong my cat's life.

He is a 5 year old male. He hasn't lost weight from this disease.

Do you have any prior experience with treating this fatal disease? I'm heartbroken and feel there must be SOMETHING that can be done to make him well again.

15 y/o cat with constipation

I have a 15 year old cat who is constipated frequently.

She has early kidney disease, a heart murmur and a hyperthyroidism.

She is on 3 different medicines.

My biggest concern is the constipation.

Any ideas?

Information on heating pad burns to pets after an operation recovery

I came to VetLocator looking for some information on the incidence of heating pad burns to cats during operations/during recovery.

Perhaps one of your pros can help by stating what the physical result of such a burn could be, what the site would look like, the healing process, what if the skin does not reform properly over a joint - anything on this really.

My cat is long furred so we didn't notice until 2 weeks after the op for bowel cancer that he was losing patches of fur and skin around his shoulder and leg joint. The very thin layer of skin which was left shriveled-up resembling a bit of burnt bacon, it was a quite large area, the scab has now come off but skin has not formed properly around the leg joint, he has a largish area which looks like flesh rather than skin.

I was a bit dismayed when the vet said it was difficult to say whether it was a heating pad burn or whether the area which hasn't healed has some relation to the cancer.

I'm just looking for information.
Thank you
Annette

Sheltie won't stop scratching

My Sheltie is on frontline plus and still scratching losing her fur in back area.

The vets used predisone, antibiotics and still nothing has helped. 250.00 dollars down the road for nothing.

Her fur will grow in then she starts scratching again. I ordered an omega based vitamin and want to see if that helps her. She even has a special shampoo.

Any other suggestions??? I'm going crazy trying to help my baby.

Picture of my dog's paw with something weird on it

What do you think this is?

7 y/o Shitzu with coughing problem. Help!

Hello, I have a small Shitzu dog, 7 years old. He has an
occasional, off and on coughing problem.

I had him to vets twice.

The first gave him an antibiotic and a cough suppressant that did not work on it - or it seemed to for a while but he still has coughing bouts - more like little grunting coughs that may continue for 1/2 a minute or so. The first vet thought it was kennel cough (but didn't really get to hear it) and my dog was never in a kennel or really exposed to dogs who have been kenneled. The second vet said my description did not fit kennel cough.

These attacks happen regularly, but not daily. The dog also seems to be eating correctly and playing as usual.

Do you know what this might be?

Is there really a new strain of parvo??????

Is there really a new strain of Parov that can cause your pet to die in 2 to 6 hrs?

According to a website I saw online there is, and they have a combination of products that can save the pet.

For 149 dollars.

Please write a newsletter about it!!!!!!!

6 y/o poodle with chronic skin problems. holistic help for it?

I have a 6 yr old poodle mix that has had chronic skin problems since age 3 yr. I have had him tested for diabetes, hypothyroidism, autoimmune diseases.

This dog has been on antibiotics off and on for four years.

I now live in the Caribbean and of course with the humidity it just hangs around. I have cut his hair down very short. I keep him dry when he gets wet, I give him cod liver oil, turmeric root, I have bathed him in the sea and with coconut water (which the islanders swear by) and nothing is helping him. I even put triple antibiotic powder on his skin.

He had the same problem back in the States but it would only come twice a year.

These bouts also required cortisone shots and I am NOT crazy about cortisone therapy.
Please don't suggest changing his food. There is only Pedigree on the Island (for now). Next week it might be Purina only on the shelf.

Any holistic or traditional suggestions would be appreciated!

How easy is it for a puppy to get parvo? Have a situation to handle

I recently got a Rat Terrier puppy, Chomper, who we believe to be about 14 weeks old. He is in perfect health but has had no shots yet. We got him from a relative who had a litter and was giving them away.

We have another dog, Tahti, who is currently living at my mother's due to our moving and not having a house for her. She is a little over a year old and has had her shots, and we are ready to bring her to our home.

Now, the issue is that my mom has rescued many dogs over the years and some of those were pregnant females whose puppies sadly died of what we now know to be Parvo.

The last time she lost a puppy to Parvo was almost a year ago and she has had one more litter since then and none contracted the disease.

If we bring Tahti home is it possible that she could be carrying the disease?

I know that we should not allow the puppy to be exposed to the her feces, but is there anything else we should do (aside from getting his shots, which we plan to do as soon as we can afford it) to ensure that he will not be exposed?

I apologize for the lengthy explanation, I just miss my big girl and want to do everything I can to get her home without sacrificing the health of my beautiful little boy!

Any help at all would be very much appreciated.

12 y/o lab with possible mast cell tumor and seizures

My dog, a 12 year old Yellow Lab, has what appears to be a mast cell tumor on her left rear leg, has had 5 seizures in the last week and her liver enzymes are elevated.

She will have a biopsy next week.

She has no loss of appetite or change in behavior.

I am worried sick and want to know what our options are?