Shelby is a 7 year old Bischon Frise. In late 2016 she was brought to the Animal Hospital very off form and with a high temperature.
We routinely see cases like this and usually an antibiotic and an anti inflammatory rectifies the problem.

This was not the case for Shelby however………..

Several weeks later all Shelby’s lymph nodes were swollen and she had lost a lot of weight. This is a very worrying sign and and rings a lot of alarm bells. Despite weeks of treatment and further tests here in the Animal Hospital Shelby continued to deteriorate.
Eventually we sent her to the Referral Hospital in UCD, After many investigations Shelby was diagnosed with a problem with her immune system.

She was put on immunosuppressive treament along with other meds. Gradually over the coming months she slowly returned to her old self.

At a check up several days ago she was in fab form. She continues to receive daily meds and will probably do so for life…….

Holly is a 2 and a half year old cavachon.

At around 6 months old Holly started scratching excessively. So much so that she regularly caused her skin to bleed and become infected.
A change of food for a few weeks made no difference so blood samples were taken for skin allergy testing.

Results confirmed that Holly is extemely sensitive as to what she eats – she is allergic to beef,chicken, lamb, turkey and amazingly not to pork. The indoor allergy tests confirmed her intolernce to house dust mites.
Treatment has vastly improved Hollys itchiness but has not cured it.
This is what we regularly find at The Animal Hosptal, Tallght – we can manage but not cure skin allergies.

The main treatment that Holly is getting – on an ongoing basis – is a special low allergy food. Her owner has also purchased a high powered Dyson Pet hoover to keep dust mites to a minimum.

TIP – if your dog is scratching excessively from a young age – initially try a food change to see if that helps.

In December 2016 Bobby started drinking and urinating a lot. He also started eating much more food. Blood tests were taken over several weeks and confirmed that Bobby is a diabetic.
Diabetes in dogs is very common, although definitely more common in the female !! The most common clinical signs are excess drinking and urnation. It is really easy to rule it out by a simple in-house blood test.
Bobby is now getting insulin injections morning and evening and in great form – as you can see from todays picture of him.

TIP – if you have a diabetic dog be aware they can get LOW blood sugar when receiving insulin. Weakness and lethargy is usually the main signs. A couple of spoons of honey by mouth will usually sort the problem

Food, walks, Sleep, Food Walks, Sleep…..

These are the things that occupied Bonnie’s mind.

She is 10 years old.

She lives the life.

She shares her home with Rocky, who is one year younger.

She has had a few health problems, nothing she couldn’t handle. She had the odd lump or bump removed but hasn’t been tempted to have cosmetic surgery.

At the beginning of October she felt really unwell. She walked much slower and was occasionally vomiting. She clung carefully to her owners.

A blood sample was taken during her visit to the hospital which revealed she had a liver problem. She was Jaundiced.

Now sleep replaced the walks and food in her list of priorities.

She had a scan of her liver and gallbladder .

Her gallbladder was abnormal, her liver was also affected.

Bonnies owners faced a very difficult decision, she was so sick and the surgery needed was very risky.

Her gallbladder was removed along with a portion of her liver.

It took a while for food and walks to become important to her again, but the have.

She wouldn’t be a Labrador otherwise!