Yesterday, I noticed a cluster large lumps on her back. I took her to the vet today, where they did a fine needle aspirate. They found that they're full of blood. There was a very, very small number of bacteria cells. They couldn't find any cancer cells. The vet was also careful to tell me that today's test could have very well missed any cells though. She was started on a round of antibiotics and Benadryl to rule out infection and allergies. From what I can tell, the only thing ruled out is... Winx - lumps on her back ..read more

I was wondering if anyone could relate or had any recommendations for my golden’s tear stain. I got her checked out at the vet and they said it’s allergies and didn’t seem worried about it. It has been there for a few months now. Does anyone have a good remedy to get rid of them? Thanks in advance ..read more

My 1 year old golden, Jameson had a small spot under his ear which I suspected was a hot spot after reading lots of information online. He goes swimming a lot so I kept an eye on it and made sure to dry him off as best as I could. Right before I went on vacation the fur near the spot was all wet and smelled. My mom took him to the vet because I was away and the vet technician looked at it and said that it looked like it was a hot spot but had gotten infected. She told my mom to apply... Help!! Hot Spot Scabs ..read more

Background: Gus was born on 11/20/11. He is an 85 pound, intact male, with less body fat than I had when I did Ironman triathlons. He has what seem to be seasonal skin allergies. They're fair to bad at this time of year (summer) and almost non-existent during the rest of the year. We give him anti-histamines and try to bath him with an anti-bacterial shampoo to manage skin outbreaks (Virbac Etiderm). Those outbreaks are the only... Our experience with Jaw Drop (Trigeminal Neuritis ..read more

My golden is 2 and 1/2 years old and should be starting her 5th heat cycle in the coming weeks. From the first day of her first heat to the first day of her second heat was 189 days. (I realize I could be off +/- a day) From first day of that cycle until her next was 190 days. From the first day of that cycle until the next was 198 days. *we had to travel with her across country for a dying family member, so there was a lot of stress that I attributed to her "late" start If she is... Heat cycle like clockwork...or not so much ..read more

This economy is getting a little tough for this blue-collar girl! (not suffering...just cutting expenses a bit) Curious about some things since it's that time of the year. For reference, I'm in Ohio. Not generally a heartworm hot spot, but it does happen. Right now, they have been getting Proheart 12. I know the opinions on it. Without going into details, it was honestly the best decision at the time and I'm in a much better place now. So please don't shame me on that. It was better than... Ivermectin ..read more

Cooper is 8 years old and this past Spring he blew his coat. This is the first time ever That he has blown his coat and we didn’t know what was wrong with him. Tons of shedding BUT he was lethargic, had digestive problems, and was generally feeling bad. When the coat blowing was done he started to feel better. Now he looks great and is his old self. I understand the coat blowing as the summer was arriving but is it unusual for goldens to have general health problems during a coat blow... Coat Blowing and General Health ..read more

I need some reassurance because this never happened before. Sorry this is about poop. Ranger pooped and I noticed it got stuck and was hanging. He finally got the poop all the way out but I saw a bit hanging I thought he had a dingleberry but upon inspection it was a small piece of what looked like napkin or paper towel. I didn’t know what to do so I pulled it out. He didn’t really even seem to notice and he’s acting fine now. But I went online and there’s a lot of scary stuff that says I... Paper towel stuck ..read more

Hi All, I've had my 5 year old Golden for about 2.5 weeks. He is a rescue from Turkey and the sweetest boy. About 1 week ago I noticed he was starting to loose the hair on his snout, it really became pronounced 4 days ago. I've included a picture from when I picked him up compared to yesterday. It also looks like the hair around his eyes is disappearing. He doesn't seem to be overly itching his face, however I've noticed he is itching and biting other parts of his body. I've had him to the... GI Issues and Hair Loss on Snout ..read more

I'm taking my dogs to a clinic later this month for eye clearances on all of them (which I do semi-yearly). For the youngest (20 months old) I'd like to get his heart clearance as well. He's only a pet (I don't currently intend to breed him), so I'm just doing due diligence. He will get the clearance from a cardiologist, but just through auscultation. Is this a "Basic" cardiac exam? Is this sufficient for his "one and done" heart clearance (assuming of course that he doesn't have and never... Heart clearance for pet dog ..read more