Why is my dog licking his paws? | Dr. Justine Lee
Is your dog licking at his or her paws constantly? Notice a red, swollen inflamed appearance to the area between the paws? If this is happening, read on! Not only does excessive licking cause discomfort to your dog, but it is often due to an underlying medical problems. Often times, excessive licking of the paws is due to one of the three underlying causes: atopy (the equivalent of hay fever in people) food allergy flea allergy dermatitis (often abbreviated “FAD”) Underlying itchiness...
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Aspiration Pneumonia | Dr. Justine Lee
If your dog or cat was just diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, read on! This is a potentially life-threatening emergency that warrants an immediate trip to your veterinarian or emergency veteriarian for oxygen therapy and treatment. Aspiration pneumonia is the condition when gastrointestinal contents have been inhaled into the lungs. This results in a secondary inflammation and infection of the lung. Due to this inflammation, excessive fluid and mucus accumulates within the lower airway,...
Read MoreWhat is FLUTD in cats? | Dr. Justine Lee
While it seems trivial, an unclean litter box can result in serious behavioral and medical problems in cats such as: • Urinating inappropriately around the house • Spraying • Defecating right outside the litter box • Potentially predisposing to medical problems such as feline urethral obstruction (FUO) or feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) That’s why we veterinarians advocate getting n+1 litter boxes per cat. In other words, if you have n=3 cats, you need to have n+ 1, or...
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How to puppy proof your house | Dr. Justine Lee
Ah puppies. So cute, with their soft fur and puppy breath. However, with those pros come the cons of curiosity. As I deal with puppy training, sleepless nights, and the joys of puppy ownership, I reflect back on how “easy” it was to have a geriatric, well-trained older pooch! In hind sight, I haven’t had a puppy in over 14 years! My previous pit bull, JP, was very well trained and hence never got into anything bad… In other words, my house wasn’t appropriately puppy poison-proof for...
Read MoreWhy veterinarians need to use less antibiotics | Dr. Justine Lee
Super excited to see this press release from Clinicians Brief today on the judicious use of antibiotic use in veterinary medicine. As an emergency critical care specialist and toxicologist, I often feel that we over-dispense antibiotics, resulting in increased resistance in pets. Remember, antibiotics don’t work for viral infections (e.g., upper respiratory infections, influenza, etc.). Here, the press release: TULSA, OKLAHOMA, September 24, 2015—“In a perfect world,...
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What types of dogs are hypoallergenic? | Dr. Justine Lee
Looking for a hypoallergenic dog? Have allergies and not sure what type of dog to get? I’ve had a lot of friends pay $2500-3000 for a “hypoallergenic” dog. Hate to break it to you, but there’s no such thing. While some dogs are less allergenic (in other words, likely to cause an allergic reaction), there is truly no hypoallergenic or non-allergy causing dog. Don’t believe me? Trusting what the breeder says? Here, the scientific paper that helps prove it to you...
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