Hello. I wonder if you might have any thoughts about our dog's condition and if we can do anything about it. He is an old golden labrador (14.5yrs). The main issue with his health is that he vomits on average 4-5 times a day. It has been going on for about 6 months. He coughs, as if he has something in his airways, and then produces a slimey-watery sick with a bit of foam and sometimes with bits of food. The vet has given him diuretic (frusemide) but that just makes him wee more. He often drinks a lot and then is sick straight after with the water. He had some anti-vomiting tablets at some stage but that didn't help.

Any thoughts?

This sounds like chronic bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and I would have thought it fairly straightforward to diagnose on examination but a chest xray and possibly a bronchoscopy would confirm this. The dog should be treated for lungworm and then put on a bronchodilator and at least 4 weeks of a broad spectrum antibiotic. The bronchodilator may be needed for the rest of the dog's life and steroids may be needed as well. The chronic coughing may have weakened the oesophagus and hence the presence of food. Frusemide is only going to make the dog ill and will not help at all so should be stopped. In an old dog an underactive thyroid, partial laryngeal paralysis or a swallowing disorder may be contributing to the problem.

I have a 10 year old black that is losing hair ..It is bad around his tail. All you see is skin around his tail and his right and left side.What do I do ? Thanks

Hi

Is he scratching the skin as well as losing hair? If so the simplest thing to start with is to treat him with a flea control product. Anything more complicated than that treatment has to be done by your vet so you will need to take him along for an examination and diagnosis. Hair loss without irritation and scratching may be caused by a variety of hormonal conditions so tests will be needed to discover the cause.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]