Q. He is a Pit Bull shedding hair and he breathes like he has bronchitis he brushes his head against me as if he hurts he is a cold and no ener…

ANSWER : A. Excessive shedding can be caused by a number of things. Many dogs will shed their coats every few months, or may have a minor allergy to a food or product used on them to cause shedding. In some cases, underlying metabolic conditions may also cause excessive hair loss.

The best remedy for helping with shedding is to make sure to groom your dogs by brushing them daily. This will remove any loose hairs on the body before they can be shed onto other surfaces. Products such as the Furminator ( available here: http://bit.ly/1xTFcLT ) are great for helping get the loose hairs quickly and easily however any brush will help. Bathing regularly will also help with increased shedding.

if you feel the shedding may be due to an allergy or food ingredient allergy, looking for a food with less commonly allergenic ingredients (ones that avoid products such as wheat, corn and soy) may help. Food changes should be done gradually over a week to avoid digestive upset. If after the food change and grooming changes the shedding status does not stop, it is best to schedule a wellness check with your local veterinarian to make sure there is not another underlying cause of the shedding.

ANSWER : A. Brushing or providing objects that your cat can use to brush himself on (such as a scratching post with a brush attachment) are often the best ways to remove excess hair. If your cat doesn’t like the particular brush you use, you may want to try a different kind, or even use a warm wet washcloth to wipe your cat down with instead. This will help get rid of some loosened hairs without being as “annoying” to your cat. If he is grooming himself a lot, adding in a hairball paste to his food or placing some on his paw will help keep the hair from forming into a ball or becoming problematic as he removes the excess hair himself.

If you are seeing patches of hair loss, or any other signs of illness in addition to excessive shedding, then scheduling a senior wellness exam with your local vet is always best to check for aging-related issues which may be causing hair loss or other symptoms.

ANSWER : A. With all those symptoms he should definitely see a vet as soon as possible for some blood tests to try and establish the cause. He may need some antibiotics. Check his gum color, if it is pale, white or blue he should see a vet immediately.

ANSWER : A. Has hormonal disease like hypothyroidism been ruled out? That is a hormonal disease that is common causes of symmetrical hair loss, and it can be genetic, so you would see it in a dog that’s very young like yours. I agree that treating for mange was also a good idea, since that can cause hair loss as well and sometimes we can’ actually find the mites on a skin scraping.

Was a biopsy performed on the testicle? Because intra-abdominal testicles frequently turn into Sertoli cell tumors, which also cause symmetrical hair loss. If a biopsy was performed you should know for sure whether that was the cause of the hair loss or not. If the testicle wasn’t cancerous and removing it did not resolve the hair loss then the next step is a skin biopsy, unfortunately. Sounds frustrating – good luck.

ANSWER : A. If it only happens when he is at rest or sleeping then don’t worry too much it is likely to be just sleeping, a bit like snoring. If it happens whilst he is awake and up and about then you should have it checked.

ANSWER : A. From what you’re describing I think 2 things are likely. Either your dog has pain in her neck, which is causing her to not want to move her head, or she’s feeling generalized weakness.

Neck pain in small dogs is usually due to disk problems. They get a form of disk disease known as Hansen’s type II chronic disease, where the disk gradually moves upward and presses slowly on the spinal cord, causing pain and weakness.

Generalized weakness can be due to a number of conditions, starting with just not feeling well due to a GI problem (nausea, for example) to something like anemia (low red blood cell count) or heart disease. It sounds very much like your girl isn’t feeling well, and likely need some diagnostics in order to figure out what’s going on. You vet will start with a physical examination and rule out possible neck pain, and then will likely recommend blood work or other tests. If you want to talk to us further we can probably provide more information on a consult, where we can get more details about exactly what’s going on.

ANSWER : A. While I think neurologic disease is certainly a concern based on what you’re describing, and should be ruled out with a good neuro exam (full examination of spinal reflexes and cranial nerves), a cat that sleeps all the time and is wobbly could have many things going on. What you’re describing sounds like generalized weakness to me, and that could be caused by heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, anemia (lots of causes to this) or metabolic/hormonal conditions like diabetes. Often cats “look” neurologic when in fact they’re just really weak.

However, as far as specific neurologic conditions that might cause what you’re seeing, chronic ear infections or a polyp in the inner or middle ear can affect the vestibular nerve and affect balance, some drugs if used long term (metronidazole) can cause it as well. Other things include intervertebral disk disease (slipped disk), cancer in the spinal cord, thiamine deficiency (not a problem if your cat eats a commercially-prepared diet) and feline infectious peritonitis.

Unfortunately the only way to start figuring out what’s going on is likely with lab work (complete blood count, chemistry panel, and urinalysis) and x-rays for starters (likely of the spine). And as I said above a good neuro exam is critical to starting to figure out whether it’s a neuro problem or not. Your vet will possibly recommend other tests based on the initial results. If you’d like to consult further about exactly what’s going on with your cat select the “consult” button.

ANSWER : A. Hair balls are not normal in dogs, as we think of them being in cats. Hair will most definitely cause full or partial obstructions in dogs, and that’s likely why you’re seeing the vomiting. They don’t digest well and tend to hang around in the stomach until the dog is able to vomit them out. They can certainly get so big that they can’t pass and can’t be vomited, and then they obstruct the dog.

The first thing is to figure out why your dog is consuming hair. Work with your vet to determine if there’s an underlying problem, like parasites or allergies, and then work on resolving that. Hopefully that will resolve the hair consumption.

It’s worth mentioning that occasionally licking and chewing are behavioral problems in dogs, but rule out medical causes first.