Q. My chihuahua just had a mass removed with spleen, no visual sign of spread. Eating well post surgery, white covering on mass, could it be be…

ANSWER : A. The mass would have to be sent to a lab for analysis in order to determine if the cells are benign or malignant. It would be impossible to tell if the mass was benign or not simply by looking at it. Your vet may also want to monitor your dog with X-rays or other testing over a period of months to watch for signs of spread of the mass to other body parts or in the blood.

ANSWER : A. As another user mentioned, dogs can eat grass when they want to vomit. Sometimes, when a dog has an upset tummy, they will eat grass. If you notice your dog eating grass frantically, you can assume vomiting will shortly follow. Grass does not digest and pass normally. If your dog eats too much grass, it can cause serious issues with pooping. Your dogs poop can end up all tangled inside of her, and it can need veterinary assistance to remove it. The same goes for celery, so avoid feeding celery to your dog.

The other day my boyfriend accidentally left the laundry room door open where we were keeping the trash that was filled with cooked chicken bones. She ate one of the chicken bones lightning fast. We had to induce vomiting by feeding her some hydrogen peroxide. After we had fed her the peroxide, she immediately began frantically eating grass because her tummy was upset.

If there is something lacking in your dogs diet, it could be that your dog is eating grass to make up for it. I am sure that my dogs diet is extremely well balanced (I do not only feed her an air-dried raw food-type diet (Ziwipeak), but a wide variety of safe, healthy foods), so when she eats grass, I know that it is because she has an upset tummy.

That is why I think it is important making sure your dog has a very well balanced diet. If your dog is on a low quality kibble, your dog may be trying to let you know by eating grass (or eating poop).

ANSWER : A. A dog without a spleen will have a normal life expectancy. The spleen is an organ that can produce benign or “non cancerous” rumors. Surgical removal of the entire spleen is usually the best option. Lump removals with only part of the spleen being removed are possible, however, since the spleen is an organ that stores Red blood cells, but there is an increased risk for post operative hemorrhaging.

ANSWER : A. There could be several different diagnoses for the growth on your dog’s leg including a cyst, an abscess or a mass. In order to determine what the growth is your veterinarian could perform a few different tests. 1) a fine need aspirate, which means your veterinarian uses a needle to insert into the mass and collect cells within the mass. Your veterinarian would then look under a microscope to determine what the cells are – a benign(harmless mass), cyst or malignant (cancerous mass). 2) a biopsy could be performed to remove either a portion of the mass or the entire mass and have this tissue sample evaluated by a pathologist.

ANSWER : A. My first question (if you could answer me back) would be how does anyone know it’s a hematoma, and not a hemangiosarcoma or a hemangioma? Hematomas usually resolve (eventually) on their own – they’re essentially bruises. So they don’t need to be surgically removed, typically. It could also be a hemangioma, which is a benign growth arising from a blood vessel. Typically no one can tell on cytology alone (that’s a needle sample taken from the mass and examined under a microscope) whether a growth like this is cancerous (hemangiosarcoma, or HSA) or benign (hemangioma, or HA). If a biopsy has been done and a diagnosis of HSA has been made, or it’s a HA and it’s causing your dog pain or discomfort, then I would agree that surgery is necessary.

As to whether she would survive the surgery, if your vet is competent in anesthesia (preoperative blood work and chest x-rays have been done to ensure that your dog is healthy otherwise, anesthetic monitoring on blood pressure, heart rate, EKG, oxygenation, etc will be done) and the mass is in a spot that is amenable to removal (i.e. There is plenty of skin in the area to close over the defect created by the excision) then I would say her chances of survival are very good. All this is assuming that the mass is subcutaneous (under the skin) and not actually inside the chest. If it’s in the chest, that’s a much more serious procedure. You can select “consult” if you want to talk about this further.

ANSWER : A. So I’m hearing a couple of problems going on. Frequent defecation with diarrhea (I’m assuming, since there’s fecal matter attached and the anus, and typically it only “sticks” when it’s soft) and lethargy/clinginess. Pretty general signs, however let’s focus on the diarrhea and assume it’s a GI thing. You didn’t tell me whether this is a cat or dog but I’ll assume dog since you said she goes outside to defecate.

Diarrhea may or may not be a sign of a serious disease. I don’t get especially concerned with one or two episodes in an animal who seems to feel completely normally otherwise, but what you’re describing sounds concerning. Your dog is restless, can’t get comfortable, and is somewhat needy – all of those indicate discomfort to me.

Without knowing how old your dog is it’s pretty difficult to get specific about causes, but I’ll mention some possibilities. Certainly parasites, including giardia, can cause diarrhea, as well as bacterial or viral infections in the gut. Indiscriminate eating, which dogs are master of, can cause diarrhea. Food allergies or sensitivities as well as inflammatory bowel disease are on the list. More serious causes include liver, kidney, or pancreatic disease, as well as intestinal cancers.

I’m hoping this has only been going on for a little while. You can try feeding a bland/high-fiber diet of boiled white meat chicken and white rice (25% chicken and 75% rice) in small (1/4 to 1/2 cup) amounts frequently (every two hours). If the diarrhea doesn’t resolve in 12 hours see a veterinarian. If she’s vomiting or won’t eat at all, see a vet sooner.

ANSWER : A. If he has only vomited once or twice, I recommend withholding food for 12-24 hours. This will give the gut a chance to rest. Let her have water, ice cubes to lick if she seems to want to gulp the water. After 12-24 hours, give her a tiny amount of her regular food, and wait for 30 minutes. If she eats it and it stays down, repeat the small amount. If all continues to go well, keep feeding her very small amounts until she has had her normal ration. If, however, she does not want to eat, continues to vomit, develops a fever and/or lethargy, get her in to see your vet or to an emergency clinic right away.

If he has been vomiting multiple times over several hours, he should be seen by a vet as soon as possible. Continued vomiting is very concerning and can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance as well as low blood sugar. He might have eaten something that either disagreed with him or something that has gotten stuck somewhere in his gastrointestinal tract. He could be sore from a hidden injury you are unaware of, he could have been exposed to some sort of toxin or irritant in his environment or this could be early signs of another condition or disease process.

ANSWER : A. An abdominal xray or ultrasound should be done to determine where the mass is located, its size and involvement with other organs. Chest xrays should also be performed to check for other masses. Treatment options or further diagnostics can be decided afterwards. If that is not possible, an exploratory surgery should be done to visualize the mass and resect it if possible. It should be submitted for pathology upon resection to determine if it malignant or benign.