I’ve been feeling off colour for a couple of weeks now. My tummy is all swollen, even though I hardly touch my food. I’m out of energy, thirsty all the time and generally feeling miserable. What is going on? (Dolly, 10 years, Beagle, Potato Point)
Dr Alan
A number of possibilities come to mind. At the top of the list is a serious infection in your uterus that we vets call “pyometra”. Sounds like you weren’t desexed (speyed) when you were a teenager, Dolly, as this infection can occur in older, non-speyed female dogs. The uterus fills with puss and that could be why your tummy is enlarging. Another cause could be a problem with your adrenal glands. Try to get you owners to call the vet as soon as possible so you can be checked out. Help is at hand.
Between my toes there have been some swellings that are somewhat painful and I lick at them a lot as they irritate me. Also, I have a swelling that is under the skin on my right chest. Are these swellings related? (Fred, Staffy Cross, 5 years, Narooma)
Dr Alan
Fred, I’ll bet you’ve been walking through grass seeds. While there are other conditions that can cause swellings between toes, like mange mites, the most common cause would be small grass seeds working their way through the soft skin between your toes. Bacterial infections associated with those grass seeds cause the irritation and swelling. The soft swelling on your chest needs to be examined by your vet – one of the causes could be a wandering grass seed that has worked its way to that location. Grass seeds travel in the body like they do when planting themselves in soil. As the grass seed is a foreign body a reaction occurs in an attempt to wall the seed off. A thick capsule can form, requiring surgical removal. Either of these things you mentioned can be serious and need attention.
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