May
09

Q&A with Dr. Dalo: Sentinel – Can I cut the pills in half?

Patient is a 9 year old 49 lb. Australian Shepherd

Client: I picked up some Sentinel today. As you were out of the under 50 lb. packs your vet tech said since my dog was 49lbs I could give her the 51-100 lb. tablet. Can I cut this tablet in half and give it to her? It would double my supply :)

Dr. Dalo: It is actually better to give her 1 tablet of the 51-100 lb. medication once a month since as she ages many dogs outgrow the lower dose pills.  Both the medications in Sentinel (heartworm and flea prevention) are extremely safe and cutting them in half will not give her the consistent monthly dose needed. When a dog is this close to 50 lbs I recommend using the next higher dose that way if she gains 2 lbs in the next 6 months you would need the higher dose.  Also, once you take the tab out of the blister wrap the company says the drug becomes less effective when stored out of this sealed blister wrap for 30 days. This is another reason we don’t recommend clients to cut these pills. But if this (giving the higher dose medication) makes you uncomfortable for any reason I am sure we will have the next dose down boxes within a few days. If you go that way, I would monitor her weight on a monthly basis to make sure you are giving enough.

May
04

The Dangers of Avocado Pits

Welcome to Dr. Dalo’s first blog post.

I (web designer, here) was having an email chat with Dr. Dalo the other day and he shared a tough case with me. I happened to mention his email would make for a great blog post and asked if he minded my sharing it. Below is an except from that email.

I am still at work and its 12:10 Am on 5/2/12. Cattle dog vomiting blood in coma & shock and near dead small intestine all due to an avocado pit and 10-15 sharp 3 inch long sticks. Barium series & ultrasound suggested paralyzed intestine and a stomach obstruction but the endoscopic study did not show the object so i had to explore her abdomen. She also has hepatitis & her kidneys are trying to shut down. Removed the obstruction in a novel way at 6:00 pm but now dealing with the intestinal blood and protein loss. She finally stopped vomiting about 2 hours ago. Giving a transfusion and colloids and electrolytes to try to normalize her. Can’t leave till she’s stable. What’s super exciting is that she is starting to normalize and i think she will make it. Rough day. Just an example of my typical sick dog case i see almost daily any more where i have to be an internist, radiologist, gastroenterologist, hematologist and surgeon all for one patient.

And here is the update the following day:

BTW the dog can now eat and has stopped vomiting but is still not yet normal enough to go home. She is still getting iv protein. Pretty cool though since i really thought she would not make it but thought i would try and the owner allowed me to do my thing.