How Would the Vet Diagnose Your Poodle's Problems? Quiz

Answer: It's patellar luxation.

The movements described are typical of patellar luxation, which is fairly common among smaller breeds of dogs, like Prissy, and it is a hereditary condition. The patella (or kneecap) is supposed to move up and down the front of your dog's leg. If your pooch has patellar luxation, however, the knee cap slips out of place easily and moves to the inside of the leg. For mild cases, the treatment is pain relievers or anti-inflammatories. For severe cases, your doggy may have to have surgery.

Hip displasia would not cause a hopping or skipping gait, and it is more typical of larger breeds. Being double-jointed is a non-scientific term for having a wider range of movement than is considered normal. This would also not match the hopping or skipping symptoms. If a dog often sits to one side in an unusual way, he or she may have back or hip problems, or may have some other source of pain on the other side that he or she is trying to relieve, such as canine arthritis. If a dog has arthritis, its movements would be slower and more difficult rather than hopping or skipping.

Answer: It's a bladder infection.

The behavior you're seeing in poor Prissy is typical of a urinary tract (or bladder) infection. It might even involve stones. Canine urine is usually sterile, but bacteria can still go up the canal to the bladder and cause an infection. This is more common among female dogs, like Prissy. In addition to frequent urination, infected dogs may strain to pee and only pass a small amount at a time. If there are stones involved (which adds to your pet's discomfort), the urine has a high mineral content that is crystalizing into stones that can range in size from as small as a grain of sand to bigger than a marble. Infections are normally treated with antibiotics. Stones are usually treated with a change of diet, surgery, and/or blasting them with sound waves to dissolve them.

Allergies might cause a rash or some kind of intestinal difficulty (but that would more likely show up in the stool and not the urine). Contrary to popular belief, when an animal's behavior changes regarding urination (so that it is more frequent and involves "accidents" in a previously trained dog), it is never due to rebelliousness or behavioral issues, it is always a health problem. There is no such thing as early onset canine Alzheimer's.

Answer: It was an intestinal blockage.

Whenever an animal swallows something it shouldn't, like a bone, a twig, a toy (or in this case, one of your socks), it can easily get stuck in its digestive tract. Poor Prissy, abdominal obstructions or blockages are serious and require quick veterinary attention. Treatment can range from inducing vomiting (if the object has not yet entered the intestines) to surgery to remove the obstruction and repair any damage caused.

None of the other maladies mentioned would cause the symptoms mentioned in this question.

Answer: It's food poisoning, from having eaten chocolate.

Chocolate poisoning is a very serious thing for a dog. In this case, you were lucky and the vet was able to induce vomiting and get the chocolate out of her system before it did permanent damage to her, since a dog can have seizures and heart failure if it eats 0.7 ounces of chocolate per pound of body weight. In Prissy's case, since she is such a small dog, very little chocolate can be fatal.

None of the other options fit with Prissy's symptoms here.

Answer: It's mange.

Believe it or not, almost all dogs have tiny mites on their bodies. In most cases, these virtually invisible parasites have no effect on their canine hosts. Mites are not normally transferred to people and they can't be passed on to cats. Some dogs, however, do have a negative reaction to the presence of mites, and this is what is going on with Prissy. Localized mange shows up as up to four spots on a couple of areas of the body. Generalized mange (which is what poor Prissy has) causes patchy fur and baldness all over your poodle's body. The treatment usually involves medication, keeping Prissy stress-free and parasite-free, and giving her a high-quality diet. Luckily Prissy was spayed, because female dogs can pass the disease on to their puppies.

There is no such thing as canine pattern baldness, this type of hair loss is not caused by a nervous condition, and canine cancers do not show this as their symptomology.

Answer: It's SA, or sebaceous adenitis.

Poodles are among 30 breeds affected by the disease known as SA, or sebaceous adenitis. It is a hereditary disorder that resembles hypothyroid disease, and it affects the lubrication of the skin and hair follicles. Luckily, there is a treatment that can help your dog. Poodles with SA are usually given steroids, like prednisone, or antibiotics like tetracycline. Your vet also prescribes mineral oil soaks to moisturize her skin and help her feel relief.

None of the other answers are correct for this set of symptoms.

Answer: It's progressive retinal atrophy, PRA.

This is a hereditary disease that is more common in purebred dogs who have been inbred. It is progressive, and dogs who suffer from this disease usually go blind over time. Poodles with retinal degeneration (PRA) normally show their first symptoms between the ages of one to eight years old. Prissy is now seven, and the symptoms do progress slowly, but they inevitably worsen over time. Because the disease affects the rods in the eyes first (which are used to see in black and white and at night), dogs experience night-blindness at first. Eventually they will have poor or no daytime vision too.

The vet explains to you that if a dog is going to go blind, the best way for it to happen is gradually, like with PRA. It is not painful, and it actually gives the dog time to adjust to losing its vision.

None of the other answers are suitable explanations of this disease.

Answer: It's conjunctivitis, or pink eye.

Yes, dogs do get pink-eye, just like humans. Conjunctivitis is when the membrane covering the whites of a dog's eyes and the underside of the eyelid get inflamed. This makes the dog have blood-shot eyes. It can actually be caused by many things, including infections, low tear production, foreign bodies in the eye, or cornea damage. There is often pus in the corner of the eye and the dog's eyes may stick shut after sleeping. Treatment is with eye drops and washing the outside of the pooch's eyes with a paper towel in warm water to remove the discharge. It usually clears up fairly quickly.

None of the other explanations fit the symptoms described. There is also no such thing as the canine common cold.

Answer: It's otitis, or an ear infection.

Otitis is the scientific name for an ear infection, which is a pretty common problem in poodles. The deep ear canals are a perfect home for bacteria, and poodles ofen have especially long canals that are fairly thin and narrow. In addition to the symptoms you noticed, infected canine ears often smell bad. The good news is that this type of infection usually clears up quickly with the use of ear drops.

If Prissy were hypersensitive to touch, it wouldn't just show up when you touched her near her ears. The other two diseases mentioned do not fit the symptoms described here either.

Answer: It's liver disease, or chronic canine hepatitis.

The good news is that you have caught this early, and Prissy will probably get better. Most disorders of the liver, if they reoccur in dogs are called "chronic canine hepatitis", but it is easily treated. The liver is an amazing organ that can regenerate and heal better than almost any other. Treatment varies depending on the root cause, but the goal to a good recovery is always to remove toxins from the diet, prevent stress to the liver to allow it to heal, and keep the dog as comfortable and stable as possible while in recovery.

None of the other descriptions are accurate for this malady.