[rienne]

I have  afemale daschund who is 3 1/2 years old.she has never been mated.Recently I noticed a small swelling in her front first nipple,she had just finished being on heat.I took her to a vet who just gave some multi vit and reassured me.THis swelling appears and disappears.but is definitely itchy because she is trying to scratch it all the time,I out of my own sense gave her some ibuprofen ,later the vet told me it is contraindicated in dogs. After that she is eating very little,last two days not eaten anything,I also gave some famotidine after that because the vet said it must be gastritis, today she vomited copious amount which contained only hair ,raw onions and other crap,then she ate lot of green leaves,what could that reddnes of nipples be?y is she vomiting so much?has she got liver prob?base line investigations are normal,could you help me?I also noticed today ahe has scanty hair in some places where she has been scratching a lot,is it some form of generalised allergy?

[labman]

Onions are not good for dogs. Maybe now that she has rid her self of them, she will settle down and she will start eating in a day or 2. A few missed meals won't hurt a dog.

What is she eating? Dogs have fewer health problems if almost all of their calories come from a complete and balanced diet. The easiest and surest way is to feed a commercial dry dog food that is labeled as tested by AAFCO. Most dogs will thrive on most commercial dog chows. Most of the problems with dogs not eating come from the common over feeding. In addition to other problems, Dachshund are prone to back problems if they are are over weight. Dogs eating a consistent diet have fewer intestinal upsets. Here is a link to a good guide to judging whether you dog is over weight, http://www.purina.com/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292.

One of the best reasons for spaying a dog, is to avoid health problems later in life. Of course that eliminates the hassle of her seasons, worrying about unplanned litters, flaky behavior, etc. Except for breeding stock selected from the very best, most dogs are better off spayed or neutered. Doing so along with a proper diet should reduce her problems.

Getting her on a good diet, and spaying her will make it much easier for your vet to figure out any remaining problems and effective treatments for them. It may be tough cutting out her treats from the table, but for the sake of her health, you must reduce them to almost nothing.