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Veterinarian here: ask me anything!

Deagle113 said:
That’s smegma—a substance composed of dead skin cells, skin oil, and moisture. It normally is secreted to provide a protective covering and lubrication for the penis. (If you’ve ever seen a horse let down his penis and thought it was super dirty—that’s all smegma, not dirt.) some horses can be goopy, and some dry and flaky—both are normal.

It’s also normal for it to accumulate a bit in the urethral fossa at the tip of the penis, and contrary to popular advice, it rarely needs to be cleaned out. Excessive cleaning can actually do more harm than good—those sponges and antibacterial soap all the time can cause micro abrasions and sores, and disrupt the community of protective microbes. If in doubt, always have your vet take a peek.

Times when it may be good to clean it out are if your boy gets a laceration to his penis or has a skin issue like herpesvirus or squamous cell carcinoma down there that can interfere with the normal flow of things.
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Adding to the matter, you will find less Smegma with stallions that are actively breeding because they extend and retrackt their penis more often than Stallions not in breeding programs or Geldings. Not saying that you shouldn't check those as well, but with Geldings you find more of this stuff. I heard from some vets or Chiropractors that they often coakse horses to extend to check for smegma or to remove it from the Penis.
 
Deagle113 said:
Howdy zooville!

I work as a mixed animal veterinarian, and am willing to answer any and all animal health questions you may have to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that I’m only one person, and my medical opinion is just that—an opinion, however well informed it may be.

Anything you’re curious about?

Edit: feel free to Dm me if needed
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Hi there! Thank you for your informed knowledge. It’s really interesting, and helpful!

I have a question about a labrascopic spay, removing only the ovaries, as opposed to the more common complete spay of also removing the uterus.

I read that the labrascopic spay is a less invasive surgery, and has a faster recovery time for the bitch. And that a labrascopic gastropexy can also be performed at the same time.

The labrascopic spay would stop further estrus heat cycles from happening and there would be no progesterone highs after. Would it still be possible to have penetrative sex with the bitch after she has labrascopic spay? If she as a large breed bitch, enjoyed the sex out of heat before the procedure, could she resume to have more sex after her recovery?

I would think that with a labrascopic spay, there is still room for one‘s cock to fuck, as the vaginal canal and uterus remains intact.
 
bitchfucking101 said:
Would it still be possible to have penetrative sex with the bitch after she has labrascopic spay? If she as a large breed bitch, enjoyed the sex out of heat before the procedure, could she resume to have more sex after her recovery?
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Lap spays are fabulous. Far less pain, much smaller incisions, fewer complications, and a shorter recovery time. They can get expensive though as they usually require going somewhere that does them vs a traditional general practice vet.

Even with regular spaying, in very large breed dogs things remain roomy enough, and they certainly would post lap spay. As you mention, many female dogs who have positive experiences and enjoyment around intimacy continue to do so post surgery.
 
Deagle113 said:
Lap spays are fabulous. Far less pain, much smaller incisions, fewer complications, and a shorter recovery time. They can get expensive though as they usually require going somewhere that does them vs a traditional general practice vet.

Even with regular spaying, in very large breed dogs things remain roomy enough, and they certainly would post lap spay. As you mention, many female dogs who have positive experiences and enjoyment around intimacy continue to do so post surgery.
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I suppose that, since only ovaries are removed and uterus temains, I suppose this way it will still yeld high chance of pyo?

So in general. Would you recomend traditional spay, ovariohisterectomy or rather the OSS procedure?
 
Hello!
I'm relatively new to the page, and plan to move to the states next year.
The animals i'd like to won in the future are either:
1 stallion 1 pony
1 Mare horse 1 male pony
1 male Mule
1 dog (Medium or large size)

I personally prefer male animals as a lover, and i'd like to know if the get sick in any way shape or form, can i give you a call, since you'd know what happens behind the curtains as well. Deagle113
 
Goattobeloved said:
I suppose that, since only ovaries are removed and uterus temains, I suppose this way it will still yeld high chance of pyo?

So in general. Would you recomend traditional spay, ovariohisterectomy or rather the OSS procedure?
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Not really. Pyo relies on the cycle of progesterone and estrogen to consecutively thicken the uterine wall to allow bacteria to set up shop in the folds. Without that cycle, your risk is dramatically decreased.

My recommendation between the three is that it depends entirely on the dog, and the situation, and the environment that the decision is made in. There’s no one size fits all approach, but I lean towards OSS because it avoids removing the benefits of all of the ovarian produced hormones. Here in the US, though, it can be hard to find a veterinarian willing or able to perform it.
 
Miss_Ekigna said:
Hello!
I'm relatively new to the page, and plan to move to the states next year.
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Keep in mind the cost of land over here can be quite expensive, depending on where you live.
Miss_Ekigna said:
I personally prefer male animals as a lover, and i'd like to know if the get sick in any way shape or form, can i give you a call, since you'd know what happens behind the curtains as well. Deagle113
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Sure! Just send me a DM or post here, I’m happy to answer any questions you’d have. ❤️
 
I found this 2% chlorhexidine gluconate solution while I was shopping. It made me curious. What are your thoughts on using it to reduce the risk of giving a bitch an infection? Specifically
  • Diluting as directed and cleaning the outside of the vulva with it before penetration
  • Using the same to clean your penis, hands and mouth
  • Mixing the diluted solution with J-Lube powder to make homemade Surgilube

Do you have any advice on hygiene that you think needs to be more widely known?
 
mgasakpc said:
I found this 2% chlorhexidine gluconate solution while I was shopping. It made me curious. What are your thoughts on using it to reduce the risk of giving a bitch an infection? Specifically
  • Diluting as directed and cleaning the outside of the vulva with it before penetration
  • Using the same to clean your penis, hands and mouth
  • Mixing the diluted solution with J-Lube powder to make homemade Surgilube

Do you have any advice on hygiene that you think needs to be more widely known?
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A quick literature search didn’t turn up studies validating using that solution of 2% chlorhex internally. I would recommend against it.

There are many formulations of chlorhex. Though it does indeed have antibacterial properties (the bacteria internalize the molecules and then explode!) it’s also routinely diluted to much smaller concentrations for various uses.

You can indeed get an adverse reaction to it, but using that much will also dramatically disrupt the vaginal micro flora—the healthy community of bacteria that exist in a mini ecosystem within the canal/mucous membranes. That disturbed community is then perfect for a particularly tough or rapid producing bacterial species replicate out of control, and cause an actual UTI.

Think about when they released all those rabbits into Australia—with no predators and an ecosystem that was full of niches for them, they bred out of control and wreaked havoc. Bacterial species can do the exact same!

So my recommendation would be the same as @PonyTrot—mild soap and water. If you include cleaning up around the anus too, use a separate cloth. And keep those fingernails short!
 
@Deagle113

A friend once was worried that since my family regularly fed and interacted (petting her, letting her in the house, taking her to the vet on occasion) with a free-roaming cat from the neighborhood between the 90s and the late 2000nds, that the cat might have given us toxoplasmosis. My dad regularly visited a vet with her, either for a checkup or due to a specific problem like a skin infection, but he never even mentioned any issue out of the ordinary and apart from the issue at hand.

I read up a bit on it but didn't really find anything I'd consider that much useful. Apparently one gets toxoplasmosis from interacting with (handling?) cat poop. We never had to do that. The cat was housebroken (I guess) and never did business in the house, she might have pooped in the garden though. Apart from that I read that scientists aren't really sure how harmful a toxoplasmosis infection might be for humans, apart from hightening their risk-taking propensity which to me sounds like an odd thing for a parasite to trigger in a host. But then again, I never noticed any hightened risk-taking propensity in my family, so... Not sure what that means.

Can you tell me (us) more about that? Also is this a regional or worldwide issue, as I live in Europe and not in the USA, so maybe things are different over here?
 
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CritterFunatic said:
But then again, I never noticed any hightened risk-taking propensity in my family, so... Not sure what that means.

Can you tell me (us) more about that? Also is this a regional or worldwide issue, as I live in Europe and not in the USA, so maybe things are different over here?
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Toxoplasmosis is a fascinating disease. It’s caused by a single celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii that looks like a cool space alien, and is even more likely to be contracted from contaminated meat as cat poop. It’s the number one cause of death from food borne illness in the US.

1723630848656.png
See? Cool space alien :D

The only species that it can complete its life cycle in is felines, everything else it just forms muscle cysts, little fibrous capsules in your body, pretty much anywhere since it can’t complete its reproduction. The parasite breeds within these cats and is released just as you mentioned. Cats are such good groomers that it is rarely found in their fur, and people then become infected via litter or by ingesting the eggs. These eggs are shed in the soil, and picked up by mice, where they form the muscle cysts to then be consumed by cats and infect them.

1723630913195.png
Here's the CDC life cycle -- complete with suspicious looking cat with forward facing eyes like a primate. Nobody said scientists are good at drawing!

This article from the Scientific American is much better written than I could share, and goes into a lot of the history and background, but to answer your “heightened risk taking” question – it’s based on the fact that in mice, the parasite finds its way to their brain and modulates their behavior, removing their species aversion to cat urine and places cats frequent – scientists call this “fatal cat attraction!” It is speculated that this could occur in humans as well, and several studies seem to point to some sort of behavioral modification in folks infected with it. Granted, those sample sizes are small, and toxoplasmosis has no reason to evolve to affect other mammalian brains than rodent ones – primate brains like ours have a lot of differences. Still, the research is still out as to what exactly happens with toxoplasma infections in human nervous tissue. If anything, the most common thing it does in humans is make benign cysts in the muscle.

It absolutely is a very successful worldwide parasite -- Europe and the US and everywhere else. But if you're a immunocompetant you will be totally fine, won't even get symptoms, and not need treatment. Some people get flu like symptoms, and it's especially dangerous for immunocomprimised folks, pregnant people (because of the risk to the fetus) and if you're older (when your immune system is naturally decreased in effectiveness).
 
Deagle113 said:
Toxoplasmosis is a fascinating disease. It’s caused by a single celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii that looks like a cool space alien, and is even more likely to be contracted from contaminated meat as cat poop. It’s the number one cause of death from food borne illness in the US.

View attachment 592301
See? Cool space alien :D

The only species that it can complete its life cycle in is felines, everything else it just forms muscle cysts, little fibrous capsules in your body, pretty much anywhere since it can’t complete its reproduction. The parasite breeds within these cats and is released just as you mentioned. Cats are such good groomers that it is rarely found in their fur, and people then become infected via litter or by ingesting the eggs. These eggs are shed in the soil, and picked up by mice, where they form the muscle cysts to then be consumed by cats and infect them.

View attachment 592302
Here's the CDC life cycle -- complete with suspicious looking cat with forward facing eyes like a primate. Nobody said scientists are good at drawing!

This article from the Scientific American is much better written than I could share, and goes into a lot of the history and background, but to answer your “heightened risk taking” question – it’s based on the fact that in mice, the parasite finds its way to their brain and modulates their behavior, removing their species aversion to cat urine and places cats frequent – scientists call this “fatal cat attraction!” It is speculated that this could occur in humans as well, and several studies seem to point to some sort of behavioral modification in folks infected with it. Granted, those sample sizes are small, and toxoplasmosis has no reason to evolve to affect other mammalian brains than rodent ones – primate brains like ours have a lot of differences. Still, the research is still out as to what exactly happens with toxoplasma infections in human nervous tissue. If anything, the most common thing it does in humans is make benign cysts in the muscle.

It absolutely is a very successful worldwide parasite -- Europe and the US and everywhere else. But if you're a immunocompetant you will be totally fine, won't even get symptoms, and not need treatment. Some people get flu like symptoms, and it's especially dangerous for immunocomprimised folks, pregnant people (because of the risk to the fetus) and if you're older (when your immune system is naturally decreased in effectiveness).
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Thanks for this great reply. This put me at ease a bit more. Said friend appears to have blown it out of proportion a bit, because from his perspective it sounded a lot more serious and horrific. I'll take a look at that article later tonight. Thanks again for your great reply! :)
 
pes said:
Can you have a look at this and check that the rabbit is ok, particularly the red bit on the left looks odd to me.
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I wondered about that myself, but assumed it might be just a bit of the tissue making up the scrotum, as male rabbits are known to have scent glands in hard to reach spots (kinda like pouches I guess) near the scrotum that should be cleaned regularly. Wouldn't mind getting clarification about that myself, though.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that they can also pull their testicles into their abdominal cavity, so I guess there might be loose skin, when the testicles haven't fully descended again, but that's obviously only a guess on my part as well.

An additional question I just remember I always had: Some rabbits appear to have naked, furless scrotums, while others appear to have fluffy ones. Is that a seasonal thing or does this differ from breed to breed?
 
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wandy said:
Hello can you please tell me what the treatment / protocol is for a case of brucellosis ?
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You can use google for that:

Brucellosis in Dogs

Brucellosis is an important venereal disease in many species. It does not usually come up in pet ownership because most pet dogs are not used for breeding. Once someone has decided to breed their dog, though, it behooves them to know all about this disease, particularly since it can be...
veterinarypartner.vin.com veterinarypartner.vin.com
 
Knutshack said:
Do you think many vets are zoos? Or do you think most are antizoos?
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It is certain that working with animals raises the statistical rates compared to the average. If the average humanity is 2%, it can be 3% for veterinarians.
No need to expect drastic values.

I think most of them are neutral, precisely because, as a doctor, they are aware of the dog's anatomy and thinking. And they doesn't think like an avarage idiot in Facebook dog groups.
I'm sure there are aggressive anti-zoo vets out there.
 
So i ride my horse bareback a lot and sometimes i cum on his back and it gets on him. Could that cause any skin problems or anything like that?
 
Deagle113 said:
Howdy zooville!

I work as a mixed animal veterinarian, and am willing to answer any and all animal health questions you may have to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that I’m only one person, and my medical opinion is just that—an opinion, however well informed it may be.

Anything you’re curious about?

Edit: feel free to Dm me if needed!
Click to expand...
Hi I have a 6yo retriever mix with skin issues he's been itching a lot lately and seams to have a lot of flaking skin on his back butt and chest. He's been treated for flees and ticks and is up to date on vacations. Not sure if it's some sort of allergy related issue or just dry skin. I did get dog friendly loation that soothes itching from dry irritated skin and it works somewhat but not for very long.
 
MypupandI69 said:
Hi I have a 6yo retriever mix with skin issues he's been itching a lot lately and seams to have a lot of flaking skin on his back butt and chest. He's been treated for flees and ticks and is up to date on vacations. Not sure if it's some sort of allergy related issue or just dry skin. I did get dog friendly loation that soothes itching from dry irritated skin and it works somewhat but not for very long.
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i would suggest to use a mild anti itch dog shampoo (maybe once a week) to get out the dead skin, then i would get a skin sample at vet for investigation

there are many reasons from fungus to mites - if u want a better opinion here u should upload some pics of the areas if its visible


did u regular clean the resting places? (i would suggest to put easy to clean blankets on them and change them every 2-3 days to no dead skin debis build up there, then wash them as hot as possible with mild cleaner)

and maybe change the dogfood for some allergic ones couldnt hurt :gsd_happysmile:
 
nekdoneco123 said:
why only these two camps?
non-zoo person doesn't necessarily need to be anti-zoo
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Most likely due to the binary thinking of many zoos as "us vs. them", where "Zoophilia" gets redefined as "loving animals (in general)", therefore anyone loving animals is a zoo and anyone who doesn't is an "anti-zoo" or hates "zoophiles" or something like that. This is one of the reasons why I wish people would just stick to the official definition of the term.
 
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