Welcome to the “Ask Dr. Paola” series. Here we bring you expert advice directly from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) every Monday, ensuring that readers have a better understanding of your dog’s health and well-being.
Whether you’re a new pet parent or a veteran lover, Dr. Paola is here to provide answers to your most pressing questions. From nutritional tips and preventive care to troubleshooting common behavioral issues, Dr. Paola is ready to provide insights that will keep your furry friends happy and healthy. Stay tuned for expert guidance on the various topics that are most important to you and your dog. This allows you to make informed decisions and provide the best possible care to your dog peers. Do you have a question? Send it here! 
Help! My dog hurts behind his ear
“Dear Dr. Paola,
Teddy is about 10 years old. When I found him he was a drop off, I thought he was dying! He had the pain of draining the shed all over his body. I always work on him and he’s finally putting his hair back on, but he hurts behind his ears half the size of his head. I was in the hospital for two months and when I got home he was missing. He’s gone for six weeks. Thankfully, I found him in my front yard. I need help. He is a fighter. He loves to go outside and sit in the sun and has a big heart. Can someone help us? We need you! thank you,” – Teddy & Karen
Hello Karen,
Thank you for sharing your Teddy journey. It’s incredibly moving and it’s clear how much love and dedication you put into his care. The way you brought him back from such a vulnerable state speaks volumes of your compassion and determination. After he’s finished, it’s heartbreaking to hear that he’s now dealing with another serious pain, especially something as big as you described behind his ear. Given its size and location, this could be more complicated, such as growth and immune-mediated conditions in older dogs with a history of severe infections, abscesses, or particularly skin problems.
Teddy’s strength and spirit are admirable. However, at this stage it is important for him to meet the vet in person as soon as possible. He may need certain treatments, such as wound care, antibiotics, or diagnosis, to understand what is going on beneath the surface. I understand that in your hospitalization this may be challenging at the moment. If money is your main concern, there are “15 organizations that help veterinarian bills” and “Veterinarian bill crowdfunding: 12 tips.” Hopefully some of these ideas will help Teddy. You’ve already done a lot to give him a second chance. Seeing him a proper doctor now will help ensure he enjoys the sunbathing and the life he cherishes clearly.
I wish you good luck,
Dr. Paola
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Help! My dog has a heart enlarged!
“My Yorkie, Katie, is 5.5 pounds, 12.5 years old. Recently, I was diagnosed with cardiologists as having cardiologist enlargement. Although we were not given a prescription, we were told to her, “There is no salt in her diet.” I love Dr. Marty’s food, so I plan to use the recipe for ground beef and vegetable dogstar, mixed with Dr. Marty’s nature blend. She is in Dr. Marty’s life. I called Dr. Marty’s business and spoke to someone with knowledge that said salt was the last item on the ingredient list. Veterinarians are said to use canned dog food.“ – Agnes
Hello Agnes, thank you for sharing more details about Katie. At age 12.5, she is clearly deeply committed to making thoughtful choices for her, especially with her recent heart diagnosis. Although no medication is prescribed, managing her sodium intake is actually very important for your dog’s heart health, especially when a veterinary cardiologist recommends it.
Katie has been doing well with Dr. Marty’s food over the years, supporting digestion, energy levels and healthy weight, so you can understand why you want to keep it as part of her routine. However, even if salt is last listed on the ingredient list and the representative says it is around 0.02, it is still important to clarify whether the figure represents 0.02% of total food (as the Fed) or 0.02% of dry matter. Sodium levels are not always publicly available in pet food packages, so we recommend emailing them directly to the company to request the exact total sodium content (per 100 kcal or as a percentage of dry matter based). Once you have that information, go back to your vet. This allows you to assess whether Dr. Marty’s food falls within the recommended sodium range for dogs with heart changes.
Many veterinarians are most familiar with certain therapeutic diets and may be hesitant to support alternatives other than these brands, especially without a guaranteed nutritional profile. However, the extra effort and transparency from the brand makes it absolutely possible to make informed and coordinated decisions. Homemade meals like beef and vegetable blends you plan to plan can be a great base, but she has a medical condition so she must be specially prescribed for a particular case by a veterinarian nutritionist and approved by a cardiologist first. Then, combining it with foods she already loves helps to maintain her appetite and overall well-being.
Wishing her health
Dr. Paola
Help! My dog might be HIV positive!
“Hello, Dr. Paola,
If the mother dog is said to be HIV positive and delivers a puppy, will the blood cross the puppy? Do they have it? ” – Betty Joe
Hello Betty Joe,
Thank you for your question. First and foremost, Dogs cannot contract or carry HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus). HIV is endemic to humans and does not infect dogs or other non-human species. So, if someone said that their mother’s dog was “probably HIV positive”, this could be a misconception. It is confusion with terms or confusion with different states.
To make it even more clear, the type of virus that can cause problems with the immune system in dogs is completely different from HIV. For example, dogs can contract dog distemper viruses or dog parvoviruses, but these are species-specific and have no relation to HIV. Regarding maternal blood crossings to puppies, several viral infections (although rarely) from mothers, such as herpes virus, canine parvovirus-1, and distemper, can lead to fetal death, abortion, or neonatal diseases along the stages that the mother depends upon when she gets sick. Additionally, if the mother’s dog has an infectious condition, the illness can be passed through postnatal nursing or close contact, as well as shared blood.
In this case, the dog simply does not get HIV, so there is no risk that the puppy will acquire HIV from the mother. If you are concerned about your mother’s health or exposure to illnesses that affect your dog, your veterinarian can perform appropriate tests to ensure that your puppy gets off to the best start in life.
I hope this information is useful to you.
Dr. Paola
This article is part of the weekly question Dr. Paola series
