You can, but it seldom works. It is safe, but most pet parents see with their dogs is it makes them really drowsy. They're too drowsy to pick up their leg to scratch. You're probably not going to see them itching as much, but that's the one thing I don't like about it. It just makes them pretty drowsy, and in so many cases, it just doesn't work. In my experience in talking to hundreds of clients, maybe about one out of 10 clients see any benefit from Benadryl, and the same goes for Allegra, Claritin, and Zyrtec. I do have dosages available in one of my handouts if somebody can't do anything else or they can't get to us and they want to try something like that. The first thing I'm always going to recommend is to get them in the bathtub. Just give them some relief short term. Then, if you want to try the Benadryl, Allegra Claritin, or Zyrtec, you can. Keep your expectations low because they don't work well.

There are a couple of things. It depends on what we see going on with your dog in the first place when we do the examination. Sometimes when it comes to testing, if we suspect mange, we have a couple of tests. We do a skin scraping to test for mange. If we're looking for bacterial infections, in some cases, we may do what we call culture and sensitivity to identify exactly what is the type of bacteria. As far as the treatment of the dogs goes, most of it will come from examining the dog and getting a historical background. We get what we call history information you have observed and can impart to us. Otherwise, as far as specific diagnostic treatments go, most of it will be observation, looking at your dog, and getting to the background information.

Make sure that she's got plenty of food and water, and then once the kittens hit about two weeks, we start deworming them and give them vaccines as they get older. If you've got a litter, feel free to give us a call, and we can talk you through that process and get them started the right way.

It depends on the number of kittens. If we think she's pregnant and we can catch it in time, we can get an x-ray to know how many kittens there are and, that way, how many to expect. If she's supposed to have six and you've had five, you know you should be waiting for one more, which is important to know because sometimes you don't know when she's done. That's part of what guides that process. On top of that, cat labor depends on the number of kittens you have because if you have an hour or two gaps between kittens, it could span longer than if she's pushing them out without any breaks. I would say it probably lasts a couple of hours to half a day, but sometime in that range, ultimately depending on how many kittens there are.

Not necessarily. However, you should watch. I would be hesitant to be too involved in the process because it can sometimes throw mom off. But be actively monitoring because there may be red flags that may be a sign that you need to take her to an emergency veterinarian or us if we're open during the day.

In a nesting box in an out-of-the-way place.