Most over-the-counter medications are not recommended because they interact with more effective things that we can give. Typically, before you give your dog, and your cat especially, anything at home, we would recommend that you call, and we might recommend making an appointment to get an appropriate medication for your dog. Many times we've heard that owners have given Tylenol to their dog, which limits what you can do for the pain to help the dog. Some of those medications are quite toxic to their liver and kidneys. Tylenol in excess, for instance, and even aspirin can have some side effects on the stomach. Even baby aspirin.

We'll do a physical exam. We'll put our hands all over the dog, move the dog's neck, and move its legs and feet. We look for a vocalization. We also look for arthritis, which can manifest as almost a crunching feel in the joints. We assess the overall body condition of the dog and how the dog moves, and things like that. That may prompt us to talk to you about x-rays and similar things to assess further.

If your dog is exhibiting any abnormal behaviors that you're unsure about, you should come in. If you touch your dog and it cries, if it starts limping, if its appetite decreases, those are some signs that perhaps we need a trip to the doctor to see if your dog is in pain or maybe there's something else happening with it.

Many things can cause pain, anything from an injury, like a bee sting, to something like a knee injury, like a torn cruciate ligament, to arthritis. I would say arthritis is one of the biggest types of pain that we manage. That would probably fall under the chronic pain category. Dogs tend to adapt to it, and it's not until it's advanced that owners recognize it many times.

Pain signs vary. They can range from vocalizing or making growling or screaming when being touched to things like limping. Sometimes a limp is subtle. Typically, if a dog's limping, there's a reason it's limping, and pain is almost always involved. Sometimes they'll lick or bite at the injured area, or their pupils will dilate. Sometimes their behavior completely changes. They don't interact with their owner, don't want to eat very well, and don't want to play anymore. They may have difficulty getting up and down the stairs, things like that.

He'll have a lesser chance. Some behaviors are learned. So especially in older male cats, it may become a pattern, which is why we recommend neutering younger ones before these have a chance to become a pattern. By removing the testosterone, they will not want to chase a female or at least not be hormonally directed to chase a female or mark with urine because we'll be removing that influence. But if you wait too long and they've already learned that it's not guaranteed. Sometimes it does get better, but it doesn't always go back to zero if you have a 10-year-old tomcat who's outdoors and used to doing his thing. Although, it certainly doesn't hurt. I still recommend it for numerous other health reasons. Behavior is always one of those things, but it's not guaranteed to fix all problems. He may be adventurous, and he'll stay that way.

Usually no. We get this question from two angles. Some people have very sweet, loving cats, and they worry that will change, and it doesn't. Or, they have a little more rambunctious animals that they're hoping will change after the surgery. While some behaviors can change, a lot of the ones people want to change, like hyperactivity and those attributes, are not affected by the procedure. Some of those behaviors are learned and not affected by the lack of hormones. So it's not a cure-all for behavioral problems. It doesn't hurt, but it may not help.

It's possible. Usually, that has less to do with the spay and neuter itself and more that we tend to do those procedures around the same time their metabolism is slowing down anyway. They're maturing and becoming an adult. It's kind of like hitting your thirties. It's the same thing in our cats. We do watch their diet, but we do that regardless of their age, making sure they don't put on too much weight.