judy
Well-known member
since saturday, Zack got better and better. This morning, i really was seeing him as being back to 100%. He was bringing me the ball to throw, going outside, ate his kibble this morning, nice poo , and when we went out to go to the vet, walking to the mail box, he was just prancing, head and tail held high, and his cute little front paws stepping high in the air, just seeming to feel good to be alive. The vet said right off the bat that it was pyoderma, as the other vet said, and she said she didn't like the medication he had been given, Clavamox, for skin infection, she liked something else better, i asked what, she said Cefadrop, sounds like a cephalosporin maybe, i haven't looked it up yet, but i said i'd take that one since she is the skin specialist. because i wanted liquid rather than tablets, it was very expensive, $60 more than the tablets. i just want to make it as easy on him as i can. and on me.
she found a flea on him, and saw flea dirt, which wasn't there yesterday, i dont' know if she didn't believe me that it wasn't there before, but she said her theory was that he had been bitten by fleas, and the skin infection developed from that. She said he absolutely does not have a flea allergy, which was good to hear, i didn't think he did, but things are far from clear. She also said not to worry at all about the lesions scarring and hair loss, she said they were superficial, it's not deep pyoderma. i was relieved about that.
So...we talked about Advantage and Frontline, and i was already committed to having Advantage put on him. I asked if it would be contraindicated because of the lesions. She scared me because she hesitated before answering. Then she said as long as there weren't any lesions on the back of his neck. I pointed out one on the back of his neck. they're all over him. she said it was ok, as long as the stuff wasn't put right on the lesions. I'm not sure it didn't go right on lesions since his hair is so long, i can't see where they all are, and she didn't check. she put it on, and i got one for the cat too.
He was still fine all the way home. He went in the backyard, he was playful. But about 10 minutes after we got home, he started doing that scratching/body rubbing thing again, and furiously digging into the pillows. He did it once on Tuesday night too but i gave him benadryl and he continued to seem like his normal self. But today, right after that, he became very lethargic and prostrated again. He has slept all afternoon. This is just not like him. I can just hear the vet saying (as the one did on Sunday) "It's the heat." It is NOT the heat. Something is wrong. He showed no interest in a treat. I could not interest him in playing. He wanted to lay on me, or lay anywhere, and he is just sleeping, and i am afraid he's like he was last week again.
The only thing that happened to him was the Advantage. It may not have been caused by the Advantage, but i was already so reluctant to put pesticide on my dog, and now, it's still wet looking and when he was laying on me, a strong chemical smell was coming from him. Not so strong that if he was running around i would smell it, but because he was laying righ on me, a few inches from my face, i smelled something and i thought "What's that?" and then i remembered he has the Advantage on him. I'm afraid he's poisoned. i think he was poisoned last week, but i don't know by what. None of the vets really address his systemic symptoms.
Now, i am not sure whether i'm going to switch him to the ultra expensive medication ($93). I don't want to add something else. He was doing OK on the Clavamox for one day. If i give him the new one, then that will be yet another powerful drug in him. I just want him to feel good and hold his tail high and prance again. i'm really sad and worried now.
i hope it's not the Advantage, but i also don't like not knowing what it could be. He did go in the backyard right before he started scratching. It definitely could be something out there. I was watching him the whole time, i was watering the garden, and he was in areas where i'm sure there must be fleas. I'll keep him away from there until the Advantage takes effect.
I wanted to treat the yard with an IGR but i can't find out where to buy it. I can order it online but didn't want to wait. I asked the vet and she said not to treat the yard or the house. She said to just rely on the Advantage. She did mention Malathion and said while it's a strong chemical, the sun burns it off really fast. but there's no way. anyway, i think when she said not to treat the house and yard, she was considering that more chemicals might be harmful. i dont' really know why she said it, just guessing.
i just want him to be ok and want to know what i can do for him, all i can do is just let him sleep and wait it out, i guess.
my objectives in going to the skin specialist vet today were, one, to ask about what could be done to prevent scarring, and two, to ask about whether it was ok to put Advantage on with the lesions. And anything else she might add from her expertise because it's a skin thing. so, all of that was accomplished. but now he's acting sick while before he was acting well.
maybe i'm overreacting? maybe he just needs to sleep and it'll be ok in a day or two or three? i don't know, i'm at a loss for what to do.
she found a flea on him, and saw flea dirt, which wasn't there yesterday, i dont' know if she didn't believe me that it wasn't there before, but she said her theory was that he had been bitten by fleas, and the skin infection developed from that. She said he absolutely does not have a flea allergy, which was good to hear, i didn't think he did, but things are far from clear. She also said not to worry at all about the lesions scarring and hair loss, she said they were superficial, it's not deep pyoderma. i was relieved about that.
So...we talked about Advantage and Frontline, and i was already committed to having Advantage put on him. I asked if it would be contraindicated because of the lesions. She scared me because she hesitated before answering. Then she said as long as there weren't any lesions on the back of his neck. I pointed out one on the back of his neck. they're all over him. she said it was ok, as long as the stuff wasn't put right on the lesions. I'm not sure it didn't go right on lesions since his hair is so long, i can't see where they all are, and she didn't check. she put it on, and i got one for the cat too.
He was still fine all the way home. He went in the backyard, he was playful. But about 10 minutes after we got home, he started doing that scratching/body rubbing thing again, and furiously digging into the pillows. He did it once on Tuesday night too but i gave him benadryl and he continued to seem like his normal self. But today, right after that, he became very lethargic and prostrated again. He has slept all afternoon. This is just not like him. I can just hear the vet saying (as the one did on Sunday) "It's the heat." It is NOT the heat. Something is wrong. He showed no interest in a treat. I could not interest him in playing. He wanted to lay on me, or lay anywhere, and he is just sleeping, and i am afraid he's like he was last week again.
The only thing that happened to him was the Advantage. It may not have been caused by the Advantage, but i was already so reluctant to put pesticide on my dog, and now, it's still wet looking and when he was laying on me, a strong chemical smell was coming from him. Not so strong that if he was running around i would smell it, but because he was laying righ on me, a few inches from my face, i smelled something and i thought "What's that?" and then i remembered he has the Advantage on him. I'm afraid he's poisoned. i think he was poisoned last week, but i don't know by what. None of the vets really address his systemic symptoms.
Now, i am not sure whether i'm going to switch him to the ultra expensive medication ($93). I don't want to add something else. He was doing OK on the Clavamox for one day. If i give him the new one, then that will be yet another powerful drug in him. I just want him to feel good and hold his tail high and prance again. i'm really sad and worried now.
i hope it's not the Advantage, but i also don't like not knowing what it could be. He did go in the backyard right before he started scratching. It definitely could be something out there. I was watching him the whole time, i was watering the garden, and he was in areas where i'm sure there must be fleas. I'll keep him away from there until the Advantage takes effect.
I wanted to treat the yard with an IGR but i can't find out where to buy it. I can order it online but didn't want to wait. I asked the vet and she said not to treat the yard or the house. She said to just rely on the Advantage. She did mention Malathion and said while it's a strong chemical, the sun burns it off really fast. but there's no way. anyway, i think when she said not to treat the house and yard, she was considering that more chemicals might be harmful. i dont' really know why she said it, just guessing.
i just want him to be ok and want to know what i can do for him, all i can do is just let him sleep and wait it out, i guess.
my objectives in going to the skin specialist vet today were, one, to ask about what could be done to prevent scarring, and two, to ask about whether it was ok to put Advantage on with the lesions. And anything else she might add from her expertise because it's a skin thing. so, all of that was accomplished. but now he's acting sick while before he was acting well.
maybe i'm overreacting? maybe he just needs to sleep and it'll be ok in a day or two or three? i don't know, i'm at a loss for what to do.