Our dogs have both been rather ill lately...its sad and costly.
Battlecat, who tends to be our more illness prone dog, suffers from allergies each Spring (if there is such a season here in Houston) & Summer, which this year have been particularly bad, requiring her to take Benadryl twice a day since the end of April. In addition, she has already had two severe allergy flare-ups which have required her to do a steroid taper and antibiotic eye ointment. 
Kelsey, who has previously been perfectly healthy has also been experiencing some health issues. In early June she got an outer ear infection, and for about the past 6 weeks has been walking with a limp. The limp seems to bother her only occasionally--usually she still wants to run and jump and play--but it looks very sad. Initial evaluation from the vet was that it was probably some soft tissue strain and she needed to rest--which how you make a 3yo dog who loves to run, jump and play with her sister rest is rather tricky. When it didn't get better after many weeks, the vet said we needed to evaluate it further to make sure it wasn't something more serious with xrays. So Kelsey had xrays this week...which showed nothing serious in the bone or joints...so still probably soft tissue strain/sprain. Now she is supposed to really be resting (NO jumping, running or playing...pretty much only laying down with short walks to go to the bathroom), while taking a dog anti-inflammatory/pain reliever (like ibuprofen for humans). How we will accomplish this I'm not sure...the vet's recommendation was to keep the dogs separated and Kelsey pretty much constantly in her crate (which she has not been in at all now for more than a year). On top of this, her ear infection has returned.
And now, here is a recent picture of Battlecat, not wanting to open her right eye...so newly diagnosed on Thursday...Battlecat has a Corneal Ulcer (sore in the clear outer covering of eye...exquisitely painful in humans) from all her constant allergy-related eye scratching...AND she continues to scratch...she pretty much directs her dewclaw directly into her eye. I have been trying to keep a sock on her paw, we'll see if it works. Next we are going to an Elizabeth collar...which is sure to make her very pleasant.
Battlecat, who tends to be our more illness prone dog, suffers from allergies each Spring (if there is such a season here in Houston) & Summer, which this year have been particularly bad, requiring her to take Benadryl twice a day since the end of April. In addition, she has already had two severe allergy flare-ups which have required her to do a steroid taper and antibiotic eye ointment. Kelsey, who has previously been perfectly healthy has also been experiencing some health issues. In early June she got an outer ear infection, and for about the past 6 weeks has been walking with a limp. The limp seems to bother her only occasionally--usually she still wants to run and jump and play--but it looks very sad. Initial evaluation from the vet was that it was probably some soft tissue strain and she needed to rest--which how you make a 3yo dog who loves to run, jump and play with her sister rest is rather tricky. When it didn't get better after many weeks, the vet said we needed to evaluate it further to make sure it wasn't something more serious with xrays. So Kelsey had xrays this week...which showed nothing serious in the bone or joints...so still probably soft tissue strain/sprain. Now she is supposed to really be resting (NO jumping, running or playing...pretty much only laying down with short walks to go to the bathroom), while taking a dog anti-inflammatory/pain reliever (like ibuprofen for humans). How we will accomplish this I'm not sure...the vet's recommendation was to keep the dogs separated and Kelsey pretty much constantly in her crate (which she has not been in at all now for more than a year). On top of this, her ear infection has returned.And now, here is a recent picture of Battlecat, not wanting to open her right eye...so newly diagnosed on Thursday...Battlecat has a Corneal Ulcer (sore in the clear outer covering of eye...exquisitely painful in humans) from all her constant allergy-related eye scratching...AND she continues to scratch...she pretty much directs her dewclaw directly into her eye. I have been trying to keep a sock on her paw, we'll see if it works. Next we are going to an Elizabeth collar...which is sure to make her very pleasant.Here is the current dog medicine regimen at our house:
Morning: Battlecat- 2 benadryl tabs, 1 pain pill, 1 eye drop; Kelsey- 1 pain pill, ear ointment
Afternoon: Battlecat- 1 eye drop
Evening: Battlecat- 2 benadryl tabs, 1 pain pill; Kelsey- 1 pain pill
Night: Battlecat- 1 eye drop; Kelsey- ear ointment
In short my dogs have become very high-maintenance! Hopefully they both feel better soon!
5 comments:
Jake - I laughed all the way through your post on the LHS blogspot. I love that you mentioned the names of your dogs before your wife's name...lol. It's good to hear that life is good and that you haven't gotten to serious with life. So what exactly does a Geophysicist do? As I'm typing this a little person is trying desperately to get her feet on the keyboard, so I guess I'm done now.
Ugh. Sounds like a nightmare. I hope both dogs get feeling better soon! Poor Puppies.
Thanks for the info on Elli. She is adorable still, even if not Jenny's. :)
that's SO sad. you're like a doctor and a vet.
Sad day...this is why I stick to plants and flowers much cheaper than dogs or children! :)
Our lab mix (formerly Sarah and Jonathan's dog) has had similar problems with frequent ear infections. Not much to do about that.He also limped for a short while. I changed his dog food to one for joint problems - Breeder's Choice Active Care. He's only 7, but it has made a difference.
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