My hound is sick again. Getting worried. (lab, bite, clean)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First we had the horrible road trip from Vermont to Pennsylvania, where he got an intestinal infection along the way with bloody stool and vomiting. The vet prescribed antibiotics. He was fine in a few days. A few weeks passed and I noticed him licking a spot on his leg. I investigated and he had a bald spot. I took him to the Vet ER (because I developed a rash and feared that he had mites).
The vet said the spot on his leg was infected and his lips were infected. Huh? He was prescribed steroids, 28 days of antibiotics, and that topical flea pesticide stuff that does everything under the sun, including mites and heartworms.
Well, he hasn't been himself since. I suspect the steroids are the cause. He is lethargic but he functions via getting up to eat, go outside, watching cats out the window for brief periods. For the most part, he is tired or sometimes restless but not often. Now he is breathing somewhat heavy, not panting, I can just hear his breathing. He looks fatter, like his belly is bigger. Drinking tons and peeing forever when he's outside, a couple accidents inside too. Hubby noticed that his hear looked dirty. At the vet I noticed that it was bright red. The vet said that was probably from holding him down during the exam. Now I'm wondering if it was ear mites, but I would have thought the vet would have seen that while giving him an exam.
I don't know what the heck he got into when we were in Vermont. It's so weird that he is repeatedly sick. I've never had a dog that was sick so much. Even my old lab battling his degenerative spine never got sick and he was 16 years old.
My concerns. I know most of the symptoms are the result of the steroids. I'm worried because he was on steroids in the Fall, and he was on antibiotics just a month ago. Isn't it dangerous to be on steroids within a year? What if the vet didn't take into consideration that he was on these medications recently?
And most of all, why is my dog sick all the time suddenly?
The vet probably wouldn't see ear mites without swabbing the ears and examining it. And sometimes even then, they don't find any in the sample. The other things are from the steroids, and I would worry, too, about using them so much. A second opinion wouldn't be a bad idea.
Remember, if you take him off the steroids that they need to be tapered off so as not to cause more problems.
My opinion doesn't count for much but personally I wouldn't overload my dog on so many meds.
Can you find an holistic Vet near you.
I know antibiotics have their place but I have also read these meds actually lower the immune system given too much and it seems like you dog needs to build up his immune system..
btw/have you had a blood panel done.
Our Son's dog was going down hill and wound up having this condition I have never heard of before.If they hadn't had bloodwork done they would never have got the disorder right.
Hopes I hope they can get to the bottom of this and get your hound off the steroids. Steroids are very hard on the body. My parents had a dog that got stuck on steroids and antibiotics for years all starting with a skin issue and any time they weaned the drugs it got worse, later he developed lupus which I often wonder if the drugs had destroyed his immune system thus the lupus. My mom bless her soul would never question a vet or doctor. After my mom died I helped my dad totally change the dogs diet and wean him off of all drugs and he had a sort period where his skin got worse but I kept him sprayed with willards water and he did not itch so then he healed and never had another skin issue sadly a few years later his hips gave out. He was a large dog and I am sure the steroids had not helped there either.
So I hope they can figure what is going on with your hound and get him weaned off the drugs, Keeping our fingers and paws crossed
Agree. If you have an option, go for it. Humans get 2nd, sometimes a 3rd opinion in very important health issues, so if you can afford it, do it. If you don't, then just wean your pet off of drugs and just let the pet be a dog.
It wasn't long ago, well depends on your age, that dogs didn't get vaccines, drugs, and we all fed them people food as a treat or dinner. When it was their time, they marched off into the woods/brush or just never woke up after a night's rest.
But, fast forward, we're all into the whole vet thing, so if you can, get a different vet.
A new set of eyes can make all the difference to your pet's health -- or yours, too. We found a new vet after our old vet made some very bad calls and missed diagnoses over the past year. Her mistakes cost one dog her life and cause our other dog to endure needless suffering. Her mistakes also resulted in our spending many thousands of $$ on healthcare costs to specialty vets last year -- and in the end, we lost both dogs. Their diagnoses came too late to save them.
Sorry for not updating sooner. I called his vet and we started to tapper off the steroids. He still has side effects, but he is definitely improving.
As for everyone saying I need a different vet, keep in mind I went to the Vet ER, not his regular vet, and there was very good reason for the treatment prescribed.
The reason he was treated so aggressively is because I had symptoms too. I went to a dermatologist a week prior to taking him to the Vet ER. My symptoms were like scabies, but it wasn't scabies because the bites weren't in the places scabies happen. When I first saw him licking, I thought it confirmed that I had scabies and that they were biting him. The opposite happened. He somehow got mites and his mites were biting me. Human and canine mites don't invest other species via living on them, but they will bite other species. Trust me, I've learned more about mites than I ever wanted to know.
That's the downside to being in love with our little furry friends is we can catch so many things from them. I caught his bacteria infection too. I have to get better about washing my hands after touching him. That's a hard thing to do when we are like two peas in a pod, always cuddling together.
I don't wish what I've been going through on anyone. Not only is it painful, but it has literally driven me insane. I've never had any type of infestation in my life. Imagine how I felt when the dermatologist treated me for scabies "just in case." I walked out of that office feeling like low life trash. I couldn't imagine where I caught them. Nobody in my household had them. A week later, I confirmed that it was originating from my hound. Somehow he picked them up while we were staying in pet-friendly hotels or when we were at the rural vet office on our way home. I remember the exam room was disgusting with lots and lots of dog hair on the floor. They didn't clean the rooms between dogs.
But I'm glad they were biting me because I wouldn't have diagnosed my dog as quickly. He would have been much worse by the time I figured out something was wrong with him if I wasn't being bitten.
Anyways, we're both doing much better. I was just worried about these side effects of his steroid.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
