Monday, September 17, 2012

A Trip to the Vet: Allergies

So, last week Athena was feeling a bit under the weather.  All of a sudden her eyes were very red, runny, and had goopey green/yellow discharge throughout the day.  Along with these sad looking eyes, Athena was also experiencing some loose stool.

You gotta wear them stunna' shades when you got the eye funk!
Of course we went WebMD crazy and tried to figure out what causes "red goopey eyes and diarrhea" in dogs.  Most sources pointed us in two different directions: allergies or virus.  From this information, we tried to think of anything in the environment that may have caused these symptoms in Athena.

Last Sunday we attended our first Portland Pit Bull Parade, so we thought that maybe Athena caught something from being in close contact with other dogs.  We also remembered that Athena had a homemade dog treat from another dog owner...and being the novice owners that we are, we didn't ask what the treat was made of because as of yet, Athena hasn't show signs of any food allergies.

We also started giving Athena some new treats last week.   I am going to be so upset if it is these new treats causing the allergies because I bought two bags of them just because they are so super cute and Halloween themed.  Meet Boo Bars:

After trying to diagnose Athena's issues on our own, we called the vet to seek advice.  They suggested that it was probably some sort of allergy causing the symptoms and told us to call back if Athena continued to show symptoms after another couple of days.  Because I'm a worry wart responsible dog owner, I called the vet back only a few hours later to schedule an appointment.  I couldn't stand looking into Athena's sad blood shot eyes with green boogers anymore!

Seeing as we couldn't get an appointment until the following day, we tried to do the best that we could to keep Athena comfortable at home.  Throughout the day we applied warm compresses to both of her eyes and wiped away any goop that formed.  We also added 100% pure canned pumpkin to Athena's dry kibble to help firm up her stool (we added a heaping spoonful to her kibble at breakfast and dinner).  Pumpkin is pretty much a miracle worker because it only took a few hours to works its magic on Athena's poop.

The next day we ventured to the vet (for the third time in the past two months I might add-- see last time's visit here).  The vet determined that Athena's symptoms are in fact probably stemming from some sort of allergy.  Since we have only had Athena for two months, it can be hard to determine whether or not the allergies are environmental or from food.  She told us that many dogs experience seasonal allergies, so it might be the case that Athena has fall allergies.  We can't be totally sure of this though until we have had her for a full year and determine if similar symptoms arise next fall.  The vet also told us that it's possible that her symptoms could be food related (either from the new treats that we fed her, or even from the one homemade treat that she ate at the Pit Bull Parade).

With that, Athena cost us a pretty penny at the vet (interesting how each visit just gets more expensive...).  Aside from the general checkup, she also had a fluorescein eye stain to ensure that a scratch wasn't the cause of her eye irritation.  Once that was shown to be clear, she was prescribed Neopolydex eye drops to treat the eye irritation.  We are suppose to give Athena one drop in each eye every 12 hours for the next two weeks.  PLEASE tell me how it is humanly possible to put drops in a dog's eye?!  Twice a day?!  For two weeks?!  Oh no, Athena is not having it.  It has been a major struggle to get those dang drops in her eyes.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Athena's eyes almost totally cleared up after the first dose of eye drops though.  The redness is pretty much all gone and she only has a very tiny bit of eye discharge.  Her loose stool is also a thing of the past.  So from now on we are on allergy alert.

I tell ya, pitties and their allergies!  

13 comments:

  1. Poor Athena! I hope she feels better soon and that you guys are able to figure out the allergy thing.

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    1. She's seems to be back to her normal self now! Hopefully we will figure out what she's allergic to because I don't like seeing her with those sad red eyes!!!

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  2. We put eye drops in Mel's eyes twice a day everyday (and have for years!), so it's totally doable. She actually doesn't produce tears, so we have to do it keep her eyes lubricated and healthy. We've done that florescent test several times too (don't they look like aliens with green stuff in their eyes?!!?).

    My biggest tip to give her A LOT of treats (and great treats too). If you let her up on the furniture, it's also a lot easier in the beginning to have them get on a chair or sofa so they are a little higher up (so you don't have to bend over as far). Then put her in a "sit," which will naturally cock her head back a little bit to look up at you. It takes a little practice but you'll get it :) Good luck!

    If you have questions feel free to email/message/facebook me :)

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    1. Thank you, thank you! These tips were very helpful!! I can't believe you have to give Mel eyedrops twice a day every day! Wow!!

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  3. I agree, definitely use a lot of treats so she'll associate the eye drops with food. Maybe have one person feed her small treats when she holds still while the other person gives her the eye drops.

    Duke and Maggie will now run into the bathroom and sit for their nail trims when they see me heading there with treats. :)

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    1. We attempted having one person feed Athena treats while the other person puts eye drops in, but she knew what we were up to so she kept running away! We will just have to be consistent and maybe bust out the hot dog for this one!

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  4. Ya! Pitties & allergies go hand-in-hand. Glad to see that Athena is feeling better though! Norman had huge red spots on his belly for a while when he found a new type of grass to roll around in somewhere. Both my dogs were SUPER itchy when I adopted them and switching to grain-free food plus salmon oil seemed to do the trick. For treats I give them dogswell chicken strips, freeze-dried liver or pieces of boiled chicken breast. All 3 are great because the dogs love them and they are just 1 ingredient treats.

    PS: Pitties in sunglasses = awesome:)

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    1. Athena is on a grain-free food, but I've been thinking that we should start adding salmon oil to the kibble to help with her itchiness. When we got her from the shelter she was VERY itchy and had a lot of dry skin/dandruff. Her skin seems to have cleared up since then, but she's still kind of itchy.

      Thanks for the treat suggestions too! We haven't tried any of those!!

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  5. I know for Annie and Paul, we feed them each a fish oil tablet, and give them grain free with salmon in it kibble. I've also given Annie bennedryl at times for her seasonal allergies. There's also this link from Bad Rap (http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2010/05/cuts-stings-hives-and-stink-home-care.html) for some basic first aid stuff.
    Hope Athena feels better soon.

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    1. Thank you so much for that link! I will definitely be bookmarking it!

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  6. Braylon gets those eye drops EVERY DAY twice a day due to allergies. Her allergies are year round and she has horrible symptoms in her eyes. Save yourself money and have the vet give you a written prescription and fill it at Target where the drops are like, $4 or something. We also give wetting drops in between, like Systane I think they are called? Also she can't have pumpkin because it has the reverse effect on her i.e. not being able to control her poop. Anyway... more comments, we also soak a wash cloth in green tea and hold it over her eyes for five minutes or so. She hates it but is very tolerant. The antioxidants in it are great for the eyes. Then we let her "go tea crazy," which is what he call it, her dad runs around the room with her chasing the washcloth and she tries to lick it because she likes the taste. Yes, these are the dorky things we do. Anyway, all of it helps, especially when we keep the schedule.

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    1. Wow, I never realized how many dogs have to get eye drops in their eyes every day! You must be really good at giving them by now! I am SO glad that you told me about getting a written prescription to be filled at Target. That is so GENIUS! I will be doing that the next time if we need more of the drops.

      We did the tea soaked wash cloth for Athena's eyes and she mostly just wanted to lick the towel instead of letting us hold it on her eyes. I like that you let Braylon "go tea crazy." That's hilarious! Athena would love it if we let her do that!

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