A Trip to the Vet: Scabs, Puss, and the Itchy Scratchies

Many of you are well aware of our most recent trip to the vet from our Facebook update on Monday.  We called the vet on Monday morning because Athena had an allergy flare up that got a bit out of hand and we figured that we'd better get it looked at.

Athena shaking as she awaits her turn to see the vet

On occasion, Athena will break out in little red bumps on her belly if she eats something that she's not suppose to (we are thinkin' she's allergic to white potatoes, possibly chicken, grass, and who knows what else).  Every time that Athena gets the little red bumps, they just go away on their own after about a week.  Well, a month ago Athena got the usual little red bumps after eating one too many chicken treats at the Doggie Dash.  However, we noticed that the bumps weren't going away and some were getting bigger.  Most recently we noticed that Athena had little scabs all over her body (mostly around her tail, backs of her legs, and her tummy, but a few popped up on her chest and even a gigantic one on her head).  I thought she could have fleas, but we didn't find any and still thought it strange that her belly bumps weren't clearing up.

The event that caused the bumps...

Now, you're probably thinking that we're horrible dog parents for letting the situation get that far (we're talking about three weeks of bumps and then scabs).  Well, we already had a vet visit scheduled for the end of June to get vaccines, so we thought that we might be able to wait it out seeing as Athena really didn't seem bothered by the belly bumps or the scabs.  Things got worse over the weekend, however, and Athena developed new belly bumps with puss.  We knew that we needed to get it looked at right away.

After three of us pulled a shaky Athena out from under the chair, the vet was finally able to examine Athena's skin and determined that her recent allergy break out probably just got a bacterial infection.  It's a good thing that we went in though, because since some bumps developed puss, we definitely needed antibiotics to treat the infection.

Benadryl is EXPENSIVE when Athena has to take 4 tablets a day!
 I got the mega-sized bottle making each pill only $.05.

Now Athena is on an antibiotic for two weeks and will be taking 50mg of Benadryl every eight hours for the rest of the summer (or as needed for her year-round itchy scratchies).  The Benadryl is making her drowsy, but overall she's in good spirit.

Things are starting to heal up after 2 days of antibiotics

Does your dog get the itchy scratchy allergies?  What do you do to keep them at bay?

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A Trip to the Vet: Bladder Issues

On Wednesday morning we took Athena into the vet to get her checked for a possible UTI.  Occasionally she's been urinating in the house (something she's rarely done since the first week that we brought her home), peeing more frequently, and licking herself down there.  There have also been two instances where she wet her bed a little bit.

Under the weather Athena snuggled with me all day Wednesday!

The vet checked Athena's lady parts, conducted an ultrasound, and sent out a sample of urine to the lab for a urinalysis.  Besides a hint of green in Athena's urine (a sign of a UTI), the vet didn't notice any other problems that may be causing Athena's issues.  While waiting on the results of the urinalysis, Athena started on a 10-day antibiotic.

The results from the urinalysis came back on Wednesday afternoon and they ruled out a possible UTI.  However, the vet suspected that Athena has a case of vaginitis (a.k.a. doggie yeast infection).  She's fine to stay on the antibiotic for the remaining week, but if her symptoms continue afterward, we have been instructed to head back to the vet.

She seems to be back to her normal self now that she's on the antibiotics

Ever since we got Athena nine months ago, we've always known that her bladder isn't the strongest, but we manage by frequently taking her outside to relieve herself.  I recently read into female dog incontinence, specifically with dogs who have been spayed.  Did you know that 20% of dogs who have been spayed develop urinary incontinence?  I was shocked to read this.  I'm just hoping that Athena's current condition actually is a yeast infection and not something more serious like incontinence.

We've looked into a few different products for bladder strength and I'm wondering if anyone out there has tried any similar products.

Cranimals

This is a daily supplement powder containing cranberry extract to support the urinary tract as well as the kidneys.  Similar to humans, dog UTI's can be cured with cranberry.  We've never tried this product, but we've heard good things and are interested in testing it out in the future.

Photo via Cranimals

Easy Peesy Tea

A tea for dogs that supports normal function of the urinary tract.  We own this product and have given it to Athena only a couple of times.  She actually doesn't really like it.  I would hate for it to go to waste though, so I intend to make some tea cubes with it soon to stuff into Kongs.

Photo via Honest
 Kitchen

Has your dog ever experienced any issues with their bladder?  What remedies have you used?

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!  

A Trip to the Vet: Hot Spot!

Athena got a hot spot.  Ouch!

A few days ago B and I noticed that Athena's underarms looked like they had been rubbed raw (loss of fur and a small bump on one side).  After doing some research online, we figured that this irritation was probably caused by her Easy Walk Harness.  I went out and bought some felt so that I can sew some pit pads to create some padding where the harness seems to be irritating her skin.  I found the idea for the pit pads here, but decided that I could easily sew them myself (I will post a tutorial once I actually get around to making them!).  We have been avoiding the use of her harness to allow for the irritated skin to heal.

Even with our avoidance of using the harness, it seems that Athena has gotten at this irritated patch of skin on her own.  Today B noticed a hot spot forming under one of her harness.  I would post a picture, but I don't want to gross anyone out!

We called the vet and they suggested that we bring her in so that they could determine if it was actually a hot spot and if there could be something causing it other than the harness irritation.

It turns out that Athena has a pretty mild hot spot, but will require a steroid/antibiotic spray on the spot twice a day for over a week until it heals.

Athena walking with her harness pre-hot spot

-A