Originally went to local vet for lethargy, breathing issues and runny nose and notice of tinge of blood in discharge. Put on steroids and multiple antibiotics. Pigment color in one nostril turned pinkish white from black. They weren't sure but thought auto-immune. Couldn't do a biopsy b/c of infection so put on new antibiotic med. 1 1/2 months later, at ER vet b/c vomit was brown. They thought pneumonia, took him back for xray and 30 min later came rushing in w/blood splattered pants and told me he had been bleedidng profusely out of his nose, even throwing up clots. $$$$ spent on CT scan and rhinos copy. Diagnosis w/invasive aspergillosis - already ate away some bone and cartilage in his sinus cavity. Also diagnosed w/pneumonia. Placed on anti fungal med (itraconazole), pain pills, docycline for secondary infection and Chinese herbs to stop bleeding.
Bleeding finally stopped for 2 weeks now but he stopped eating. Learned he had high fever and now he is only taken small dose of steroid to help make him want to eat plus antifungal Med. They had also put him on denamrin b/c his liver numbers are going io due to side effect of anti fungal med. Got him to eat raw food yesterday and actually take his pill but want him to get better! Think he is sick of all his meds! He previously was eating Now kibble and Taste of the Wild. Any suggestions? Tried hot dog (whole foods of course), rice and chicken, soup, steak, grilled chicken, canned dog foods (premium brands, all types), cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream. I've been told the anti fungal is his only fighting chance so the disease does not spread to his brain cavity. The med is a capsule 2xday and so far he will only take in cheese but I need a backup plan b/c finicky now. Also want him to get well and beat these to any holistic advice for what I can do is beyond helpful. I've spent a ton of money thus far and can only manage something at home now.
★★★★★
First I tried to wash the wound out with peroxide and some antibiotic ointment. Probably NOT a good idea because I didn't want the bite to be sealed up and was not sure how the peoxide would affect the poison. Then I thought about what I had on hand here at the house. I mixed up a saltwater solution and washed the wound. I tried to get the saltwater in the puncture holes. Then I grabbed a box of baking soda and added a few drops of water to make it pasty. I applied this over the wound and covered the area around the wound. Next I got on the internet and scanned vet sites, spider sites, just ANYWHERE for a picture to help me identify WHAT had bit him.
Next, I got on EC and started scanning everything I could find about spider bites. I found the charcoal post and thought it may be worth a try. I went to Walmart and in the pet section they have activated charcoal for your fish tank. Comes in a large plastic jar. (asked the pharmacist about charcoal but they only had some capsules. ) I took some charcoal, about a tsp. , crushed it and added a few drops of water, and applied it directly over the wound. It seemed to stay on pretty good. I thought it might fall off but it didn't. I left it on for a day and when I went to check it and change the charcoal I found the wound had formed some kind of scab with the charcoal. It seemed bonded with it and I didn't want to tear it off, so I left it on. This was 48 hours after the bite and I could see the red ring was gone, the swelling was gone, and the wound area seemed to be much smaller. The next day the scab seemed like it was hardened and smaller. By the evening it had fell off and there was no swelling, no redness, no discharge, in fact, there were NO HOLES either. It was almost like he had not been bit! Like it had totally healed up under the charcoal and was gone. Total time from finding bite to scab falling off was three 1/2 days.
I am so glad that I found this site and so glad that my dog is okay! I still don't know what bit him, but it was just wonderful to have him healed up and alive. I hope this helps someone else. If I had to do it over, I would probably remove the scab and add fresh charcoal to the wound daily. As this was my first time dealing with spider bites, and as the charcoal was working so well, I was hesitant to mess with the process. I also live rurally and don't have access to a GNC or health food store, so Walmart pet section had to be the choice. Good luck to all....
Information on Animal Rights
The person that wrote this about animals and experiments on them needlessly sounds like he may know what he is talking about. I give him thumbs up for his courage and integrity as well as knowledge.
Pet Odors
★★★★★
Pet Odors
Overnights at the Vet
Dog Park Tips
Neutering Vs Vasectomy
Neutering Vs Vasectomy
So regardless of desexing or giving your dog a vasectomy unless he can smell a bitch on heat he isnt going to have the urge. That's kind of how it works. But thanks for the amusing post :)
Avocado Poisonous to Birds
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
Pill Tips: Cream Cheese
Pet Odors
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
White Vinegar for House Training and Accidents
★★★★★
Pill Tips: Cream Cheese
A very sick dog won't eat and is not motivated by food at all. This is a problem. So, I usually take a small amount of honey or a popsicle... you cant usually use a solid pill for this method. But, it works with crushed pills. Dogs like sweets... even when they are sick! I've even made popsicles in an ice tray to get some fluids and nutrients into a sick dog before. They make them for kids... why not dogs? :)
If you're not sqeemish about RAW meat... any ground meat works very well! If that doesn't work for you, perhaps some nice gooey canned food in a spoon. The key here is to hide the pill good, make sure the food comes off the spoon easily and small enough for them to swallow... If they need to chew it. They will most certainly discover the pill.
This maybe a stretch for others. Because my dog isn't the norm. But, I'll put it out there just in-case it helps someone. I recently found out my dog has a fetish for coconut oil... I mean he goes crazy as soon as he smells it or even sees the jar come out of the cabinet. If I place a pill in a spoon full of oil and he licks it all up... pill in all. He wouldn't dare let a little pill come become between him and his oil. BTW: I believe this oil has also helped with his allergies, skin infection, itching, and he seems like he has more energy now. But, not sure if it was the oil or one of his other 5 supplements/remedies that are finally starting to work coincidentally at the same time. Anyway, 1 Tsp. per meal and a little dab as a treat at night before bed (he weighs about 65 lbs).
We also started feeding the RAW/BARF diet... and nothing is easier than placing a pill in the middle of a peice of raw meat about 1" square. For a medium size dog, it's too small for them to chew and just big enough to hide any size pill. And a dog that is on this diet for awhile who has an apetite... isn't going to pass up a nice peice of meat. It won't take them long on this diet before they have an appetite!
Pet Remedies
Stop Lawn Spots
Administering Liquid Remedies
I totally believe in the healing power of ACV, but please, please be careful when forcefeeding it to your pet and know that if they choke on it and it goes down the trachea, the result could be pain that they can't tell you about.
Stop Lawn Spots
Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do concerning brown spots from pets' urine? I thought I read a while back that there is something I can add to the dog's food or water, but I just can't remember what it is. Any help would be appreciated!
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
I am very saddened when I hear about people leaving dogs in their yards because I know for a fact that dogs get stolen from their yards quite often. I had a roommate years ago in Los Angeles whose beautiful siberian husky was stolen from the front yard of my roommate's rental house. There is a happy ending to this story. He recovered the dog a year later when his jeep was stopped at a light in downtown LA and heard a dog howling nearby. A friend in the car said, hey that sounds just like Pierman! So my roommate pulled over, jumped out of his jeep and ran around the corner to find his dog sitting with a homeless person. The dog apparently recognized the sound of his owner's car a block away and started howling. The poor dog was in very poor health after a year on the streets and had developed an eating disorder. But how amazing that he was reunited with his owner!
So this is my plea to all pet owners to please be very careful when you leave your dog outside. Microchipping is a great idea in case the dog is stolen or runs away, but better to always supervise your beloved canine friends.
Thanks for reading...
Pill Tips: Cream Cheese
Tear off pieces of this "pill sandwich" and feed your eager poochie. He (she) won't even realize that he has taken a pill! I've used this technique for 35 years on several dogs and it has never failed.
Pet Remedies
EC: Great advice, thanks!
Brushing Your Dog's Teeth
Overnights at the Vet
If you have transport and are willing to take care and responsibility, take them home!
Neutering Vs Vasectomy
Yes, castration reduces "issues" related to having testosterone (roaming, having a sex drive, possible prostate cancer, etc).
But at least he would be intact and still able to have sex. Sex is very healthy (and enjoyable!!:-) )for humans - so why not for dogs?
Shop around for vets who are willing to do it. I'm not sure if I can put this website address - but for more info go to
http://www.dolittler.com/2008/2/25/pet.vet.dog.cat.neuter.castration.vasectomy.veterinary.html
The vet from this website states:
"Sure, neutering will typically rid you of the roaming, the pee-peeing over any available surface, freaky behavior around bitches in heat, and the triple terror of testicular tumors, perineal hernias and prostatic enlargement. Yet sometimes owners want just the reproductive issue addressed, thank you very much.
But the jury has spoken-for now, anyway. The veterinary establishment is loath to relinquish its recommendation that full castration (neutering) is the end all and be all when it comes to canine sterilization.
Indeed, vasectomies are so rare that I recall being laughed at by my professor in my Principles of Surgery lecture when I asked whether anyone was performing this technique in lieu of castration. That was fourteen years ago when I was still stupid enough to slink back into my seat and make myself invisible after such an oratory "fiasco."
Now that I've wisely shed such inhibitions, I can proudly proclaim: Vasectomies are surgical procedures, too! They have a place in vet medicine along with the unrecommended (but still sometimes necessary) anal gland-ectomy and feline thyroidectomy. Yes, sometimes they are indicated.
Given the new wave of discussions on the potentially dubious medical benefits of castration, it seems reasonable to look to vasectomies as a sound solution for those in doubt as to whether a normal neuter is best for their dog.
Today's patient was a perfect example: A young, fit Frisbee dog, this Border mix was all muscle. His owner wanted to ensure his "safety" around her friends' breeding bitches for a couple more years of competition on full testosterone overdrive. She'd read about vasectomies online and immediately knew "Rolf" needed one.
It just made sense. "No problem-I'll do it." (Though I've never had cause to do one before.)Afterwards, I had to wonder: Why haven't I ever been asked about this before now?
Though it's an easy surgery (far less painful than a routine castration, with fewer complications, to boot), it's clear that we vets have serious power over what procedures become accepted as the norm. Yet as science advances, as it inexorably does, what was laughed at by a gray-haired professor over a decade ago may just be the most responsible thing I might advocate ten years from now. "
Think about it.....would you want your man castrated just so that he would not roam??? Not me.
★★★★★
Pet Odors
★★★★★
Someday we hope it will be illegal to keep a dog cooped up in a backyard or inside without taking him or her for a walk at least once a day. In the meantime, California is ever progressive. A few years ago they made it illegal for dogs to be tied up for more than 3 hours at a time [The Tie Out law]. It's a great start!
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs
Hardwood Floors and Steep Stairs