Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Growling Vet and a Red Faced Human!

 

Hi Y’all,

We ended yesterday with more antibiotics, ear cleaner, Benadryl, special food and allergy shots. 

The vet started me on more antibiotics and finally I cleared up. 

The only good thing about all these allergies was that the vet didn’t want to do the big “snip” until I was cleared up.  Unfortunately, time had run out for me! 

But the big “snip” meant more antibiotics. 

If you’re wondering about how my Human got my pills down me, since all I was allowed was by special kibble, it was easier than cleaning my ears!  She would palm a piece of kibble and take the pill between her thumb and forefinger, open my mouth with the other hand and stuff the pill on the back of tongue.  I was smelling the kibble, ‘cause it was right next to my nose!  Immediately after sticking the pill on my tongue she gave me the kibble in her hand. 

After I heal up, we head back to the shore. 

It isn’t too long before I come up with another ear infection.  My Human took me to the vet here at the shore.  By this time I didn’t want anybody touching my ears.  I tried to hide or twist away every morning at ear cleaning time.

The vet looks at me and glowers at my Human.  Only Momma was with me.  He had the girls take me in the back and clean my ears.  It was really painful, but I tried to be good.  The vet gave my Human a bottle of antibiotics for me. 

We went out to pay the bill and the vet came out and told the girl to give me ear wash.  My Human spoke up and said she had ear wash. (We had bought a new bottle from the mountain vet.) He turns around and hollers at my Human “WELL! USE IT!”  Everybody, even the dogs in the waiting room, looks between him and Momma.  My Human’s face turned scarlet. Before she could retort, the vet was in another room with a patient. 

The antibiotics usually made me feel better. 

We had to go back to the mountains.  I still wasn’t feeling good.  Then my Human noticed I was asking to go out more and more often and not lifting my leg, just squatting. 

After talking to a couple of the Humans’ nieces, it was decided that I would change to their vet.  My Human makes an appointment and we go in to see him.  I do my roller over for my belly inspection.  The doctor gets down on the floor with me and does the exam.  Immediately he says everything indicates a kidney or bladder infection.  He could run more tests, but he’d recommend a series of antibiotics first and he felt sure that my infection would clear up.  It did. 

All this time, I’m still getting bathes, allergy shots, ear washes and Benadryl.  My ears are getting to the point I’d just like to bite my Human’s hand.  I start curling my lip in a warning.  All that earned me was a quick snap of that tab lead I wear on my collar and a sharp reprimand. 

My Humans sat down for a conference.  Momma had spent a long time doing research on the internet and talking to a holistic vet she and Papa had known for years. 

They had done everything the vets directed.  I’d lost my family jewels. I’d had my ears washed until they were sore from washing.  I’d had my butt cleaned regularly, but it just kept needing it. I’d had bathes until I thought that I was itchier from the bathes than from the allergies.  (a note: Chessies are not supposed to be bathed frequently because it destroys the oils that waterproof their coat.)  All the Benadryl was doing was making me sleep. 

My Humans were very unhappy about the amount of antibiotics I had to take.  Momma made the decision to take things into her own hands. 

Thursday I’ll tell you what my Human does and what happens next. 

15 comments:

  1. I'm really looking forward to your next post to see how you've coped with this. We went through a similar experience with Lucy - similar, but not nearly so bad. She, too, is allergic to grass (among other things). Certainly not an easy thing when we live in the country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The vet said what? Really? Wow. Rude.
    I can't wait to find out what your very innovative Mama does. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my Hawk, what an ordeal! You poor puppy.

    That other vet sounds mean. Instead of yelling, maybe a few tips about how to make the ear cleaning easier would have been better.

    I have seen that Chessie lip curl...lol. It was when I was trying to get Thunder to take a gigantic antibiotic capsule (he had a foot injury). He lost that battle too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. we use this mixture to clean on our ears:
    http://www.houndgirl.com/2010/08/dog-ears.html

    between this and grain free food we havent had ear infections since!

    Im sorry your having to go through all this buddy :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. We are guessing that she will find out you are allergic to Vet offices.

    Mogley G. Retriever

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow... that one vet sounds really mean! I'm glad you guys switched.

    Looking forward to the next installment... I'm sorry you had to deal with all of those issues.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How dare the vet yell at your mom!

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm really interested in your next installment to find out what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would have hit that vet in the head.

    Oops, did I say that out loud?

    Can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Woof! Woof! Cant totally relate ... When I was young I'm the favorite patient at my vet. You got to try eliminating some stuffs (like food ingredients). My humans took years to make my allergy under control. Sending you lots of Golden LOVE. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hawk, your mom ought to write a letter to that vet office, because what he did isn't right. There's no reason to act that way with people who are trying to do what's right by their pets.

    As to your other matters, dude, I'm so sorry to hear you've been going through all this. Darby had an ear infection last year from too much falling in the pool, but it was an easy fix for him. I've seen other dogs in the state you're in, and I'm sure you have had enough of all the poking, prodding, squishing, shots and pills.

    Here's hoping the next installment takes a turn for the better.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hawk you poor boy we hope you feel better soon. What a rude vet yelling at your mummy. We hope the new one is much nicer. From Angus & Milo

    ReplyDelete
  13. That vet sounds awful. Are all of these allergy problems/ear infections going on right now or is this from the past? Either way, it sounds terrible and we hope a good solution is found for you! :)

    Elyse and Riley

    ReplyDelete
  14. I sure hope you are feeling better soon...several of the FiveSibes have had bouts with ear infections over the past few months, and boy, they sympathize with you as they are not fun. Keep us posted, and I want to hear what happens next...Husky hugs and get well wishes from the Five and Mom.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh Hawk, we just hate reading about your allergy problems! It broke our heart watching Felix go through these problems before we got his allergies under control, so we know how your poor Mama feels! Mama uses a combo or Apple Cider Vinegar, Alcohol and a clove of garlic soaked in it to clean Fe's ears. It works better than any of the commercial stuff she has tried. The ACV acidifies the ear making it a bad environment for yeast and the garlic is a natural antibiotic. Fe gets his ears cleaned once a week and it sure helps. we are sitting on the edge of our seat to hear what the new vet said and to find out what your Mama has done. We're betting you have an allergy to something SUPER COMMON like beef or chicken or something like that. Whatever the change is, we sure hope it's making you feel better. Allergies SUCK and that Benedryl is SO HARD on your kidneys.

    ReplyDelete