It’s been awhile since I’ve updated on Whiskey’s allergies. I suppose it’s because we’ve “solved” them or at least found a solution that works well.
To quickly summarize, we had noticed that Whiskey would get bumps on her exposed skin (normally ears/head) sometimes when she was outside. These bumps would quickly go away (within an hour or two) once she was inside and sometimes would be so bad she would resemble a Shar-pei. It was pretty clearly environmental, not only because they went away so quickly once out of the elements, but also because it never appeared where she wore a jacket, and sometimes they would appear only on the front of her legs (where she got splashed more) for places where she was more exposed.
If we miss a dosage, minor bumps
These allergies were worse when it was raining, especially after a period of dryness (corresponds with high allergens being released and popped by rainfall). We went to a dermatologist, did a full allergy testing (intradermal and blood) and tried Benadryl (no effect) and personalized immunotherapy (no effect).
Eventually the vet suggested Reactine, which I thought wouldn’t work since Benedryl had no impact, however it worked! And right away! Whiskey is now on two pills of Reactine a day (2x10mg pills in the morning). If I skip a day, sometimes I can see bumps by noon, the effect is so obvious. I buy a large brie (or Camembert) cheese that last a month or longer and wrap her pills in the cheese (cheaper than pill pockets). The Reactine I get at Costco (no-name brand, cheapest option I’ve found). I haven’t noticed any side-effects or issues and I’m SO thankful we’ve found an easy solution although Whiskey will probably be on Reactine for her lifetime.
We’ve just gotten back from a trip to Kelowna for Whiskey’s spay. When we first got a dog, I didn’t realize there were several different options for spays (and for neuters), each with pros and cons. As I’m typing this, Whiskey is next to me sleeping and recovering.
fetching and swimming in Kelowna
Just looking at a health perspective (let’s assume you aren’t leaving your dog in heat running around with intact males), there is up to a 25% chance of uterine infection with older intact females (pyometra) so if you aren’t breeding, getting a spay in North America is probably going to be considered. Here are the types of spay I was looking at:
Ovariohysterectomy -traditional spay removing both the uterus and the ovaries -removes chance of pyometra -available anywhere –increase chance of joint disease and cancers since hormones are absent
Ovariectomy -removing only the ovaries -removes chance of pyometra -typically a key hole surgery requiring a smaller incision -quicker surgery and potentially safer -less painful with a smaller cut -quicker recovery time -less vets can do this –increase chance of joint disease and cancers since hormones are absent
Ovary sparing spay -removing only the uterus and cervix, leaving at least one ovary -removes chance of pyometra -still small chance of ovarian cancer -increased chance of mammary tumors over other spays -keeps heats but no bleeding -keeps all the hormones -difficult to find an experienced vet that does this
one last sunset picture
For larger breeds, because it’s healthier to keep the hormones, spays are usually delayed until the dog is “fully grown” although with an OSS, you could even do it earlier. I only really researched about spaying later because of this, and honestly I wanted to delay any kind of optional surgery as late as possible. Once I did look into it, I found the only vets near where we lived that offer this special spay were at least a 4-5 hour drive away. Poor Whiskey had no idea where we were going when we headed out on a roadtrip to Kelowna. She was so happy, hiking, exploring, and modelling the whole day before her spay.
she’s old enough to understand the vet is no fun place!
Whiskey’s suspicious face
a small pre-surgery checkup
waiting for her surgery time
Freaking out a bit once we got her on the surgery table
Because Whiskey had such little fat, she was more difficult to put under and struggled more than usual. Outside of that her spay went normal and we were there when she went to sleep and woke up. It was so heart-breaking to watch her struggling against the anesthesia as well as flailing around when she woke up (apparently certain breeds flail more than others). We didn’t leave her side until we drove home that evening.
right after she finished with heating pads
we made sure she could smell us before opening her eyes
forcing her to lay down and not run out!
stubbornly not laying down to recover at the office
That evening Whiskey was feeling so poorly it was very difficult to get her to pee and poop and she was walking like a very very elderly dog with her head hanging low. It was so sad to see! The next day however she was still walking slow but she had perked up and was already giving kisses. By lunch time she would let me spoon feed her (yes, she’s a princess when she feels sad) and by the evening she was 80% back to normal. Currently I walk her on leash only with a long line and work on new tricks, training, and lots of patience!
Over the past year Whiskey has been getting bumps that appear pretty quickly and disappear just as fast. The bumps never stuck around long enough to get to a vet and so we put on our detective hats to find out what the problem was.
small ear bumps
Her bumps were concentrated on her upper head, ears, and the front of her legs and were raised but not red. They would get better within 15- 30 mins once we took her away from the environment she started showing symptoms in, and would rarely show for more than 1 hour. At the least, they were a couple round bumps on her ears, at the worst her whole face was swollen to the point she couldn’t even see, but even then, her bumps would fully vanish within 2 hours (so no time for vet). When the bumps were at their worst, (as happened about 3 times) she would be very quiet, tired, and sad looking. They didn’t seem itchy, and she would be back to normal as soon as they went away. They were like bee stings and we did try some Benadryl but it was hard to tell if it helped because the bumps always went away so fast either way. We also tried a holistic Allergy Supplement, as well as local raw honey but neither seemed to show much improvement over several months.
a medium-bad example
It was pretty clear from the get go that these were allergic bumps and since I feed home made raw, it was pretty easy to eliminate food as her allergy source. We noticed a pattern after a couple months that was interesting; if we took her to a park several times a day, only sometimes she would come back with bumps (even if we took her to the same place on the same day). Most of the times if we went into forests or mountains she would be fine, so in general she had more bumps in the city, or close to the city. I have to emphasis that although these pictures look absolutely terrible, the bumps at their worst only stuck around for about 20 mins and in 2 hours, they were gone. I hate seeing Whiskey like this and I’m only posting this as I hope this may help another Vizsla or puppy.
the worst it got with us (about 3x ever)
the worst case only happened when it rained
Something else that was interesting was the worst cases were when it was raining and if she wore a jacket, she would have no bumps where the jacket covered (a strong case for environmental allergies). Also, she had more bumps on the front of her legs, not the back of her legs where she was more exposed to water spray, or where she would have a higher chance of touching allergens. From my research, I found out that tree pollen becomes more concentrated when it rains, and comes down from the air in rain droplets. People that have tree pollen allergies react more in rain as well. Also, in the city, we plant mostly male trees so when pollen is released from male trees, there aren’t enough female trees to capture pollen so there is more pollen in the air causing allergy issues in humans (says Scientific America and Vancouver Sun).
Anyways, since we’ve both been working a crazy amount of overtime, we finally had a chance to book Whiskey in with a pet dermatologist (yes that’s a thing!) about a month ago. I find when visiting vets, I’ve learned I need to really stand up for my beliefs. Vets love to prescribe loads of tests and medications “just in case” and many times these are not needed, and not only will cost more, but you are also giving your pet unneeded chemicals. Now, I’m not expert but I do know my dog so we opted to test Whiskey only for environmental allergies (I had to insist it wasn’t food related) and I opted out of flea control (twice) since I was absolutely sure these were not fleas. We did both a skin test and a blood test. The skin test unfortunately, called for her side to be shaven, a grid to be drawn, and 40 plus tiny allergen injections to compare reactions to a placebo.
Poor girl is also on her heat
Her side is shaven and a grid is tested
Whiskey was given a reversible sedation and I was able to watch the whole procedure. Afterwards we needed to wait 3-5 more weeks for blood test results, and then depending on the results we would have to order either drops or injections to give Whiskey to help her allergies. We ended up with drops and the ordering took another 3 weeks, so a month and a half later, we picked up the drops. At the moment we are just giving her a little drop a day in her mouth and that’s it. We are supposed to see noticeable results from 3 months to 1 year and this is all covered by insurance 80% (I really recommend insurance). Whiskey’s highest reactions seem to be to a mold and some tree and weed pollen. Without insurance this would have cost about $1400 (for all tests and 5 months of drops).
she was half sedated and I was there every minute
For the past 3 months though we’ve not seen seen much allergy reactions at all so we are wondering if this is more a fall/winter thing (or wet season thing) but we are trying the drops (one set lasts 5-6 months) for at least a year to see if this improves. For the time being, we are taking one sided photos while we wait or Whiskey’s hair to grow back!
Awhile back, we had a scary episode where Whiskey was suddenly limping and wouldn’t use her left hind leg. We had taken to her to emergency and had no answers after a rather large bill (xrays were fine). It strangely only lasted a day and she seemed 95% back to normal by the next day.
her first limping episode
However, this happened again a couple months later in late November and while we didn’t go to ER again, we did keep a very close eye on her and like before, it resolved within 24 hours. At this point, I really wanted to get to the source of the issue. We’ve had two tentative diagnosis as a back stress injury (reason why the recovery was so fast, from our vet), and/or soft tissue trauma (ER vet). A friend had a recommendation to a well known vet/surgeon that specialized in lameness assessments as well as chiropractic therapies and orthopedic surgeries, so we called him up to make an appointment. Let me tell you, this is a very rare find indeed!
all is well now!
We made the date to head to Whistler (about 2 hours away) and took Whiskey for her first appointment with Dr. Lane. My goal was to pinpoint the underlying issue that was causing her periodic lameness and hopefully treat it without any drugs. I know many people might think that this issue “isn’t so bad” since she doesn’t consistently show symptoms; two days of limping isn’t the end of the world, especially with active dogs. However, I would much rather solve this now then wait 5 years and have this become a chronic issue. Also, we are covered by insurance (80%) with Pets Plus Us, which I highly recommend since we’ve tested their claims very very thoroughly.
Vizslas are pretty active
Since Dr. Lane is extremely busy and was only working once a week, it took about 1.5 months for us to secure an appointment. He started the appointment by listening and recording our issues and watching our video of her which we had filmed to record the limping event. We then took Whiskey out for a walk to demonstrate her walk, her trot, and then went up and down some stairs. Dr. Lane noticed that going down stairs, she had less “wiggle” in her lower back which seemed tight. He started treating her by feeling with his fingers all over her as well as extending her legs. Whiskey wasn’t too sure of this strange man so we needed to bribe her with treats. Acupuncture as well as massage, lasers and chiropractic therapies were all used and we even ended the session with some IMS. At the end of it all, poor Whiskey was ready to leave, hugging the door with sad eyes 🙁
acupuncture and laser treatment
Dr. Lane narrowed down the problem to a hip misalignment that was causing her to put stress into her back that would eventually lead to a limping episode after too much explosive activity (ie jumping and sprint starts). The activities we toned down were jumping and continuous fetch although we never did too much to begin with. He thinks that perhaps there was an incident that caused her hips to move out of line and over time her body just got used to it. We were working to correct her hips and let her body ‘remember’ the new alignment by having less activity for awhile. This was pretty easy since she happened to have also started her heat, so it was on-leash walks away from other dogs for a month anyways.
her second heat has her very mellow
After the initial consultation, we went back twice more and were given the all clear (and to come back 6 months-1 year just to check up). After every consultation, I could see a difference in the way Whiskey was running (less so on the last one). She seemed a bit looser. We’ve not had any limping since, and hope this is all over. At the worst, we’ve got a clear explanation and someone that can help us out if anything happens again. I think the hardest part was not knowing the problem and throwing money at an ER vet that didn’t have a clue.
Now this was an adventure! To get to Widgeon Falls, one must drive to Pitt Lake, canoe or kayak across, make your way up a creek, and then hike a couple kilometers to a beautiful waterfall. This was my first time and I really enjoyed this day trip. The previous day Whiskey had cut her back paw so we were happy for a short walk (and a bootie to protect her).
The sunrise light on blueberry fields
Arriving at Pitt Lake
Whiskey and Millie, her half sister
We woke up really early on Sunday to drive to the canoe rental shop since we had heard it can get really busy and we had a big group that didn’t want to miss out on canoes (11 people and 4 dogs). Well the shop was supposed to open at 8am but we didn’t realize we needed to knock next door in order to get the shopkeeper (presumably living next door) to open up so we waited around for a good half hour before figuring it out.
Tugging on a found sock, yucky!
What mom? can we go yet?
Millie checking out the view
You got the canoe? Lets go!
The canoe was wonderful and all dogs behaved themselves, even the boat with 4 people and 2 dogs (we were on a 3 person 1 dog canoe). Canoeing to the hike point can be harder than you expect if you aren’t used to paddling and steering but we had enough Canadians to work it out.
a 4 person 2 dog canoe
Little Ginger was also keeping watch in her canoe
It was hard to keep Whiskey fully inside
Amazing mist on the creek
Really beautiful scenery
She kept sniffing the water
We reached the hike point (also the camping grounds) in an hour and the hike itself is very pretty and quite short. The falls were fantastic (my best friend even trucked in a cake to celebrate my birthday early) and it was just wonderful to sit in the sun.
Beautiful light on the trail
Millie takes a dip in the cold water
Widgeon Falls
Part of our group
A little birthday on the rocks
My family
Millie inspects a hole
Shira is our gorgeous 4th dog today
We had paddled out in the early morning on high tide (Pitt lake is large enough to be tidal) but coming back was reaching low tide so there were moments the heavier canoes had to be pushed to get through some very shallow parts (it’s a good idea that someone has water shoes). Also, on the way back Whiskey decided she had enough with canoeing and jumped out into the marsh. We were really happy we could convince her to get back in without jumping out ourselves! I do believe my Vizsla is not the biggest fan of canoes and would rather walk.
So Whiskey has been running and doing really well lately. She’s even been filling out her very skinny frame (adding much more fat, oils, quinoa, sweet potato into her diet is helping). Then one day while at work, I received a text from her walker informing that she was limping and favoring her left leg. I had taken her out that morning and played fetch and she was doing really well, no sign of any issues before she was put into her crate to rest up. The walker noticed nothing different as she was taken from her crate, to the van to be transferred to her walk. It was only after getting out of the van, there was an obvious limp. He noticed the limp within minutes and kept her on leash for the walk (checking her paws but finding no problem). After he dropped her back home, he put her in the crate, and when we got home from work, she was a very different dog.
so so mellow and sad
getting her eyes tested
not putting weight on her back legs
switching from one leg to another
She wouldn’t come and greet us, she was very sad and wouldn’t stand or walk. She wouldn’t squat to pee, and she was refusing a bullystick which was very very out of character. We took her into ER immediately and carried her the whole time. At the ER, the vet pointed out that a dog with a physical problem doesn’t normally show signs of such lethargy and wanted to test both her legs as well as blood and more. She tested her legs, put her under sedation for xrays, and did a couple blood tests. In the end she said we ruled out the serious stuff and it was probably a soft tissue damage. She gave her a little painkiller and we went back home to watch her. The ER vet prescribed 3-5 days of on-leashed walks.
xrays
That evening I carried Whiskey to her normal potty spot and kept her lying for the evening. Since she wasn’t interested in eating from her bowl, I literally spoon fed her and she would only eat her favorite bits. I slept with her in bed, and the next morning I woke up to find Whiskey had forgotten the previous evening and was her normal self again! I couldn’t see a limp at all whereas the previous night she wouldn’t even stand! She ate her breakfast, cleaned the bowl, and there was a super happy wagging tail with lots of face licks, and she was very ready for her morning walk. I was astonished at the change. I only did a very short walk on leash so she could pee and poop.
The next day we pose for photos since we can’t do much walking
Still working for treats!
3 days later I took Whiskey to see another vet for to check her legs for any sign of trauma, for a second opinion, and to see how slow/fast we could expect to have her to full running again. The vet was very thorough and was unable to find/feel/see anything alarming. She also mentioned that instead of a soft tissue injury it could have been more in her back/spine which is why it seemed like a huge change from one day to the other. She prescribed a more conservative 10 days of on-leash walking (no running and jumping) with a gradual work up to off leash and longer hikes. At the moment it’s been very difficult to keep a one year old from running or jumping but we are trying our best. Today we took her on a canoe ride (because I really hoped there would be limited running and jumping in the canoe) with a tiny bit of water retrieving and some short on-leashed walks. It’s been a tough week but it’s worth it to make sure whatever the problem was doesn’t happen again and Whiskey can fully heal!
activities for the resting Vizsla
swimming much better this year!
Update: 2 weeks later Whiskey’s shown no signs of limping. Hopefully this was a one time thing and it doesn’t happen again! I think the lethargy was mostly Whiskey’s personality when she is feeling sorry for herself. Alot of dogs don’t show signs of this, but even when Whiskey is cold from swimming, or it’s started to rain, she looks so miserable you wonder if there is something truly wrong.
We’ve had a couple minor health problems since spring rolled around. We’ve had a couple bumps crop up and are currently finishing up another case of Giardia (Giardiasis) so I thought it might be of interest to keep a diary of small problems should they crop up again.
Bumps
I self-diagnosed these as hives which was caused by an allergic reaction to physical contact (in this case) with something in the environment (a vet would later confirm, but was unable to see the bumps). A couple small bumps would come after a walk in the park and last several hours only appearing on her lower muzzle. I was pretty sure it wasn’t food since I hadn’t been introducing anything new to her diet and it was a specific area (the part she shoves into everything interesting on the ground). Her appetite didn’t change but because she was a little swollen she looked miserable. They were slightly itchy but otherwise didn’t seem to bother her. The bumps appeared on and off for about a week and even her worse case of it had the swelling go down quite fast.
the worst case she had that lasted just hours
Bumps on ear- bumps all over just one ear after a play at the park. Gave her a ear mite treatment just in case, but they disappeared and never came back.
Treatment
I boosted her immune system by cutting out the kibble entirely (she only has at most a cup a day) and giving her a spoonful of local honey every night. Honey has been my go-to when Whiskey has a problem. It’s great for infection and wound healing (applied to the skin) and in this case local honey helps both humans and canines for allergies. I also sprayed on some Burts Bees Anti Itch Soothing Spray because it seemed like she had a mild itch. We also washed all bedding just in case and gave her extra cuddles.
Giardia
A week after the bumps went away completely, there was one evening when I noticed she was less energetic at the park (walking to retrieve the ball, not running). I kept an eye on her and she happily ate dinner and but then was super sleepy. An hour later I noticed her tummy gurgling more than usual (I was lying down with her because I felt something was off) and she didn’t even seem interested in some cantaloupe which she normally loves. Overall it wasn’t a huge change in temperament, because even my partner thought she was just tired from her hike that day. That night she woke us up whining and when we took her out, she pooped twice (soft) and went back to sleep for the rest of the night.
My sleepy girl with gurgles in her tummy
The next day her energy level seemed better but she vomited during a car ride. In the evening again she seemed ok, but in the middle of the night woke us for another poop. After that she was fine with no symptoms since I changed her food back to home cooked and added extra probiotics. We weren’t too concerned at this point because everything went back to normal and we had assumed that she just ate something bad at the park.
energy level is quite normal
Then several days later the wake-up calls to soft poops started again. After a couple days of getting progressively worse it got to the point she was straining to go but couldn’t and would try over and over again. She would also wake us up 3 times at night to go out. At this point we took her to the vet.
waiting at the new vet
During the wait for the vet, she tried to go poop 5 times in an hour. Because it was last minute, we tried out a new vet closer to home that was available (her normal vet was booked up that day). This one was much more thorough in the examination, but asked to do more expensive (and maybe unnecessary) tests. He noticed her heartbeat was slower than normal and did an EKG (she’s just really fit). We also ordered a very comprehensive parasite panel and diarrhea panel, but needed to wait a couple days to hear back. That night I went to Costco and bought a ton of ground chicken and sweet potato so I could start her on a bland diet.
during the day she is normal
We went back to the vet the next morning after 2 rounds of vomiting (mostly bile) and waking up 4-5 times at night for poops. Strangely she was eating fine and her energy was good at the park, but more subdued at home. This time they did a full blood test, gave her extra electrolytes, a subcutaneous fluid injection (fluids injected under her skin) to help elevate any dehydration, and got her started on antibiotics and some special super canine probiotics. Her blood test came back with everything normal, which was a relief because with home-feeding it’s good to have the feedback she’s doing well. Within an hour Whiskey had perked up again has been getting better ever since. Eventually a couple days later we got a call about the poop results and confirmed she had Giardia and I could come pick up more medication.
the lump is the fluid injection, disappears over the day
Whiskey’s had Giardia before as a puppy but this time didn’t present the same as last. As a puppy it came on very fast and was obviously a problem. This time the illness was non-continuous and harder to tell it wasn’t just something she ate in the park.
a bit skinny, needs more food!
Treatment
Vet bills were over $900 so it’s good we were insured!!! If we weren’t insured, we wouldn’t have agreed to all the tests and treatments. So Whiskey had a heart test (EKG), bloodwork, poop test, electrolytes, a subcutaneous fluid injection, probiotics, prescription probiotics, antibiotics, and a small change of diet. The last time we had Giardia we only had a poop test, with quick feedback (40 mins vs 4 days) and antibiotics so the price to treat and diagnose this can vary like crazy depending on the vet!
extra velcro these days
Lessons Learned
-Insurance pays off, especially moments where you don’t want to make decisions based on money
-Even though we spent more at this vet and did more tests, it took longer to get a diagnoses because the fecal test was sent to another lab. Our other vet would have been quicker because they can do it immediately, even though we would have had to wait an extra day to get an appointment.
-A sick dog plus two working parents make for a very hectic week and lots of worrying
The past long weekend we decided to take a cheap, dog-friendy vacation to Hope for some hiking. We managed to be lucky enough to have one dry day between the crazy rainfall and got in a couple hikes.
The view of the town of Hope
playing in the forest
posing in the forest
The town of Hope
Famous for the film location of the first Rambo, we did our research by watching First Blood with Whiskey in bed. We stayed in a beautiful AirBnB suite with a really comfortable bed and friendly family and had a blast. Hope is a pretty small town and we didn’t really meet any tourists out.
the roads around Hope are beautiful, even in the rain
The first day we set out early to conquer Mt. Hope, a 6+ hour hike. Unfortunately, Hope recently had a bad ice storm that damaged a ton of trees around the area. The logging road to the start of the hike was hopelessly blocked but we tried to get through anyway to see if it was just a small section (it wasn’t) and found the extent of damage was pretty incredible. This was the ultimate agility course for Whiskey and she was super quick to jump over, climb on top of, crawl under, and find her way though all the downed trees. She didn’t understand why the humans had so much trouble.
road is blocked!
yeah…not the easiest to get through
she gets through this mess like a wiggly snake -no problem
Next we made a random stop on the highway and found a small section of the Boston Bar Trail. Named after the Americans that had found gold on the Fraser, this is a really old trail that dates back to the 1850s. Now used by ATVs, there was no one out so we just strolled on through, throwing sticks and taking pictures.
not too shabby a stroll
weeee! happy dog
little waterfalls everywhere with melting snow and rainfall
Coming back to town, we next did the Hope Lookout trail, “the Grouse Grind of Hope”. It certainly was a grind and a good workout but with more variation in scenery than the Vancouver one, and much much less crowded. The finish wasn’t at the top of the mountain, but had a cute bench and a nice view of the city.
Another short-ish hike because, hey, it’s the long weekend and we wanted to sleep in a bit. We were the only ones on this hike which starts right off the highway. There’s no precursor- it’s just up up up and there are some scrambling parts as well with ropes to help out. The top has quite a bit of ice storm damage but the trail was really easy to follow. I would say that this might not be dog-friendly to small or old dogs because of the incline but any athletic dog would be fine (Whiskey was chasing sticks up and down like it was nothing). Also, since it was a rainy day, I would suggest to make sure you have good traction shoes for this hike. We had the most fun on this one, but be warned- we found ticks!!
the trail starts up right away
in lumpy moss land
we gain height quickly
taking a breather
she really doesn’t understand why we are always so slow
a quick peek
a couple ropes to help
Whiskey sits on my lap in the middle of a scramble
top top top!
waiting for me to finish the ropes
This is one gorgeous hike
she races up and down this mountain
until next time
Ticks
Oh gross oh gross oh gross. I’m not really good with bugs and was really happy to have someone else pull these buggers out. They can grow to enormous sizes and carry some serious diseases (rare) so make sure you check your dog if a hike is known to have ticks. We found 2 well hidden behind Whiskey’s ears and killed them in alcohol (flushing them down does not kill them).
We play with Whiskey throughout the day, flipping her over and tumbling all around with her. The other day I saw some red spots around her arm and leg ‘pits’ and after a quick check, discovered she had picked up fleas from a dog at the park (most likely). She’s currently on Sentinel, although she was just overdue for her monthly pill so I wasn’t 100% sure if the pill was still active. Sentinel mainly kills heart and tummy worms but is also a flea preventative: it doesn’t kill adult fleas – it causes the adult fleas to become infertile, so as to avoid infestations.
Immediate treatment
As soon as I found the spots I rubbed her coat with a vinegar/lemon mix. I also boiled her collar (with some rosemary sprigs) and found a bunch of fleas in the water confirming my fears. I suppose because I had covered her in vinegar, that the fleas must have jumped on the collar. Those were the only fleas I ever found. I set out a flea trap at night (soapy water in a pan with a light) and caught none. Thankfully, cat also showed no signs of fleas. I don’t even want to think about attempting a bath with our very overconfident cat. It was very late when we noticed the bumps so we didn’t get to clean the house until the morning.
boiling her collar
This is what floated up from the water! gross!
day 2 photos
her armpits
poor girl!
Day after
The next day, we cleaned all dog and human bedding, vacuumed the house very well, and gave her a bath with her emu oil shampoo (it’s supposed to repel fleas). Also, after the first day we saw no signs of more bites so I think we caught them early, or the Senntinal was working. I also vacuumed the house that evening, and everyday for a week. Crossing fingers, we avoided an infestation. In two days we already saw improvement in her rashes and bites.
day 3 photos
no more new bites, but old ones are poofy
heeling already
you would have never known from her sweet temperament
Flea pills
I had been going back and forth about giving Whiskey a dewormer/flea preventative monthly as it’s basically like putting chemicals and poison in them. The problem is we live downtown, and the dog parks are not very clean. There are homeless dogs around, and we meet around 100 dogs a week. There is old poop every foot in the city. We are also going to start daycare soon, and many daycares require preventatives so I guess our decision is made. Sometimes the treatment to kill fleas and worms can be worse than the preventative. Especially flea infestations!
More bumps!
In hindsight I think it was just bad luck with bad timing, but while her flea bites were healing she got another kind of bumps all over her tummy. When it rains, it pours I guess! These were different bumps. They were evenly spotted over her tummy and upper legs and were not itchy or red. They were hard and raised and after some research I was pretty confident they were allergy bumps (actually I had seen them on forums before so I wasn’t panicked). I wasn’t as concerned because we seemed to have dealt with the fleas ok, so I figured I’d delay a trip to the vet until the bumps bothered her, or got worse. The bumps came and went over the next week and these were our very amateur guesses at what caused it:
-chicken (she normally does not get chicken and I had given her some the night before)
-bedding detergent (I had finished an old jug of non-environmentally friendly detergent I don’t normally use)
-water from the beach
allergy bumps on her tummy
Allergies
The bumps are now mostly gone after coming and going for a week and a half. I’ve ruled out bedding detergent, but the fact that they weren’t on her back makes us suspicious that something could have been in the water at the beach she frequents. She usually wades in to her tummy and doesn’t go fully in. Food allergies are super tough since symptoms can come several weeks after the dog has eaten the problem food, and symptoms can last several weeks after the dog has digested it. Also dogs can get allergic to something they seem to have been fine with, but they only show symptoms after their body has tolerated too much. The detective work needed is frustrating and Whiskey has been eating a huge variety of food. In general it’s tricky with puppies too since their immune system is still growing, so with luck she won’t keep this allergy (if that’s what it is). Since the bumps have been going away, I’ll just keep an eye out for them when we give her tummy rubs.
you can see bumps are just on her tummy but are getting fewer
My little Vizsla just got stung by a wasp at the park. I think it was karma for stealing someone’s last slice of salami just minutes ago. Missing the drama, I was working when she was out for a walk in the park and just got home to this:
She was stung on the right muzzle
Someone’s not feeling so well
Poor thing! Her swelling is going down and I’m just happy she got stung on her muzzle, not inside her mouth. Apparently she was off leash roaming the park as usual and came back with a swollen muzzle. Soon after she vomited, and needed to be carried home. We’ve been seeing several wasps in the area and I even got stung a week ago. My partner couldn’t find any stinger on her muzzle and just watched her carefully. After half an hour though her swelling went down and she didn’t have any other symptoms.
A little extra clingy tonight
By the time I came back home an hour later she was wagging her tail (though not rushing the door like normal). She ate a little wet food and I applied a mix of water and baking soda to her muzzle. Poor little thing! In the morning the swelling had gone down and she was back to normal. We just got back from the park and I had to pull her off from investigating more wasps in the grass. I guess puppies don’t learn!
