calliech

My girl does the same. Always has. It's dehydrated poo which is why it's crumbly with no water content. It looks like it's been in the sun for a week but the only way you can tell it's just fresh is a thin layer of mucous covering the poo. Water is reabsorbed in the large colon leading to dehydrated poos. Perhaps she drinks less than the boys but she's also lazier hence crumbly nugget poos. Nelson has normal to runny but he can get nervous at times hence the overstimulated bowel movements. Seamus is just right. Seems I have Goldilocks and the 3 Bears kind of poos in my brood.

Allergies in dogs are extremely unusual to begin as early as 10 weeks as their immune system is immature. 90% of Westie allergies are to grass. There are a few things that can cause skin irritations this early one being a mite called demodex. Have your vet do a skin scraping to check for demodex and start using Bayer advocate as your flea control as it also treats demodex. Another common skin problem in Westies is Malassezia dermatitis. This is often misdiagnosed as allergy. It's a yeast infection. You can start washing him twice a week in Malaseb shampoo which is antibacterial and anti fungal but I find it harsh and it causes redness to the skin in some dogs. Alternatively you can use Nizoral shampoo which is a human medicated shampoo and it is antifungal. If the problem is Mal dermatitis, you need to get it under control straight away as it will get worse over the summer months. Don't be told that it's allergies and not investigate any other cause. If Malassezia or demodex get a hold it can be very difficult to treat. Personally I think it's safer to cover all your bases at once rather places all your faith in one diagnosis and then having to start from scratch when that diagnosis fails.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the late reply. I'm a little exhausted at the moment. Seamus is great! He came home yesterday and he was so excited to be back home. He must have been sore as he has 3 lots of stitches. One lot in his little scrotum from the desexing, one in the inguinal canal and one from the penis to the ribcage. But it doesn't seem to affect him. He ran around giving everyone kisses. He's still isolated from the other 2 dogs for a while but he'll be able to go out to join them by Friday. It was such a relief to see him bounce through the door rather than walk in with his head hanging and his feet dragging like he was when he left. We went to visit him the day after the surgery and give him a stinky old work shirt of mine to sleep on which apparently held him in good spirits. I must have looked like an idiot hiding behind a bookcase and peeking through the glass to get a look but if he'd seen me he would have been very distressed. The vet ER rang us every 6 hours or so to give us updates on how he was progressing so we were very pleased that he was in good hands. It was all very professional and it had the feel of a human private hospital.....very organised and efficient. So the stressing over my darling boy is over and we're all alot calmer (I'm up to expressing 50ml now instead of 20ml ). We sought legal advice from my friends mother who is a solicitor. She has drafted a letter of demand and a please explain but we probably don't have to go that far. The original vet was kept informed of what was happening with Seamus by the emergency vet. He rang my husband and explained what he thought had happened, which was that Seamus may have had a hernia in the inguinal region which was plugged by the retained testicle. Once the testicle was removed, the hernia had to be plugged by the nearest organ which is how the bowel (I think it was the ileum) slid into the hernia and he developed a constricted bowel or bowel obstruction. He was very very ill and would not have lived through the night but he did not have any dead bowel, just inflamed and very angry looking. There was no need for resection thank God. He was on the phone to my husband for a very long time and appologised profusely for misdiagnosing the condition as a haematoma. He offered to pay for half of the costs of the final bill from the pet ER which I found to be redeeming. My husband said he genuinely seemed to care about how Seamus was and sounded very concerned and not evasive and wanted to follow him up for his stitches removal and his recovery. Hubby placed a lot of weight in that conversation and if he's sounded evasive he would not have accepted the offer. Our solicitor said that although it was not a great outcome in monetary terms, it was wise to accept the offer as suing or threatening to sue was the only way to recoup any lost money. Suing can be fruitless and expensive even though she was going to do it for free. Not that it would go that far. It was more the threat of a solicitor looming that she would go for. We're yet to take the bill ($1603) to the vet but if all goes well then we will be somewhat satisfied with the outcome. What I don't get is that I'm not a vet but as soon as I smelled faeces in the vomitus, I picked Seamus up and found that the haematoma was a herniated bowel. I'm disappointed that it wasn't picked up sooner. I'm over the anger now that he's back home. There are more important things such as his survival and my new baby. Thank you all for your advice. Thanks to the lactation consultant for your very kind offer of talking about my dilemna. Thanks for the offers of personal help from those who live in Caboolture - we love it here. There was some really great advice which I passed on to the solicitor, so thank you all so much for your help. Seamus is home and doing well and my baby boy is doing well so we're all happy now. Cheers Calliech

That's the most appalling treatment I've heard of. Poor poor Gracie. The vets I had in Gladstone listened to everything my husband and I said so I've never encountered bad treatment until now. A dog screaming is the most horrid sound I ever heard. My brother had a puppy who had been bitten on the head and developed a brain abcess that was misdiagnosed and it cried for 24 hours before the vet listened to him. She didn't make it either. I am so sorry for your Gracie. Calliech xxxx

Seamus, one of our Westies went a new vet on Tuesday to be desexed. We have recently moved from Gladstone to Caboolture and everyone we asked referred us to this vet. One testicle was in the scrotum and the other was retained in the inguinal canal. We had persisted with him hoping it would come down in the vain hope of showing him but alas it never did. He came home and was a bit off colour due to the anaesthetic but recovered ok until Thursday when he started to get really sick and lethargic and scouring. My husband took him back to the vet and he gave him a shot of antibiotics, some non steroidal anti-inflammatories, scour-ban and lactaid as follow up treatment. He checked the wounds and said he had a haematoma in the inguinal canal but it would heal. There was no bill as it was follow up treatment. I was still in hospital after the birth of our first child so I couldn't check him myself which worried me immensely. Last night (Saturday) Seamus began vomiting but I didn't check him as I'd only just got out of hospital that day after a caesarian and I was exhausted so hubby tended to him. Today he couldn't even keep water down and when I checked his vomitus it was water and faecal matter. Straight away I checked his wound and saw that the "haematoma" in the inguinal canal was in fact a herniation. I assumed it was a bowel obstruction due to the herniation and tried to phone the vet but of course he's not on call on weekends, not even for follow care of his post op patients!! So we had to contact an emergency service vet so that Seamus could be treated as he would not have made it through the afternoon. So because it's a different vet (which our vets voice message referred us to) we incur a bill - $100 just for the consultation. But there's more. At first the emergency vet thought it was a paralytic ileus but after ultrasound they discovered that the dumb old breeder (moi) was right and that he did in fact have a bowel obstruction from the herniation where the testicle was removed from the operation. We had to discuss payment as we don't for a second think that we should have to pay another bill for the stuff ups of the original vet. Basically if he f***ed it, he should fix it . The emergency vets said they didn't have an after hours contact phone number for our vet but finally found a phone number for our vet and got him to call us at home. Hubby asked him to bring Seamus back as it was going to cost us a fortune to have the stuff ups fixed but our vet refused saying that he couldn't get any vet nurses to come in. I thought his wife was his nurse but that's beside the point. Hubby said to him "I don't want to have to pay another vet for this operation" and the vet's response was quote " It will have to be done or the dog will die". Shaun said "right, then we will have to work it out tomorrow" (who's paying) and vets response was "it will have to get done". So the vet bill is going to be around $2000 for a dog that went in healthy and came out dying. He went in with absolutely no medical problems whatsoever. We don't even know if he will survive yet but we have to pay a vet bill we should not have incurred in the first place. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE any advice on where we stand legally would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to cross post in General discussion too.

Sustagen

I guess the Pyohex leave in lotion is a different product from the Pyohex Medicated Foam. I wish I'd known there was a leave in lotion. There are several antiseptics that contain the same active ingredient as Pyohex. The active ingredient is chlorhexidine gluconate. The advantage of a lotion is that you can use it as often as you like, squirt it onto a specific area and eliminate the need for washing which can be a pain especially for big dogs or ones that dislike bath time. My dogs don't often get skin infections but during summer 1 male may be more prone. I don't like to wash them too often as they are Westies and there are 3 of them so it's quite an effort. So if there is a breakout I'll give them a wash in Selsun blue and then follow up with a leave in lotion. I actually use medical chlorhexidine gluconate (Microshield 5 - concentrate 5%) and dilute with water it to about 2%. It comes in a 500ml bottle and I get it from work. 500ml works out to 1.2 litres so it's great. If there's a hotspot or 2 then I just put a dab of undiluted solution onto it. The chemist will stock prediluted 0.5% solutions used for hands but it's in ethanol which can be stingy. You can ask them if they can order in Microshield 4 or 5 solution though. My mother has ordered Microshield 4 (4%) from her chemist for about $15.00. I think the Microshield 5 is about $20. The only drawback is that it's pink but diluted it's not as strong as undiluted. Colour wears away after a day or so. There could be several online pharmacies that sell microshield but here is one http://www.cincottachemist.com.au/product_....php?crk=146915

Sorry Cosmolo and Wiley, I've been off for a while moving cities. Pyohex leave in lotion is very similar, same antibacterial ingredient. Resicort contains topical cortisone in a leave in lotion. Cortisone is used to relieve the itchiness. If you've ever had a skin reaction or eczema, then you may have used a cortisone cream which relieves the itch and is anti inflammatory for the skin. I love the stuff personally, it's a real lifesaver at times (the human stuff that is). Many dogs with allergies or atopic dermatitis are put onto cortisone but it's not an ideal long term treatment and they get quite fat on the stuff.

My 4 year old female Westie can hold hers for over 12 hours. It's a matter of choice for her. When I was in bed sick with all day long morning sickness, she came to bed with me and lay beside me at 8.30pm and refused to go outside for wees until 11 am the next day. I'm not so sure if she was loving up her mummy as opposed to being a princess and sleeping in for as long as she wanted to.

Resicort is a leave in conditioner containing cortisone to stop the itchies. Available online at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...onditioner_16oz Resichlor is a leave in conditioner containing chlorhexidine which is an antiseptic. Available at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...Conditioner_8oz

Resicort is a leave in conditioner containing cortisone to stop the itchies. Available online at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...onditioner_16oz Resichlor is a leave in conditioner containing chlorhexidine which is an antiseptic. Available at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...Conditioner_8oz

Resicort is a leave in conditioner containing cortisone to stop the itchies. Available online at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...onditioner_16oz Resichlor is a leave in conditioner containing chlorhexidine which is an antiseptic. Available at: http://www.shopdaily.com.au/index.php?c=Pe...Conditioner_8oz

Thanks that website is great and I think it may be what he has. I got some Nizoral tabs but the human dose is 200mg daily. All the doses on the website are twice daily and are for smaller dogs. I don't suppose you have a dose for a 40kg dog?? Sorry for the late reply Bonny Beagle, I've been off for a few days. I'm not certain of the dosage for a 40kg dog so you would need to check with your vet. It's also dependant on the severity of the condition I believe. For example, some of the dogs on that website are on 1/2 a tablet twice daily and some are on a quarter. My mother's Lucy was on 1/4 twice daily. Would you let us all know what you come up with please. Oh and another good OTC medication from the chemist I get is resolve antifungal lotion which is miconazole or ketokonazole in solution form. It's not appropriate for around the face but it spread rather well on all other areas of the body as it's a solution and not a cream. Before I discovered Resolve, I used to make up a solution of say canestan cream or something similar with a bit of water and chlorhexidine solution which made a nice runny paste suitable for spreading thru fur and it's antifungal and antibacterial. Thus it treated any co-infections. Westiemed recommends another solutions called Resichlor and Resicort. They are leave in conditioners with the antibacterial chlorhexidine and the anti-inflammatory cortisone. I'm not sure if they are available in Australia but I'll post in the general and health forums to see if anyone knows where to get them. Keep us up tp date. The more we all learn and share, the better for our furkids.

Westiefan, have to agree with Westielover. Malaseb is great but can be harsh and washing every 2 weeks in an outbreak is not nearly enough. Every 3 days should be done. You can also try Nizoral antifungal shampoo from the chemist or even Selsun blue. Certainly a course of antibiotics such as amoxyclav over 7 days should do the trick but if there is also a yeast infection then he made need anti-fungal orals such as Nizoral tablets. Check out this site http://www.westiemed.org/health/malassezia/.

I do the same, and a new one I spotted recently is the SOOV brand hemaroid (sp) cream which has 5% lignocaine and also hydrocortisone. It'll be behind the counter so you have to ask for it but I think is cheaper than emla and should be just as good. Another good one for jowly dogs including beagles that get mushy fungal chins is the daktarin oral gel that is for oral thrush in humans. If you are getting a vet script for any human oral meds, most pharmacies will fill it but its worth phoning around for a private (not NHS) price as it WILL vary between pharmacies. Also a question calliech, I have a lab with chronic itchy skin and the vet has mentioned a yeasty smell about him (I dont notice it but might be just used to it). The miconazole wash didn't seem to improve the itch so I gave him a difflucan once tablet (women use it for vaginal thrush) and no improvement there. I can get my hands on other oral antifungals if need be. Any suggestions? If it'chronic malassezia dermatitis then and malaseb washes aren't working then he will require oral anti-fungal medication. It's called Nizoral or ketokonazole. I had another DOLer email me the same query about a Westie with Malassezia dermatitis (yeast). Vets had treated him with cortisone and antibiotics but it really was not the appropriate treatment. The cortisone abated the itch and the antibiotics treated any secondary infection but the yeast infection, which was the primary infection remained. So I put him onto this site http://www.westiemed.org/health/malassezia/ and now 4 months later the Westie is all better with hair growing back and no itches. He is so improved that he's spending more time playing with his toys and less time scratching, little darling. Both owner and vet are astounded at the change and thankful there is such a site. Check out the site, print out the regimen's for and take it to your vet. Nizoral can have side effects but I personally think the gains outweigh the risks and the side effects are just possibilities not certainties. My mother's Westie also had the same condition and her vet treated her with the Nizoral regimen very successfully. The medication is expensive but exactly the same as you will get at a pharmacy for about half the price so mum asked her dr to give her a script for the same stuff and she keeps it at home just in case there is a relapse since they live in a very hot climate. That website is amazing. I wish more owners and vets were aware of it because it's just so amazing.