~Myschafis~ Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi Everyone My Nan has a terrier x (PP puppy..don't tell me I know ) and he has a skin problem, it sort of looks like severe flea burn, he is in a lot of discomfort with it but as she is only on the pension she can't afford vet bills or the injections or any of those expensive treatments. Is there anything she can do to help him, different food? Nice shampoos and conditioners? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Does he have fleas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Myschafis~ Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 Yeah sorry forgot to mention, he does, it is a really bad area for fleas with all the sand and living on acerage doesn't help either. She will sit down with him every day and get a knot comb and get rid of every flea she can find and kill it in hot water. poor thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 (edited) Not good enough I'm afraid, the fleas will be breeding everywhere and for every one she kills there'll be 500 more hatching. The dog obviously has a severe flea allergy and he won't improve at all until every flea is eradicated. If she wants to save on vet's bills then she absolutely MUST get rid of the fleas. Buy some Advantage for the dog and flea bomb the house, wash all his bedding and spray flea killer around anywhere the dog tends to lie. If she just lets the current situation continue the dog will get worse and worse and could eventually rip himself to pieces, develop sores and hot spots and then the vet's bills will be horrendous. IMO it amounts to cruelty if she doesn't do something about this, the dog must be really suffering. Edited April 7, 2006 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Myschafis~ Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 He is on advantix, she has flea bombed the house and his beding gets washed daily, there is also a spray she sprays the house with daily to help reduce fleas in the home, but other than that she can't afford what the vet wants to ddo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 He probably wants to give him a cortisone injection followed by a short course of tablets with the dosage gradually reducing over a period of time. This will check the auto-immune response and the dog will stop scratching within a day or so. If he's really uncomfortable I'd recommend that she have this treatment, it's not very expensive and it is by far the quickest way to ease the dog's discomfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Myschafis~ Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 No he wanted to give him monthly injections for the rest of his life, and these injections were quoted over $100 every time just for the injection not the vets time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Are you sure the dog doesn't have some other problem, I've never heard of a $100 injection once a month to deal with a flea allergy. I suggest that you go to the vet with your grandmother and have a talk with the him as this doesn't seem right to me. The normal treatment for flea allergy is a cortisone injection followed by a course of tablets such as macrolone which is gradually reduced over a week or so. The cortisone represses the immune system and stops the inflammation and itching and by the time the tablets are finished the fleas are gone so the allergy doesn't recur. This usually isn't expensive, it shouldn't be over $100 and providing the fleas are TOTALLY eradicated the problem won't recur. You will also have to ensure that EVERY animal on her property is treated for fleas, cats are frequent harbourers of fleas even though they show no symptoms themselves. Another option would be to try another vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eden Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 I do agree with Miranda, this is very sad indeed; unless the vet has diagnosed another problem, I don't see why it should cost so much. Having said this, in diagnosing another problem would probably constitute running some blood tests which doesn't sound as if this is the case so I would definitely recommend another vet!! In my opinion, the best treatment for fleas is FRONTLINE PLUS without a shudder of a doubt; perhaps you could tell your nanna to supplement her dog's diet with some fish oil capsules to help with the itchiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 (edited) Maybe a second opinion would be helpful, sounds as though the Vet thinks it is Atopic allergies without actually doing the testing to confirm it? It could be a food allergy- what does she feed at the moment? Cortisone is soooo cheap, she could put him on that for a month and at least give him a break from the itchies.... She could also try the prescription diet Hills Z/D ultra- it's worth a try, he'd only be eating a cup a day or so, and she'd need to only feed that for 6weeks to see if it has any effect. Also vacuuming every day and placing a flea collar in the vacuum bag can be very helpful as you suck up the eggs if the vacuum cleaner has good suction. Hope that helps a bit....the Vet should be able to offer at least some band-aid solutions taking into account her financial situation but some Vets don't like using cortisone long term because of it's side effects- I know that I'd rather have a dog that is comfortable if that's all I could afford. Unfortunately though, some dogs have such bad allergies that it's kinder to PTS- does the dog have any Westie in it?? ETA can u post up some photos? Perhaps she should change to Advocate in case it's sarcoptic or demodectic mange???? Mel. Edited April 8, 2006 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Myschafis~ Posted April 8, 2006 Author Share Posted April 8, 2006 I already suggested fish oil tablets and she has already bought them and she has already started giving them to him. I will suggest a different vet, I thought it sounded funny to cost that much but wasn't sure. I can post some photos a bit later yes, I really know nothing about westies at all, and I have no idea what breed he is, he sort of looks like and Australian terrier with a tail. He is a happy chappy, hasn't killed his spirit at all. He is fed, dry food with mince/chicken, meaty bones, blended veggies, little bit of oil, eggs once or twice a week, and rice or pasta. We swap his flea treatments around and none are really working, frontline was the worst actually, advantix has been the better so far. providing the fleas are TOTALLY eradicated the problem won't recur. That is the problem, the whole property is covored in fleas how would we get rid of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annes Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Theres product called CooperX I think it is, you can get it from hardware store you spray it on lawns garden all round the house it will kill fleas in the ground(also gets the ants and cockies wooohhhooo!). It comes in a sachet costs about $9 to $11, when we use it we use about halve a sachet in one of those fertilizer bottles you attach to the hose. Its safe to use around animals but I didnt let the dogs on the wet grass for about a day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Are we talking acreage mickatie or just a house block? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Are there possums on the property Mickatie? Possums can carry fleas and make it difficult to break the flea cycle. You need to persevere with Frontline for at least 6 months if you have a major infestation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Myschafis~ Posted April 10, 2006 Author Share Posted April 10, 2006 Miranda - It is a 30 acre property with a lot of sand, there are two dams on the property, there are also stray dpgs that roam around as they please , the house block area (if you could call it that) is around about 10 acres with the dam being very close to the house. As for possums, I don't think there are possums in the area (don't quote me though) Thankyou very much Anne.S I will go looking for that product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 (edited) once the vet has done a course of steroids, and you've treated the fleas then try to boost the level of omega 3 oils in the diet of your dog two omega 3 oil supplements you can try are : megaderm or omegamagic plus from vets or online (omegamagic plus is a lot cheaper) they both contain omega 3 oils and omega 6 oils in the right balance, as well as zinc, VitA, VitB, VitE Edited May 4, 2006 by larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttaburra Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Is she living in the country? Some country vets are only good with large animals like cows etc. (I said some, not the majority) Definitely change vets, pronto. Injecting cortisone once a month would probably result in giving the dog Cushings disease. Are there any community groups who could help her out by fencing a small yard attached to the house to limit the dogs excursions onto the acreage. Not only fleas but grasses and plants can cause some nasty reactions. Tell her not to put any Lanolin on the dog. You can buy 1% cortisone cream at the chemists, this can be applied when the spots first appear. If its a terrier its probably getting into the rabbit burrows, a sure place for fleas. If its that bad, I would go for a nice short haircut on the dog, and wash Alloveen and thoroughly dry the dog. Keeping the dog dry is very important. What is the dog being fed? The diet may need review. The dog might be better on chicken wings or necks for a while. Also has the dog been checked for mange, skin irritation could be coming from a number of sources, especially if the coat is allowed to remain damp. Theres a good natural flea powder that can be made up, its in another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 once you fix the flea problem, then you might want to consider boosting the omega 3 level in the dog's diet. I prefer to use a omega 3 supplement for dogs, like megaderm or omegamagic plus (omega magic is cheaper than megaderm) that has a balanced omega 3:6 ratio, and added zinc, vitaminA, vit b, Vit E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now