Infection, disease and allergies? Crying...help!

[Emily]

My doodle is a mess. 104 fever. Diagnosed with left side hip displasia, allergies, and a infection around her urethera. Just had xrays under general anesthesia, three medications, a joint suplemnent for her pain, a consult with a orthopedic vet this week with possible surgery. Vet said to discontinue Taste of the Wild immediatley and switch to a brand that is 80$ a bag! (CA Natural). My dog hasn't moved in three days and wont evenplay ball. That is how bad she is hurting. I want to cry. She is only one yr old! $600 vet bill. Plus lifetime monthly medication for almost a hundred a month plus that special food? Please, start throwing out opinions... I need some hope.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I use the same technique. The dogs know craisins are coming after their Evening Primrose Oil so they don't mind really.

[Joan Shepherd]

Emily,  That is just dreadful - what jumped out at me is the "Taste of the Wild" dog food - could the food have been part of your poor dog's problem?  I have been feeding both of my doodles T of W for several months and they love it! 

 

I hope your poor little one will be OK. 

[Emily]

I don't really know if it's food. Her hip and knee problem is a separate matter and I found this other problem out because they were examining her under general anesthesia. But as for the allergies...People on the forum keep saying food allergies are so uncommon. The vet says during this time of year it's really not possible to have seasonal allergies. It's freezing here, cold,  and windy all the time! Nothing is alive right now but us.  LOL. She was on Eukanuba up until she was 1. She burped at least 20x a day so we changed to TOTW. She liked it a lot. Started on the yellow bag then she stopped eating it so we switched to the blue salmon one. But after her first birthday in September the symptoms of allergies appeared. I didn't know they were allergy symptoms, just thought they were dog symptoms. Anyway the vet said since she has allergies, it could be food related and to try that first. Said TOTW has multiple proteins in one bag plus veggies and fruits etc. They told me TOTW  has one of the highest amounts of protein so that = not good in their opinion.  I tried that Kangaroo  food from California Natural. She took one bite, chewed and spit it out and will NOT eat it at all. So I called the vet and their next suggestion was Natural Balance Venison but I went with duck since she's never had duck and it would be totally different than anything she has had in the past. A suggestion by Karen.  It was way cheaper than CA Natural too. The infection that she had was a combination of allergies and possibly a growth of bacteria around her urethra..they sani clipped her and everything exploded in a reaction.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ask the vet if he's ever heard of dust mite allergies, cereal/storage mite allergies, allergies to the dander of other animals, or mold allergies. These are among the most common types of allergens for both dogs and humans, and they are present in your home all year round. My dog tested positive to all of them, as have most of the other dogs here on DK who have actually been tested and diagnosed with allergies.

Like I said, general practice vets don't know much about allergies. However, the fact that food allergies are rare is stated on just about every veterinary website out there, including the Merck veterinary manual, so the information is available to them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem with Pill Pockets is that for dogs who have GI issues or food allergies, real or suspected, the ingredients in the Pill Pockets can make things worse.

I used them years back for JD's allergy supplements, but he caught on to that, too. He did like them at first, and I'm sure they'd work fine for dogs who only need an occasional pill, but not on a daily year-round basis.

[Pat and Traveler]

Trav won't take Comfortis, even in the pill pockets.  Plus, the pill is so big that once it's sort of squished into the pocket, I doubt a horse could swallow it!  If the pill is ground up, it would take several pockets to get it all into him.  Actually, stuffing it down his throat isn't all that hard to do.  Sometimes he manages to spit it out, but I can usually get this done with a minimum of fuss and bother.

[Emily]

Local pet stores carry these or are they only online? We live in the middle of no where, but we do have a Petsmart half an hour from here.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Call them first, but I am pretty sure they carry them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Every Petsmart I've ever seen has them. But if you are doing an elimination diet for the allergies, you can't use them. They contain chicken and/or beef, corn syrup, corn flour, and wheat gluten, which are the worst possible ingredients if food allergies are suspected. No sense in spending that money on special food and then giving these:

Ingredients: Beef: Chicken, glycerin, wheat flour, vegetable oil, beef, natural flavors, wheat gluten, dried corn syrup, corn flour, caramel color, lecithin, brewer’s dried yeast, salt, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), methylcellulose, ascorbic acid(source of vitamin C), mixed tocopherols, vitamin E supplement 
Chicken: Chicken, glycerin, wheat flour, vegetable oil, dried corn syrup, wheat gluten, corn flour, natural flavors, lecithin, brewer’s dried yeast, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), salt, methylcellulose, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), mixed tocopherols, vitamin E supplement

[Emily]

I did switch the food but the infection trumps the allergy right now right? I feel like I have to get thosepills down anyway I can. I dont feel like I can force five tablets down her throat twice a day especially since I have no idea if it is food or outside factors plus she is anxious right now which is not like her at all.  I do appreciate the info tho because once I get past the infection I will have a wealth of information to tackle these allergy claims by the vet. Thanks! And Mabel ate the Nat Bal duck lid formula.....great suggestion!

[Martha & Cooper]

About the Pill Pockets.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just had to take back two packages of the ones for made with Duck, supposedly Hypo-Allergenic in January.  I bought them at Petco and when I opened the first bag, it smelled horrible, yet they had just received the order in.  I called the company and they told me to open the second bag which had the same lot # on them and it stunk up my entire kitchen.   The Company rep said to me "You didn't give these to your dog, did you?"   Of course, I didn't and I wouldn't buy them again after that.    I buy the Scripts Pill Pockets now and use those on occasion, when peanut butter or just putting it down his throat fails.    The main ingredient in those is chicken, no grain.   I can buy the large size, cut them in half and mold the half around the pills Cooper is taking.   Bought two packages cheaper on Amazon last time, but you can do a price search online when you are ready to buy any of those kinds of products.   Cheaper than Petsmart or Petco etc. for sure.     Good Luck! 

[Emily]

Thanks for the heads up! The Peanut butter is working great so far so maybe I can get through the week on that alone.