Friday, December 26, 2008

Happy Holidays, etc.

Ike played with Bug & Nellie!

This Christmas I am thankful that Nellie is spayed. Otherwise we might have cocka-porgis running around. They LOVE each other that much. I think part of it is Bug is just so happy to have a dog that will cuddle with him!

We survived the holi-daze. Ike was sick AGAIN Christmas eve night. He took John on an hour jaunt through Reading at 2am in the morning in the pouring rain. You KNOW Ike is sick if he is voluntarily out in the rain.

Tuesday we had a fasted blood draw done. This will let us know if the boy does have hyperlipidemia. We have an appointment Monday with a homeopathic vet.

Wednesday was the first day back on a raw diet and he got sick. EVERYONE has been diligent about not over feeding him or feeding him table scraps, etc.

It was a stressful day for him - we were at the in-laws with the niece and nephew, their father and step-mum, etc. So, was it the stress?

I gave him pheasant on Wednesday - it is a Primal mix so it is not JUST meat. Is he allergic to pheasant or something in the pheasant? Does he need a home cooked diet (versus raw)?

Yesterday he had rice and cooked turkey treats that I had made (just turkey, parsnip, and carrot) for dinner. Today I gave him some chicken and veggie Oma's with rice. We will see. He seemed to be rubbing his face immediately following his meal. Allergy?

Tuesday we also had a follow-up eye appointment for Carmen. No change in her retinal health. Unfortunately she still has conjunctivitis! What the heck? So the vet prescribed some prednisone drops (which are very expensive!) for her eyes. They already look completely better. The vet feels she is allergic to something in the house. This is basic deduction - everything outside is now dead and she doesn't display typical food allergy signs (paw licking, face rubbing, etc). So dust mites or a cleaner of some sort.

My concern is that the prednisone drops will work and we will stop them and she'll get conjunctivitis again. Since the red eye doesn't really seem to bother her much I am not clear what the course of action should be. It seems silly to be treating something that doesn't really bother her? What am I missing?

Ike has Rally-O class tomorrow and Bug has a herding lesson Sunday. Should be a fun weekend. Due to the snow I think Bug will be working ducks. Very exciting!!

6 comments:

penni said...

. . . just a possibility . . . my sister alerted me to the fact that whatever is in the Swiffer Wet Jet cleaning agent causes varying degrees of distress for dogs -- from allergy symptoms to vomiting, diarrhea, and even convulsions. So, youmight look at thwtever you use to mop floors.

Blue said...

Poor Ike! It's so stressful when you can't figure out what's going on.

I'm sorry to hear that Carmen's conjunctivitis hasn't cleared up. It sounds like her problem is similar to Iris' allergies. I don't know how your in-laws would feel about this, but could you get them to stop using all household cleaners for at least a little while? I found the safest cleaner is vinegar diluted with water (you could add baking soda to the mix if you needed something stronger). I also have some non-toxic citrus cleaner to use on surfaces that Iris doesn't regularly come in contact with. Maybe it'd be worth a shot for a couple weeks?

I think what I'd be worried about is if you don't treat the conjunctivitis, Carmen could develop the scarring that Iris has? I don't have a definitive answer that Iris' cornea spots are caused by her allergies, but I know it's one possibility.

I can't wait to hear about Bug's experience with ducks!

Diana said...

Hope you have fun with the ducks. And I hope Ike is feeling better soon. Diana

Jules said...

Good points. I will definately talk to them about what they use to both clean the carpet and the kitchen floor.

Johnny P said...

I am shocked and appalled that I was not properly cited as the inventor of the word "cocka-porgi". I smell lawsuit!

Jules said...

uh-oh!!!