Hotspot, Itchiness, and Intestinal Parasites

[Maomao]

Maomao is a 5y Siberian husky boy. He's been always energized and healthy living with me. However, this year since February, my poor dog suffered from several health problems 😥 , and I'd like to share this long treatment journey...

On Feb 15, I sent Maomao to a groomer for a bath and brush. He came home and started to lick his right front paw. I didn't pay attention to his licking behavior when he started that... On Feb 18, he fell once when we took a walk and fell another time when he was walking upstairs...I realized I have to check his paw and noticed a hotspot 😱, so I got a bottle of gel "hotspot remedy" over the counter, which didn't work very well. We had to visit the vet! The first week, Maomao had two types of oral medication...Hmmm...why the spot got worse with meds (and Maomao stopped eating food)❓Oh! He's constantly licking the spot... I had to admit that I didn't have experience with treating hotspot... If he licks, of course, it's not going to recover  ‼️Then, we went to the vet again on March 4th, she gave us a bottle of steroid spray and a giant cone which is usually used after surgery... Well, now Maomao can't lick at all, good! At the same time, I also tried to apply baby powder with or without zinc oxide, H2O2 for washing the wound... A week later, the hotspot was bleeding very badly, as long as he takes a walk, the spot bleeds. On March 13th, we accepted the option of laser therapy (3 times the first week, twice the second week, and once the third week)...The bleeding issue started to reduce on the second week, but it never fully recovered. So, I decided to try something new from Walmart, povidone iodine. This product is turned out to be the most helpful! We even didn't attend the last two laser sessions. What an experience.

Two weeks after recovering from the Hotspot, Maomao started to chew himself on the back, butt, arm, all over. I thought all his behavioral changes were due to boredom and I continued to use the E.collar which prevented him from chewing, but he must have been itchy all the time (I'm sorry 😞). On April 23, I finally brought him to the vet for a check. They offered oral Apoquel pills to stop itching (one pill a day as needed), and it was helpful. To help with his boredom (it's my imagination, he may not have boredom thing at all), I bring him to the dog park daily as long as the weather was good. However, Maomao developed habits to eat dirt and grass much more often than before. Maybe he had an upset stomach due to the Apoquel pills, I thought 🤔.

It was on May 20 that he had bloody diarrhea, and I saw 2 mm-long worms in his bloody poop. Poor thing ‼️I called the vet for 2 deworm tablets. After taking the tablets, he had one more day of diarrhea, then his poop turned solid. No wonder I occasionally saw his poop came out with mucus or wrapped by a membrane-like thing... I thought those were due to drug effects, but actually, those were his natural deworm system. After deworming, he quit chewing himself 🤪. I had some guess how he got the worms, maybe from the vet (dogs share the same digital thermometer on their butts), or from the dog park (people forget their dog's waste).

I purchased deworm tablets from Amazon today, he may need a second treatment 2 weeks after. One lesson for myself is that I regret not buying medical insurance for Maomao. A healthy boy can suddenly become ill for months. It's my first time raising a dog, I feel sorry not taking a good care of him. Hope I'll be a better mom and he'll be the healthy boy.

 

[PaulG]

First make sure you buy your drugs from your vets or a pharmacist some of the stuff sold on ebay amazon etc is fake or low quality

You need to make sure you are getting Vet strength meds not cheap  low strength pet shop grade that do not work .

Have you changed diet, did groomer feed treats  as most hot spots are either fungal or diet allgeries they also can become habit forming

for the dog, they no longer have the problem but are addicted to licking and chewing that spot. I have a white shepherd if she so much as sniffs

a Pizza crust her fur starts dropping out and she is scratching and chewing it out as well, its one of the reasons i feed raw diet as i can see

everything that goes into her bowl

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Aww we all make mistakes main thing now is he's ok , the only thing I buy for my animals that isn't from a vet is hibiscrub which is what they use to clean wounds and my vet is fine with me outsourcing that

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[chelseafan]

He’s been through it lately, glad he’s getting better. It can be costly going to the vets but it’s the best place for our furbabies to be when they are sick.


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[wolfpup]

Don't be so hard on yourself  -  you found the problem and sorted it.   Glad your furbaby is getting better.

[ARMANI & ALINAH]

So happy he's getting better!! Also I would not use the "e collar." They only induce panic & fear. They don't need anymore stress.
Hope your baby stays healthy. Your a great Mommy!!
[emoji4][emoji272][emoji252][emoji191]

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[Maomao]

On 5/24/2018 at 4:24 AM, chelseafan said:

He’s been through it lately, glad he’s getting better. It can be costly going to the vets but it’s the best place for our furbabies to be when they are sick.


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Thank you ☺️

On 5/24/2018 at 5:15 AM, wolfpup said:

Don't be so hard on yourself  -  you found the problem and sorted it.   Glad your furbaby is getting better.

Thank you 😊

On 5/24/2018 at 3:42 PM, ARMANI & ALINAH said:

So happy he's getting better!! Also I would not use the "e collar." They only induce panic & fear. They don't need anymore stress.
Hope your baby stays healthy. Your a great Mommy!!


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Thank you! Maomao indeed howled badly when he was put on a E collar. Now he feels better and gained some weight, never howls when I leave home. He is a great boy

On 5/23/2018 at 9:59 PM, PaulG said:

First make sure you buy your drugs from your vets or a pharmacist some of the stuff sold on ebay amazon etc is fake or low quality

You need to make sure you are getting Vet strength meds not cheap  low strength pet shop grade that do not work .

Have you changed diet, did groomer feed treats  as most hot spots are either fungal or diet allgeries they also can become habit forming

for the dog, they no longer have the problem but are addicted to licking and chewing that spot. I have a white shepherd if she so much as sniffs

a Pizza crust her fur starts dropping out and she is scratching and chewing it out as well, its one of the reasons i feed raw diet as i can see

everything that goes into her bowl

I see. Thank you for sharing the experience

On 5/24/2018 at 1:27 AM, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

Aww we all make mistakes main thing now is he's ok , the only thing I buy for my animals that isn't from a vet is hibiscrub which is what they use to clean wounds and my vet is fine with me outsourcing that

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May I ask how often do you bathe your huskies? My vet told me twice a year but I think my dog may need 6 times a year...

[chelseafan]

6 times is too much for husky’s, they clean themselves, some will take theirs to the groomers once they’ve shed their fur. During the winter months after a wet/dirty walk I usually clean them off with warm water under the belly and the legs. A friend of mine has a white husky and she gets filthy during the winter on her walks, once she’s home within an hour she’s cleaned herself.


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[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Once or twice a year

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