Worried about my dog
June 8, 2017 11:16 AM Subscribe
Sorry, no pics, but my lovely German Shepherd/Collie mix is clearly uncomfortable. What do I do?
Yesterday, we went for a walk in a new place where he could run free. I wasn't entirely happy about the place and turned back quickly, but then he had disappeared into a swampy area, and was really difficult to call back.
When he finally came, he had slime on his nose which he didn't like, and he smelled extremely bad and was itchy. He wouldn't let me towel him.
Today, I have noticed that his visible skin (it shows around his genitals) is pink, and he is still very itchy all over. It's been a long winter and a cold spring, so it's hard to see the skin under his thick fur. I have taken him to the ocean to bathe him - this is what I usually do when he has rolled in something bad - but he doesn't seem better at all. His nose is cold and he can sleep, though.
Difficulty: we are now at our farm after a long day in the car, and though he has a vet here as well as a vet in the city, he hates the vet here and will probably not submit to examination without sedation which means it can't be before Monday at best.
I'm going to take him for a more thorough ocean bath tomorrow early on, and try again to let me towel him. But I am very worried.
The site we went to is a post-industrial site being gradually turned into a park — could there be chemicals that are dangerous? There were ducks living in the area he disappeared into and tons of other waterfowl nearby - can he have contracted any disease from them? In theory, there can also have been rats in the area.
I regularly walk him in the area just next door which is fully regenerated, and where he regularly swims in the ponds without any problems. Yes he really likes his swims all year round.
Yesterday, we went for a walk in a new place where he could run free. I wasn't entirely happy about the place and turned back quickly, but then he had disappeared into a swampy area, and was really difficult to call back.
When he finally came, he had slime on his nose which he didn't like, and he smelled extremely bad and was itchy. He wouldn't let me towel him.
Today, I have noticed that his visible skin (it shows around his genitals) is pink, and he is still very itchy all over. It's been a long winter and a cold spring, so it's hard to see the skin under his thick fur. I have taken him to the ocean to bathe him - this is what I usually do when he has rolled in something bad - but he doesn't seem better at all. His nose is cold and he can sleep, though.
Difficulty: we are now at our farm after a long day in the car, and though he has a vet here as well as a vet in the city, he hates the vet here and will probably not submit to examination without sedation which means it can't be before Monday at best.
I'm going to take him for a more thorough ocean bath tomorrow early on, and try again to let me towel him. But I am very worried.
The site we went to is a post-industrial site being gradually turned into a park — could there be chemicals that are dangerous? There were ducks living in the area he disappeared into and tons of other waterfowl nearby - can he have contracted any disease from them? In theory, there can also have been rats in the area.
I regularly walk him in the area just next door which is fully regenerated, and where he regularly swims in the ponds without any problems. Yes he really likes his swims all year round.
Can you try another very thorough bath, in fresh water, with soap? Use dog shampoo for itchy skin if you can get it (there are various formulas, usually with oatmeal) -- if not, baby shampoo or even some kind of simple soap like castille soap-- if there was greasyness in the nasty stuff, you'll need soap and warm water to break it down. Follow with a rise of baking-soda-and-water (there's instructions on the box for using it for bathtubs) and then another rise of plain pure water. Don't worry about towelling him, just keep him somewhere that's dry, warm, and ok to get a bit damp. Then if he's not better in a day or two, or if he suddenly gets worse, vet time.
Edit: Agree: Benadryl is a good idea. If it was me, just being itchy wouldn't be enough to make me go to a vet (my dog HATES the vet) but keep watch to make sure he's breathing ok, eating, drinking, pooping and peeing and nothing weird other than itchyness.
posted by The otter lady at 11:53 AM on June 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
Edit: Agree: Benadryl is a good idea. If it was me, just being itchy wouldn't be enough to make me go to a vet (my dog HATES the vet) but keep watch to make sure he's breathing ok, eating, drinking, pooping and peeing and nothing weird other than itchyness.
posted by The otter lady at 11:53 AM on June 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks a lot! To be clear, it's not me who won't go to the vet, it's the vet who wants to schedule for sedation, because my dog's vet panic is that bad.
I've given him a Benadryl now, and I hope it will work. Unfortunately his attitude to indoor baths is similar to that of his attitude to country-vet, in spite of his love of water. If really I need to bath him, I need to fill the kid's garden pool. And I will if necessary, but I'm trying the Benadryl combined with an ocean swim first.
posted by mumimor at 12:14 PM on June 8, 2017
I've given him a Benadryl now, and I hope it will work. Unfortunately his attitude to indoor baths is similar to that of his attitude to country-vet, in spite of his love of water. If really I need to bath him, I need to fill the kid's garden pool. And I will if necessary, but I'm trying the Benadryl combined with an ocean swim first.
posted by mumimor at 12:14 PM on June 8, 2017
Unlikely to be anything exotic like industrial chemical poisoning or diseases from rodents.
More likely to be something like poison ivy/poison oak or possibly duck itch if there was enough water for him to be submerged in it. Apparently spraying them with apple cider vinegar can help with this, disclaimer I am just reading this in a blog post and don't know much about veterinary medicine.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 12:30 PM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
More likely to be something like poison ivy/poison oak or possibly duck itch if there was enough water for him to be submerged in it. Apparently spraying them with apple cider vinegar can help with this, disclaimer I am just reading this in a blog post and don't know much about veterinary medicine.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 12:30 PM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I would agree with vet ASAP. If your dog was in a post-industrial site, he could be suffering from some sort of chemical exposure. Also, if the water is very mucky, there could be blue-green algae, which is lethal for dogs. See this link for more info.
I hope it is just an allergy but I mention the above to err on the side of caution.
posted by stillmoving at 12:43 PM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
I hope it is just an allergy but I mention the above to err on the side of caution.
posted by stillmoving at 12:43 PM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't know about your dog, but salty ocean water really aggrivates any skin rashes or injuries I have. Its possible the ocean bath is making an allergic reaction worse.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:27 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:27 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
I saw a great hack today for bath adverse dogs - smear peanut butter on the wall tiles as bribery. Hope he feels better soon!
posted by teststrip at 2:28 PM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by teststrip at 2:28 PM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]
I would think the salt water from the "ocean baths" would actually irritate whatever skin issue is happening, so consider not doing that anymore. I would try to find a way to bathe him with fresh water ASAP using appropriate dog shampoo (maybe one with oatmeal).
posted by mingodingo at 6:10 PM on June 8, 2017
posted by mingodingo at 6:10 PM on June 8, 2017
Response by poster: Just a follow-up, he won't be able to see the vet before Thursday, and is clearly not happy. Benadryl seems to help, but I think mainly because it calms him down a bit.
The veterinary nurse seemed to think chemical waste was the most likely culprit. We have lots of poison ivy and other rash-inducing plants at our farm and they have never been a problem. But we'll have to wait and see :-(
posted by mumimor at 7:06 AM on June 13, 2017
The veterinary nurse seemed to think chemical waste was the most likely culprit. We have lots of poison ivy and other rash-inducing plants at our farm and they have never been a problem. But we'll have to wait and see :-(
posted by mumimor at 7:06 AM on June 13, 2017
Response by poster: Adding the conclusion for future reference: After a horrendous trip to the vet where he was sedated after an epic struggle, he was proscribed oral cortisone for 12 days, in declining doses. Basically the vet said since she had no idea what was going on she would just try something. Now, he isn't as itchy anymore though the skin is still orange-pink and the medicine has its own problems including incontinence. I hope this will work.
The vet was worried and agreed with the nurse that chemical waste was the most likely issue.
Thanks for your thoughts.
posted by mumimor at 4:54 AM on June 18, 2017
The vet was worried and agreed with the nurse that chemical waste was the most likely issue.
Thanks for your thoughts.
posted by mumimor at 4:54 AM on June 18, 2017
Came back to say, I hope your dog recovered just fine.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 4:12 PM on June 20, 2017
posted by WalkerWestridge at 4:12 PM on June 20, 2017
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You already know what the answer here is. Get him to a Vet sooner than Monday.
If you aren't going to do that you could try Benadryl. For smaller dogs the recommended dose is .5 -1 mg per pound of body weight, I don't know if that ratio holds as the dogs get larger. We regularly gave our 30 lb. dog 25 mg of Benadryl (1 pill) when she had allergy issues and she tolerated it just fine.
posted by COD at 11:51 AM on June 8, 2017 [8 favorites]