# Hunter is in Trouble



## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

So here is the story. Two weeks ago or so Hunter started scratching like crazy. CONSTANTLY. I told me husband, who blew it off. Two days later I got pissed at his blaise attitude and took the dog to the vet myself. She looked him over and asked if I gave him a flea preventative. I told her I did not and that I have not noticed fleas since I moved to where I live now almost four years ago. She then said she found a flea. Of course, I didn't see it. I know it only takes one flea to have allergic reactions. Hunter has had fleas in the past but I know allergies can manifest out of nowhere so I bought the darn flea meds she suggested. I asked her if it could be mange or something else because it just didn't scream "It's FLEAS" to me. She said this should take care of the problem and not to worry about doing skin scrapings or anything. She gave me antibiotics and antihistamine.

This is what his ear looked like when I brought him in to the vet (Tuesday)










And here it is today (Sunday)










He is STILL scratching. I don't know what it could be if its not skin mites of some kind. Is he allergic to raw? 

It might just be my mind playing tricks on me but I am noticing Dozer is starting to scratch too. Sigh. 

Anyways, this is what I am dealing with right now. I am calling the vet tomorrow and I am pissed. DO they expect me to pay ANOTHER vet visit when I was just there and brought up testing for mites? I am not the type to DEMAND things or I would have demanded it last time. The possibility of paying more money really makes me mad but even more so having to watch Hunter suffer. If they charge me again I am switching all my animals to another vet. Who is to say he didn't pick up this lone flea at the office? I am just PISSED.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i can't blame you for being pissed....

did he do that by scratching?

i don't think he's allergic to raw, but what have you been feeding him?

has he gotten into anything?

did he have a flea bite?

was there maybe another kind of bite?

is he only scratching his ear?


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Yes he did all that damage by scratching all day and all night, antihistamine be damned. 

He has been getting beef heart (unwrapped from a meat retailer, so no enhancements) chicken backs (same as the heart) and chicken quarters/whole chickens (I triple checked the packaging. No mention of sodium or chicken broth enhancement). He also eats beef kidney and beef liver. I started using fish oil (which he has had before) the last few days. 

I don't think he has gotten into anything. He is not a trash eater like Dozer is. I would not be able to tell if he has any flea bites because of his dense coat but his skin for the most part has looked normal, maybe a little flakey (which is always is). 

He is scratching everywhere but mostly his sides, ears and legs. 

I want to remain calm and polite and not take this out on anybody, but I am worried about flipping out tomorrow when I call them. :/


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Ouch that looks sore. Hope you find out what it really is.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

well, for the sake of the dogs, you'll be polite, but that doesn't mean you cannot speak very slowly and through your teeth.

that you brought your dog in anticipating help and now look at him...and now my other dog is scratching.....

i can't afford to keep paying fees when the problem is not resolved....what can you do for me to help my dogs?


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

This is what I am going to do I think. I will call them and explain what happened. Then I will say something like

"Am I going to get charged another vet visit when I was there last week and this issue hasn't been resolved even though I brought up other possibilities like mites?" And if they say, yes I will be charged, then I will find a new vet. There is a very good one about 3 minutes from my house. I understand they have to make money to keep doing business. But they are also in the customer service realm. Considering I had brought up other possibilities, they SHOULD have asked if I wanted to pursue looking into a skin scraping or allergy test as well. Something. I would have paid for them right then and there. Why I trusted the vet is beyond me. WHY do we blindly trust these people. If my doctor looked me over and threw meds at me when I asked him if it could be something else and he brushed me off, I would look for another doctor. I don't see a difference with my dog?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

we are raised that way.

as often as i would try to educate my clients, just as often they would ask me what to do.

i think though with forums such as this one, we will break the cycle. we certainly did it with nutrition.....that's a huge start for bucking what we've been taught.

and, see, that's the ***** in the armour.......if they aren't right about food, what else aren't they right about.

in the meantime, what do you have that you can put on that sore? 

maybe something with some hydrocortisone? 

maybe an oatmeal bath? to help with the itching?

maybe something on this list will help:

Herewith a complete list of herbal remedies and the ailments or illnesses with which the herbal remedies may be of use.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

how is he doing today? how are you doing today? have you called the vet?


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

My day has been nuts. I got home from work at 5:30 am. Went to sleep around 6:30, and shot straight up out of my sleep at 8:30 am (atypical for me). Called the vet straight away. They told me to come in at 10:30 and I asked if they were going to charge me. They said they would only charge half the vet visit which I found to be fair. A compromise. Had they charged me full price I was taking all my animals somewhere else (I didn't tell them that but that was the plan.) I am a pretty easy going person and I understand they are running a business. SO half off? Ok. Fine. AND I got a different vet this time. I have decided not to use Dr. Berry anymore. This is the second time she has pissed me off now. This new vet was more understanding, answered all my questions, did not make me feel rushed, and did the skin scraping. 

It was negative. I am GLAD it was or I was going to have to treat everyone! Of course, there is a 20% chance it was a false negative, but I feel I did all I could with this. Time will tell now. He is on a steroid and I am going to have to wait and see. He is sleeping now and I haven't noticed ANY scratching since the steroid. I am hoping this clears up on its own. 

Thanks to everyone who is following Hunter's story and it means a lot that someone other than me/hubby/and my mom cares about Hunter. He is a great dog and I want his last years to be comfortable and fun!

The vet DID try to sell me a prescription diet. I declined. If this doesn't clear up, I am going to put him on a single protein diet and monitor him. I did not tell them he eats raw because I am guessing they would blame that for his problems. He COULD have an animal protein allergy, but that is present in kibble too. Raw has helped so many dogs with food allergies that I would not consider going back to kibble (even though hubby suggested it.)


Thanks again everyone. I will update whether he gets better or not. Time will tell.

I should mention after the vet I went grocery shopping, came home, made dinner, walked the dogs, and cleaned up. I can not remember the last time I went this long on so little sleep. I feel like a delirious wonderwoman right now


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i am glad you are able to resolve the vet situation. where i take my dogs, there is one vet who is never ever ever allowed to touch my dogs....i have two vets that are interchangeable...and, after a decade, i have no problem being up front and generally obnoxious with them.

so today will be no different for us.

did the vet say what to do after the steroids are done? what's the follow up? 

did he give you a possible cause to this itching so bad he's raw?

don't answer until you've had coffee and sleep.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

If it gets worse when steroids are done, there is a steroidal spray I can try. But the actual cause? They think flea allergy. I am keeping my eyes open for fleas. I will bomb this place if I find any. I am not treating Otis or Sarge unless I see fleas. If I do not see fleas, I will try something with his diet. This all started about three weeks ago around the time spring started and raw diet really started. So I don't know for sure. It sucks to not know. The steroids really are making him scratch less, I am glad he is getting some relief for now.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

There is not much I can think of worse than itching and you can't figure the cause. I can sympathize because I have some kind of itching problem on my feet and ankles and it drives me insane. Nothing I put on it helps; it just has to run its course.

But it makes you miserable. I know how a dog must feel, laying there feeling like worms are crawling under your skin.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

maybe read about diatomaceous earth...

Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade) At Wholesale Prices


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

You know, it always seemed to me that whenever I took my dogs in for scratching, the vets would say 'flea allergy' for anything, whether or not they even saw a flea. I just hated when I would hear that. It always seems like an instant cop out, an easy, quick diagnosis without having to do any work. They would sell me flea products, and then special hypoallergenic food as a back up plan. Then they'd hope I didn't return with the dog still itching because then they'd have to think of something else! 

The steroids should stop the itching and at least break the 'itch, scratch, itch some more' cycle and give the sore a chance to heal. It might be up to you to actually figure out what is causing the itching though. I just wouldn't count on the vet curing the itching. 

With it being spring time, you might want to consider that it may be something in the yard. It could be inhaled or actually in contact. Rocky is scratching a lot right now and it's because he is doing his annual 'molting' and his hair is coming out in big clumps. Plus, every single plant in our state is flowering at once and we are all miserable at the same time. I've had to clean up two sores on his back with chlorahexidine already because of his scratching, but they've healed up just fine. I've been grooming him a lot and trying to add coconut oil and more things like that to his diet to help him out with his skin.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I use the diatomaceous earth all the time kills quick within a couple of hours. I spread it all over the house and yard wait a day or so then vacuum and mop.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Glad the vet charged you half the fee and also glad you were able to see a different vet. Hope the scratching is relieved and his sore heal up quickly. Great that his scraping was negative.
Let us know how he does the next few days.


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