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We've had our dog 5 years now, she's 5 1/2 years old. In the first 4 years all she ever went to the vet for was routine shots and a tapeworm incident. That was many moons ago in New Mexico.
Within 4 months of moving from VA to NC she has had:
- Staff infection
- Pancreatitis
- Severe anal gland infection (almost to the point of surgery)
- Ear infection
- and now two UTI's within 1 month
Along with that she has developed some severe skin allergies ever since October '08 continuing until now as she itches 24/7 even though we are bathing her with tea tree oil shampoo about every week.
We're starting to think NC just does not agree with her system, as she's lived in FL, NM and VA without any issues. Those vet bills are really starting to add up, we're close to $3k now. It seems as soon as she gets over one problem its on to another, and its getting really frustrating.
I think you are right to be worried, but who knows if it is really NC (which is really not that different from VA) or something else environmental? Carpeting? food changes? Could be a lot of things. allergies seem likely
although I have not heard this happening with my friends pets, many of my friends who have relocated here were sick for the first year! I think there is a lot to be said for getting used to your environment. all of the germs, allergens, etc are different, and some people (and most likely dogs) are more sensitive to it than others.
We have one dog with rather severe skin allergies, and we have found that the most succesful thing in treating it is diet. We use a hypoallergenic dog food from the vet (but you could start w/ a venison and potato formulation available at most pet food stores). We've also eliminated most treats, chews, and scraps. We also keep the dog's hair trimmed very short all year long.
Wow, that's rough. It sounds like she does have something going on. Quite a few infections, I wonder if they could all be caused by the same "bug." Maybe this was something that she was hit with that happened to coincide with your move. Our maybe she has some illness that has weekend her immune system and now she is susceptible to these infections?
There have been some threads on here for vet recs if you want to try a new one. Dr. Gene Baily in Apex is known a very experienced vet. Also, I have heard that the doctor at PetSound in Cary is also very experienced (and I have heard they are one of the cheaper vets, too). There is also the vet school at NC State.
My dog didn't have problem adjusting -- we moved from IL and at first he got fleas because I didn't do Frontline all year down here, but I have since learned that you must to flea and tick and heartworm preventative ALL year!
It's a lab/shepard mix. We thought about the carpet allergy too. Not sure what we can do about that except for move, which seems to be the next step on the list. Frustrating that we'd need to sell our house to accommodate our dog.
We changed her food after all this started so it's not the food. We actually changed it to alleviate her anal glad problems, which worked thank goodness.
We have one dog with rather severe skin allergies, and we have found that the most succesful thing in treating it is diet. We use a hypoallergenic dog food from the vet (but you could start w/ a venison and potato formulation available at most pet food stores). We've also eliminated most treats, chews, and scraps. We also keep the dog's hair trimmed very short all year long.
Yeah we were coereced into the Hills Science diet hypoallergenic food the vet sells but after doing some research and seeing her response we found a much better food for half the price. We use a fish formula now from Dick Van Pattens that stopped her anal gland problems cold. We too have eliminated all treats except the ones my wife makes now or anything fish based - she is allergic to chicken and beef.
We're thinking of trying Bowman animal hospital next.
It's a lab/shepard mix. We thought about the carpet allergy too. Not sure what we can do about that except for move, which seems to be the next step on the list. Frustrating that we'd need to sell our house to accommodate our dog.
Could you install new floors in part of your house and confine her to there. Having non-carpeted floors is better for people, too. There are some nice looking sheet vinyls available now that can be installed for pretty cheap. Of course vinyl is not that environmentally-friendly, but if you keep it for a long time, I wouldn't feel guilty. Some wood laminates are pretty cheap, too. You probably know this . .
Have you thought about trying to get her into the vet school? Our dog had an autoimmune disease (started when he turned one, and was allergic to grass and continued), but they were amazing. The nice part is we could take him and different departments could see him within the same day. I believe you need a recommendation from your current vet, but it may be something they would be interested in, a good case for the students, etc.
Our dog had a very rare disease (7 other dogs had it) so the students were able to learn quite a bit by looking at him, studying his labs, etc.
Could you install new floors in part of your house and confine her to there. Having non-carpeted floors is better for people, too. There are some nice looking sheet vinyls available now that can be installed for pretty cheap. Of course vinyl is not that environmentally-friendly, but if you keep it for a long time, I wouldn't feel guilty. Some wood laminates are pretty cheap, too. You probably know this . .
I suppose we could do that, but I'm really not interested in putting out a few thousand dollars in hopes that it will help. I guess what I'm saying is I don't like guessing with that kind of money. If others really haven't had any issues it sounds like NC just doesn't agree with her system. Long term solution (and easiest on everyone) is to move I guess. Thanks for everyones help!
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