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Betty Joan is one of my absolute favorites on here. I hope when she feels better, we can see some cute pics of her.

Cat bites ARE the worst! No advice, other than what has been already mentioned. Good thoughts that your hand heals fast!

Glad to hear it! Who knew 'beef pizzle' could be so magical?

Never been through this, but it's something I worry about all the time. Truman has SA from Henry, even on a temporary basis like if they're separated for vet visits, collar events, etc. Truman mopes, is completely uninterested in walks or play... He literally sits outside at the gate watching cars and waiting for Hen to come home. It's pitiful to watch. When I bring Henry back, Truman gets so ridiculously excited. He jumps on Hen's back and licks his face. Last time, he busted his tail open from wagging it so hard. I can't imagine how I'd deal if we lost Henry. Breaks my heart just thinking about it.

My boy went through chemo, and one of the side effects is food losing its taste. He was eating next to nothing for almost a month- it was awful. I tried Barkworthies Bully Flakes sprinkled on top of his existing kibble, and it was amazing! A night and day difference! He went from ignoring the food completely to gobbling it up in no time. I highly, highly recommend this product.

Capstar is a prescription pill that immediately treats flea infestation. Within 30 minutes of administering, the fleas will start dying and falling off. Ask your vet, but I believe it's fine to use in combination with other preventatives. Capstar is used to treat infestation in the short-term, so the active ingredients only really "work" for 24 hours. You'd also need to use a preventative, like Advantix, for ongoing prevention. Hope this helps!

The licking/biting is a vicious cycle. He may be making the problem worse, drying out the skin, and/or causing secondary bacterial infections. I imagine the vet will want you to use an antibiotic/cortisone ointment for the raw areas. If that's the case, I'd probably also use a muzzle with a stool guard (or even the dreaded e-collar) to stop him from licking the ointment off. As for flea and tick preventatives, I've had experience with Frontline Plus, Advantix, and Nexgard. I don't know if any of them are "better" than the others, suffice to say that Frontline has reportedly lost its effectiveness with certain dogs in recent years. And Nexgard is a brand new product, so it's hard to say how it stacks up to the others. But in your scenario, I do think Advantix could be more appropriate due to its "repel" factor. Most flea topicals will kill fleas within 24-48 hours, which is fine for most dogs. But if you're dealing with flea allergies or flea dermatitis, that's plenty of time for a few fleas to sneak through and cause an allergic reaction.

This is a really excellent point. Since losing his leg, Henry is much more sensitive about his feet (which sucks, because I have to dremmel his nails often to prevent balance problems). I consider myself pretty greyhound savvy when it comes to appropriate handling and recognizing body language. But recently, he snapped and lunged at me during a dremmel session- multiple snaps in the direction of my face. Now, we're talking about my heart dog- a dog I've owned for over four years, a certified therapy dog, who has endured just about every type of situation with me. But something about this instance was different. Whether I missed his signals, he finally reached his limit, or he just had some type of knee-jerk pain/startle response, he came very close to biting me. Then immediately afterwards, it was like nothing even happened. He laid down and put his head on my lap! My point is, it's devastating when a dog snaps or bites, but chances are, the dog has already forgotten about it and moved on. It's really not personal. Growling and snapping are the only ways dogs have to tell us, "Enough! You're making me uncomfortable!" It happens with even the best dogs.

Capstar should treat the current infestation. Then if fleas are really bad in your area, you might want to look into a product like K9 Advantix, which is the only topical that kills and repels. You may also consider the possibility that your boy has a flea allergy. With an allergy, it only takes a couple fleas to cause major skin problems. If Benedryl isn't working, your vet will need to prescribe a different antihistamine (and possibly a steroid).

You may have to face the possibility that your girl isn't meant for a rich, high-protein, wholistic kibble. If you go back through this forum, you'll see that many of us have tried to make premium brands work and failed miserably. I'd switch to a mid-range kibble, IAMS green bag, Purina, Kirkland before doing anything else. It's very unlikely that you need to pursue other expensive and invasive testing for IBD (which is only diagnosable by sedating the dog and surgically removing a piece of the intestinal tract for biopsy). A very small percentage of dogs legitimately have IBD.

So sorry for your loss. I wish you'd had a better outcome.

Heartbreaking. What a sad day here on GT.

Jessica... My heart is aching for you. I can't imagine how painful this must be.

Love this stuff. Someone on GT recommended it years ago- maybe it was you? I tried it once and never went back.

Breathe! Before you rush to any major decisions, make a phone call to the vet and request a different combo of meds to get her pain under control (for example, some dogs can't do Bupe or Tramadol, but will tolerate Fentanyl patches). Either that, or ask that they give you something like Valium to counteract the anxiety. If she was doing fine yesterday, there's a still a likelihood that she could have many good days/months left. I would hate for you to make a snap decision if it turned out that what you're seeing is just a bad reaction to meds.

This. If it was an FNA, it shouldn't be that painful. I'd assume it was maybe a reaction to whatever pain meds or sedatives she was given. One of my boys CANNOT have Ace or Xanax- he acts just as you described (panting, pacing, agitated). Hope she is doing better today.

That was a lovely bit of insight and perspective, Tricia. I'm quite interested in the book.

Constant diarrhea will definitely cause poor skin and coat because the nutrients from the food aren't being properly absorbed. Finding the right food will make a huge difference, then you can supplement if necessary. My two have been on IAMS green bag forever, and we supplement with Missing Link. For us, that seems to be the perfect combination of firm poop and very shiny and sleek coats.

I remember that in-between part being the hardest. Henry got diagnosed on a Friday, then amped on Monday. Once we got past the surgery, and I was busy actually *doing* things (monitoring, managing meds, setting up a makeshift hospital room), it was a bit easier. But those first three days were hell. I couldn't even look at him.

I think something like 95% of skin infections are staph-related, so a vet can reasonably prescribe an antibiotic without doing a culture. That's pretty typical. But if a dog continues to develop Staph infections over time, the immune system may be compromised in some way. Since you're dealing with a bunch of other weird symptoms, I think I'd want the culture.

Was it Staph?

Goodness, a puppy AND a blue! You're going to have your hands full. She looks a lot like my Trumie, who came home right around the same age- 15 weeks.

Our vet likes Traumeel. We get the little pellets after certain vaccines. It's supposed to help them not be so achey.

I am so very sorry... I was holding out hope that it was something benign. When it comes to which course of treatment to pursue, you know your dog best. Nobody on here would fault you for going with a palliative option as opposed to amputation. You also have to factor in her age and health and what you are able to do financially. Plus, every dog is different. To give you an example, my Henry did amazing with amputation and chemo, but it helped that he is so laidback and tolerant. If osteo hit my other boy, Truman, we definitely would not have pursued that kind of invasive treatment. He's antsy, anxious, and hates being restrained. I know him, and I know he would've been panicky and miserable through the entire thing. It is entirely your decision- Jackie will love and forgive you no matter what. Regardless of what route you go, hopefully you can take some comfort in the fact that there are people here to give you support and information.

Interesting. I wonder if it has something to do with a seizure mimicking rabies?