Early Signs were Red Flags

We now know that Riley is what many call, an "allergy dog." We also know that he has a sensitive, sometimes hyper-reactive immune system. It has taken me some time to do my research, reading and networking to figure out what is going on with him. What sparked this educational journey were the early, most obvious symptoms.

From the very beginning, Riley itched, and he itched, and he itched. We were feeding him the same food that the BB sent home with us. But his skin flaked, his ears bothered him, and he chewed on his legs. We brought him to his first vet appointment the next day. They called it, "puppy pyoderma" and sent me home with some shampoo and ear cleaner. They were concerned that his coat did not seem healthy and he was a little on the skinny side. We asked about nutritional needs as many large breed dog owners have given us advice. We wanted the opinion of the vet. How do we keep him from growing too fast? What about the high protein diet? What is different about Large Breed Puppy Food? Why do some people switch their large breed puppy to adult food early? They confirmed we were doing the right thing feeding Iams, Large Breed puppy food.

So I went home and bathed Riley every other day. The poor thing, talk about trauma in the first week! I called the BB and she said it could have been some irritation from the bath he received before he left Germany. She said she would ask her "folks at home" and get back to me. But she didn't have any answers and Riley's skin got worse. She told me to go to my vet for help. It looked like a hundred little scabs all over his body. He had scratched his ears bloody and was chewing on his abdomen. He couldn't sleep at all at night. So a week after our first vet visit, we went back. This time, they told me I was bathing him too much and not drying him thoroughly. So they sent me home with another bottle of more gentle puppy shampoo. I also had to watch them take a razor blade and scrape through the white blaze of his forehead, down to a scab on his skin, and through the skin. Riley cried. It was horrifying. But back then, just two years ago, I was a "laissez-faire" pet owner who let the vet do whatever they thought was right while I quietly sat to the side. And $160 later, nothing changed.

Things continued to worsen. Riley never slept through the night. We had to move him out of the bedroom because everytime he scratched an itch, he rattled the crate. I cleaned his ears three times a day. I tried to apply neosporin to his scabs. Meanwhile, the scraping from the vet revealed nothing.

Then I made the biggest mistake of Riley's puppyhood. I switched to a local vet whom I knew nothing about. At least Riley's first vet I had know for several years from bringing our two cats there. They were decent practitioners. I remember once when I brought one of the cats in for her vaccination boosters. When I told them she had peed in the crate on the way over, they not only took a good 15 minutes to clean her up, but also urged me to take her home without the vaccination. They did not recommend vaccinating an animal that was under that kind of stress. At that time, I was actually annoyed at them. I had purposely traveled into the city, found parking and lugged her in there. And now they were telling me this is not a good time to vaccinate her? Well, I now appreciate how lucky I was.

I found a vet that was down the street from us. Close, convenient, sounds good to me. I should have known from the very beginning. The vet came out and mistaken Riley for an Australian Shepard. Certainly they may appear quite similar to the average person, but a vet? Again, I brushed it off and brought him into a dingy, unattractive room. What happened in that room, I am ashamed to admit I allowed. I did not protect my baby. I allowed this person to assult him with toxins, regardless of the condition he was already in. She gave him a four in one vaccination, Giardia, and Leptospirosis. I tried to ask questions but she quickly answered them as she was shooting up my baby. She gave a long winded story about how horrible Giardia is and how humans can die from it too. Then she gave him heartworm med and topical Frontline. Applying it as she was explaining what it was for. I now think back and cringe at the thought that pesticides not safe enough for our hands were being smothered on Riley, both inside and out. In the end, I watched her throw the empty vaccination bottles and used syringe into the rusty sink. My heart sank. What is going on? The only thing that was clear from that appointment was that it cost me over $200 and I was never going back.

to be continued...