Hi all. Hoping you can give me some good advice to get my Pembroke Corgi Kirby back in shape and healthy.
Feel free to skip the backstory as it's kinda long I guess
Back Story:
He was doing fine until a couple months ago we noticed he didn't want to walk up the stairs to come in the house (only 3 steps outside our back door, we have since built a ramp for him to use). Well, long story short we found out he had hurt his back. We tried anti-inflamitories and sterioids and I forget what else the vet prescribed and kept him penned up for two weeks. (He pee'd all over the **** place this whole time too, because of the meds...I never want to mop a floor again!).
Unfortunately he didn't get any better so we had to take him to a surgeon to have back surgery. A few thousand dollars later and lots of bed rest and he can at least walk around and is no longer in pain. He still is not 100% right, I guess he never will be . This poor dog has been through ..heck..if you know what I mean. Right after his surgery the poor dog broke out with these big nasty green pussy sores all over his back. Apparently he was allergic to the scrub they used on him for the surgery....so back to the vet, more money spent...the problem finally cleared up (I think time helped more than the vet really as they didn't seem to have any clue on what to do), then on to the ear allergies! His ears were bright red and itchy...back to the vet...more money...got that cleared up....a few weeks later, more allergies (this time I called the vet and asked if I could give him benedryl instead of spending a fortune on more meds). I gave him one Benedryl and it cleared up (learned my lesson there, no more wasting money on meds if one benedryl works..geez).
So now we are at our current situation which is he just had a problem with fleas. We use Revolution which is heartworm and flea guard all in one. I guess the stuff doesn't work that great because I found several fleas on him and, of course, he is allergic. So he has these nasty looking black splotches on his belly now. Once again it's back to the vet for flea meds. They gave me some pill to give him to kill the fleas...forget what it's called but I think it starts with a C. The fleas appear to be gone, but Kirby is still a bit itchy.
So, my question (sorry so long guys) is/are: Is there anything I can do to releive his itchyness (some kind of Shampoo I can buy or something?) till the flea trauma passes.
Second, ever since his surgery he has looked terrible. His back and hips are still all boney. His coat looks like cr@p and he just doesn't look healthy at all. I feed him Wellness dog food (I know the cheap junk is garbage and full of fillers). What else can I give him to help get him healthy again? I want his coat to be nice again and for him to be strong like he was before this nightmare started......
One friend recommended this:
http://www.missinglinkproducts.com
Haven't had time to research it yet....
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
Feel free to skip the backstory as it's kinda long I guess
Back Story:
He was doing fine until a couple months ago we noticed he didn't want to walk up the stairs to come in the house (only 3 steps outside our back door, we have since built a ramp for him to use). Well, long story short we found out he had hurt his back. We tried anti-inflamitories and sterioids and I forget what else the vet prescribed and kept him penned up for two weeks. (He pee'd all over the **** place this whole time too, because of the meds...I never want to mop a floor again!).
Unfortunately he didn't get any better so we had to take him to a surgeon to have back surgery. A few thousand dollars later and lots of bed rest and he can at least walk around and is no longer in pain. He still is not 100% right, I guess he never will be . This poor dog has been through ..heck..if you know what I mean. Right after his surgery the poor dog broke out with these big nasty green pussy sores all over his back. Apparently he was allergic to the scrub they used on him for the surgery....so back to the vet, more money spent...the problem finally cleared up (I think time helped more than the vet really as they didn't seem to have any clue on what to do), then on to the ear allergies! His ears were bright red and itchy...back to the vet...more money...got that cleared up....a few weeks later, more allergies (this time I called the vet and asked if I could give him benedryl instead of spending a fortune on more meds). I gave him one Benedryl and it cleared up (learned my lesson there, no more wasting money on meds if one benedryl works..geez).
So now we are at our current situation which is he just had a problem with fleas. We use Revolution which is heartworm and flea guard all in one. I guess the stuff doesn't work that great because I found several fleas on him and, of course, he is allergic. So he has these nasty looking black splotches on his belly now. Once again it's back to the vet for flea meds. They gave me some pill to give him to kill the fleas...forget what it's called but I think it starts with a C. The fleas appear to be gone, but Kirby is still a bit itchy.
So, my question (sorry so long guys) is/are: Is there anything I can do to releive his itchyness (some kind of Shampoo I can buy or something?) till the flea trauma passes.
Second, ever since his surgery he has looked terrible. His back and hips are still all boney. His coat looks like cr@p and he just doesn't look healthy at all. I feed him Wellness dog food (I know the cheap junk is garbage and full of fillers). What else can I give him to help get him healthy again? I want his coat to be nice again and for him to be strong like he was before this nightmare started......
One friend recommended this:
http://www.missinglinkproducts.com
Haven't had time to research it yet....
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give.