Kirby the Corgi not healthy. Need advice

[Wyluli]

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.

 

[lizzybeth727]

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 all the back information. I know that took a long time to type, but it really was helpful (and not hard to read).

The flea medication you got was probably Capstar? That does a good job killing all the fleas on your dog, but it's not a preventative. There have been several nice threads on this page about natural flea prevention alternatives, you might want to read up on some of that. I'm sure you know this, but considering how bad his allergies are, I'd suggest implementing as many of the natural prevention techniques as you can. As far as the itchiness, I'd give him benedryl again, that will probably help a lot. If he's mainly itchy on his belly or legs, an area with less fur, you could also use cortisone cream (the human kind you can find at wal mart or grocery stores), that helps to numb the itching.

As far as his health... first of all, how old is he? Wellness is a good food, but you might in the future have to switch to a higher quality food (others on the forum can help you there). Before you do, though, I'd suggest supplimenting a little bit: Give him a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt every day. This will help build up the good bacteria he needs in his intestines (which have probably been demolished due to all the antibiotics he's been on), and thus will aid in digestion (also sometimes helps with chronic ear infections). If you'd rather, you could also give him one or two acidopholis pills every day (also can be found at wal mart or grocery stores). I'd also suggest giving him one egg every day - really good for protein and oils, great for his coat - you can cook it (plain) or give it raw. You can also start giving him fish oils (find them at wal mart or pet stores), also good for the coat (although I'd start with the eggs, they're cheaper). I'd also start giving him glucosomine/condritin suppliments, these are good for his joints and are important for any breed that tends to have joint problems (find pills at wal mart, or biscuits at pet stores).

Hopefully, after doing all this, you'll start to see an improvement in 2-4 weeks. If not, we could try something else.....

Good luck!

 

[Wyluli]

Aha, took a look in the folder of Vet receipts I keep (Very scary folder, many, many receipts in there lol). The flea pill was called Comfortis.
Since the Revolution does not work well, I need to decide on a new flea and heartworm medication to give both dogs. We live in Florida so, unfortunately, fleas and mosquitos are a year round problem and both are very very bad.

I agree on any natural methods I can come up with would be good. I've read about some things (like garlic etc..) but for everything I find there is always a negative to go with it. I read garlic works, but that it's bad for dogs and is actually toxic for them. It's one of those things where the more you read the more confused you get and don't know what to do...
I hate giving them pills and meds....

Kirby is only 5 years old. That is him in my avatar thingy .
I forgot to mention that the vet wanted us to give him Royal Canin mobility support dog food (only available from vet) so we switched him to that, but that was when he had another allergy outbreak so I switched him back to his Wellness food. We have had trouble with him getting ear infections/allergies when we try to switch his food, even though we do it gradually. I've read that Innova Evo is supposed to be great food but boy is it fun trying to get him switched!


Thanks for the great info. I'm going to try the yogurt and eggs (is raw better than cooked?) and fish oil.
For the glucosomine/condritin suppliments, am I looking for anything special? Certain brand, dosage, etc... I'm guessing this is in the people/pharmacy section of Walmart? Or is it in the Pet stuff section? Want to make sure I get the right thing. I also hate going to Walmart so wanna make sure I get it right the first time hehe. Or maybe I'll look for the bisquits at a pet store instead if they are not outrageously more expensive.

Thanks again, I feel better having a place to start!

 

[lizzybeth727]

I don't know about that specific Royal Canin food, but most of the time "mobility support" means glucosomine/condritin.

I don't know specifically how much to give, but you could check out the dog biscuits (I'm sure they'll be online, try petsmart.com), and see if you can find out how much is in the biscuits. Then you can find a similar dosage at walmart. All brands are pretty much the same, I mean, it's really only two ingredients, so just get the cheap walmart brand stuff. It's in the people section, though you can check the pet section for the biscuits, they MIGHT have them.

I have heard that cooked eggs are easier for dogs to digest, but I'm not sure that's true. I've always just cooked my dog's eggs, then I don't have to worry about MYSELF somehow getting food poisoning (I"m a little paranoid). I scramble them (with no cooking oil if possible) or boil them.

I've never heard of Comfortis, sorry.

Have you treated your yard for fleas? Of course diatomacious (sp?) earth (mentioned in several threads) would be relatively easy to use outside, but even something as simple as cedar shavings (like they sell for hamster cages) help repel fleas - I used to put cedar shavings in my dog's bed (the pillow kind, stick it in the zippered part).

 

[Wyluli]

I have been feeding Kirby an egg everyday as you suggested. I was at the petstore yesterday looking at the Glucosamine suppliments and noticed this supplement called Nupro. A lot of people seem to really like it. They also had a product called The Missing Link. When I asked the folks there about the two products they stated that lots of people use and like the Nupro, but they have not really had much feedback on The Missing Link. The Nupro has a joint support version which contains Glucosamine among other things so I decided to give this a shot for Kirby. It sounds llike good stuff, so I hope to see some good results. (Its really pricey at the petshop I go to for the good dog food though, so may try to find the next batch online somewhere).
Do you think I should continue feeding him an egg as well? Or do you think the Nupro covers everything well enough?
Here is the website for more info on Nupro:
http://www.nuprosupplements.com/

As always, thanks a bunch for your advice!

Oh, and for treating the yard for fleas....Is there anything that will hold up under the daily torrents of florida rains? I'm worried if I put something down it will just be washed off right away by one of our 10 minute downpours....

Thanks!

 

[bubbatd]

Years ago I added Lipoderm to one of my dog's food . Really helped . I'd like to use natural remedies too .... but take my chances with K9 Advantix and Interceptor .You're damned if you do and damned if you don't . Good luck !