Update -
I found a very nice vet and I took Loki in yesterday. I collected a stool sample for them and he was due so we had him tested for heartworms, checked his anal glands and an overall wellness check. I've been giving him his heartworm pills once a month since he was 2 months old.
Well, I feel terrible. Loki had 2 intenstinal parasides..roundworm and cocsidia (sp) I believe is what they said. He weighed in at 14.5 lbs. I was most displeased with my former groomer. The vet also offers grooming services and while we were waiting to see the vet, the groomer came up and met with me. I had Loki groomed just over two weeks ago, had him shaved down for the summer (had taken him halfway down the month before that) and when I picked him up, the groomer had shaved his ears, so we lost the beautiful brindle coloring in his ears, his face..they completely took off his beard and moustache, which was lopsided. I brush his tail out just about every night. I always leave instructions (first time was to check anal glands too) but always for nail trimming, hair removal from his ears. Well, the new groomer took him down for a quick face, fanny and feet trim because the hair was cut so awkwardly on his face, and when she brought him back up she told me that the hair in ears was very long (so groomer didn't do this) she trimmed his nails and trimmed up his face so he looked so much better.
Then the vet checked and his left anal gland needed to be expressed but the right one was ok. The stool sample came back with the above results and they did the heartworm exam. When they checked his anal glands they found that hair had matted just at the base of his tail (all this time I thought THAT was his TAIL..come to find out it was hair matts which I couldn't even see, and they cut ALL of that out. Then they gave him his first round of meds, 2 larger pills and 3 smaller pills, and they put it into some moist Science Diet c/d dog food, which he wolfed down. I have to give him 1.5 of the smaller pills day 2-9 and two more of these large pills in 30 days. The vet wants to see him again in one month.
So, I got him home around 5:30 and within first 10 minutes of being home, he was gobbling up his puppy chow and it wasn't long before he returned to licking but now I could see he was licking a spot on his tail raw, so I tried to keep him by me and not let him lick...I could tell it itched. By 9:00P he started vomiting. After the 4th vomiting episode (boy does that food expand in his stomach because to me it looked like he vomited more than he had consumed in 2 days) I called the vet's answering service and she called me back. After I described what was happening, she thought he had had a very stressful day and that the meds had been in his system long enough before he became sick. (I tried looking when I was cleaning the mess up but I couldn't see any pills). She recommended one half tablet of pepto bismal to calm his stomach, 1 benedryl tablet to help with the itching (she thought could be caused also by parasites) and she said I could put neosporin on the raw spot on his tail. So, while my brother ran to the drug store for me, Loki got sick 2 more times (eventually just watery gravy looking). When he got back, I tried to break up half a tablet and rolled it in the moist food (vet sent rest of can home with us) and he wanted nothing to do with that. I tried putting it in a small bit of cheese..he wanted nothing to do with that..so I never got the pepto or benedryl down, but I did put a spot of neosporin on his tail. He got the shivers (like he does when coming out of the bath) and for a bit I was worried he was having small seizures, but I think it was just the chills from so much vomiting. I finally got him comfortable and after about an hour I moved him with me into bed where he slept in one spot all night. This morning he didn't want to go outside and is sleeping in his bed next to me here at desk, which he normally does every morning once he's been outside for potty. Just this morning..no potty. Maybe explained by all the vomiting last night.
I feel like a terrible mom. The vet explained the worms were common and come from nosing around in infected soil. Since until 2 weeks ago, we didn't have a yard, I'm not sure if that happened on our walks when he was sniffing around or what. I'm also not sure how I go about preventing this in the future or if you even can. I had no idea the mess at the base of his tail was actually a wad of hair and it was obvious it had been like that for a while and groomer had just let it be.
Also, if he is not hungry what is the best way to go about getting the rest of his meds down? I know I'll call the vet probably b4 anyone responds to this post, but I'm so grateful for the knowledgeable advice I'm receiving here.
He did have a pretty stressful day so maybe it's ok that he seems content to just sleep.
Any similiar experiences or advice would be most welcome and thanks in advance.
Lisa and Loki