Flynn 11 y/o Foxie Cross - Right adrenalectomy- Good Bye Flynny We will miss you

[SoggyDoggy]

Flynn's prognosis, according to the experts, is 15 months mean survival time after adrenalectomy for pheo. Believe me, I am not going to sit here wringing my hands that we are at 10 months now, thinking oh gawd we only have another 5 months to go??? No, I read that as meaning at least half the dogs lived much longer and that hope is very important to me.

Isn't that a bit like saying dogs with cushings only live 2 years? We all know what bollocks that is! There are so many here as living proof that any dog has the capacity to beat the odds and so many do, living full healthy lives, after all, isn't Leslie's Squirt 17 or something now? There is no time limit, thats one thing I found, you cant know in advance so don't worry about it!

Anyway, glad to know Flynn's itchies are getting a little better. I've used cortivance on Ozzie for about 5 years now, on and off as needed, its great stuff. In fact I use it on myself pretty often too - so much for veterinary use only, it's good stuff! Just ride out the season, we are in for a really bad one this year too, I've got the spray ready and waiting. Oz hates it being sprayed on him too, but the result is worth it.

[Squirt's Mom]

Squirt is 15 1/2 now. I hope your guess at 17 is a prediction of the future, Naomi!

You have the right attitude, Trish. Don't listen to those prognoses....it is your love and exceptional care that make the difference. Most pets never get the kind of care that the babies here do. Keep loving that boy as always, and never let those thoughts bother you.

[Trish]

Hi all and happy Sunny Sunday here!

I am starting to wring my hands a little while the spray does help settle down the itching it is not actually fixing it long term. Plus he is still having the poops which are mainly formed but with a covering of mucous.

He has been on the hills z/d antiallergenic food for 4 days now, he does not like and would like his venison back thanks very much. He only picks at it in the morning but usually eats it all over a couple of hours, he has more of an appetite later in the day. He is also having the royal canin anallergenic biccies. I just wondered about a food allergy causing these problems so worth a try. But not a good idea according to Flynn!

He has also been a bit sluggish, slower on his run lately and not zooming out the house this morning when I let him out... more of a sedate trot.

I still think it is a flea allergy, he has a small bald spot by his tail and that is his main itchy area. His skin is a little red around his bottom, under his belly but no raw spots. This is what we have tried so far without much success:

• Neotopic cream
• Cortovance spray - it settled down the main area of irritation around his tail but hard to get it all over him and through his fur and he scratches up his sides and side of neck and face too, plus nibbles his paws.
• Loratidine - nothing
• Phenergan - nothing except make him sleepy
• Sebazole shampoo
• Frontline every 4 weeks - but I still see the occasional flea on him
• Flea comb, never caught one yet but he likes being combed
• Washing bedding weekly, vacuuming regularly (might buy a flea bomb and blast the house today)
• Now trying low allergy food
  Health tonic spray

Sometimes he itches less and I think we have turned the corner but then back they come, so frustrating for him.

I have just emailed our vet so will see if he has any new ideas, prednisone just gives me the willies after reading all about it here and I get concerned with him only having one adrenal and don't want to upset anything there. But maybe its something we will have to do. I just hope the itch is not a sign of anything systemic going on. I cannot see any mouth ulcers which has been a bother for him in the past.

I feel so bad for him, I just gave him back his toys and he is laying on the floor having a good old chomp on them, so least he is having fun

Anyway everyone, have a lovely weekend with your babies and I will let you know if we come up with any new ideas and I would appreciate if you have anything to add!! xxxxxx

[molly muffin]

Hi Trish,

Sorry to hear that Flynn is having troubles with the itchiness still.

Okay, so two websites, both of which have recipes for natural spray to repel fleas, one is a spray and one is actually dried.

One mentioned a great flea wash is dawn dishwash detergent. (not sure if you get Dawn there or not)

Anyway, here are the links, you can give them a read over and see what you think.

http://www.all-pets-info.com/fleacon...s-on-Dogs.html

http://www.natural-dog-health-remedi...a-control.html

Lovely fall day here today. Good day for long walks.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

I still think it is a flea allergy, he has a small bald spot by his tail and that is his main itchy area. His skin is a little red around his bottom, under his belly but no raw spots.

- it settled down the main area of irritation around his tail but hard to get it all over him and through his fur and he scratches up his sides and side of neck and face too, plus nibbles his paws.

Sometimes he itches less and I think we have turned the corner but then back they come, so frustrating for him.

Hi Trish,
You are describing Rosie's itchiness EXACTLY. Bottom, base of tail, face, neck, chin, sides. I am frustrated too! The Chamomile I was putting on her made her itch more. It always helped Buddy. I am now applying witch hazel to itchy ares with a cotton ball. It seems to help for a few hours. I've already changed her food. I do think it's flea allergy dermatitis also. She arrived with fleas ticks and ear mites. I haven't seen any fleas for quite some time and I am neurotically diligent about washing bedding and vacuuming. The poor things can continue to scratch for months after the fleas are gone. Buddy had it too, that's how I know. please let me know what you find out. Thanks.xxxx

[Trish]

Hi Sharlene and Kathy

Thanks for the tips guys, I have not seen Dawn dishwash here.

He has perked up and eaten all his brekky now and is back running around outside. I think I am just going to have to be one hard Mum and stick with this new food for a while. So we can rule out food allergy.

Super frustrating eh Kathy, he has had the itches before, but I cannot remember it for this long. So hope it stops soon, maybe the flea bombing the house might help. Worth a try anyway. I need to go to the hardware store today so will pick some up when I go out.

xx

[molly muffin]

It might be worth it to try the one of the sprays that is suppose to repeals fleas. That one seemed fairly simple to try and make. Wouldn't smell bad either. Not sure how Flynn would feel about it. LOL

Ugh. Don't flea bombs always end up smelling?

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Tina]

Hi Trish,
So sorry to read that Flynny is still having trouble with itching. You know, over the past few weeks I have noticed that Jasper is scratching at his face a lot. I checked all around his face and whiskers and don't see anything, but something must be bothering him. I will have to keep an eye on that. I wonder if he is having sympathy itches for Flynn. And what is going on with those poops? I hope that settles down for him, poor guy.

My Lab developed some sort of allergies later in her life. Sometimes when I would touch her, her skin would just crawl. The vet said that was due to itching. She started her on Atarax, which really helped. Have you ever tried that for Flynn? Also, when she had an itchy raw spot, we used Kenalog cream. It worked great, but I am pretty sure it has a corticosteroid in it. Just some ideas that maybe you haven't tried. I hope our boy is feeling better soon. Thanks for checking in on me and Jasper.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

[spdd]

I don't know if this will help, but when Keesh came to us as a puppy the whole litter had some sort of skin infection. I had to bathe him every 2-3 days for a couple of weeks. His scratching drove me crazy. It wasn't fleas but some sort of bug caused skin irritation.

We used Johnson & Johnson baby wash (vet told us ) with oatmeal. I got told at the time that shampoos were too harsh for dogs as their skin is thinner then humans. It worked, and relieved his itching.

He still itches around every August, but for some reason this year it was delayed a couple of months. He's itching now. I use Benadryl and he gets relief. He's too big now for me to wash every couple of days. I think the itching is caused by an airborne allergy now though.

Sure hope he feels better soon.

[Squirt's Mom]

ah HA! Itching worse with Chamomile could mean an allergy to plants in the Aster family like daisy, celery, ragweed, marigolds, sunflowers, dandelion, or chrysanthemums to name a very few. The Aster, or Asteraceae, family of plants is extremely huge, one of the largest plant families in the world. So if you know the common names of the plants, like Daisy, that Flynn, and Rosie, come in contact with you can google to see if they are part of this family and do your best to avoid them.