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Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets.
Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets.
Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
Pet related: I am thoroughly exhausted, stressed out, emotionally drained, and need to vent here.
My dog, Quincy, has had a crazy ear infection for the last few months. His ear got so badly infected and swollen it completely sealed that ear shut. And, as a result, the vet couldn't get any topical antibiotics into it, so we had to go through several weeks of giving him just oral antibiotics (which are supposedly less effective for treating ear infections), and heavy doses of steroids to get the swelling down.
About a month ago the swelling was finally down enough that the vet managed to get a topical antibiotic, that supposedly lasts 30 days, into his ear canal. Good news right!? Nope! That didn't work, and by the next vet appointment a few days ago, it had pretty much completely swollen shut again. So despite multiple vet visits, multiple rounds of antibiotics and steroids, and almost $1.5k in vet bills so far, his ear is still not much better than when we first brought him in.
So now we're on round 4 of a different oral antibiotic, and an even heavier dose of steroids. Only this time we're also trying an even stronger topical antibiotic which I have to squirt into his ear twice a day using a syringe... which is an exceedingly difficult thing to do because he has become exceptionally skittish whenever anyone goes anywhere near his ear now. And as a result, it's only 50/50 whether I manage to actually get the antibiotic into his ear canal... even with me trying to distract him with his favorite treats, and being sneaky when bringing the syringe up to his ear.
Thankfully, the swelling is already significantly down again, and his ear is actually starting to look better, but I have no idea if that's just a temporary improvement again like we've seen before, due to the higher dose of steroids (which he will eventually have to stop taking), or whether the ear infection is actually finally starting to clear up. Time will tell, I suppose. Sigh.
But to be totally honest, none of that is the really stressful part. The really stressful part is the vet visits. Ever since this first happened Quincy has gotten more and more aggressive towards the vet and vet techs whenever they go anywhere near his ear. So I had to buy a muzzle and start muzzling him whenever we go to the vet now, which I've never had to do before. The vet and vet tech are fucking awesome, clearly capable and used to handling this kind of situation, and assure me this recent aggressive change in behavior is just due to him being in so much pain for so long. However despite their assurances, and them not seeming concerned in the slightest, it's still super super fucking stressful... and also scary too, since my dog has never tried to bite anyone before, but he is very very clearly trying to bite them whenever they go near his ear now. And I just worry that even once the ear infection clears up, he's going to remain aggressive towards them because of this experience.
And another thing that's been worrying me is that Quincy's quality of life has clearly taken a significant nosedive the last six months due to the ear infection and also the inter-digital cysts he's now regularly getting, which are apparently also quite painful, and keep occasionally getting infected too despite me treating them with ointment, and soaking his feet in epsom salt water every few days... so if we can't clear both issues up, I think I'm going to have to start seriously considering putting him down. Not because of the cost, which I genuinely don't care about, but because I honestly don't know how much longer I can take this level of stress, and also because I don't think it's fair to Quincy either to be constantly in pain like he's been. :(
p.s dog tax:
Quincy in his natural environment
Guarding a new toy
Show-dog pose!
I'm so sorry you and Quincy are going through that. He doesn't look aged or unhappy in the photos, but I've been through that wringer with a couple of cats over the years, and the behavioral change may mean he's had enough.
It's also possible that the footpad problems are a consequence of steroids and prolonged immune stress from the ear infection, and when that's resolved, his overall health will improve. I know it's one more potential health hazard, but I'm surprised the vet hasn't suggested topical anesthetics or sedatives for painful treatments. One of my rescue cats was abused enough that simply getting in the carrier was extremely stressful for her (and me, recipient of the bites and scratches). The vet prescribed pretreatment with gabapentin for the first couple of visits, and she's been fine with getting in the carrier without anything but treats since.
Fingers-crossed for Quincy's healthy recovery, and the relief of your stress!
Those are slightly older photos, but TBH he doesn't look much different.
Yeah, I've gone through similar with a few other dogs too. Quincy is the fifth dog I've had in my life (hence the name ;). And yeah, IME those kind of drastic behavior changes are a worrying sign. Our last dog started having seizures due to an enlarged heart, and her behavior eventually totally changed too. She would hide in her cage more and more often, and refuse to come out more and more often too. And similar is starting to happen with Quincy now too. Most nights he even sleeps in his cage now, instead of on the bed with me like he used to. :(
Unfortunately that's very unlikely since the cysts started showing up quite a few months before the ear infection. We do think we might know what's causing them now though. We have a patch of wild creeping thyme (thymus serpyllum) that's taken over a big portion of our back yard, and it has fine hairs all over its leaves, and even just lightly touching the leaves myself covers my fingers in a very very pungent scented oil.
The ground finally thawed briefly yesterday so I temporarily fenced off that area of the yard to keep Quincy off the thyme, to test if that's really what's causing the issue. So now we'll give it a few months, and if his cysts stop showing up then we can hopefully just dig the thyme out and re-sod that section of yard come spring.
But if that's not the cause of the cysts, we're likely going to have to put him on a strict prescription hypoallergenic diet to try to figure out if something in his diet is the cause. We haven't changed anything in his diet in years, but apparently as dogs get older they can suddenly just develop new allergies, even to things they've had a million times before. So who knows. :/
We also ordered a dog allergen test kit too though, but unfortunately the kit actually had a warning that steroids might affect the results, so we're going to have to wait until Quincy is off the steroids before using it, and sending the samples in for analysis. :/
They actually have, I just didn't mention them because they haven't helped a whole lot. He's on 300mg of gabapentin twice daily to help manage the pain, and we also give him 600mg gaba and 150mg trazodone (anti-anxiety med) the night before a vet visit, and another 600mg gaba + 150mg trazo two hours before the vet appt. That combo worked okay enough a month ago to at least allow the vet to get that 30 day topical antibiotic into his ear canal, but this last visit Quincy wasn't relaxed or sedated at all at that dose anymore, and it was a total nightmare dealing with him again. So now we're supposed to double the doses for the next visit.
🤞 indeed. Thanks for sharing your own experiences, and for caring enough to comment. :)
Hey I know this is an older thread, but I was reading and thought I'd chime in with somethings really quickly. You may want to take a look at this page from the Merck Vet Manual on interdigal cysts in dogs. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/interdigital-furunculosis/interdigital-furunculosis-in-dogs
Particularly the part about certain dog breeds, including English Bulldogs, being prone to them due to short, bristly hairs on the webbing on their paws which can end up being forced into the skin where they cause recurrent infection. If the thyme doesn't turn out to be the cause, although it sounds like it definitely could be, this may be something to consider. The treatment section may also be helpful for you as it does give recommendations for foot baths with an antibiotic shampoo daily. I'd heavily suggest that if your vet hasn't cultured the infections that you ask them to as that may help your team target the infection better.
I say none of this thinking I know better than your vet team. I only want to bring up some possibilities for you to discuss with your vet team as I know from experience working in vet hospitals that things can be over looked and that vets have so much they're expected to learn that some things get forgotten or aren't part of their expertise.
Also, if you think the thyme is a possibile cause you could ask your vet next time you're in if putting dog shoes on Quincy may be comfortable for him and help his paws. It would add a protective barrier to his feet that would prevent further outside irritation and infection from occuring. It will also help him if something other than the thyme that he's walking on is causing the irritation, such as a grass allergy. However, it can be stressful for dogs to put them on and get used to them, and as Quincy seems to be having a hard time already it may cause him to get more aggressive if he dislikes putting them on so it may not be worth the stress. Plus you'll want to make sure they won't press against the cysts causing irritation themselves.
I hope by now Quincy is feeling a bit better!
Thanks, I appreciate that you were kind and thoughtful enough to offer the advice. :)
My vet already mentioned the issue being common in the breed, and the short bristly hairs being a contributing factor. But she also said it's only an issue when there is inflammation around the follicle, which then causes the hairs to get ingrown, which then causes the cysts to form. So I was already treating Quincy's feet by soaking them in Epsom salt water every other day, was also given an antiseptic ointment to put on afterwards, and chlorhexidine spray and shampoo as well. All that has helped prevent them from getting infected as frequently, but new cysts still just keep forming.
Steroids have been the only thing we've tried so far that has actually stopped them from forming, but Quincy can't be on those forever. Which is why I fenced off the Thyme growing in our yard in case that was the cause, and come spring I will resod that area to get rid of it. But we also have him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet now, and are giving him twice daily Apoquel (allergy meds) which, unlike the steroids, he can actually be on long term.
However, if the cysts persist once he's fully off the steroids again (which we are finally weaning him off) then our next option is probably going to be taking him to a dog dermatologist, getting him allergy injections, or potentially even getting him laser hair removal on the webbing between his toes where the cysts keep forming. But for now, we're going to just stick to the current treatment regime, keep him on the new diet, keep him off the Thyme, and see if all that finally resolves the issue.
p.s. The vet already did a thorough examination and took cultures from the cysts, and there were no signs of mites, mite larvae in the follicles, skin intrusions, or the common bacteria associated with cyst formation. Which is why she's fairly certain it's an allergy issue of some sort causing the inflammation, which is then causing the cysts, and why we've been focusing on trying to identify the culprit to resolve the issue.
p.p.s. Trying to get booties on Quincy is a massive PITA. I do it in the winter, since he gets cracked paws after walking on snow/ice/salt if I don't, but doing it every single time he goes out even in spring/summer/fall is probably going to be pretty much impossible. Even once I do get them on, he sulks, and absolutely refuses to move unless he really really has to pee or poo. :P
No photos yet, but it looks like fate will be dropping an 11-month-old cavapoo in my lap this week. A friend of a friend is experiencing a life event and needs to find a new home for her dog. My kids are going absolutely bonkers over the idea so I’m likely in position that would make it hard to refuse. Not that I’m complaining though. He’s a really cute and friendly dog.
Behold, a cat.
This is Ascii. She's 17 this Spring and is literally the spawn of Satan. (Her mother was named Satan and owned by an eccentric university psychology professor.) Despite her heritage, she loves people and is a little cuddlebug. Though her primary form of communication is grumbling. She's my little angel and despot all wrapped into one.
I am a sucker for all Satan's spawn, and ASCII is a particularly gorgeous example. It's perfectly sensible to be her devoted servant, and I wish you many more happy years of bondage to her every feline whim.
What's interesting is that Ascii was never supposed to exist. Satan's human took her to the vet at age 5 months or so wanting to get Satan fixed. The vet told them that Satan was too young and that her human would have to wait a month. And in that month...Satan managed to get pregnant. So yes, Ascii's mother is only about 8 months or so older than she is. Poor Satan was a teen mother!