Sam has another flare up of his acne type of spots, they are just under his bottom lip .He had this quite some time ago and it went of its own accord , we think its made worse because he is a very drooly dog which makes for a breeding ground for bacteria . Our Vet has given us an anti fungal ointment and said to keep his chin as clean as possible with either plain water or a mild soap, if it doesnt clear soon he may have to have tests for immune system probs . He is fit as a fiddle , eating well, weight good and alert so we are trying not to think down that route . The other day , I sent Paul to Boots to see if they had a good mild soap , there was a massive queue and as he cant stand for long, he took his trusty scooter to the health shop in town, came back saying that the lady in the store had sold him something which she said she would not hesitate to use on a dog as an antiseptic , Tea Tree Oil . Thankfully I remembered Jac saying it is toxic for dogs, but we had already used it, in a very very diluted form and literally just mins before I remembered about it, so we washed off what tiny bit we had used very quickly . I know that there is often scaremongering about certain products, but I am so very angry that this lady actually reccommended using this for a dog when it can be so toxic , shall be having stern words with her this morning and just thank goodness that I remembered what Jac had said before we used this product , thank you very much Jac .
Re: Really angry about this Oh Kate, how annoying. Good job you remembered. I didn't know about tee tree oil, thanks for letting me know too. Although, I was just looking at a tee tree oil shampoo for dogs yesterday (but there again, it probably didn't actually have tee tree oil in it!). I'm really interested about what you said in an earlier post about Sam's immune system not clearing this up. I'm wondering if something similar is going on with Charlie's ears...as soon as we stop the antibiotics, this dratted ear infection comes back.
Re: Really angry about this Its a worry Julie, when they have recurring infections , I`m just trying to give him foods to boost the immune system . I have spoken to the lady at the health store , but I guess I`m as much to blame for trusting other people with the health of my dog, never again I`ve seen tee tree oil shampoo too, wondered if maybe its such a tiny ammount in the product that its not harmful ?
Re: Really angry about this Hi Kate. I thought tea tree would have been ok too as its great for humans with spotty things but I googled it for safety and there were lots of warnings about its toxicity. There were some comments that it was in shampoos in too small quantities to be harmful. I think a lot of it is to do wih concentration. Did you know that Karvol or Olbas oil if ingested by a child can be fatal? Doesn't even have to be through the mouth can also be in the nose or eye it can be absorbed in enough quantities to cause serious harm. This was a shocker to me as one time I almost used the bottle of olbas on my son as a baby thinking I had picked up the decongestant nasal drops. Essential oils can be HIGHLY toxic if not used correctly. Having said that, I am pretty sure diluted lavender oil is safe so it may be worth considering this on poor Sam. Jac
Re: Really angry about this Kate, good job you remembered. Having read years ago about Tea Tree Oil we stopped using it for the family. Julie, Hattie had an ear infection in both ears a few weeks ago and Heidrun recommended Thornit powder which is good for ears and does not contain anitiotic, I have mine on order. You can look it up, it's good for a few things. Might be worth checking out. Helen x
Re: Really angry about this Thanks Jac, its quitte scarey, all these " harmless " things that turn out to be so dangerous . Sams spos havent gone, but dont look quite so angry as they did a couple of days ago . He has very big mouth flaps and being such a drooly boy it means he needs regular face washes in an effort to keep the area clean : Thats useful to know about Olbas Oil , I always thought it pretty harmless too :
Re: Really angry about this Thanks Helen - I'll definitely be using the Thornit powder if I ever get the all clear. If I get rid of this ear infection, I'll take all preventative measures to never have him get another one. I don't have the all clear about his ear drum though, so nothing can go in his ears right now (apart from saline to wash them). The antibiotics are oral ones (although the first vet gave him ear drops, and THEN a week later raised the problem about the ear drum - so annoyed about that, it really might have made things worse).
Re: Really angry about this Oh poor Charlie, it's so expensive when they get ear infections, Hattie's cost £75.00 plus all the driving in and out to the vets as we are rural, then a visit to the nurse for the saline cleaning it just went on and on, but thankfull no ear drum damage. I will be using Thornit to prevent this problem in the future, thanks to Heidrun's endless knowledge . Get better soon Charlie. Helen x
Re: Really angry about this Have you looked at emulsifying ointment? Have no idea about it's use on dogs, but it might be worth looking at the ingredients perhaps? We used it for our daughter instead of soap when she was a baby (by prescription). It looks like a huge tub of lard, you scoop a bit out and use as soap. It cleans but has no perfumes, or anything in it. Then it forms a water proof barrier or something, which I thought might help future drooling maybe? Other than that the most mild soap I can think of for humans is pears, you know the transparent orangey coloured one. They still sell that. Another fan of thornit here too. Used it for years, it's a spaniel thing maybe!
Re: Really angry about this [quote author=kateincornwall link=topic=2242.msg20664#msg20664 date=1376296515] I`m just trying to give him foods to boost the immune system . [/quote] What kind of things are you trying? In addition to the ear infection, Charlie's eyes can be a little bit runny (2 sets of antibiotic eye cream, and 2 weeks of nightly circus getting them in failed to make a jot of a difference). Plus he scratches his shoulders quite a lot (but I think this might be a habit formed by scratching to get his harness off :) I am wondering whether these three things are connected though. It might be an allergy thing. But an immune system boost wouldn't do any harm...
Re: Really angry about this Julie , ironically , I used to lightly cook carrots for Sam, he had them every day but for some reason I stopped bothering and now his spots are back . Been reading that carrots are good for boosting the immune system , as are some fruits such as apples and berries such as blackberries, blueberries etc . Coconut oil is also good for the purpose as is fish oil ( coconut oil smells lovely too !)
Re: Really angry about this Hi Kate I usually recommend Hibiscrub wash for canine acne - you can get it from the pharmacy, and use it to clean his chin after each meal/slobbery episode. Some dogs get acne as youngsters and it disappears, others get bouts of spots on their chins for life (especially the more "jowly" labradors) and in yet others it is a precursor of allergic skin disease. Hope this helps.
Re: Really angry about this Thanks so much for this advice , I do have hibiscrub , should I dilute a little ? Sam is a slobbery jowly dog so its maybe something we just have to deal with from time to time , thanks again x
Re: Really angry about this I get a chunk of cotton wool or a sponge and wet it then pour about 10ml hibiscrub onto the cotton wool/sponge and use this to thoroughly wash all over the chin and jowls - it foams up well! The massaging action of the cotton wool/sponge is helpful. If you can leave it on for up to five minutes in contact with the skin so much the better but you can have (how shall I put this?) "canine compliance issues" with this amount of contact time - you should ask my sister how she got on with Brodick doing this - then rinse thoroughly with clean water until there is no hibiscrub residue. It's a bit of a labour of love really, but they do get used to it. There are a variety of follicular-flushing shampoos on the market which may be helpful too (mostly based on benzoyl peroxide) but my experience with them is they can be very irritant giving you a red, sore and spotty chin instead of just a spotty one.....
Re: Really angry about this poor old Sam, good luck, I suspect better than Brodick! he used to looked horrified, make his ears go long, and then run and hide if I walked towards him with any sense of purpose in the house during the Hibiscrub Weeks...I had to catch him unawares and even then it was a drama...Cuillin on the other hand lets me do anything medical without a flicker....boys.... ;D
Re: Really angry about this Just " done " Sam , oh my goodness , you`d think I was about to murder him : Mind you, this is the dog who flees the room at the sight of the fly swatter, not known for his bravery : We managed to keep the dreaded murderous stuff on for about 3 mins , think I`m going to have to creep up on him, commando style next time
Re: Really angry about this ;D ;D Laughing about the boys Debsie , they are such total whimps at times , my previous girl Lab would also let me do anything to her but Sam , how to make a drama out of a crisis ;D Did you say Hibiscrub Weeks , as in weeks of this
Re: Really angry about this Brods was being tortured for about two weeks....he still looks at me suspiciously and then sort of half bum tucks ridiculously around me if I have a hanky in my hand (looks too much like cotton wool for him) and it was months ago ....it made quite an impression...creeping up on him was the only thing that worked with Brods too ;D
