Life in progress

#SoCS – Ah…choo!

22 Comments

I think the dog has allergies. No, he’s not sneezing, but he is scratching.

He had an appointment at the vet a couple of days ago–hundreds of dollars’ worth of fun. He was due for his shots anyway, so I figured since he was scratching, I’d get something for fleas and ticks. No evidence of them before or since, but that was the logical place to start.

Yesterday, I put the stuff on the back of his neck to kill whatever he might have picked up.

Today, he seems to be itchier than ever.

Question is, what could he be allergic to that is new? What plants are in my garden this year that weren’t last year? Worst case scenario: it’s not a plant at all.

I haven’t looked up the facts, so I don’t really know if they can affect dogs, but there’s a new tick in these parts that, if you’re bitten, can make you allergic to meat.

What do you feed a dog that’s allergic to meat?

Sure, he loves cheese. But I can’t imagine what an entire meal of it would do to his insides.

Do I not let him down from the table until he’s eaten his veggies?

We all know what grass does to dogs, but what about broccoli?

So I’m hoping the itching will stop–that the skin problems are just bites that haven’t healed yet.

Updates to come.

EDIT: So you don’t feel bad for Winston: the Lone Star tick–the one responsible for meat allergies–can bite dogs, but the poison it carries only affects humans.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This post that didn’t use the prompt except in the title was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other awesome posts in the comment section and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/07/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-6-19/

Author: Linda G. Hill

There's a writer in here, clawing her way out.

22 thoughts on “#SoCS – Ah…choo!

  1. Oh dear! Poor Winston! I hope he’ll be ok!

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  2. My four-legged’s skin issues are a distant problem that seems to be solved, for now…but I used essential oils, switched her to home made dog food until she was going good, then purchased a ‘grain-free’ blend of dry dog food, and still do her grooming, shampooing/conditioning products as ‘simple’ as possible (baking soda, white vinegar, touch of castille soap for suds, or coconut oil for conditioning, with essential oils (mostly lavender, rosemary blend, with just a smidge of lemon grass, peppermint and cedarwood added in) AND, use a diluted spray to spritz on her in between, to protect her from the bitey, crawley things – – :). I always spritz the blend in the air, wave my hand through the mist, then hold my hand down for her to smell – IF she moves forward/licks, whatever, then figure okay for her, and not too strong – IF she turns away, then I adjust the blend (I have to test MY formulations for MY personal stuff/house cleaning stuff, on her too – cuz, afterall, we share the same space!) – :). Hope it’s just a matter of different plant and/or weed showing up this year and soon, the ‘phase will pass’ – 🙂

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    • Oh, you have so much energy! 🙂 I hope so too, because he’s still scratching.
      Lovely to see you again! ❤

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      • It’s lovely to be back here with connections with the ‘flock I like to fly with’ again!!! And no, I don’t have a lot of energy, but I DID when it was first needed – as I worked from the early days of raw patch of no hair, sunburnt, big arse sore on back of neck (when I first brought her home to be part of ‘my pack’ ) to today? All I can say is – she goes longer periods of surviving my ‘loving neglect’ homestead (just like the wild roses and native plum bushes do) without horrendous long term issues or crisises – – it WAS extra work in the beginning – and as I learned – but for both her and me – each thing learned, implemented with care, and woven into ‘doable’ daily, weekly or quarterly routines – my household, her coat/bug/skin issues – my BP/stroke recovery/stamina issues became distant reminders of a bizarre past when life got out of balance – – she lets me know when my workaholism ways are leading the whole household to rack and ruin and I remember to do her self care along with mine when I remember to do mine – – and so, hard/takes extra time in the beginning, but in the end, STILL less time, money, energy than the alternative ‘quick fixes’….I’m surely convinced – cuz she watched over me, and woke me up to take my medicine when I walked through flue this winter, for two weeks, then pneumonia for a week – by myself – – and – now? She’s like, “Um, mom? Can you comb out the fall loose hair? I’m too fluffy – – ” but no bugs in house and no biting, itching, etc, and I’m all like, “okay – here’s your dark cool spot out doors, here’s the window AC spot indoors, and seriously! This weekend!!! I have all the parts to install your own grooming heaven in the bathtub/shower stall instead of lifting you into the double kitchen sink – – and yes… this weekend – – – we will get ‘er done…” – just wanted to share with you the steps I took, over the YEARS!!! but now, CLARIFYING my share – Um – yeah – she came to me in 2011 – – I got a blend from a local wise woman for immediate damage control – fed her crap food cuz it was what I could afford, but started researching – started feeding her homemade or garden fresh stuff – (she loves zuchinni, but can lick a mixed bowl clean and leave carrot shreds in one corner – – liek ALL OF THEM! LOL” – in 2013 – – started learning essential oils myself, for my household, in 2016, (STILL, STILL NOT CERTIFIED, though as soon as I can afford the certificate course, I will Be!!!) but along the way, we both trucked along with me doing what I could from both time, resource and $ budgets – – in the end – there is not a single, quick answer, silver bullet, quick fix, I EVER believe in – for me, for her, for us, for our shared life – though I believe there are things that can bring relief while waiting for long term building of health actions to grab hold and take off – – :). Sorry, I didn’t clarify the whole ‘scope’ of the journey – I haven’t even blogged much or been MIA ifor nearly 2 years, here, – you seriously think I did all that stuff in an afternoon?!? LOL – Nope – I tend to look at the long haul – – do no harm – – maybe helps – – – or gives a foundation to build from/expand from – – 🙂

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  3. Your doggie child is so cute! I also had problems like that and Mom got me Regal Skin remedy and she also put a few drops of Lavender essential oil in my special skin shampoo and at night she would rub coconut oil on my tummy. It’s no fun being itchy and I do hope Winston gets better soon. Also, Mom used to get me stuff for the fleas and ticks, but that made me itch a lot and dried my skin out. Now she only uses citronella oil spray. 😀

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  4. Our four legged children.

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  5. Since it’s a new itch, maybe it will go away soon. My old terrier/beagle had awful skin problems. The vet said to give her a bath every week. Sorry, I did my best, but not every week – maybe once a month in the summer. A medication called Apoquel has worked wonders. It’s expensive and I hope you don’t need it, but maybe Winston’s issues is just a summertime thing. I hope he gets better soon.

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  6. Oh! I do hope Winston gets better soon and the itching stops ….I know what you mean about Vets they are sooooo expensive! As it is your prompt you can omit t use the prompt words as much as you like its your prompt 💜💜 💜💜 💜💜

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  7. A friend of mine found out it was the brand of food (and yes, her pooch had ‘developed’ an allergy to it, even though he’d eaten that very food without issue) – they didn’t know what happened or if something in the food ingredient or packaging had changed, but they were advised to move to hypo-allergenic food for a while (to let the pooch’s immune system reaction calm down) and then moved to a different brand, and itch was done!
    I hope you find the culprit and I hope poor poochy stops being itchy!

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  8. I hope Winston gets over whatever it is that’s making him itchy. Maybe it’s just the heat. I like veggies, as a side dish, so I need to avoid that tick.

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  9. When my dog used to get itchy skin (sometimes it was just dry skin) I would give her a bath in baking soda. It stopped the itching.

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