Puzzling problem…

Blueberry had her vet appointment this morning and my vet was unable to find anything wrong.
She suggested I occasionally wash her paws in Nizoral because it is an anti fungal/anti itch. She doesn’t think allergies seeing it’s only the one paw. She thought perhaps Blueberry had done something to it at some point (scratched it or something) and that it may have already healed.
All in all we had a good chat and she didn’t charge me anything…I love my vet!
She said in her opinion often when a dog licks their front paw it’s because it’s convenient. When they lick a back paw however it’s because something is bothering them because they have to work at it to lick it. Sometimes you have to think like a dog!

Also chatted about Piper and his issues with acid reflux and how for years he’s had a cough (we’ve talked about this before) and is it possible this is caused by the acid? She said it’s possible and that is something that’s difficult to diagnose.
She told me to put him on Pepcid AC (10 mg) 2 times a day for between 2-3 months…the stomach needs a total reset (and I understand this after all my acid reflux issues I had). Piper has had issues with too much acid from the time he was a puppy! I’ve probably had him at the vet 4 times over the years and there have been many times I used the Pepcid AC without the vet visit.
I’ve always said if any of my dogs are going to throw up during the night it’ll be Piper (when you aren’t sure which dog it was).
I’m really hoping this works…if it is acid reflux it must be terribly uncomfortable for Piper to have this acid bubbling up all the time.
 
Crossing fingers it works for him, poor baby what else?? I think losing your jaw should be the the trump card for getting out of all other sicknesses!
 
Margi said:
Crossing fingers it works for him, poor baby what else?? I think losing your jaw should be the the trump card for getting out of all other sicknesses!
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Piper has had this cough for years. Not his heart or trachea (it seems, we didn’t X-ray) so I thought of reflux because he’s had such an issue with vomiting up bile at night over the years. We’ll see if this helps to at least try to reset his system.
Oh and he’s still pretty deaf…when he’s in his window barking it’s impossible to get him to stop. I have this can you shake to make them stop…I have to throw it at him🤣…it’s very lightweight! And sometimes to get him in the house I have to call Finnie.
 
I'm glad Blueberry is OK, I wonder if it's an allergy. They surface in such strange ways. Misty has pink under her nose that I'm told is an allergy and I give her homeopathic allergy drops for it. She's also had recurring ear infections though so we're trying to figure out what's causing it all....trying food elimination first.

I do use Pepcid daily for Lacey. She gets 10 mg every night and 15 mg of Cerenia in the morning. I do find that when I forget or skip the Pepcid she doesn't eat as well the next morning so I think it does help. I've also used Slippery Elm for coughs...have you tried that? I'm surprised at how well it works and how many things it's helped!

So many of these things are trial and error until you find what helps! Keeps us guessing, doesn't it!
 
Yes he was on it for quite a while, then I stopped it and he was back to lots of burping and retching (like a cat with a hairball). I've restarted it again now. I'm going to see if there's another type of antacid he might take that might work a bit better. There are a million for people but I'm sure not all are safe for dogs.
 
I suppose anything is possible Ann!
With the fact that Piper had too much yeast and now Blueberry with this paw I’m going to switch to a different brand of food. If it’s an allergy it’s likely chicken…thing is I usually buy a combo box (chicken turkey pork fish and high energy ) so I can rotate protein. It’s hard to tell which one it is but I’d assume poultry. However the last 2 months I’d bought just the pork (trying to avoid poultry) and Piper had the ear issues. And none of mine have ever had any allergy issues. They do like to keep us guessing 🤣

Of course now a new problem has emerged.
Yesterday evening the dogs were napping, I see Blueberry across the hall and she appears to be having a difficult time getting up (she was sitting). I go see her and she seems ok at first but then I notice she’s walking very slowly and her tail is down. She tried to go down the stairs but after 2 steps she turned around and had a really hard time making it back up.
I carried her down and then helped her outside to do her business. Walking VERY slowly. I’d say she pulled something in a back leg, probably hip. Could be her back but she doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort there. Piper had done something similar a few years ago, the only way I knew something was wrong was from his general demeanour…ears down, head down and moving really slowly. He was in pain but no real limp.
I carried her back upstairs (she needs to go on a diet…all 22 pounds of her!) and gave her some Meloxiden (Metacam). I’ll give her a few days of rest and medication and if she doesn’t improve it’ll be back to the vet. Is this karma for the vet not charging me yesterday? Lol
She does seem to be feeling a bit better this morning …she was on the bed and off the bed several times during the night. It’s funny how much more perceptive you are when you have a dog that isn’t feeling well…I woke up every time . Of course I did put Blueberry on the bed last night and she ended up going to her dog bed!
5 years old now and she pulls a muscle…just like us humans as we get older things start to break down!
She was running in the yard earlier yesterday before her nap…I wonder if she pulled it and after the nap her muscle got tight as happens to us.
 
So a strange suggestion. If you can find a CERTIFIED chiropractor you might give it a try. When Sca was off race pace by a second we could not figure it out he seemed fine. Vet found nothing. Chiro found he had a LOT out of align. He was super relaxed that night (she said he would be) and returned to his normal self. Racing was a slow progression but that was his trust it was not going to hurt returning.

Oh and the emphasis on CERTIFIED because a rank whanna be could actually hurt her. Good luck and get Blueberry back to normal.
 
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