To keep her mind off the itching I've been doing a lot of training sessions with her. We've worked on article indications for tracking and we are getting in LOTS of Rally practice. I've taken her to the prison twice to be the demo dog for signs. The good thing is that she will work for anyone so my handlers have gotten to practice with her too. Since their dogs are still learning it is good for them to get the feel of a course with a trained dog. Jenny doesn't mind. She always loves the opportunity to earn more rewards. Plus it helps wear her out while keeping her mind off the itching. Here are a few photos from her vet visit yesterday. They are a bit washed out color wise from the real thing but you can get the idea. (photos are from my phone camera) 
Armpit area. 
Belly and inner thighs.
And to top it off here is how her tail has healed so far from her previous incident. Hopefully the hair grows back eventually. We took some blood to send out for thyroid testing and started her on a different antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) for the skin infection. Multiple skin scrapings showed no results. (both from yesterday and past visits) She is also still on the pentoxifylline as well as benadryl when needed which is frequently at the moment. I am also bathing her in a medicated shampoo. *
The other thing I have found that seems to be helping in keeping her from itching has been chewing on stuff. I bought a new knuckle bone today and a bully stick. I don't usually do the bully sticks because of the smell but thought I'd give it a try. She loved it of course but I was worried she would eat the whole thing so after awhile I took it and traded for the knuckle bone. So far it's working. She's happily chewing away on that instead of scratching herself raw.
*
A friend mentioned some homeopathic supplements for us to also try. (which will be my next internet shopping stop this evening) I'll keep you posted on our progress. If I find something that works I'll be sure to share it.
6 comments:
How lucky Jenny is to have such a great owner. I've been asked to take rescue Pugs from time to time, but I'm afraid it is just more that I can deal with.
has she had her thyroid levels checked? the red stuff doesn't seem like what I normally see with thyroid, but the tail does.
poor pup.
when my tsuki gets like this, nothing seems to help except temeril-p and taking treats away (she normally eats raw)
poor thing, those look painful :(
Oh poor Jenny! I hope you both find some relief soon!
Jen, yes we are checking her thyroid to rule it out as an issue. I've also done the temeril-p in the past. I just hate to use it long term. Tried raw and didn't seem to make a difference. I do switch her diet regularly to see if that helps. So far no luck. The fustrating part is that sometimes she is normal. I just can't figure out her trigger.
poor kid! hope she's feeling better soon! dashy is doing much better itch wise but now he's going bald!!!!!! just had blood work done and it couldn't have been more normal, so no we're going to check a urine sample and see if that give us any clues.
good luck with jenny!
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