moosepup

Just a wee update for anyone that's interested... Back to the vet this morning to get his stitches out (at least that healed up with no problems!!) and have his burn checked out. She seemed a bit more convinced today that it was caused by the hot water bottle and was quite apologetic. She has extended his antibiotics and just wants me to keep up with the washing with salt water and burn cream and see how it goes. She said the edges will most likely start to lift soon and there may be some pus, although she couldn't feel any under the skin. Will take him back again next Saturday for another check. She also said that he will probably end up with a scar there. Wound today... goldengirl... did Beau's burn get a lot worse before it got better??

Okay, now it's Zoe's turn to be giving me grief!! She has had what we thought was an ulcer on her eye which the vet has been treating with Ciloxan drops and Viscotears. The vet didn't want to give her any anti-inflammatories as she has had issues with her liver and immune problems in the past so we use these sparingly with her. So after 2 weeks with very slow improvement and the eye still being quite red we took her off to the Opthamologist today. Well he has said that she has had something (most likely a thorn or a plant frond) go right through her eye and back out again (CRINGE!!) which has left her with a tear in her lens (approx 3mm). We've got some prednisolone drops to give her to bring down the swelling and he is going to re-assess on Tuesday. He said she may need surgery to remove the lens and have it replaced with an artificial one which is pretty successful apparently (and spensive!). Hopefully if she needs it then it will be covered by insurance. Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any experience with this lens replacement surgery and if it was a success?

Oh man, she is too CUTE! Hope she is feeling better soon, keep us posted on any news zoezoom. I have found these forums invaluable in terms of being able to share stories and get support. PS. More pics please!

Hi Staranais, I believe that to be the case. Unfortunately when I took him in to have it checked out the vet that did his surgery wasn't working that day, however, the vet I did see said that it is most likely that the anti-inflammatory was injected in that spot. She did say that she has never seen a reaction like this before though. You think this might be the cause?? It's looking okay atm, definitely not getting any worse which is a relief. I have been washing it with salt water and letting it dry and then putting on his burn cream twice a day, in conjunction with his AB's.

Was the wound as big Arty?? My uncle (who is a nurse (for humans though!)) did say that if an injection is given too shallow under the skin or if it's still being injected as the needle is coming out may cause a burn like reaction so it is possible I suppose. Moose is pretty small (only 1.8kg) so I imagine it might be a bit more difficult judging needle depth than in a larger dog. But what do I know??? Glad to hear your boy recovered well. I need to hear these encouraging stories at the moment!

If it isn't a burn any idea what else it could be?? I've tried to find pics of reactions at injection site but am having no luck. I have no idea what else it could be. I hope whatever it is the treatment I'm using now heals it up.

Hi goldengirl, Thank you for replying. I think it's mostly due to you sharing your story with us that he is being treated for a burn straight away. If I hadn't read your story a few weeks ago it probably wouldn't have occured to me that something like this could be caused by a hot water bottle. I have a feeling the vet may have tried something else first if I didn't push for it, I even shared your story with her lol. I haven't noticed any necrotic tissue around the wound but will definitely watch out for it. I'm still a bit nervous that he has quite a few hairs coming out around the area but I think this might just be due to the shaving. I'm a worry wart!!!!! It's so awful when something happens to our pets because you can't explain it to them and they can't tell you how they feel. Will let you know how it progresses.

I agree with Rappie. It was most likely my panicking (haha) that helped prompt her to start treating it as a burn just to err on the side of caution. I will just be happy if it clears up with the AB's and cream.

If it is a burn, hopefully because we started treating right away it won't get as bad as poor Beau's did. I think the only thing he is finding painful is that I won't let him get under the covers in bed cos the cream gets everywhere. The funny thing is that I was so worried about the neutering and it's ended up being the least of my concerns!

Hi guys, thanks for all the feedback. Went to the vet this morning and she is happy that it hasn't got any worse, and seems to have softened up a bit (less leathery). I just need to keep up the cream and finish off his antibiotics and she will check it again on Saturday. She also clipped hiim for me so it will be easier to treat and keep clean. I'm still not positive what has caused this, it doesn't seem to be painful or bother him. Anyone know what a reaction to an injection would look like? Here's a pic of it this morning...

Oh I see, they use the heat mat during surgery... I may need to ask the vet about that on Monday.

Hi Rappie, that sounds plausible re. him having a wet back but they definitely used a HWB as opposed to a heat mat. Like I said, I'm not positive it's a burn but I've sure never seen anything like it. If it is a burn do you find that they generally respond well to the silver sulphadiazine cream and antibiotics? PS. How cute is the pup in your avater??

Yep that is the thread that sent me into a panic. I felt so sick when I found the spot on him this morning. The thread is why I was kinda pushing it onto the vet that I thought it was a burn even though she wasn't 100% convinced. I'm hoping that because we've started treating it straight away as if it is a burn that Moose won't end up like poor Beau. It hasn't gotten any worse over the day and I've just got all my fingers & toes crossed that it heals and doesn't spread. It's making me think that vets probably shouldn't use HWB with dogs, especially while they're recovering from sedation, as if it's burning them they won't be able to move. They should use a less direct heat source to keep them warm.

Their reactions were quite funny... Moose is fine with his, happy to run around with it on and even figured out how to get into the water bowl with it on. Zoe however will NOT move once you put it on. When I first put it on she sat in the kitchen like a statue for the next 10 minutes.

Not sure about it being a hot spot because it's dry, not moist. And not sure where he would've got it from?? Thanks yellowgirl, definitely giving him lots of cuddles. You're right, he is SO not concerned even though I'm a mess! I'm just shocked with how bad it looks and it just kinda popped up outta nowhere. I really hope it just gets better and not worse. Check out my bucketheads!

Hi puggy_puggy. They play with each other but they don't fight. Zoe is 10 years old, a few teeth short and placid as hell. It's a HUGE mark for a bite so I'm pretty confident it's not that. Plus it's bright red.

I paid for the meds, although she didn't charge a consult fee. She also didn't charge for some of the diagnostic stuff she used on Zoe (eye issues). At this stage I'm not going to kick up too much of a fuss (especially as it hasn't been proven that the HWB is the culprit). If it gets worse (touch wood it doesn't) then I will consider my options. Thanks STITCH. This is how upset he is...

If it was the size of my hand it would cover his entire body. I presume it was one of those mini HWB. The vet did check with the nurses that were on duty that day (it was a diff vet that actually did his op) and they said that the kettle was only half-boiled and the HWB was wrapped in a towel. Not too sure if the area was wiped before injection, I suspect not. Does a reaction to an injection look like this??

Bloody hell. So I took Moose off to the vet to get neutered on Thursday. Picked him at 5pm. No problems, surgery went well, only has 1 stitch (small balls!) and all is fine so I trot off home with him and some painkillers in tow. Friday he's fine, eating, drinking, pooping, being a menace as usual. Well this morning I notice that some of his hair is clumped together in a spot on his lower back. I think nothing of it and go and have a shower. When I went back into my room I see that this small clump of hair is now on my bed! I check his back out and see he has a large red sore spot and his hair has fallen out!!!!!!!!! My immediate thought is that it's a burn from the hot water bottle they gave him on Thursday (after reading that other DOLers horror story about a HWB burn). I rang the vet immediately as we already had an appt for Zoe so I took him along too. Now the vet isn't sure if it's a reaction to the anti-inflamatory injection he got (although she has never seen a reaction like this) or if it is indeed a burn from the HWB. The skin looks bright red and sort of leathery. There is one spot that is about 1cm x 1 cm (maybe a bit bigger) and 2 smaller spots directly below it. She decided that we should start treating it as if it's a burn straight away so I've got some antibiotic tablets and some silver sulphadiazine burn cream to put on it, and an elizabethan collar. I now have 2 bucket-head dogs. Taking him back on Monday. Anyone else have opinions on what this could be??? Or experienced it themselves?? I'm so distraught. Even though he seems perfectly fine! I know this is a pretty poor picture but he's lathered in cream atm so can't take another one just yet.

I use Interceptor and have no problems with it. Eat them right out of my hand. I don't give them flea treatments... will treat when/if they get them (so far no fleas).

Congrats on your new baby girl little tails, she's gorgeous! PS. Great collar choice, my pup is sporting the same one.

My pup loves playing with (and occasionally eating) snail shells. He's gross. I do take them off him if I see him with them but I'm sure he sneaks some past me! We don't use any snail baits.

To be honest, I don't know which vet the breeder took him too (and it's not on his vacc card) but she lives in Gidgegannup so I don't think she went too far from there. Possibly Midland? I live about 1.5 hours south of there so unlikely I will be taking my pup to this vet without knowing it. He's 15 weeks today. I've attached a pic of his vacc card, I presume having a C2 and a C4 = C6 lol. He had his vacc on the 20th, I picked him up on the 22nd and he hadn't had any reaction to the injection. Would her living out in the bush make her more inclined to vacc her animals with a C6 or C7? Hopefully the new vet next weekend will be able to enlighten ignorant me. ;)

Thanks guys, that's what I thought. Can you go "backwards"? Ie. if he has had a C6 (his first and only vacc so far), can he get a C3 booster at 16 weeks? Does he even need one? So confused. ETA - have made an appt with the vet next weekend. She seemed a bit perplexed that he was given a C6 as well but she said just bring in his vacc card and we can discuss it. I'm trying out this new vet anyway so will take him in to get checked over. ;)

When I picked up my Chihuahua pup, Moose, from the breeders 3 weeks ago he had just had his first vaccination. I believe it was a C6 (vacc card is a little hard to read). The breeder said that he would need the C7 vacc at 16 weeks (so next weekend). I have never had a dog that was given anything over a C5. Is the C6 and/or C7 vacc overkill?? I'm inclined to trust the breeder because she probably knows more than I do but am interested in other peoples opinions. If it matters, he is a pet only, I don't intend to show or breed him and he won't be put in kennels at all.