I just received a 11 week old teacup maltipoo puppy. I saw a flea on her yesterday, so I took her to the vet and they gave me a flea shampoo. I gave her two flea baths and put Advantix on twice yesterday.
She is still itchy so then they told me to put Excel hydrocortisone spray on her, but she is still itchy. What do I do? I don't want to put anymore chemicals on her, and I have a 1 year old daughter. Please help.
By Marlyn from Chicago, IL
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
We give our dog a once a month pill for fleas called Sentinel. There are other things that can cause iching such as shampoos if you have bathed your pup you have to make sure you rinse the shampoo out very well some dogs will get very ichy if any shampoo residue is left on them.
Our dog was like that too, and we found it has sensitive skin. We changed the dog food to some sensitive skin food that does not have wheat or corn in it, then our dog quit scratching. Your dog could also have seasonal allergies.
Feed her boiled chicken for a couple of days and see if the itching subsides. She is probably suffering from a yeast, corn or wheat allergy. Find a food that contains real meat not by products in the first three ingredients. I would not use flea shampoo even if it is from the vets. Do not use any kind of oatmeal shampoo if it could be yeast related as the oatmeal will cause the yeast to reproduce.
www.greatdanelady.com/
Good luck!
The itching may not be related to the fleas at all. Personally, I think your vet is very chemical pushing. For a young pup that is a lot of drugs and chemicals.
100% safe approaches:
1. Flower essences are totally safe, so select one or more to try. These flower essence companies have combinations for itchy animals : SpiritEssences.com, Anaflora.com; GreenHopeEssences.com; petessence.com Many other companies like Bach with single remedies can help you select essences.
Right now, at your local pharmacy (maybe) or health food store (for sure) you can buy rescue remedy. This combination of Bach flowers can help with itching. Put 4 drops in one ounce of water and use it: in the mouth, rubbed on itchy areas of the skin, on the paws, in a bowl of water in a room not near the drinking water. It can be given topically or orally as often as it seems to help.
2. Put some coconut oil in the diet (and the best diet is real food like you feed your daughter - get some of the great books on feeding a fresh diet - PaleoDog, Dr. Becker's guide to real food for healthy dogs and cats, Unlocking the canine Ancestral diet, Fresh food and ancient wisdom, to name a few) and even rub it on the itchy areas.
3. Because there could be other causes (the vaccines, probably) for the itch, I strongly recommend finding an integrative veterinarian with whom to work. This is a person trained in many different approaches, including using conventional drugs only when absolutely needed. Working with one can increase the chance that your cherished companion can live a long and healthy life after recovering from this current problem. There are good ones and great ones, and a few homeopathic veterinarians will consult by phone or email. You can go to the web sites for each type of holistic practice and use their referral list to find one near to you. Many practitioners are members of only one or two of the organizations, so you do need to go to every site to find who is near you:
SELECTING AND WORKING WITH AN INTEGRATIVE VETERINARIAN
Just because they say they are holistic, or are listed in one of the above sites, they may be very conventional in their approach. Holistic medicine takes the perspective of treating the whole animal. Even if there is a current problem, for example diarrhea or itching, a good integrative veterinarian will ask questions about what problems there have been in the past, what changes in the household or the environment may have triggered the current complaint and if there is anything that makes the current complaints better or worse.
Some of the modalities that integrative veterinarians may use in addition to conventional include acupuncture, herbs, flower essences, homeopathy, chiropractic, network chiropractic, nutrition, glandulars, Reiki, Tellington touch, healing touch, long distance healing modalities. Some of these have certification programs with a year or more of courses, exams and evaluation of clinical ability. Others are either self-taught or not regulated. Some individuals are wonderful with your animal -- others great at explaining to you what is happening with your animals. A few are good in both areas. Few veterinarians are perfect, and we all have bad days. Your animal should at least be comfortable with your choice and you should be able to get your questions and concerns addressed.
Once you have done the internet work suggested above, how do you select one to start with and then how do you know if you are getting good service and what can you do to help them help your animals?
Ask the veterinarian you are interested in:
1. Ask what modalities are used?
2. What is their training?
3. Is their goal overall health or to merely treat the current complaint? This may be the most important question.
4. What organizations they belong to & how recently have they gone to conferences or taught? (Just because they belong to AHVMA, or AVH, does not mean they are trained or capable in those modalities.)
As she treats your animal, a good holistic veterinarian will usually:
1. Ask about the history, overall energy, what might have caused the current problem, the environment and what makes the symptoms better or worse.
2. Their physical exam will be gentle, complete and they will show you (you may need to ask) what they mean by gingivitis, big lymph nodes, heart murmur, etc.
3. They will be willing to answer your questions and explain why they are recommending a particular treatment.
4. If they recommend conventional treatments (antibiotics, prednisone, etc.) they will explain to you why they choose this over holistic, and give you a chance to request the more holistic treatment.
5. They will not do anything (vaccinate, treat) without asking you first.
6. They will recommend fewer or no vaccinations and a raw meat or at least more holistic diet.
7. They will schedule follow up appointments until your animal is really healthy.
(See symptoms of chronic disease)
What you can do to help your holistic veterinarian
1. Keep a dated journal of any problems, even little ones.
2. Write down any treatments given.
3. Call if symptoms worsen, or they are less energetic and less happy, or you have concerns.
Finally, in case you see another flea these will help you permanently avoid chemicals that could harm the dog or your daughter - the kindle book Fleas Be Gone: a holistic veterinarians guide to natural flea control by Chambreau, or Chip Sammon's Flea control - natural.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
