Boogie Blogging Friday - I'm So Abused Edition

Friday, July 30, 2010
Seriously? A&D? WTF?
So the Boogie-Dog is having an "I'm so abused" kind of week.

Our trip to the vet on Monday revealed that he does indeed have hay fever, which is causing the constant runny nose. And because his nose is running a marathon, he spends his days licking the snot away (I know - ew. But he is a dog). He's not a young dog anymore, and his skin lacks the suppleness to take that kind of abuse, so it's cracked and bleeding.

The vet recommended:
  • Benedryl for the hay fever. He gets this three times a day, and because he's a wily older dog and not fooled by the whole "pills hidden in food" thing, the only way to make him take it is for me to grab his lower jaw and force the pills down his throat. If his mouth was any smaller or my hand was any bigger, I'm not sure how we'd proceed, but this works for us. Yes, this does leave me with dog slobber all over my hand, thanks for asking.
  • 400 IU of vitamin E by mouth per day. Yep - more dog slobber for me. Yay!
  • And for his cracked and bleeding nose, his vet recommended A&D ointment (without zinc). Yeah. Diaper rash ointment.
He's being pretty tolerant of me constantly forcing my fingers down his throat, but he is pretty fucking unimpressed by the A&D ointment. It has a fairly strong scent, and I'm sure it's hosing up his ability to use his primary sense, plus I suspect it tastes like ass.

But here's the thing - it's working. The moisture barrier is allowing his poor nose to heal up, which is what I wanted, so he's just going to have suffer while it heals. Until then, I've resigned myself to his hurt, WTF? looks when I apply it. Bad doggy mom. Bad.

10 comments:

vince said...

Good doggy mom, doing what the Boogie-Dog needs even though he (and you) aren't liking it.

Gristle McThornbody said...

Yes, you are a good doggy mom. Have you hit the old-man-dog incontinence yet? My last dog buddy was a dane and from the time he was around 9 until he died at 11
he had a hard time feeling when he needed to go and just kinda dribbled and pooped whenever the need arose. And yes, my house did smell nice, thanks for asking. He was on supplements for joints, heart, and finally the last year could only keep down one brand of canned food -- eight cans a day, if memory serves -- which might explain all of the poop. Anyway, I can tell you love the Boog as much as I loved Bozz, and happy doggies are what it's all about. Give him a kiss on the snout for me.

baryclap -- the straw that broke the camel's back in the Obama administrations' bid for a second term.

Janiece said...

Mrs. Bitch, our Boogs has an iron bladder (at least so far). Delicate flower that he is, that is one problem we have yet to encounter.

Some dude stuck in the Midwest said...

Yes. I remember having to stick the pill down the throat. And then hold the mouth tightly for about 2 minutes hoping that the dog would be stupid enough to swallow it.

Worked about 70% of the time on the first try. Try sticking a pill already covered in dog slobber.

sochs = bound to be something dog related

Janiece said...

Konstantin, I've been periodically finding bright pink Benedryl tablets on the carpet after I thought I'd been successful.

I told you he was wily...

WendyB_09 said...

Could he use the liquid benedryl? It was the remedy of choice for asthma when I was a kid. I know it's still around for allergies now.

Doesn't taste real great, but you could use a syringe of some type to shoot it down his throat. The auto-reacton to something hitting the back of the throat is swallow.

Dave MacDonell said...

Tastes like ass? He is a dog as you mention, you might want to find a different taste analogy. Now you've got me wondering what really tastes like ass to a dog.

{dave m}

Janiece said...

Dave, you may have a point.

I could say "tastes like a three day old carcass," but again - he's a dog.

mom in northern said...

Glad the A&D is working even if it hoses up this pee-mail routine.

Gotta lov my granddog...just ask me.

CkretsGalore said...

Even a bit of olive oil once in awhile can help out the skin as well. The climate out here is so dry compared to where we came from and Shayla started getting hot spots in the winter. Instead of a costly, icky, ointment I figured out giving her olive oil during the winter helped the skin. Also when the hot spots develop, Gold Bond Powder (in areas where she can't lick).
Glad Boogie is doing better!!