Posted on 03/05/2023 5:26:42 AM PST by knarf
Our black Lab, Bubba, is about 80 pounds and because of being preoccupied with my own physical ailments, we've sort of neglected our best friend and compatriot.
Buy a book called “the forever dog” for a start. Read what it says about a raw food diet. This is a long term program.
Find a vet that offers quality care and will listen to you. Follow his suggestions.
You need to go to the vet and put Bubba on Trifexis. It prevents heart worms and fleas. Both of our dogs tolerated it very well. The mange needs a medicated ointment for mange either from your vet or online. Fleas have become resistant to Frontline over time and flea shampoo is only good until the next time Bubba goes outside.
> Only if they are in a spot he won’t/can’t lick it off.
Possibly use “the cone of shame”?
Oh Knarf, I’m so sorry. Poor puppers must be so uncomfortable. His itching might be from a food allergy, too. What are you feeding him? Could you possible add a scrambled egg or some tuna mixed in? a half cup of raw chop meat? Probiotic plain, whole fat yogurt, too. Natural kind - no thickeners, lots of natural yogurt cultures.
You might try nutritional yeast (the stuff that smells like cheese) on his food to help his skin heal. 1 -2 teaspoons. B Vitamins are so good for skin. Sprinkle some garlic powder over his food, too - 1/2 teaspoon - to help repel fleas. It’s not going to hurt your dog - he’s not eating 3 whole heads at a time. My dogs get garlic and nutritional yeast every day, as well as some ground flax seed and an Omega 3 vitamin. Too much Omega 6 in dog food can cause inflammation and skin conditions. (and in people, as well)
As far as topicals, I might try virgin coconut oil mixed with aloe and a smidge of antibiotic cream. Coconut oil has great antimicrobial properties and is very soothing.
I’m down in SW Virginia near Roanoke, if I was closer I’d bring you some of these items to try.
Makes sense, but the sunroom is part of an add on. Making a U shaped area covered. With 6 big plate glass windows. They entered by the frame of the windows. They are large and it is a custom millwork affair holding it. not very tight.
The original part of the house is pier and beam. The addition is on a slab floor. It is a large house, but in a lot of areas it was not well thought out. That is more common in an add on than the normal original construction. Have seen it many times before.
Old craftsmen had instincts and habits that seemed to work form past experience. Now methods have changed but many of them don’t last as long.
I have been working on a restoration of a home my grandparents built at the farm in 1946. Original part has been a lot better material and still pretty solid in most areas. The addition was done by my father (a very good contractor) But any time you add long stings of building to an existing structure, there are potentially problems.
I am very close to being able to move in there, waiting on an excavation company to replace a 2nd septic tank and to extend the existing LP gas line. All that remains after that is exterior trim issues. And some work on the original windows (not replacement).
The amazing part? The original commercial grade Russwin thumb latch entry locks all still work. None of the locksets inside has broken. Only one I had problems with a bathroom lockset that the turn button wore out. I swapped it with another latch that did not use the lock function. There were no keys that I could find for the Russwin locks, took it to an excellent locksmith who attempted to make me a key. When she picked the lock she got surprise, things popped out, smile. There were tiny steel balls along with the pins. It all popped out scrambled. So, I replaced the original cylinders and have the locks all working. The exterior doors are solid core, 2 are 3’0 and 2 are 2’8 size, very heavy. There is a single 3’0 threshold that is solid brass. Not brass plated. I replaced all the thresholds with some wide solid oak thresholds. Long story, I have deep respect for old but good craftsmanship.
yes i always did that. He was often in the cone b/c he had bad skin so often hot spots.
The diaper cream worked well and is cheap.
i agree with the soapy water method. works well
I’ve thought for a long time - Why did the Good Lord give us/dogs/other animals fleas? Sort of like most spiders, they contribute nothing to the earth’s good.
Read an article where it stated flea powders effectiveness is where it gets dropped as part of the dogs routine of going between, under etc. items and to regularly vacuum. I’ve also heard that when you trim a new flea collar for a dog, to put the trimmed part in the vacuum bag to kill live fleas picked up.
It could be his diet. He may be allergic to something in the food. Did you consult with a vet? Try something with less grains.
My dog is flea free - I’m above 5000 feet elevation. Fleas don’t like that.
Have you thought of taking your dog to a vet?
I use Home Defense that I get from Home Depot and spray my yard and house foundation spring summer and fall. Because we have mature trees, we have birds and squirrels, which means fleas and ticks will be dropped into our yard.
I also cut up basic flea collars and put the pieces in the vacuum bag and under furniture cushions and inside the zip covers of their beds.
Home Defense also takes care of the ants that try to move in every spring.
Use proper flea shampoo/dip, but if he has mange, that needs to be addressed quickly. A vet’s advice and skin scraping would be a very good idea if more than just fleas is happening. You need to know which of the two kinds of mange he might have in order to treat that properly. Those treatments are not interchangeable. Mange mites will make him itchy as would using dish soap and bathing more than once a week, since both de-greasers and even plain water dries out a dogs skin. A hypoallergenic conditioner might also help.
Ivermectin and Permethrin
Forgot to mention that I used to work as a receptionist in an animal hospital and also have personal experience with my own pets. When treating your floors, be sure and either spray your vacuum cleaner bag or add baking powder/flea powder/food-safe diatomaceous earth to the bag. Flea powder or flea spray will kill the adults. The DIY items take longer as they only interrupt the life cycle. Both spray and one of the dry items in the bag wouldn’t hurt. Vacuum carpets every day. Hard floors don’t really have a place for fleas to hide except in crevices and they’d prefer your dog first, then you.
Eggs in the carpeting hatch from heat...the vacuum cleaner. Right after vacuuming, spray the whole house and the yard
Very few are advertised for large dogs . . . that's why I posted Bubba's weight
We’ve used two different prescription anti-itch/allergy meds for our dog. Apoquel is a tablet you can give once a month. The other is an injection given by the vet (Cytopoint?). It lasts 4-8 weeks, depending on the dog. We used Apoquel initially but changed to the injection. Costs averages a to a little over $100/month. The good news is...you can usually only use them spring thru summer. They’re worth the money.
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