Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is vomiting-bleeding-diarrhea etc. Vet time! > Senior dogs

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old August 14th, 2011, 06:17 AM
stormy_daze's Avatar
stormy_daze stormy_daze is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Lancaster, UK
Posts: 7
Unhappy advice - 2 problems with shih-tzu

Hey all!

So problem 1 - ever since we moved to our new city (I'm in England) both mine and my 7 year old shih-tzu's allergies have been out of control. he's getting constant eye infections and he's so miserable.He's on allergy meds but they don't seem to be doing much, so we do have to go back yet again for it. I was thinking of getting an air purifier/steriliser, but they're quite expensive - has anyone had any good experience with these?hor found home remedies that help ease the symptoms? i don't mind spending the money for the air purifier if I know it will help, but £160 is a lot of money to waste if it doesn't help. Has anyone had a similar problem? I know it's our city because I've been getting horrible migraines and allergies since I moved here. We can't move away. I just hate seeing him so miserable any and all comments would be welcome to helping ease the symptoms!

problem 2 - when I was giving my boy a belly rub this morning I noticed a sort of knot or small marble-sized ball near his penis. it's not always there, just when he's in a certain position. When I checked it he didn't react in pain and he hasn't acted like this is painful or anything. So I don't know anything about anatomy. Is this a normal thing or is this something that could be a growth and need to be checked out?

Any advice/suggestions/etc will be welcome, please ask questions if you need clarification on anything. thanks! xx
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old August 14th, 2011, 06:38 AM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
Welcome! What kind of meds is your boy on? are they vet prescribed or over the counter?

What do you feed him? alot of allergy's can be traced back to foods?

As for the lump is your dog neutered? sometimes one of the testicals doesnt drop down when they are puppies and I am wondering if thats what your feeling. There is a certain word for this but I can remember what its called.
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old August 14th, 2011, 07:25 AM
stormy_daze's Avatar
stormy_daze stormy_daze is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Lancaster, UK
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston View Post
Welcome! What kind of meds is your boy on? are they vet prescribed or over the counter?

What do you feed him? alot of allergy's can be traced back to foods?

As for the lump is your dog neutered? sometimes one of the testicals doesnt drop down when they are puppies and I am wondering if thats what your feeling. There is a certain word for this but I can remember what its called.
Thanks for the kind Welcome, Winston!

Elmer is on Benazapril for his kidneys, and he eats the K/D diet wet food for tea and crunchy food for breakfast.

for his allergies, he takes Ucerax (hydroxyzine hydrocloride) tablets. I'm not sure they have them in the States? he was getting benadryl 3 times a day but that didn't touch it so the vet wanted him on this.

He is neutered, yes. the knot is at the base of the penis. To be honest, it might have been there the whole time... I don't spend a lot of time looking at his penis, so it could just be something that has always been there and I'm just oblivious.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old August 14th, 2011, 03:20 PM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
Have you ever tried to change his food to see if he has any food allergies? Maybe if you tired to eleiminate things like grains and chicken to start off with and see if there is any improvement.

I would have the vet check the penis area and see whats up...it might not be an emergency but I would have it checked out.

Would love to see some pics if you would like to share!
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old August 14th, 2011, 05:08 PM
stormy_daze's Avatar
stormy_daze stormy_daze is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Lancaster, UK
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston View Post
Have you ever tried to change his food to see if he has any food allergies? Maybe if you tired to eleiminate things like grains and chicken to start off with and see if there is any improvement.

I would have the vet check the penis area and see whats up...it might not be an emergency but I would have it checked out.

Would love to see some pics if you would like to share!
Hi, thanks for the reply.

My concern about the food is that he's on the K/D diet because of his kidneys So far we're managing to maintain his kidneys from deteriorating, but I'm concerned if I take him off the food his blood values will start to decline

He has to go back for a check to see if the allergy medications are working, and the blood test for his kidney values are due within the next week or so, so I guess I'll ask there. The vets here are just so so expensive even to be seen, and very often they don't give the answers. We've been struggling with allergies for him since February or so and it's just not got better - this is the third vet we've gone to and they all do the same thing, which is not much.

But I'll keep trying, thanks for that. Thought I'd ask here first, tho. If you think of anything important to ask re: these problems that might lead to a result let me know!

Added some pictures of my child just for you

Great quotes in your signature. How do you add those?

thanks again for the kind advice, always appreciated!
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old August 14th, 2011, 06:25 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
Oh, he's a doll, stormy_daze!

To add a signature, go up to UserCP or Quick Links in the top menu bar and choose 'Edit signature'.
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old August 14th, 2011, 06:56 PM
Shaykeija's Avatar
Shaykeija Shaykeija is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,585
Do you have carpet in your home? I have a shih tzu that had allergies until I ripped every stinking carpet out of my house. You might want to get rid of any air fresheners, use vinegar and water to clean and get rid of anything scented. Like fabric softener, candles etc. An air purifier would be a good investment also. Also the pollen there is different then you old home, so try to limit his out doors activities. If you have to let him use pee pads, let him. If it is a pollen allergy, I would rather have mine do his stuff in the house. You can get fake grass for him to go on. Has your vet suggested a real allergy test yet? I would recommend that would be done. That way you know for sure what he is allergic to. As for the bump near his penis, totally normal. LOL How do I know? I took mine to the vet and had him look. I got laughed out of the office...
__________________
The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog...

There ain't no cure for stupid ...... but we should make sure we laugh and point it out to everyone else
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old August 15th, 2011, 05:22 AM
stormy_daze's Avatar
stormy_daze stormy_daze is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Lancaster, UK
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaykeija View Post
Do you have carpet in your home? I have a shih tzu that had allergies until I ripped every stinking carpet out of my house. You might want to get rid of any air fresheners, use vinegar and water to clean and get rid of anything scented. Like fabric softener, candles etc. An air purifier would be a good investment also. Also the pollen there is different then you old home, so try to limit his out doors activities. If you have to let him use pee pads, let him. If it is a pollen allergy, I would rather have mine do his stuff in the house. You can get fake grass for him to go on. Has your vet suggested a real allergy test yet? I would recommend that would be done. That way you know for sure what he is allergic to. As for the bump near his penis, totally normal. LOL How do I know? I took mine to the vet and had him look. I got laughed out of the office...
Hazelrunpack - Thanks!

Shaykeija - We do have carpets. The problem is I'm renting and I can't just rip up the carpets since it's not my house. we've had the carpets cleaned and that seems to have taken the edge off slightly, but he's still quite miserable.

Did you get an air purifier? the thing is, they're just... so expensive. I don't mind paying if I know it will help him, but the one for the size of my room I need is £220! (around $360 USD)... that's an awful lot. I will spend it if it will help him and be useful, but... if it doesn't help him and is a waste of money it's a lot to waste! Any advice on that? If you got one did you notice a good change?

He trained himself to go outside when he was 4 weeks old, I don't think there's much of a chance of him going inside without feeling so guilty he makes himself sick. He's had ONE accident and he's over 7.5 now, and that accident (totally my fault, he'd been on a plane for 13 hours, on a train for 5 with only a few breaks in between) and he was so panicked about the mess that he threw up and kept putting laundry over it to clean it up! not kidding. He put laundry over it and kept pressing down on it like he was trying to clean it up. I think that would just do his head in a bit too much. It's a good idea, but I don't think it will work.

For the allergy test, tho, I think that's a really good idea, I'll ask them to do that when we go in yet again for the blood test/allergies followup.

For the bump on the penis, thanks. I'll probably bring it up when I'm there so they can laugh me out of the office too... they already think I'm crazy, might as well cover the bases xx
__________________
My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ~Author Unknown

I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying. ~George Bird Evans, Troubles with Bird Dogs
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old August 15th, 2011, 06:41 AM
Melinda's Avatar
Melinda Melinda is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,247
can you go all natural with any cleaning products? clean all the carpeting with baking soda and water,white vinegar makes a wonderful window, appliance, countertop, floor cleaner. I had to with my last dog.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old August 15th, 2011, 09:11 AM
Shaykeija's Avatar
Shaykeija Shaykeija is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,585
Try on Kijiji. Or Free-cycle and see if someone can sell you one cheap or for free. (air purifier) Once I got the carpets removed, it really helped. Could be the chemical they use to clean the carpets,
__________________
The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog...

There ain't no cure for stupid ...... but we should make sure we laugh and point it out to everyone else
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old August 16th, 2011, 07:55 AM
stormy_daze's Avatar
stormy_daze stormy_daze is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Lancaster, UK
Posts: 7
Melinda - no, I think since the landlord has already rented the carpet cleaner and cleaned it he won't be willing to do it again. it's a good idea tho, and at some point i might rent one myself and do it.

Shaykeija - thans for the suggestion, I'll try that and see if I can come up with something. I wish I could have the carpets ripped up but I'm pretty sure there's not a suitable floor underneath and doubt the landlord would be willing to have the floor properly finished for me.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks, you've all been very kind! xx
__________________
My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ~Author Unknown

I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying. ~George Bird Evans, Troubles with Bird Dogs
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
allergies, eye infections, home remedies, marble sized ball

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:11 PM.