When you are dealing with something that an animal is afraid of, the best approach is to find his "comfort" distance from the thing that scares him. A busy street makes this a bit more difficult, as you have to find a way to give him that "distance". If you have a car, maybe transporting him to a less busy area might make a good start. Perhaps a side street, where he is comfortably away from busy traffic. You could then walk toward the busy street, pausing as soon as you see some sign of anxiety, and retracing your steps just little until he is in his "comfort zone" again. Gradually…...with the use of bribery and rewards......ask him to approach closer to the scary stuff. Liberally reward him for being there, then retreat. The idea is to not force, let him decide when he is ready. If he feels he can retreat at any time, he will have more confidence. This approach may take awhile, but is less likely to create a permanent aversion. (it works well with spooky horses).
Was Diego stung/bit? (pic included)
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I didn't look at the dead thing, it was in someone elses yard, so I wouldn't even know where to find it now.. when he did it I heard the squeeling of the thing and just pulled Diego off it, never got a look at it..
Do you know anything else about the shrew, like will the Benedryl help if thats what it was, or should I take him the the emergency vet today instead of waiting until a normal vet in the morning? If it was the shrew that got him, it was yesterday morning. The Benedryl helped the itching, but hasn't helped the swelling or redness, but it hasn't gotten worse either..
I looked on line, but could only find info about shrew to human bites–-swelling and pain--not about dogs. I would however venture a guess that the nose is a lot more sensitive when bitten.
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Thanks for the help everyone! Since its not getting worse and he's only had 2 doses of Benadryl, I'm going to hold off on the emergency vet. As long as he seems to be pain-free and it doesnt worsen I'll keep giving him the meds for today, but it it hasn't improved by the morning, he'll go to the vet. What bad timing, I leave for a work trip at 1:30 today, so it will be up to the DP to monitor him for the rest of the day..
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Thanks Pat- I will continue the Benadryl for today, and if its not better by tomorrow he'll go see the vet. After I gave him a dose of Benadryl this morning he hasn't tried to itch it, so it seems to be helping even though the swelling and redness haven't gone down..
And Jan said Hi! She was over yesterday for a few hours with her girl Onyx.. Onyx and my girl Meeka didn't get along, but Onyx and Diego got along great! Onyx was so cute and a really sweet little girl!
And Jan is a great person also…. glad you had a chance to meet.... Hope that Diego recovers quickly
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I would see how the Benadryl works… you can give him up to 2 250mg caps every 4 to 6 hours....
If it continues to really bother him with itching, the a trip to the vet for something stronger would be in order...
I would guess it is a bite or allergies... which are terrible this year, at least in California
I'm sure this is a typo, but to clarify, I'm sure you mean 2- 25 mg caps every 4-6 hours…NOT 2- 250 mg caps of Benadryl.
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I'm sure this is a typo, but to clarify, I'm sure you mean 2- 25 mg caps every 4-6 hours…NOT 2- 250 mg caps of Benadryl.
sorry about that, you are correct.. it was a typo… 25mg. Thanks for correcting that...
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How's Diego doing today?
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Hope he is better today.
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Thanks everyone! I am away on a business trip, but my DP said it is looking a little better, but def. not worse. She talked to the vet this morning and they said keep him on the Benadryl for 24 more hours, and if its not improved to bring him in. So hopefully it will clear itself up. He's been acting normal and he hasnt been itching it so thats good!
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Well, Michelle (DP) took Diego to the vet today since it wasn't improving. They gave her anti-inflammatory meds and cortizone. He will be on that for a week.
The vet said if its not better he will have to come in for testing. He mentioned that it might be lupus, (and thats what the testing will be for in a week) because of two areas on or around his nose that have lost pigmentation or something?? I'm not really sure since I wasnt there.. anyone know anything about lupus? Thanks
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Well, Michelle (DP) took Diego to the vet today since it wasn't improving. They gave her anti-inflammatory meds and cortizone. He will be on that for a week.
The vet said if its not better he will have to come in for testing. He mentioned that it might be lupus, (and thats what the testing will be for in a week) because of two areas on or around his nose that have lost pigmentation or something?? I'm not really sure since I wasnt there.. anyone know anything about lupus? Thanks
Ok so I don't want to alarm you with what lupus is… because it is not the end of the world. I have ALOT of first hand experience with this. My mother has had it for almost 25 years now.
Lupus is an auto-immune disease. Rather like HIV but on the opposite spectrum. Where HIV atatches to T-cells and shuts them down so they cannot effectivly fight off infection and viruses, Lupus reprograms the T-cells so that they cannot tell the difference between a foreign visus and the host cells. It causes *(in humans) arthritus flair-ups as well as boughts of extream tired, it can cause heat sensitivity and hot flashes.
There is medication for humans to mitigate the secondary symptoms, but no cure for it as a desease. Like I said my mother has had it for almost 25 years, and she still does quite well, just ends up tired some days and needs to rest more quickly that she did before it.I will keep you and Diego in my thoughts and prayers.
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So here is a link to information on Lupus in humans… There really is not much difference in the disease as it relates to Canines. I hope this helps a bit to answer some questions for you
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutintroduction.aspx?articleid=71
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Thanks for the info LiveWWSD- I will check out the link and search for some canine lupus info.. I want to have a basic understanding but I don't want to get too involved (and nervous) until I know for sure.. hopefully the medication will clear up what we think is an allergic reaction, but if not we will get tested for lupus and go from there.. fingers crossed its an allergic reaction..
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In dogs, there are two types of lupus. One is discoid, which usually affects the skin only and the other is systemic lupus erythematosus, which is more serious.
You might want to investigate both. Both are treatable.
Hope this helps. My best wishes for a speedy recovery for Diego!
