More Advice Needed for Riley

Oh curses! Poor Riley. If its not one thing its another. We will be waiting impatiently for Friday to arrive.
 
karenwalksthedogs said:
. Last week I had found a little sore on Riley's neck under his collar. I thought he might have gotten a little nick at the groomer that his collar I was putting Neospornal on it and when I brushed Riley on Saturday it seemed to be the only one. Last night I was petting Riley and I felt something. I found a scab but it was on the wrong side of his neck! I began looking and found small scabs under his chin, on the inside of his ear, and on his shoulder. I don't believe those were there on Sunday, if so they were very,very small.

Needless to say this was an intense vet visit. For Riley's stomach and bowel problems we are trying a conservative approach. He is on an antibiotic for his tummy. Dr. F also has him on Prostora to help grow the beneficial bacteria in his digestive system. We will try this and see if it helps Riley. If not he will have an ultrasound and we will go from there.

For Riley's skin issue. Dr. F did three punch biopsies. Those will be sent off to Sacramento and the results should be back by Friday. Right now Riley is also on an antibiotic for his skin. that medication might be changed to something more specific when the results of the biopsies come back.

I'm hoping these medications clear up the problems and we don't need to do anything else. I hope I can keep all the medications straight.
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First make a chart for the meds.....that is what I had to do for Zoe'. This pill in the AM, this in the PM. Ear goo, skin goo, it gets confusing. This will help especially if anyone else has to give meds...then their is no question.

Secondly, this is sounding very much like Zoe' first staph infection. Little scaby areas...under her collar (so she doesn't wear one in the house) But we do know that Zoe' has a compromised immune system and that is what led to hers getting so wide spread and hard to get ahead of. One of the things that helped stop her from spreading it was a suggestion from Linda. I wipe her claws with a little pad with Lysterine on it. Also when Zoe has a bad (and I mean bad) outbreak she doesn't feel good, doesn't want to eat.

I am currently giving her Olli-vet, it is Olive leaf extract, to boost her immune system. 250mg 1xday. But I would speak to your vet about this given his tummy issues.

I hope that you and your vet are able to get this solved and that poor Riley is on the way to better health.

Hugs to Riley from me Wiggles, wags and kisses from the girls.
 
Ok I wish they would have done the ultra sound but this is a good start. Could be hot spots that scabbed over. Did they use a ketermine mixture for his surgeries? I have seen it make dogs pull fur out and it comes out in clumps.

What about food? Are they thinking the gut enzymes will help? I would still mush up his meals just in case. Soft foods would be best right now.

How are his spirits? PS. Olive leaf extract is a natural antiobitics. We use it all the time
 
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Riley seems in good spirits but he is an energizer bunny kind of a dog. I don't mean he is really active but things happen to him and he just keeps on going. I think the beginning of his life was so terrible that anything that happens to him now doesn't seem so bad by comparison. I have the little blow up donut e collar on him now and it is keeping him from bothering the stitches from his biopsy and his rash.

I'll start mushing up Riley's food and hope that helps him also . Dr. F is hopeful that maybe all the meds and trauma from Riley's surgeries and recovery have messed up his digestive system and the enzymes will help restore it while the antibiotics help to sooth it. He thinks this combination will work better than yogurt. Dr. F is hopeful this treatment will make Riley better but if we finish everything and he isn't, then they want to do the ultrasound. I asked the vet what he would do if it was his dog, and this is the course he recommended. I think we know each other well enough that he is honest with me.

I want to wait on the olive leaf extract until we have finished the meds and made sure that Riley is all better. He is laying next to me right now snoring away and resting his little head on the donut like it's a little travel pillow.
 
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Wow, poor Riley . . . he's certainly had his fair share of issues over the past several months. I really like the way your vet is approaching everything - he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I would follow this same course of action if it were my dog. I hope the meds start helping Riley feel better soon, and I hope the skin issue turns out to be an easy solution.
 
I hope everything can be sorted out with Riley. You can buy a weekly pill reminder at the drug store to keep track of his medication. I used them for Gabby.
 
Well Karen, we sure will be watching the forum for Riley and Karen updates. I sure hope the probioitcs work for him. Poor baby, and, poor Karen...
 
I wanted to give an update on Riley. He seems to be doing better. Riley hasn't thrown up for the past two days and his bowel movements aren't as soft. He still has the scabby rash but I don't know how long that will take to clear up. I think he's enjoying wearing the donut cone of shame. He has a handy wearable pillow with him wherever he wants to nap.
 
karenwalksthedogs said:
I wanted to give an update on Riley. He seems to be doing better. Riley hasn't thrown up for the past two days and his bowel movements aren't as soft. He still has the scabby rash but I don't know how long that will take to clear up. I think he's enjoying wearing the donut cone of shame. He has a handy wearable pillow with him wherever he wants to nap.
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I am glad that Riley is feeling better, did they also give you something to use on the rash?

LOL, on the pillow...wtg Riley making the best of the situation.
 
I'm glad he's doing better. I may take weeks for his skin to start looking better. Did they put him on antibiotics for the rash?
 
Today I did a very careful brushing of Riley. He was starting to look really raggedy. His fur is so fine and soft right now it is tangling very easily. I had to be very careful around the stitches and the areas with the rash but he looks a lot better and did a little happy dance when I was done.

Both boys could use a grooming right now. They were due last week but I didn't take them because of Riley. I don't even want to use the Pethead dry bath right now because of Riley's rash. I didn't hear from the vet about results from Riley's punch test. He said they would get the results back on Friday or Monday so I'll have to call on Monday if I don't hear from them. Riley is doing a good job with his antibiotics and is very good about taking them...this time!
 
Poor baby. Glad he did the happy dance for you. At least he's telling you that it felt good. Hopefully his hair will come back once all the stress on him passes from all that he's been thru. Keep your routine with him as normal as possible. =)))
 
It does sound like Riley's feeling a bit better, which is good. Poor guy has certainly had enough to deal with lately - and so have you!
 
Gabby had a rash around his neck. By that time his hair was thinning so it wasn't long although I would have trimmed him down if it was. I also left his collar off because the rash was directly under it. It stayed drier and cleaner with the collar off.
 
manuel said:
I also left his collar off because the rash was directly under it. It stayed drier and cleaner with the collar off.
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Yeah, Zoe's goes collar-less too. Unless we are out for a walk or going somehere in the car.
 
The vet got Riley's biopsy back. Everything is now as clear as mud. I got a copy of the report. There are all different types of white blood cells mixed in that rash. Some are, unfortunately, lymphocytes. To quote a little from the path report, "Although an intense and somewhat bizarre immunological reaction is probably more likely..."

The end result is that the pathologist, vet dermatologist, and my vet all believe this is most likely a very strange allergic reaction, although they can't be sure. Riley will be going on Predisone. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but I hope it helps him. Keith and I have tried to think of anything new we have done or used and can't think of anything. The only thing we can remember is the day we spent 4 hours weeding the backyard. Dylan ran all around dropping the ball just out of our reach. Riley went to lay down in out of the way spots. Since we have had more rain than we've had in many years and we have a severe shortage of mulch. I wonder if maybe he laid on something that bothered him. I'll probably never know. I hope it's just an allergic reaction and not a form of lymphoma.
 
Whatever it is I hope it goes away. At least the vet knows about it now and well keep an eye on it. Get well soon Riley!
 
Poor Riley. Hope it is just an allergy.
You haven't changed laundry detergent or had your carpets shampooed recently have you? Just a thought.
 
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