Not too long ago, our boy was sick. My husband and I had just come back from the beach, and the week before we all had been to the mountains (the one vacation Gonzo can take with us.) The night we got back it has hot, hot, hot! so I didn't really get too concerned about our boy's super red ears and hot foot pads. The next morning though, his ears had a rash, and his body had bright red circles all over any area that touched the floor. A quick Google search, and I thought we were dealing with a contact dermatitis from the kennel. I got some holistic rash shampoo and creme, and bathed and treated our boy. His spirits were high and he had no lack of energy or appetite, so I thought, "Well, we'll see how's he's doing tomorrow, and call the vet if it gets any worse."
Well, our boy got a lot worse overnight. His poor ears were caked and the rash was now everywhere. I called the vet, and she said bring him in. I explained everything, and she pointed out that the rash wasn't really external, as there were no raised areas. She ran tests to make sure it wasn't mountain tick related, and she determined that it was vasculitis of an unknown origin. Our boy had to take a low dose of antibiotic for a month. Getting him to take the medicine inside a treat was easy, but getting him to eat his meals wasn't. The antibiotics killed our boy's appetite.
Since all Gonzo wanted to eat were the treats, I crumbled up bacon treats into the smallest crumbs and put that in the bottom of the dog dish before putting the dry on top. He would tear through the meal to get to the treats, and viola! no problem.
However, now that he is all better, he still wants his treat in the bottom of his dish. I am now in the habit of obliging, and am now training my husband to do the same.
Good Boy, Gonzo. He just doesn't do it right, does he? (We love him anyway, hmm?)
More to come, so come back if you're interested.
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