Dog Troubles and Debt

We have a pet insurance at our clinic called Care Credit. There is no interest but the debt needs to be paid off in a year I believe. Also have you searched the internet for herbal treatments or home remedy treatments?. I have always used 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 alchohol to clean the ears of my pets as long as there is not an open wound etc. It is good for yeast. You can also use a half and half vinegar/water as a rinse on the pets coat for yeast. If the yeast infection in the ears is bad then you can use Monistat cream down in the ears just like you use when you get a feminine yeast infection .Benadryl(I use the generic and give 25mg. twice daily to my 70 pound dog) is good if your dog is itching. It will be a temporary help. I think if you google your dogs allergies there will be a lot of info out there that is natural and affordable. Maybe type in home remedies for dog allergies and see what comes up. I wish you the best of luck and really hope you all are able to keep your pet for all of your sakes.

I am so sorry. We are dealing with a similar situation right now. My youngest son has been sick constantly for the past year, and we just found out he is horribly, like off the charts, allergic to dogs and cats. We have 2 dogs (ages 16 and 5) and a cat (age 8). He is a bit more allergic to cats. The doctor told us we could keep the animals if we made a ton of changes to the house (long story) and bathed the animals every week with a special shampoo. Well, we can't bathe the cat.

We have a 12 year old son who is our animal lover. He is incredibly attached to all of the animals. I told him 2 days ago that we were going to have to find a home for the cat, and he has cried off and on since then - especially when he's with the cat. He's been great about not upsetting his brother, but I feel so bad for him.

I'm sorry to hijack your post, but I wanted you to know you aren't alone. You have to do what is best for the family. You can't put your family in financial trouble even though you and your family love the dog. It will be difficult for your son, but you will be there to support and comfort him. It's a tough situation, but you have to do what is smart for the family. It will help knowing the dog is going to a good home, and it sounds like you will be sure of that. I'm really sorry you are going through this.

I know this is not exactly what you asked... but...
Our dog had a terrible time with yeast/ear infections about a year ago. She would sit up nights and scratch her ears and whine. We'd go to the vet... get the prescript... apply (which was a pain b/c she HATED it. so needless to say.. it was applied for several days as prescribed.. and then as the symptoms lessened and disappeared, I must confess we would become lax about getting it in her ears 2x each and every day near the end of the treatment). So it would come back.
It was a cycle. But 10-14 days of this in a row was just about impossible for us... because it takes 2 people to do and my husband's schedule is rotating shifts.... so he wasn't always here when I needed help with this. Long story short... we had begun another round of treatment when we were scheduled to go out of town. She had to stay at the kennel. THEY applied it 2x daily for the END part of the treatment and so she received the ENTIRE prescribed length of the treatment. It has been a year now, and it hasn't come back at all.

If there is any chance that the treatments he has been given were not followed out in their entirety for the full length of treatment... you might consider trying that to see if it clears it up.
Just a thought... it may not apply to your situation at all.

T8 Keto Flush is what we used when we finally were able to get her ears cleared up.

I have 2 labs and it got to the point that spending $50 just to get in the door at the vet and usually walking out of the vet clinic with a bill over $100, it was time to switch. I finally decided to switch my vet. After getting tons of reccomendations I switched to a Doc. who is a farm vet and one day a week he sees small animals. He only charges $20 fee (which he donates) and then the cost of medication which is cheap! My last perscription for an ear infection was $8!!! He is so amazing and you can tell my boys just love him. Check around you might be suprised at what you find.

I know that tractor supply sells shampoo especially formulated for fungal and yeast infections on coats, I know I have seen it for horses too.... I think it just an iodine based shampoo. I don't know where you live but we take our dogs to Tappahanock Vet clinic (took our 4 dogs in for their shots and it cost $185 and that inlcuded a month of doxcycline - for lymes, blood work on all four, nail trimes, and heart worm for two months for all four!)- their prices are the cheapest around and even their medicine, if they charge me for it is low.... they are very good vets too. Hours are 9-1, then they do surgery only and emergencies, I know they have one evening night though. I hope this helps somewhat.

My dog has had severe allergies her entire life. Used to be on a Rx. Diet and she then became allergic to it. She has been on Prednisone and Diphenhydramine (Benedryl) most of her life. I know long term use of Prednisone is frowned upon but it came down to quality vrs quantity. She used to loose all of her hair, get sores all over her body and the things that I would take out of her ears would scare you. Not to mention the smell. She would also be up all night scratching. As she has gotten older I have been able to lower the amount of Prednisone during the winter months. Both drugs a pretty cheap. I was told that the Prednisone could cause damage to major organs and shorten her life. I figured I would rather have her happy for 5 years then miserable for 10. She just turned 12. Go figure so much for the shortened life.
Good luck.

I work in animal rescue, and honestly, unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to rehome an animal with health problems. Unless you know someone who might be willing to take the dog in, chances are, that dog will have a difficult time finding a new home and adjusting to life without his family. It is possible, of course, but you will have to be VERY careful about who you adopt this dog to, so make sure you do your research there, too.

In many large cities there are programs to help people who are having trouble keeping their pets for financial reasons. Call your local humane society, SPCA, and animal rescues to see if there are programs to help you. You might also consider switching vets - I know Petsmart offers a "pet insurance" sort of program, and so I would suggest running the math and seeing if that can save you money. I wish you the best of luck - it's a very difficult situation.

I know that this is a very hard situation for your family and I am sorry you are having to go through this. Have you discussed the financial situation with your vet and the dermatology specialist? Perhaps they can offer some less expensive alternatives or help you find a new home for the dog.
Could your son work part time at the vets office walking dogs or cleaning cages so you could qualify for a "family discount?" We also have a dog plagued with skin allergies and have tried special shampoos, Atopica (prescription rx), special diets. Our dog also has other health problems too. One thing that has really helped her skin infection was chloramphenicol (a prescription rx generic) that we had to get from vetcentric (with an rx from our vet) and keeping her blood sugar normal (she has diabetes and high blood sugar makes it hard to keep infection down) The chloramphenicol was not as expensive as some of the other options we tried. You might want to check with your vet. ((However, you need to use gloves to handle the pills because they can cause anemia)) Prednisone is also something they use to treat allergies in dogs, it's cheap, but can cause excess thirst & urination and can cause problems with other health conditions. Good luck! Just one other thought---is there a veterinary school nearby? you might check with them and see if they have special discounted rates available.

Good luck if you do rehome and it may take some time. Is there maybe a family or friend that would be willing to adopt that way your son can still see his family pet he has grown up with. Check into organizations that may be able to help with pet costs. Talk to your vet and dermatologists about alternatives to the shampoos if there are any other brands that may work or ordering online for some. Have you checked to see if any of the Natural Balance allergy foods would work. They are otc and still a little pricey, but much cheaper than the rx ones from the vet. They have duck and potato and a few others otc. Also sometimes once they have been on the food for 6-8 weeks some of the medications can be discontinued if food was causing the problem. I know an allergy pet is very hard to deal with an a lifetime of concerns. There is also atopica, a little pricey depending on the size of the dog, but then you don't have to do special foods etc and it works for more than food allergies. If you rehome, try to wait it out until you find the right new owner, which can take some time. If he is purebreed or looks like one breed there are resuce groups that maybe able to help find a new home for a special needs pet. I wish you the best of luck in your decision and doing what is best for your family.

You don’t just give away a 5 year old dog. Your son won’t adjust well. Plus giving someone a dog with ‘issues’ isn’t really an option. They are too difficult to place and if you were to give them to a shelter they may end up putting them down. Here’s some other stuff you didn’t mention. You mentioned that your pup is on special dog food...but you don’t say which type. We had issues with our 2 labs and we switched them to an organic no wheat dog food. It is named Core. This seemed to help one all the time and the other most of the time. We have added Salmon Oil 2x a day to their diet. You can buy that over the counter at any drug store and that helped with the dry skin. Ears are still a problem. You have to keep them clean and dry, pin them back if you have to for a bit. Benadryl helps them relax at night. We now only average 1 or 2 ear infections a year. You don’t mention what type of dog you have, each dog is different with each having their own unique issues. Do your research on your type of dog to help. Good luck!