Tags
allergies, atopica, bordatella, canine hypothyroidism, comfortis, convenia, foot licking, Ketoconazole, lepto, rabies, rescue remedy, thyroids, vaccines, vet, yeast infections
We went to the vet today for Bowdu’s followup thyroid test, as instructed by both the previous vet and HemoPet. Standard Operating Procedure calls for hypothyroid dogs to get a repeat blood draw within 4 to 8 weeks of being diagnosed and starting supplements to make sure the dosage is correct. It has been six weeks since we started dosing Bowdu.
Here’s our bill from today’s appointment:
- Office call / examination fee — $53.00
- T4 and Free T4 bloodwork — $140.00
- Domitor / Antisedative reversal — $116.00
- Leptospirosis vaccine (annual) — $24.50
- Canine Rabies 3 year vaccine — $21.75
- Bordatella vaccine — $21.75
- Antibiotic Injection — Convenia (1.4 mL) —
$78.60$0.00 - Ketoconazole (Quantity: 20) — $24.80
Total before discount: $480.40
Minus student discount and free antibiotic: -$116.29
TOTAL: $364.11
I really appreciate the student discount and the free injection, though I’m not sure why they felt we deserved it given Bowdu’s total non-compliance, which is why they had to bust out the sedative, as expected. Even with four drops of Rescue Remedy on a marshmallow before we brought him in, he was fighting both the scale and the stethoscope — not exactly invasive procedures.
He was due for his rabies in November, so the vet recommended just getting it out of the way. When I asked about the necessity of Lepto and Bordatella, I was told that the clinic had already treated two Lepto cases this year from dogs who hadn’t left our city, and Bordatella is standard for any dog that comes in contact with other dogs. I haven’t done enough research on individual vaccines to know what to refuse, so we just got what they suggested.
We had to leave him at the vet in the “sedative queue” for a couple hours before we could come back and pick him up. The Doggy Daddy gets very anxious whenever he has to leave Bowdu in the hands of strangers, which has happened maybe a total of four times ever. So do I, but I try to mask my anxiety by telling myself it’s often part of the routine… They’re professionals… They handle screaming, squirmy, uncooperative pets every day. Still, when they called to notify us that we could retrieve him, I had this paranoid vision that they were going to tell us Sorry, but your dog broke out of his restraints and mauled one of our vet techs before charging through a window and into the street, where he was immediately hit by a passing SUV. [Yes, this is why I’m a crazy dog lady sometimes.] Instead, the report was that he was very good when he was not being prodded with needles, and they decided they liked him because “he has kind eyes.”
Photo taken 22 February 2008
They gave us a round of Ketoconazole after determining that the fermented tofu smell coming from his ears and feet (which I hadn’t detected from the latter, though I’d noticed the scaling for sure!) was a yeast infection. This isn’t a drug he’s tried before, so hopefully it’ll be effective in keeping Bowdu’s paws under control. Meanwhile, we’ve been advised to bathe him more frequently with a good antibacterial/antifungal shampoo, and switch to an oral flea medication like Comfortis to help enable this process.
So we’ve gotten a lot of “new” professional recommendations today, though they’re still considering his case from the angle of allergies, not so much physical conditions that hypothyroidism might predispose him to. It’s comforting just to try something different at all, and I feel like this vet actually listened to me when I said I didn’t want to use Temaril-P. She drew up a cost estimate for Atopica, which we have considered and may still consider in the future.
Meanwhile, we’ll await Bowdu’s thyroid test results and I’ll continue to process the events of the day.
The House of Two Bows 雙寶之屋 
Did you know that some dogs have bad allergic reactions to Lepto? I don’t give my 3 the Lepto at all. Bordatella is for when you kennel a dog at any kennel, NOT for just being around other dogs. Also, it takes about a week for it to take effect. When you board a dog, they recommend that the dog get the Bordatella at least 2-3 weeks before its to go to the kennel.
I consider the office visit quite high, but I don’t live in the bay area. Its been awhile since I had Dannii tested for the T-3 and T-4, which by the way, came out very good…………which is why I know the vaccines were the cause of his seizures.
I forgot how old you said Bowdu is. If he is over 7, he should NOT (in my opinion) be getting several vaccines on the same day. Yes, vets will tell you that they do not cause seizures, but you consult with Dr. Jean Dobbs and she will tell you otherwise. She is trying to get the Rabies down to one vaccine, as she believes its good for the life of the dog.
I hope the new meds will help with his feet from itching so much.
Thanks for that. I had a rough idea that Bordatella is for boarding — a mnemonic equation, I suppose. But they went down the list and suggested that if he ever went to dog parks or came into contact with other dogs, he should get it anyway. He’s been “due” for Lepto for some time, and in the heat of the moment, I apparently forgot all the reasons why I didn’t find it necessary to vaccinate him for that one… they mentioned that it was transmissible to humans, and so the Doggy Daddy thought we should just get it. I’ve definitely been keeping a close watch on him since then, because it’s been a while since he’s gotten so many vaccinations (precisely three years, and three vets ago). He’s almost six now, so the next time something like this comes up, I better be prepared.
I came across Dr. Dodd’s info about the Rabies Challenge Fund when I was trying to figure out just why my previous vet called her “controversial” and so disparaged any working relationship with her lab. I felt like I had just uncovered the tip of the iceberg there, and needed to look into it further… but it was eye-opening, to be sure. It’s unfairly grouped together with some hoo-hah over vaccine refusal in the national media, but I think what motivates both human and canine parents is similar.
Just to echo the above comment – I’m really conservative with vaccines for my dogs. I’m not sure what the prevalence of lepto is where you live, but for us its not a concern so we do not get that vaccine. Nor do we do bordatella, even though we have fostered dogs WITH kennel cough, my dogs never contract it. So we skip that vaccine.
I wonder if titer tests might be easier on Bowdu’s system rather than revaccinating for these things?
I fostered a pit bull mix with a combo yeast infection + staph infection, he was taking ketaconazole & cephalexin and they knocked the skin infections right out. I think they even helped advance his mange treatment.
The Misanthropic Shiba blog has some nice first hand info on Atopica. I guess it worked last year like a charm but didn’t work this year on her dog. I considered it two years in a row for my female but yucca root seemed to help so well this year that Atopica is off the table for now.
My concern was also Bowdu’s supposedly “compromised” immune system… not that hypothyroidism renders him completely vulnerable, but if the point of the blood draw is to check for imbalances in his system which are suspected to be there in the first place, wouldn’t it seem a little risky and even counterintuitive to give him so many vaccines at once? The Doggy Daddy and I had actually talked a little about this before we went in, because we knew he was due for rabies, but we weren’t prepared to have them suggest all those other vaccinations too. He thought the benefit of NOT having to bring Bowdu back to the vet anytime soon was worth the minimal risk, and I agreed in the end.
This is all good information to know about vaccines though. I’m gathering a lot of interesting anecdotal experience that makes me lean towards fewer vaccinations, though I still need to hunt around for information that collects all this systematically. When the tech sold us on the Lepto vaccination, she said that they had not really suggested it in the past because they didn’t think it was prevalent in the area, until their clinic recently had to treat Lepto. So I don’t know if that’s part of the standard sales pitch or what, but it worked.
Atopica is one of the more “extreme” remedies we can consider for now, given its cost. After everything we’ve put into veterinary care this past year though, it actually doesn’t seem like that much given its reputed rate of success. Next step up would be allergy testing and immunotherapy, and given how much Bowdu looooves needles… … … yeah.
I have which I think I told you once before, on the three year protocol for their vaccines. Since Dannii is going to be 11 in December, he will NOT get any more vaccines, except for the Rabies. Jenna will be 9, and she won’t get anymore either, but Zak is only going to be 6, so he will get one more set of vaccines (just DHPP), and then a month after that, Rabies. I learned with Dannii, not to give all the shots on the same day.
I used to work in a veterinary clinic, and I know they pay pennies on the dollar for their vaccines, but charge us a small fortune for them. All 26 veterinary colleges have now accepted the 3 year protocol for vaccines, BUT you will still see at vet clinics say that’s a “no, no”. Why? Because, its their number one money maker. Lot of people can not afford the price of vaccines at the vets, so they go to those clinics that come around on the week-ends. Which is totally acceptable, as they are true vets, that offer the discounts. Granted you don’t get any check up’s, but if your pet has been healthy otherwise, those are a good place to get vaccines at a lower cost. Vets will try and sell you the kitchen sink if it was possible. The Bordatella vaccines do not last that long, and my vet that I talked to does not tell me that I need these other shots/vaccines for my furkids. I live in Solano County which is smack between San Fran and Sacramento. I have been concerned about Heartworm, but my vet has assured me that no cases have been found in Solano County, so my guys do not get heartworm medication. Maybe that’s stupid of me, I don’t know, but my guys aren’t out when the bugs come out at night anyways. I haven’t heard of any dogs in my area that have come down with Lepto. I found this online, and as much as my guys hate water and getting wet, I don’t see them getting this vaccine. This is just a short piece that I copied and pasted to this email.
Because of these dynamics, pets and working breeds that spend time in wooded or swampy areas are more likely to catch leptospirosis. Dogs that spend their lives indoors or in areas that are not contaminated by carrier wildlife are less likely to become infected.
Still wishing you all the best for Bowdu and hopefully his paws will clear up soon.
Thank you for your concern. We have been monitoring Bowdu closely, and nothing’s really been out of the usual. So hopefully things are okay this time. But I agree that in general, if we can get away with vaccinating less, we should, and we’ll be prepared next time.
That said, we do hike frequently in wooded areas. There’s one trail in particular that I’ve noticed is frequently littered with animal droppings of several different species. None of these areas are “swampy.” I don’t think it’s a major concern… but I was not confident about this, and I think the vet tech homed in on my doubt when she pushed for the vaccinations.
Again, why would you give him so many vaccines in one day if he has a comprised immune system? Just because the vet said so, or because you wouldn’t have to subject Bowdu going back to the vet’s again? Remember, all the vet can do is “suggest”…..NOT demand. In the end, it is YOUR choice. Me, I would have asked the benefits and cons, and probably then said, NO.
Two different vaccines at one time did Dannii in, and I KNEW better, but must have left my brain at home, or somewhere else that day. Now he has to pay the price for my stupidity. Thankfully now he has not had any seizures in 2.5 months!