Molly

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
In a way, you could say today was her day.

I have a hard time splitting my attention between Molly and Betsy when they have to remain separated in the house. It's a major PITA. Before Betsy started attacking Molly out of jealousy I could play with them together, brush them together ect and it was easy. Now if I play with Betsy or brush her in the living room, Molly cries. And I do mean cries. If I do the same for Molly in the dining room, Betsy will whine to the point where I'm about to lose my mind. Not the crying Molly does, but it's annoying. Then with trying to do the cleaning and sorting when I'm not running or busy doing something else.......there isn't much time left over for them right now. Makes me feel bad, but the cleaning won't last forever.

Molly's psoriasis kicked up again after husband passed away. I thought I was keeping an eye on it and I was trying to take extra care to give her affection and attention as much as I could. But it's evidently got her autoimmune thing going pretty good now. I vacuum and by evening the floor is covered with molly fur. Seriously covered. This past week she really start chewing herself. Which only made the fur on the floor worse of course. I brushed her several times and got enough fur off her for about 3 dogs. In her 11 yrs I've never seen her shed this way. Then the smell.........I know that smell. So I started checking her out carefully. And yup, the psoriasis again. Under the arms, her neck under her collar was raw.......and a lot of her skin is inflamed and irritated.

Now I normally bathe the dogs out side as it's just easier. But it's been too cold and rainy, especially for Molly. Last time Nichole and I attempted the tub, it was a feat. And Nichole got nipped at because she accidentally pressed on a sore spot. So I wasn't looking forward to the tub but I don't have much choice. I vacuumed the two rooms super well. Then bribed her into the bathroom with a piece of cheese. (molly would walk through fire for a piece of cheese lol ) She surprised me by hopping into the tub herself.

First round was antibacterial soap. I wanted her fur and skin really clean and it helped to kill off any leftover fleas from the season. (which oddly enough there were none on her) Then rinse with the shower massager thing. Second round is with her tar soap. The only thing I've ever found to help. (and over the years we've tried everything out there) Put it on thick and really rubbed it in well. Let it sit on her a bit. Then a second good rinse with the shower massager. (that's her favorite part) She managed to hop out on her own. Then I dosed her well with benedryl to control the itching and give her skin a break. I'll keep her dosed up for a while and give it a chance to heal.

In two weeks it will be another bath with the tar soap. Unless she's really bad, then I'll do it at a week.

I washed her collar in antibacterial soap, hot water, with a scrub brush. it was pretty disgusting. She's rather stoned at the moment and her nose is out of joint because she's "naked". Molly hates to be without her collar. lol

I also washed her blanket really well.

Makes me feel a little bad when this is the most attention she's gotten all at once in a while. But she'll smell good for our Tday meal and she's been doctored up good and proper.

Betsy will get her bath tomorrow. Thirty to 40 mins or so bent over with molly in the tub did my back in for the evening.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I'm glad she got clean, and doped up!

The pups - and purrs - know that things are still weird. They do understand.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I'm glad it was something that can be dealt with...
Give Molly an extra little treat for me tonight, will ya?
And grab yourself something, too.
<smile>
 

buddy

New Member
Can't imagine, I have a little pooch. Still takes time to bathe, so with all those issues, wow. Hope she is feeling better now. My dog hates to be without his collar too. I hold it out and he runs over and puts his neck on it, then I wrap it around, so funny.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I'm going to put her xmas collar on her today. It's red and white and furry (thing santa hats furry) with jingle bells on it. She goes total bonkers over this collar. She's worn one like it every year since she was a pup. The one year when she had worn one out and I couldn't find them anywhere........the xmas decor was up and she was really depressed. I finally found one at a pet store in the mall and despite the fact it was way over priced, I picked it up for her. She was bouncing all over the house. (can you imagine a 150 lb Shepard bouncing? ) This dog is nuts for xmas.

But then Molly has always acted far more human than dog. :rofl:
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Lisa, are you sure that her skin problems aren't allergy related? My Ragan has terrible allergies and auto immune issues and under her arms and on her neck are where it always shows up first. She also sometimes gets bacterial and fungal infections on her skin which can cause an odor. She's also allergic to grass and she will get a rash on her belly and bite and lick at her feet till they bleed. I give Ragan a 25 mg Benadryl twice a day (dosage for dogs is 1 mg per pound) and it helps a lot with the itching.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Donna, the vet believed it was allergies for years. Hence the outrageous vet bills that did nothing. Then out of desperation I tried the tar soap because her rash/irritation reminded me of husband's psoriasis. It worked like a charm. Years later I found out from several shepherd breeders that the breed is prone to skin issues with psoriasis being at the top of the list.

She's a new dog this morning. Even before her dose of benedryl. The tar soap heals and sooths. I also have this super expensive salve I can use.......but that is only as a last resort because it gets all over the house. Although I did use it for a couple of days before the bath because she was so irritated and looked so sore I didn't want to scrub her until it looked a tad better.

Vet used to blame fleas. Would be interesting since most of the time she was blaming fleas Molly had none, zero, zilch. At that time she got a bath at least once a month and was always treated for fleas and ticks. The weeds out back will trigger the psoriasis though, she's allergic to them and they'll set her off. I'm sure that played a big part as husband let them grow up this year. But once they were dead ect....she just kept right on going. And up until husband passed, I had her skin healed completely. So......yeah.

The smell is because the psoriasis is so darn ichy she's constantly licking and nibbling at herself, so it gets bacteria growing and infected. Which is why she got the antibacterial scrub first. I'll repeat the process as needed. But I've never had to do it more than twice.

Got to pick her up some ear mite stuff too today.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Hmmmm. Do cats get psoriasis too? because that could be the problem with Possum.

He has no fur under his collar - vet told me it was too tight. So I slid my hand under the collar and balled it up in a fist. "I don't think so... Not if I have this much room."

Then it was fleas. Nope. None. Zip.

We thought it was an allergy, too, since it faded when I switched fabric softener... Then it came back.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Ragan is also allergic to fleas. We've never had much of a problem with fleas here but if she gets even one on her, she will scratch herself raw! It's not just from the regular itching from the flea bite, it's because she's allergic to their bites. Another thing it could be too is a yeast infection on her skin. That can cause quite an odor. Ragan is very prone to those too and Katy has had yeast infections in her ears that turn the insides of them bright red. Poor little Ragan just seems to have all the problems including all her allergies and auto immune issues but she also has thyroid problems and takes medication daily which has helped some with her skin and coat. Just a thought but has Molly's thyroid ever been checked? It's a simple blood test and not very expensive at all.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I don't think her thyroid has ever been checked. I'm pretty sure it hasn't. My dogs don't go to the vet unless they're ill or something. I give them their shots, it's not hard and it's far cheaper.

Given her issues with weight, however, the thyroid might be off a bit. She gains without trying. I have her food rationed to the exact amt she's supposed to get. Treats are limited, except for the cheese to get the pills down her and her eggs once a week (also for her coat/skin). She has actually lost a considerable amount of weight. A good thing as she was very obese due to husband feeding her off his plate and giving her and betsy cheese all day as treats.

Betsy has also dropped some weight. I've been watching her intake as well.

I've got to go to the vet for some frontline and the good wormer anyway so I can ask and see. I still think it's odd I can get frontline plus for half the price of anywhere else at our vets, but I'm not going to complain about it. lol
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Unless you specifically asked to have her thyroid function checked, it probably hasn't been because it's not something they routinely do. Ragan was just the opposite - she's always been very skinny, was always cold and hiding under a blanket, and her coat was very thin and dull. It's kind of funny that she's always been like that and we just had her thyroid tested about a year ago. She's nine now and the poor little thing's medical records are about two inches thick! Her vet was thinking her thyroid had already been tested so he never suggested it! She tested just slightly below normal but the supplements he put her on have made a big difference. She still has skin problems but it's a whole lot better now and her coat is much thicker and very shiny.
 
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