Sheltie with a black eye.
- Thread starter Smudge
- Start date
Whoa.
Your sheltie looks almost EXACTLY like the sheltie I named Smudge after! Gavin doesn't by any chance happen to have a thing for rice cakes, does he? 
I really liked the picture of him with the backpack on. There's one picture where it looked like he was glaring at you for it. I know that look all too well. :sadsmile:I have made a vet appointment for tomorrow at 10:15. I'm very excited. I don't think I've ever been excited about taking Smudge to the vet. This first visit is just a consultation of sorts to discuss Smudge's mange treatment. They are overly nice and friendly (but not in a fake kind of way). Now if only Smudge would be as excited! I'm going to bring my pictures, my Vibrant Pets, and the eye cream I use for Smudge. I want the vet to know everything I give Smudge for his mange in case it might have an impact on how a certain treatment works.
Cindy
Premium Member
We haven't tested out rice cakes, but he loves just about everything else!
The sheltie glare....Gavin is really good at that. thankfully it comes out with the raincoat and the dog backpack (when we aren't hiking).
Good luck today!
Cindy and gavin
Cindy
Premium Member
new vet?
eagerly waiting to hear how the new vet is...
Gosh, I am such a Sheltienation nerd :
Cindy
eagerly waiting to hear how the new vet is...
Gosh, I am such a Sheltienation nerd :
Cindy
Smudge pulls a runner!
First it was Bacca then it was Joey. Now it's Smudge! It was raining so I went to go open the truck door and come back to get Smudge. My mom was waiting for me on the porch to talk about the hot dogs I was going to give to Smudge to bribe him on the way to the vet (I forgot to put the package back in the refrigerator
). Anyway, Smudge sneaked out of the barely open gate! I bet the cat won't get close to the fence any more after today! Smudge striked back. I started to panic and couldn't breathe. I chased him in ankle deep muck screaming for him to please come back. He finally stopped at my sister's house. Then he turned around and came when I told him to come here. I scooped him up (with him kicking and moaning the whole way) and placed him inside my truck. My truck now smells like muddy dog and hot dogs. Not to mention his muddy paw prints! There's a huge place in his fenced in area that is all muddy because of the rain. I don't know what I'm going to do about covering it up. It's a large area, and I can't block it off. I couldn't even get a picture of him because his paws looked so bad! ARG!
Anyway. On to the vet visit.
The new vet told me a lot of stuff I already knew. That's fine though, because he didn't know I knew. So that means he was doing his job and actually explaining the problem. He told me there were a million different ways to treat mange and not all of them work well 100% of the time. He told me the other vet did the right thing by neutering Smudge the day I learned he had mange (I agree). He thinks dipping for mange and fleas are very out dated in most cases. When the vet tech came in she asked me what the other vet was doing to treat Smudge, and I said dips. She crinkled her face and said noooooo. So what we are now trying is this. He said the best way you can help mange is with the immune system. He said that I should add something to Smudge's diet to help it (check!). He said they usually don't treat mange in such a small patch as Smudge has. He told me stress also plays a big factor (which I knew). He said some kinds of stress people don't have any control over. He said changes in the weather can cause a dog to have stress and cause a mange outbreak!
The vet told me that 80% of hereditary mange cases are treatable. That means 2 in every 10 dogs will not be able to be cured. He told me that Smudge was looking really good - he said he had an excellent coat. So he gave me some advanced flea treatment to try on Smudge. It's Advantage Plus, I think is the name. It's something from Advantage. Anyway, I will put that on Smudge. I'm going to go ahead with the last dip though just because. Also, since they give him a bath I will get a free mud cleaning!
I forgot to ask about his leg! I'll be watching it. I'm not sure what it is. It might just be that he bumped into something. I noticed it before he got loose. If it gets worse I'll mention it when Smudge goes to get his last dip.
I am going to completely change vets after this dip. Since Smudge is at a point where his mange isn't spinning out of control I'm going to go ahead with the dip. I am expecting it to break out again because of this vet visit. He was shaking so bad on the table. He makes me want to cry.
After I brought him back home I went back to PetSmart and Target. I didn't find a clicker, but I did get another hot dog costume, a wig, a pumpkin hat, a kong wubba teddy bear, and a orange and black bone cape!
First it was Bacca then it was Joey. Now it's Smudge! It was raining so I went to go open the truck door and come back to get Smudge. My mom was waiting for me on the porch to talk about the hot dogs I was going to give to Smudge to bribe him on the way to the vet (I forgot to put the package back in the refrigerator
). Anyway, Smudge sneaked out of the barely open gate! I bet the cat won't get close to the fence any more after today! Smudge striked back. I started to panic and couldn't breathe. I chased him in ankle deep muck screaming for him to please come back. He finally stopped at my sister's house. Then he turned around and came when I told him to come here. I scooped him up (with him kicking and moaning the whole way) and placed him inside my truck. My truck now smells like muddy dog and hot dogs. Not to mention his muddy paw prints! There's a huge place in his fenced in area that is all muddy because of the rain. I don't know what I'm going to do about covering it up. It's a large area, and I can't block it off. I couldn't even get a picture of him because his paws looked so bad! ARG!Anyway. On to the vet visit.
The new vet told me a lot of stuff I already knew. That's fine though, because he didn't know I knew. So that means he was doing his job and actually explaining the problem. He told me there were a million different ways to treat mange and not all of them work well 100% of the time. He told me the other vet did the right thing by neutering Smudge the day I learned he had mange (I agree). He thinks dipping for mange and fleas are very out dated in most cases. When the vet tech came in she asked me what the other vet was doing to treat Smudge, and I said dips. She crinkled her face and said noooooo. So what we are now trying is this. He said the best way you can help mange is with the immune system. He said that I should add something to Smudge's diet to help it (check!). He said they usually don't treat mange in such a small patch as Smudge has. He told me stress also plays a big factor (which I knew). He said some kinds of stress people don't have any control over. He said changes in the weather can cause a dog to have stress and cause a mange outbreak!
The vet told me that 80% of hereditary mange cases are treatable. That means 2 in every 10 dogs will not be able to be cured. He told me that Smudge was looking really good - he said he had an excellent coat.
So he gave me some advanced flea treatment to try on Smudge. It's Advantage Plus, I think is the name. It's something from Advantage. Anyway, I will put that on Smudge. I'm going to go ahead with the last dip though just because. Also, since they give him a bath I will get a free mud cleaning!I forgot to ask about his leg! I'll be watching it. I'm not sure what it is. It might just be that he bumped into something. I noticed it before he got loose. If it gets worse I'll mention it when Smudge goes to get his last dip.
I am going to completely change vets after this dip. Since Smudge is at a point where his mange isn't spinning out of control I'm going to go ahead with the dip. I am expecting it to break out again because of this vet visit. He was shaking so bad on the table. He makes me want to cry.
After I brought him back home I went back to PetSmart and Target. I didn't find a clicker, but I did get another hot dog costume, a wig, a pumpkin hat, a kong wubba teddy bear, and a orange and black bone cape!
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
Did he say what do add to his food to help his immune system?
And the boys want to speak with Smudge about those costumes before he submits to the indignity.......
And the boys want to speak with Smudge about those costumes before he submits to the indignity.......
Union Trouble!
Well... I feel like he deserves the indignity because he almost gave me a heart attack by running away. I promise to give him hot dogs - and a good paw scrubbing.
I showed the vet my Vibrant Pets, and he was pleased with the ingredients. So he said I should keep giving it to Smudge.
Did he say what do add to his food to help his immune system?
And the boys want to speak with Smudge about those costumes before he submits to the indignity.......
Well... I feel like he deserves the indignity because he almost gave me a heart attack by running away. I promise to give him hot dogs - and a good paw scrubbing.
I showed the vet my Vibrant Pets, and he was pleased with the ingredients. So he said I should keep giving it to Smudge.
Caro
Moderator
Good news with the new vet. Its nice when they make the effort to talk through things. Dont worry too much about his reaction. Mine both tremble on the vet table - Deska has to be dragged along the floor and Tully runs under chairs and legs. They wont even take treats on the table anymore as they are too stressed out. When Deska gets too stressed out I walk away from the table so he focuses back on me instead of the vet (the vet holds him tho). I also take them for a little walk outside the vet to calm them down again - even if it is pouring rain as exercise is a great stress release for humans and dogs.
Can Smudge be coming into adolescence? Deska will always run off out the front if he can find a gap to squeeze through. The only solution I find is to run away from him! He is too quick for me to chase and it becomes a game anyway. But if he thinks I am leaving him, well he just has to herd me back.
Can Smudge be coming into adolescence? Deska will always run off out the front if he can find a gap to squeeze through. The only solution I find is to run away from him! He is too quick for me to chase and it becomes a game anyway. But if he thinks I am leaving him, well he just has to herd me back.
Ann
Moderator
You are making progress, Jessica, good news! The new vet sounds like a keeper. But poor you and poor Smudge! Or is it Mudge!? 
All of our dogs quake at the vet's office. Usually they try to drag me out the door the second their name is called. The only time Pixie ever slipped her collar was going into the vet's office. Fortunately we were in the foyer and she ran into the town's Planning office which is right next door. I couldn't catch her, she kept running under people's desks! The town employees thought it was a riot...me, not so much. Finally someone snagged her. Now she gets carried into the vet with a slip collar lead on just in case....
So glad the Vibrant Pets is working for you! It's really good stuff...my dogs' coats have never looked so good.
All of our dogs quake at the vet's office. Usually they try to drag me out the door the second their name is called. The only time Pixie ever slipped her collar was going into the vet's office. Fortunately we were in the foyer and she ran into the town's Planning office which is right next door. I couldn't catch her, she kept running under people's desks! The town employees thought it was a riot...me, not so much. Finally someone snagged her. Now she gets carried into the vet with a slip collar lead on just in case....So glad the Vibrant Pets is working for you! It's really good stuff...my dogs' coats have never looked so good.