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Thread: Health issue with my ancient dog -- anyone have any ideas?

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Health issue with my ancient dog -- anyone have any ideas?

    Please no trolling or junk posts in this thread. I'm posting this here because I've run out of ideas, and would like to help my very old dog.

    I have a 15 1/2 year old male pug. Like many people on this earth, he's had a bad 2020.

    The average male pug lives to 12 3/4. My pug is about twice the size of a normal pug (not fat, just large), so I thought the chances of him outliving the average was fairly low. However, he was doing surprisingly well until the end of 2019. Just about never got sick. Never had a major health issue. Surprisingly nice coat, which made him look far younger than he actually was.

    At the beginning of 2020, something abruptly changed. He started losing his fur, had a mangy look, and had some raised black spots on his skin. He also started to smell very bad. I found that if I give him a bath, he stops smelling bad for about 5 days, but within a week he smells terrible again. Also, when I wash him, tiny black dots fall off of him.

    My first idea was mange, but he has none of the mange symptoms except the fur falling out.

    My second idea was fleas (thus explaining the tiny dots, which could be eggs). However, the problem began in the winter, and fleas aren't active in the winter where I live, because temperatures at night are too cold, often near freezing. He also isn't itchy, from what I can tell.

    The vet called it a "skin infection", but didn't seem very sure. A second vet said the same. However, the pills prescribed and medicated shampoo did not make a dent in the problem.

    I posted this problem to a Facebook group, and another poster had the EXACT same issue with another breed of dog (also old), and had the same frustration with the baffled vets and the ineffective treatments.

    Any ideas of what this could be? I'm not expecting a 15.5 year old dog to be in perfect health, and I'm willing to accept that weird shit will start happening as they get way past their life expectancy. Like really old humans, there's only so much you can do.

    If anyone has experienced this, or you think you know what it is, please let me know.

  2. #2
    Canadrunk limitles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Please no trolling or junk posts in this thread. I'm posting this here because I've run out of ideas, and would like to help my very old dog.

    I have a 15 1/2 year old male pug. Like many people on this earth, he's had a bad 2020.

    The average male pug lives to 12 3/4. My pug is about twice the size of a normal pug (not fat, just large), so I thought the chances of him outliving the average was fairly low. However, he was doing surprisingly well until the end of 2019. Just about never got sick. Never had a major health issue. Surprisingly nice coat, which made him look far younger than he actually was.

    At the beginning of 2020, something abruptly changed. He started losing his fur, had a mangy look, and had some raised black spots on his skin. He also started to smell very bad. I found that if I give him a bath, he stops smelling bad for about 5 days, but within a week he smells terrible again. Also, when I wash him, tiny black dots fall off of him.

    My first idea was mange, but he has none of the mange symptoms except the fur falling out.

    My second idea was fleas (thus explaining the tiny dots, which could be eggs). However, the problem began in the winter, and fleas aren't active in the winter where I live, because temperatures at night are too cold, often near freezing. He also isn't itchy, from what I can tell.

    The vet called it a "skin infection", but didn't seem very sure. A second vet said the same. However, the pills prescribed and medicated shampoo did not make a dent in the problem.

    I posted this problem to a Facebook group, and another poster had the EXACT same issue with another breed of dog (also old), and had the same frustration with the baffled vets and the ineffective treatments.

    Any ideas of what this could be? I'm not expecting a 15.5 year old dog to be in perfect health, and I'm willing to accept that weird shit will start happening as they get way past their life expectancy. Like really old humans, there's only so much you can do.

    If anyone has experienced this, or you think you know what it is, please let me know.
    Had something similar with our Scotty. Has had an itch problem since birth and we tried everything. Two years back he started losing hair and developed black areas on his on his belly which did come off with bathing. Long story short he has skin allergies, among others, related to his food. He is now on a strict hypoallergenic diet plus a medication
    called Apoquel for Atpoic dermititus.

    All kinds of pics on the net and they vary wildly
    gl

  3. #3
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Thanks les, I will look it up.

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    Platinum Baron Von Strucker's Avatar
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    agree with Les I had a dog that had similar issues and switched its food and it completely stopped with in days

    Name:  Unknown.jpeg
Views: 486
Size:  12.3 KB

    there is many versions of this for different dogs, diets.
    pick the best one for your pug.
    all hail Hydra



    Originally Posted by DanDruff:Since I'm a 6'2" Republican with an average-sized nose and a last name which doesn't end with "stein", "man", or "berg", I can hide among the goyim and remain undetected unless I open my mouth about money matters.

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    Platinum Jayjami's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baron Von Strucker View Post
    agree with Les I had a dog that had similar issues and switched its food and it completely stopped with in days

    Name:  Unknown.jpeg
Views: 486
Size:  12.3 KB

    there is many versions of this for different dogs, diets.
    pick the best one for your pug.
    Agreed. Experiment with his diet. Warning Jew, some of these specialty foods can be ridiculously expensive. I recommend lobster mac and cheese.

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    Plutonium simpdog's Avatar
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    Apologies to any PFA vets, but 90% of vets are just awful.


    Our lab had similar skin issues. Tried shampoo, tried changing food, tried pills, tried everything. Nothing worked except my credit card paying for it.

    Unfortunately that was the start of many health issues and she went downhill after that.

    I hope you can find the solution Druff, and my advice is just to try different things yourself.

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    I second apoquel, 2 tablets per day for our elderly pit bull has cleared up most of her skin issues.

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    Cubic Zirconia
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    (No experience from me) Have seen a lot on the net in the USA about CBD Oil being very effective for older dogs, their joints, their overall health.

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    Plutonium lol wow's Avatar
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    tell your son to have sex with it and then slit its throat in front of you to prove he is a man

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    Platinum FRANKRIZZO's Avatar
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    I can definitely empathize. My dog was in good shape at 13 until one morning he had a large red sore on his nose. I looked it up and they said it was cancer and he probably had about 4 months to live. I should have put him down earlier then I did, but I was so attached to him I couldn't along with my wife prepared to do it. Eventually the cancer spread his nose blew up he was sneezing blood had a very blown up nose and his head was being deformed. I should have put him down a couple of months earlier it was really hard to ultimately do it. We kept him 2 more months or so then we should have.

    As mentioned I have another dog after 4 years of my dogs passing. He is blackmouth kerr and daschund mix. I can't train him he is at 4 months peeing and pooping even though we take him every 2 hours. Took him to my wifes work and he peed in the kitchen and pooped in her office. Anyone have any tips for me.

    To Todd I would suggest if he is not suffering in any way to just make him comfortable. If he is suffering and in declining health to Euthenize its very painful im not going to lie. All the best.

  11. #11
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Dog isn't suffering. Has hip dysphasia and low energy due to being super old, but enjoys living and really really enjoys food.

    As long as he is enjoying life, I won't put him down.

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    Brewers Yeast for dogs.

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    Silver VaughnP's Avatar
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    Apoquel should be a last resort. It works, but only as palliation. It only stops the symptoms from happening while using it, allowing the underlying cause to continue and potentially get worse until it progresses into further severe symptoms. It's crazy to treat something that way. I recommend all of you giving your dogs this do research on the long term effects. It's essentially an immune system disrupting drug, and the worst potential effect of apoquel for dogs is likely increasing their risk of cancer. It destroys and disrupts kinases, the body's regulator of immune system responses, and though not entirely proven, this same system is almost surely what protects us from fucked up cells multiplying and turning into tumors etc. There's no way I'd give a senior dog this, even the drug company themselves warns against use with pre existing cancers.

    Druff's dog is either having an allergic reaction to something or has developed an out of control yeast dermatitis problem. Both of these can be caused by food. Dogs can have slight, unnoticeable allergic reactions for years until their bodies start to completely reject whatever ingredients, same thing until they can no longer control the yeast problem that their diet is exacerbating.

    The fur loss, smelliness etc. are the exact symptoms of a yeast problem.


    This is super effective as an immediate solution, but his diet and possibly an underlying condition weakening his immune system are the likely culprits, could possibly be just diet and old age. It's likely this is the same type of shampoo you've used, if so, he needs oral anti fungal treatments, possibly antibiotics, and a limited diet.

    https://www.amazon.com/Antifungal-An...dp/B01G2T1N5I/
    Last edited by VaughnP; 10-10-2020 at 07:08 PM.

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    PFA Emeritus Crowe Diddly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Dog isn't suffering. Has hip dysphasia and low energy due to being super old, but enjoys living and really really enjoys food.

    As long as he is enjoying life, I won't put him down.
    you must have some cool pics of him from over the years, toss one up. Everyone loves dogs, and pugs have their own charisma besides that.

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    Name:  B2C4EE6F-4557-45D7-9FA4-14F3AD5D6C87.png
Views: 313
Size:  1.48 MB

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    Plutonium lol wow's Avatar
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    sorry where are we vis a vis ur son dog fucking and murdering this dying canine?

     
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      Rick Sanchez: bruh

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    Plutonium lol wow's Avatar
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    LETS GET THE GEARS IN MOTION TODGE CHOP CHOP

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    Cubic Zirconia
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    Quote Originally Posted by lol wow View Post
    sorry where are we vis a vis ur son dog fucking and murdering this dying canine?
    Jesus FC.
    Troll a man. But never troll about a man's dog.

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    Platinum FRANKRIZZO's Avatar
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    Could he have worms? I had my dog tested only worry we have is possible problems with hips but since part daschund ,will not be known until he is one years old. Hope he will be ok

  20. #20
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    BUMP

    In his final weeks (in May 2021), we realized he had diabetes. It was too late to do anything by then, as clearly he had a very short time left on this earth. Indeed, he passed away on May 31, as I posted here when it occurred.

    I took him to 3 different vets, all of whom didn't come up with diabetes in 2020. They were all too focused on the skin issue, which it turned out was an early symptom of the diabetes. Only at the end did the more obvious diabetic symptoms show up. However, I have since learned that these type of skin issues are often associated with diabetes, and you should look into that as a possibility if the usual skin treatments don't help (as they didn't here).

    The treatment for diabetes is tough, and I'm not sure if I would have wanted to put him through it at the age he was. However, I'm just telling everyone else here in case your dog develops such an issue which seemingly can't be solved.

    RIP Otis

     
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      Pablo: the more you know RIP Otis
      
      nunbeater: RIP Otis
      
      gimmick: RIP... see how you feel about having another dog in few weeks

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