Friday, April 10, 2015

Friday Mishmash

I don't seem to get a lot of spam comments here (and this is in no way a challenge for more!), but I had one over the weekend that made me laugh - it was almost like Groot left it:
Nice Post. It is very Informative Post. I like Your Post. Thanks for Sharing this Informative Post with Us.
Well, alrighty then!  Glad you liked my Informative Post.

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I need some help here.  Paco is a very sensitive dog, and not only does he have allergies that makes him itch and scratch and lick year-round, but he occasionally gets fleas - like now, when everything is blooming and growing in the yard.  It's not too bad - I might see one or two on him - but he seems to be allergic to the fleas, because his skin turns red, blotchy, and angry-looking.  

I tried Frontline on him in March, and he had a scary reaction to it.  He was shaking and his head was bobbing and swinging, while he randomly stared at a chair for about 30 minutes - it's like he wasn't there, neurologically, and I worried that I'd made him have a stroke by giving him a flea treatment.  He didn't get any worse, and by the next morning he was much better.  So, this month, after telling my veterinarian about his reaction, we tried Nexgard, which is a chewable dose.  Paco had an even worse reaction - he was wimpering and yelping as he gingerly walked, he was shaking, and he very obviously felt terrible. 
He laid on my lap, covered up with a blanket, for hours, shaking and whining.  Broke my heart to see him in so much pain!

I have my house and yard treated for fleas, but that only works so well, especially with the wild critters (skunks, possums) that pass through.  At this point, my vet is recommending Revolution for next month...but we are not thrilled with the idea of putting Paco through another potentially miserable 24-48 hours.  The vet has suggested we bath him in Dawn to kill the fleas, which we can do, but that will only help with any that are on him at that time.  I'd love to find something that would work longer, but not at his expense.  Any suggestions?  

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No finished knitting projects to show you, but I finally made it through the three inches of 1x1 ribbing (which is knit one, purl one, over and over and over and over) on a tiny baby sweater I'm making - whew!  Now I just need to add on the rest of the sleeves and it will be done:
This is size 0-3 months - seems so teeny tiny to me!

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The potted plants we put in are doing well - I feel like a new parent with them, though, as I'm constantly checking to make sure they're doing OK and have enough water and sunlight (but not too much!):
Stay strong, little plants!

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Have a great weekend!  We'll be running the Cap10K in Austin on Sunday, most likely in the rain.  But hey...it'll be a warm rain, so there's that, right? :)

16 comments:

  1. You're probably scared to try the Frontline again, but I wonder if you could do a lower dosage. Run Shelley Run!

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  2. Poor little guy. I had an issue with fleas and it was awful. I tried all of the natural options, no go. Then I tried Frontline and then Comfortis. The Frontline did not work but the Comfortis did. Then last year I found a tick on him and the Comfortis doesn't work for that. I talked to the vet and they recommended Seresto. It's a collar and is supposed to work for 8 months. It worked great last year and I'm using it again this year, so far so good. Hope you find something that works for Paco.

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    1. I forgot to mention that my vet did talk about the Seresto collar - does it have a strong smell?

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    2. No, I haven't noticed any smell.

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  3. I lived in Maryland with my dogs and the fleas were really bad there. I had read in Prevention Magazine years ago to crumble up a Brewer's Yeast tablet and mix it in the dog food. It totally repelled the fleas naturally. It must omit an odor thru the dog's skin that the fleas don't like.

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  4. I used Brewer's Yeast on my dogs for years. They never had any fleas. I would just add it to the dog food and they would gobble it right up.

    Love the sweater you are making. One day I will tackle again the prospect of learning to knit.

    Good Luck with your run! You got this!!

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  5. I use brewers yeast - I get the GNC Mega Brewers Yeast chewable tablets from Petsmart, and I have not had an issue with fleas. You give one tablet for every 10# of body weight. You can also double the dosage during the summer months.
    Good luck on the Cap10!!

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  6. Okay, now I get the Groot reference :)

    Brewer's yeast? We used that for many years when we were showing the Cocker Spaniels, but I don't think we thought it had any flea repellent. We used it because it had Omega 3's or something and was supposed to make their coat better. For sure it couldn't hurt Paco to try it. Well, MOST dogs it wouldn't hurt to try. Paco definitely is the exception. For the itching, I wonder if a diluted vinegar solution would help. Bessie has some weird stuff on her ears, and then her belly gets very itchy, so I am experimenting with putting 1/2 strength vinegar on those areas every day. After a couple of days her belly stops itching.

    Your plants look so pretty! And the baby sweater is darling. Good luck on your 10K!!!

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  7. We use comfortis on our dogs. It works wonderfully.

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  8. Awwwww poor Paco! No ideas from me but hope you find something soon.

    I hope the 10K is fun, even if it does rain - and like you said, it's a warm rain. We've had rain all week here - dreary, grey and COLD. The sun is coming but of course when it hits 60 on Sunday, I have to work my part time job. Isn't that just the way?

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  9. Poor baby. I don't have advice on the flea treatment, but maybe rubbing some coconut oil into his itchy rashy spots will help that?

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  10. I was just talking to my mom about this same thing yesterday and she said a co-worker of hers goes to the health food store an gets a bottle of natural lavander and puts it on her dog. She says it works like a charm. The only thing is, I don't know if it works just for ticks or fleas and ticks.

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  11. I am Groot!
    Translation: Poor Paco!! I hope you can find something for him soon!

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  12. Aw, poor Paco! I don't have any advice, but hope the next remedy works! Good luck tomorrow on your race! :D

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  13. Ah poor Paco, it breaks my heart too to see him in pain.

    Bella isn't allergic to the flea medications. My vet doesn't sell Frontline anymore because dogs were becoming non-resistant to it. I use Activyl spot-on, found it on the internet that it's available in the US too.

    Roussy did have allergic reactions sometimes and then I would wash her with a shampoo Allermyl. That helped a lot (see you can buy that on Amazon).

    I hope you find something for him that works and doesn't give him so much pain.

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  14. How horrible! I was nearly shaking and whining in empathy. Looks like you have some good suggestions here and I truly hope the next try doesn't have those adverse affects.
    Cute, cute sweater!

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