Back and forth

TJ has definitely seemed to have a relapse since taking the antibiotics. He's not that yeasty or itchy, but he's definitely not himself. He's not eating his food at mealtimes, although he does seem to always finish it. It's 1pm now and he's just eating his breakfast. He's also not drinking much water, but he's taken to drinking out of the toilet, which he's never done before. Weird. We took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday, and he wanted to "jog" several times and seemed to have a lot of energy. But today he was very slow moving. Sometimes he's slow because he wants to sniff everything, but today he just moved like an old man. I've noticed that he trips over his front left paw quite a bit lately, and I'm not sure what that is all about. Erin and I talked yesterday about his quality of life. I know she's contemplating stopping the treatment because she feels as if he will go back to having energy and being playful, but he hasn't really been very energetic or playful since he had his surgery for his ACL in February.

Getting better

TJ seems to be doing much better this week. The output on his body continues to travel around, and right now the heels on his hind legs seem to be pretty red and raw. I think he's been chewing on them some. He's eating his food well, but he still has an issue with his water that we can't figure out. Erin caught him drinking out of the toilet today, which I have NEVER seen him do. Weird. He went to the vet today to have his thyroid checked, but I'm not sure when they get those results.

Vet visit

Erin took TJ to the vet yesterday. Although they went to the same clinic, TJ saw a doctor he hadn't seen before, and Erin really likes her. The doctor spent an entire hour with TJ and did slides from his ears, chest, belly, and paws. She looked through all of the NZymes medications and examined each ingredient. She didn't see anything that would harm him, although there were a few ingredients that she's not that familiar with. She told Erin to consider taking TJ to a holistic vet, but that if money is an issue she should take him to a dermatologist first because his skin is horrible. I still believe from looking at the information on the NZymes site that much of the skin issues will clear up when we get the yeast problem fixed.

The slides showed that TJ has a dangerous rod bacterial infection in his ear that must be treated. He also has a couple of other bacterial infections, including staff on his paws. She did find some yeast, but not that much. Erin was adamant that she will not give him steroids, but she does need to treat the bacterial infection in his ear immediately. She is planning to call NZymes today to discuss it with them.

The doctor also recommended doing a food trial, but Erin has decided not to pursue that at this time. TJ is getting a premium dog food with only 4 ingredients, and he seems to be doing quite well on it. He hasn't been scratching much at all lately, although he does still lick his legs and bite at his paws a bit (which are still pretty swollen). Once we get everything else cleared up it might be worth looking into.

Yesterday TJ seemed to have more energy and wagged his tail quite a bit. He was also ravenous! I fed him a cup of green beans around 9am and about 1/3 cup of food at lunch time, plus he's getting 5 cups of food (2.5 at each meal). He's slightly less than 90 pounds, which is definitely low for him. He's back to eating solid food with just a little bit of water added to it.

On Friday TJ goes back in to have his thyroid tested again. He has to have the test within a certain number of hours after taking his meds, so Fridays are the only days that work for Erin, since she only works a half day on Fridays.

Weekend retreat

Erin took TJ with her to Salem for the weekend. She reported last night that he was eating solid food, although it was soaked in water, and also that he drank a lot of water when they got there. That's all great news! Hopefully they'll have a fantastic weekend.

Cold and shivering

Today TJ is very cold, probably because he's lost so much of his hair. We have one of the heating pads that you put in the microwave, so I heated that up for him and covered him with his blanket, which seems to help. His paws are very swollen today, too. The yeast is about average in the "usual" places.

Erin is taking TJ to the vet today, because she's really concerned about him, which I understand. At the same time, we've known all along that he was going to get worse before he got better, and this is pretty much what I was expecting based on all of the testimonials that we read. I just hope that they don't put him on antibiotics or steroids -- but it's her call.

Does yeast have a brain?

Yesterday and today the yeast is really attacking TJ's belly, back legs and groin area again. It's almost as if it knows that we're onto it and tries to sneak out in a different area. It just keeps going back and forth, back and forth. It was really thick this morning. This picture is on his leg that hadn't been washed down yet. The wetness is all from yeast. Erin had barely finished wiping him down this morning when his chest, where she first started, was already getting pretty thick with it again. He's getting another bath now.

Lots of yeast today

It's really weird how the yeast seems to come and go in cycles. This morning TJ has lots of it between his toes, and one of his front paws is definitely swollen. It's still pretty thick on his chest and on his upper rear legs, and it's come back under his tail. It seems that just when we get a routine worked out, it appears somewhere else. He's still stinky today, but I think it's mainly from his ear. It's also strange how there's none in his right ear -- I wonder if that will come with time.

Erin put some aloe on his chest to see if that would draw out some of the heat. That hadn't occurred to me, partly because I'm a little afraid to add any products, but I think it might be a good idea, especially if it helps to make him more comfortable. Hopefully there aren't any ingredients in it that will feed the yeast ... but then, if we're feeding it from the outside, maybe that will increase the speed from which it exits his body. Who knows? I'm just really thankful that Erin is home and that I can "pass the torch" on to her now.

TJ hasn't really changed today, so I haven't taken a picture.