Tough Spring!

As you may know, it is now officially summer, and for that I think we are all very grateful! Why? Well, because Boykins has had a rough couple of months!

It all started at the end of April, when she developed terrible G/I problems and we thought maybe she had contracted Giardiasis from another dog in the neighborhood. After seeing some blood in her poo on a Sunday afternoon, I called Angell Animal Medical Center, and they suggested we bring her in. They weren't sure what the problem was, but they opted to treat her as though she had the Giardiasis. She was on flagyl and panacur for a while, but in the end these drugs didn't help, and her problems persisted.

The panacur granuals were mixed into her food and made Boykins look like a 1970s coke-head:




Less than a week after her G/I problems started, we arrived home to find Boykins winking a lot with her left eye. I thought, "Either she's flirting with me, or there's something wrong with her eye." Another trip to Angell (our vet was not open that evening), and a diagnosis of a scratched cornea! Fortunately, that was easily treated, and she recovered from it without any trouble.

Meanwhile, the G/I problems persisted, and we put her on a second course of flagyl, which is supposed to help recurring diarrhea...

The next weekend, Boykins developed a Urinary Tract Infection, which meant another evening visit to Angell and another round of antibiotics. By this time, we'd been to the animal hospital three times in two weeks - at $140 bucks a pop (not including prescriptions). WHOA! Thank goodness her eye and her UTI cleared up without too much trouble. But her G/I tract was still not working right. Poor Boykins! She just wasn't feeling herself at all. It was so sad.

Another couple visits to our regular vets left us with a possible food allergy being the cause of her problems. According to our primary vet, this is quite common among bulldog breeds, and Boykins is the right age to start showing symptoms. Not all dogs have G/I issues as their primary symptom, but that seems to be the case for her. (Other dogs are often itchy and can develop hives or "hot spots.")

We're now doing this "elimination diet" with a special kibble that is composed primarily of potato and duck: two foods she did not have in her previous diet. She has responded very well to this new food and we are excited to see her feeling better and behaving as she did before May. I'm sure she's happier, too!