Hay fever

[Meggie]

I'm beginning to think that Button perhaps has hay fever.

He's very snotty & snorty, sounds like his nose is bunged up, especially first thing in a morning.

I've already had him to the vets, twice, with it. They gave him antibiotics both times but it hasn't really cleared it at all. I suppose I will take him again, but I'm not happy at the thought of yet more antibiotics that don't seem to do anything.

Has anyone any experience of anything similar?
The odd thing is that he was fine last summer when he was a puppy. But this year, now he's one, he started with these snuffles as soon as spring came. It also more or less started after he'd had his booster jab, though the vet of course pooh-poohed that suggestion.

[Mayas Mommy]

Originally Posted by Meggie

I'm beginning to think that Button perhaps has hay fever.

He's very snotty & snorty, sounds like his nose is bunged up, especially first thing in a morning.

I've already had him to the vets, twice, with it. They gave him antibiotics both times but it hasn't really cleared it at all. I suppose I will take him again, but I'm not happy at the thought of yet more antibiotics that don't seem to do anything.

Has anyone any experience of anything similar?
The odd thing is that he was fine last summer when he was a puppy. But this year, now he's one, he started with these snuffles as soon as spring came. It also more or less started after he'd had his booster jab, though the vet of course pooh-poohed that suggestion.

I know ... this year it is really bad over here ... I am on mets for allergies ... for the first time in 30 years .... I hope your mets will feel better soon .....

[karen scarlet]

there is a 6 year old yorkie in the animal shelter in port charlotte florida .i stopped by there yesterday just on a feeling i had..and there was this little guy. he was just nutered yesterday and they had to shave him since he was found roaming the street and full of matts.i held him and he just cuddled up in my arms.unfortunatly i live in a condo that only allows 1 dog. otherwise i would have taken him home..please lets find him a home.....contact me if you have any questions e-mail karenscarlet@aol.com

[pinkpixiepuff]

My yorkie doesnt suffer with hayfever but my large newfoundland cross Sony suffers from numerous allergies. Beginning to think he is allergic to himself. There is nothing we can do about it really, has drops for his eyes but he doesnt appreciate us putting them in. His eyes are always bright red and very sore looking. He is getting on in years now and is 10 and is finding life very difficult.

1- My pack minus my wee yorkie (sony is the big black dog, Cody is the black and tan collie cross and Lily is the little phalene papillon)
2- Sony and Cody

Monitor Button and pay close attention to his eyes. Monitor when its bad and when its not. Take all the details to the vets. There will be something he can do im sure. Maybe its the food he is on if you have changed it?

[Meggie]

Well, I took him to the vets yesterday & he says it is hay fever, or Allergic rhinitis, same thing in vet speak he says.

He's prescribed Piriton, same as human ones, only 1/8 of a tablet twice a day....have you seen how small they are & I've got to 8th them! The vet's given me a little pill splitter or I'd have no chance.
He's also on an anti inflammatory for just a week to try to bring all the inflamed membranes under control & give the Piriton a chance.
Luckily his lungs are clear, though his lymph glands are up meaning his system is busy trying to fight it off.
Back next week if there's no improvement, though he does seem a bit better already to me. Then it would be blood tests to determine exactly what he's allergic to & injections against the culprit.

I don't think it's food as he hasn't had anything different, he's been on Royal Canin Yorkshire and chicken & rice from being 10 months old. The vet does think it's likely to be pollen related as it's extremely high here at the moment.

[pinkpixiepuff]

Thats great! I hope he is feeling better. It's amazing how much we end up worrying about these little guys! Hope Buttons feels better soon

I have little Cleo due pups in 2 and a half weeks. Beginning to worry as it will be her first litter. Just hoping it all goes to plan and will have no complications!

[Franceen]

Hi Meggie

I was so sorry to hear about Button's hayfever. I think it is a bad year for hay fever as even little Toots has been sneezing.

I thought I would just mention that you can get Piriton in a syrup form which should be far easier for you to administer to Button. Perhaps you could ask your vet about it. It is not expensive either. I have been told that Benadryl liquid for children is very good and widely used for dogs. I bought some just in case Tootsy got stung by a bee (she loves 'playing' with bees!?). I was told half a teaspoon of the children's Benadryl is all they need. I would check up with your vet as it would go by weight. I would hate having to split those tiny yellow Piriton tablets into 8!! Is is even possible!?

I hope Button responds to the treatment.

Luv & Hugs

Yvonne xx

[Meggie]

It is just about possible with the aid of the pill splitter, though the last 8th sometimes ends up more like dust! But the splitter contains it so I can sprinkle it on a bit of pate. It's the best £5 the I've ever spent at the vets as I'd have no chance with a kitchen knife.
He actually comes and queues up for his pills when he hears me getting the pate out of the fridge.....radar ears, he can spot that it's the pate tub from two rooms away

The Piriton syrup sounds easier. Is it a paedriatric one? Should be easier to get the dose right, the pills the vet gave are 4mg, so he has 1/2mg a time by that reckoning.

Franceen, I saw people on here recommending Benedryl but when I checked it on the web it said the base of it was a different anti-hystamine here than in America, even though it's the same brand, so I was a bit unsure about giving it him. Should have asked the vet but forgot. If I do have to take him back, I'll ask if it's ok to give that as an alternative.

He's quite a bit better today. Luckily the anti-inflammatories aren't making him wee more, though he does drink more. Can't tell about the increased appetite as he's always been a gannet His breeder had kept him very thin in hope him not exceeding the show weight limit as he was the prettiest of his first litter by an American champion he'd paid lots of money to buy & import. But he grew a bit too much so I got him a 5 months.

Meggie xx

[GurleyGirl]

My Rocky was a little congested/hacking... etc... last week... (I wasn't feeling so hot either)... anyway... I gave him children's Benadryl for three days and he is just fine now (me too... I took nothing...)... It's the weather!!.. and allergy season!!

[Franceen]

Yes the Piriton syrup is for children as young as 1yr. It is says on the bottle 2mg (150ml) Not sure what that means as regards the actual dosage but your vet will know. It will be much easier to use.

I had a look at the Benadryl last night and I see that it is not the same ingredient as the American one. How strange? I have used it for Toots and she was fine. It seemed to help her sneezing. Let us know what the vet says if you do go back to him. I would be interested to know. We are really experiencing a bad hay fever season this year. My husband and I are both taking antihistamines!

Has Button improved significantly on the Piriton? If so, how quickly did he respond - within a day or longer? I just want to compare it to the Benadryl I am using.

I do hope he is a lot better.

Luv

Franceen xx

[Meggie]

Hi Franceen.
Yes Button has improved. I can't say it was immediate. It took about 3 days before there was a really noticable difference, but he was very bad, very bunged up poor lad. But I've yet to test how much is down to the Piriton & how much to the cortisoid pills he's taking as well. Today is his last day for those, then he'll just be on Piriton & that's what the vet wants to see, how he goes on just on those. If it controls his symptoms, he doesn't need to go back till the end of July, if not he'll be there next week for more tests, so fingers crossed!

Apart from the splitting into 8ths, I'm finding no problem getting the pills into him. He has it in a bit of pate & queues up at the fridge door
But then he's always been a bit of a gannet from being half starved by his breeder in the hope of keeping him within show weight.

I noticed a mother buying baby Piriton syrup at the pharmacy in Tesco yesterday so, if I get fed up with doing the splits, I can get some
xx
Meggie

[Franceen]

Thanks for the reply, Meggie. I hope the Piriton, on it's own, will be sufficient to stop the allergies. Would you give us an update on this when you know? Did the Piriton make Button sleepy at all? If the pill splitting isn't too bad then I would just stick to it, as Tootsy hated the taste of the Benadryl liquid and I had to give her some goats milk immediately afterwards, which she gulped down! It is amazing to me that that tiny pill can be split into 8! Must be a really good pill splitter. What make is it?

Luv
Franceen xx

[Meggie]

Hi Franceen.
Well, so far so good. He's been off the stronger pills for 5 days now & the Piriton seems to be coping, touch wood!!
He's still a bit snuffly in the morning first thing, but it passes once he's up & about & hardly noticable during the day.

The Piriton hasn't made him sleepy. The vet said it would but he forgot to tell Button
He's a funny little dog anyway. He hardly ever sleeps during the day, a real bundle of energy, always up to something.....quite often pinching things he shouldn't like pens, mobile phones, the TV remote yesterday
But then at bedtime he zonks...sleeps like a log & is worse than a teenager at getting up in the morning......my husband calls him Kevin

The pill splitter is a miracle of science
A dark blue, clear, plastic box that's hinged. Inside there's a triangular bit where you wedge the pill, then you close it & a tiny, lethally sharp blade in the lid cuts it in half. You just have to repeat it on smaller & smaller sections. The hard part is getting the quarter to sit in place in the V while you close the box.
It didn't come in a packet but has "PILOMAT" stamped on the bottom & cost £5 at the vet's. Worth it's weight in gold.
xx
Meggie

[Franceen]

Thanks for the update, Meggie. So pleased that Button is coping on the Piriton. Hopefully, next year we won't have such a high pollen level. It is unusually high pollen level this year.

I loved the fact that your husband calls him Kevin! LOL! Tootsy gets irritable if she is woken up too early, too. When she wants to go to sleep, she will growl at us (or if that doesn't work she will bark), if we have the light on for too long or make any noise. She is a real character! She likes to have a morning cuddle and if I get up too early she will bark at me until I get back into bed and give her a cuddle. She looks so cute with just her little head peeking out of the duvet and nestled into my neck or on the pillow next to my face. Sometimes I can hardly breathe as her head is so close to my face!

I am going to keep a look out for the pill cutter as it sounds excellent and a very handy thing to have.

Luv & hugs
Yvonne xx