How dogs resemble their owners
This weekend when I was cleaning Bandit's ears, I noticed a bump that was bleeding so this morning I called the vet and took him in, expecting them to tell me it was a common problem and wouldn't hurt anything.
It's in fact a very uncommon problem in young dogs. It's common once they get older in their immune system starts breaking down, but when they're younger it's not supposed to happen. He thinks it's an inflammatory polyp caused by a yeast infection in Bandit's ears, which in turn is probably caused by food allergies, and the fact that Bandit's overweight doesn't help him. So I got a lecture on not letting my dog be fat, what food allergies mean in dogs, and what I should feed him, which is a ridiculously expensive prescription dog food that while based on the same proteins as other dog foods, is already broken down so the dog's system doesn't recognize it. He has to be on this diet for 10-12 weeks and can't eat anything else. Not even lick the bowl of another dog who has eaten a different food. He can't even play with toys that might have food remnants on them. Eeek! First, I'm going to have to feed Brooklyn the ridiculously expensive food. Then, I'll have to throw away all their toys, and Bandit won't really be able to go anywhere where other dogs eat or chew on toys. Poor little peanut. Oh! and he's getting fed half as much food from now on!
I also have drops I need to put in his ears every day for 2 weeks and if his ear doesn't get better, then we have to go back to the vet. This is a bummer, for sure, but hopefully this will be the solution. Otherwise we're looking at thyroid and cancer tests, and I'd rather just have him have a food allergy. The biggest hurdle is going to be the stupid cat and how bandit enjoys getting into the litter box.
The funny part is his diet is very similar to the diet I was on last year because of the extra yeast in my tummy. So I'm probably taking this more personally than a lot of other people would, but he's my little munchkin and I want him around for a long time. I know the vet's speech was meant to scare me, but he did a good job!!
It's in fact a very uncommon problem in young dogs. It's common once they get older in their immune system starts breaking down, but when they're younger it's not supposed to happen. He thinks it's an inflammatory polyp caused by a yeast infection in Bandit's ears, which in turn is probably caused by food allergies, and the fact that Bandit's overweight doesn't help him. So I got a lecture on not letting my dog be fat, what food allergies mean in dogs, and what I should feed him, which is a ridiculously expensive prescription dog food that while based on the same proteins as other dog foods, is already broken down so the dog's system doesn't recognize it. He has to be on this diet for 10-12 weeks and can't eat anything else. Not even lick the bowl of another dog who has eaten a different food. He can't even play with toys that might have food remnants on them. Eeek! First, I'm going to have to feed Brooklyn the ridiculously expensive food. Then, I'll have to throw away all their toys, and Bandit won't really be able to go anywhere where other dogs eat or chew on toys. Poor little peanut. Oh! and he's getting fed half as much food from now on!
I also have drops I need to put in his ears every day for 2 weeks and if his ear doesn't get better, then we have to go back to the vet. This is a bummer, for sure, but hopefully this will be the solution. Otherwise we're looking at thyroid and cancer tests, and I'd rather just have him have a food allergy. The biggest hurdle is going to be the stupid cat and how bandit enjoys getting into the litter box.
The funny part is his diet is very similar to the diet I was on last year because of the extra yeast in my tummy. So I'm probably taking this more personally than a lot of other people would, but he's my little munchkin and I want him around for a long time. I know the vet's speech was meant to scare me, but he did a good job!!