Monday, March 28, 2011

Allergy Meds for Me!

Today, my Mama came by my house and gave me a surprise visit. She doesn't normally visit on Mondays! Then she told me we are going for a ride! Here I am, riding shotgun in Mama's car!
I thought, "well geez...its about time lady, you haven't taken me anywhere in forever!" I was so excited to be going for a ride...."where are we going Mama? Are we going to the Doggy Park?" It sure did look and seem like we were going to the park....I saw a pup walking with their human!But instead, look where we ended up....at Love Pet Hospital....my Vet! YUCK!
Why are we at the Vet's you might ask...well, its because it is Spring and I've developed a serious Allergy with Live Oak pollen, and I've been itchy and scratchy for the last week. I've been licking, scratching, biting, gnawing, rolling and anything else that may relieve the itch around the clock. I've been keeping Daddy up at night because I've been too busy relieving my discomfort. As you all may recall, the same thing happened to me last year! Spring is here and I'm itchy and scratchy! So finally Mama insisted I get looked at! Here I am waiting for the Vet Tech!
First, came the weigh in. I don't usually like this part. In the past it had always meant that a diet would follow!

But lucky for me, this time I weighed in at 21.6 lbs. That is 0.2 lbs less than last November! Hurray for CoCo Puff...no diet for me!!!!
This is what I looked like when the actual Vet came in. I know she meant business. I don't know if hiding under the chair will help disguise me...hopefully she won't see me!
As usual, Dr. Davenport is not so bad. She actually is a total cuddle bug and always gives me lots of hugs and kisses. She makes sure I'm calm and comfortable before she looks me over!
It turned out, I was given an Allergy Shot to help relieve the itchiness and was prescribed 1/4 of a Zyrtec for future irritations. Yes...the human kind. We learned today that it is okay to give pups Zyrtec and Benadryl. It is 1/2 Zyrtec or 3/4 teaspoon of Benadryl for every 20lbs of dog. So to temporarily relieve allergies, I will be taking the same meds as my Daddy!

The Allergy Shot was a form of steroid shot. The side effects are: increase thirst, which leads to increased appetite, which leads to increase peeing and pooing! Excessive allergy shots can lead to muscular damage and liver problems, so a homeopathic method is recommended for pups that are highly allergic year round. Hopefully I'll not need anymore than this one shot!

Also, since I was excessively going after my tail, my Vet suggested that that was a sign that I needed my Anal Glands extracted....so needless to say, that was taken care of too. All in all, it was not a fun car ride, but I've gotten relief! Thanks Mama!

When we got back home, Mama gave me a whole cookie for being so good! I ate the whole thing! Yum!
Happy Spring Everyone....hopefully no more itchy and scratchiness!

CoCo Puff