Jenna has some random infection?

[Jenna AK]

So we took her in today on standby to the first available vet at our usual practice. She's been scratching her ears and face, scooting or walking kind of stiffly during walks, not eating as well (although her lower belly always looks full, to the point it almost seems distended) and had weed the carpet twice in a week and a half. (Jenna NEVER wets the rug, she has excellent potty skills.) I noticed her vaginal opening was red and sore in a few spots last night after our evening walk (since she sleeps in the bed with me, I always rinse her bum and feet) and she had been licking herself quite a bit in the last day or so; something else I really never see her do. I always try to keep her clean. It looked like she was straining at toilet earlier today as well, so I mentioned this to the vet too.

Doctor took an overall look at her, listened to the list of symptoms and decided she needed to get a urine sample (the one they take with a needle...ouch!) and checked her ears as well as giving Jenna a nail trim, she needed one anyway and she was scratching so much. The ears and the urine came out okay, but her temp was a bit elevated (103.5 I think-but it was hot here today for Alaska) and so the doctor figured she had an infection of some kind (never mentioned what she thought it was though). She gave me a choice of a topical ointment for the vaginal redness or Biomox/amoxidrops 50 mg, 1.5 ml twice a day for ten days. I took the drops because if she's got an infection that needs clearing up, and knowing how much she is washing herself, there was no way an ointment was going to get much done.

Jenna is 6.8 pounds (holds her weight well for not really enjoying eating at the moment-of course she'll have to have food before her doses) but I don't think I've ever had to give her antibiotics before, so I wanted to ask if anyone else here has experience with this drug? Anything I should look out for as far as a bad reaction? Should I also maybe put a little neosporin on her private area while she is on this to be sure the redness goes away, or could a too wet bum be the reason she got this in the first place? And any other info anyone can post to help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thankies in advance for your kind responses. Sorry I haven't been in here much in the last year, I've had so much going on in my life lately that I don't get online much at all anymore. Hope everyone here is having a good summer! (My thoughts are with everyone who's having to deal with the horrendous heat in the lower 48! Stay cool!)

[AllDogBoots]

Poor Jenna. I hope she gets some relief soon. I don't have any experience with this issue or medication buy I'm sure someone will be able to help you. I was actually going to email you today to see how everything is.

[kjc]

Sounds like she may need her anal glands expressed...

[Jenna AK]

Hi Karen! (waves) Good to see you too! Sorry we've been away from YT so long. How are your little sweethearts? We'll be needing some new booties soon for the wet months. Her little yellow ones have become rather sticky and tacky and don't open/fit as well as they used to.

I gave her the first dose about an hour ago and she seems to be tolerating it well. At the same time this week, I've got ten days of Baytril to give to one of my house bunnies, so it's kind of dicey having to be sure I don't carry any of Jenna's medicine on my hands to him. Any oral penicillin is deadly for rabbits.

kjc...Oh dear...I hadn't thought of that. 0_o Is it something that I could do for her, or does a vet have to do it? I often clean my bunnies' glands, and I did have to have my cats' done by the vet some months ago. I'm not even sure I can find Jenna's.
I don't smell anything foul on her. Shouldn't they be stinky if they are full?

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Jenna AK

Hi Karen! (waves) Good to see you too! Sorry we've been away from YT so long. How are your little sweethearts? We'll be needing some new booties soon for the wet months. Her little yellow ones have become rather sticky and tacky and don't open/fit as well as they used to.

I gave her the first dose about an hour ago and she seems to be tolerating it well. At the same time this week, I've got ten days of Baytril to give to one of my house bunnies, so it's kind of dicey having to be sure I don't carry any of Jenna's medicine on my hands to him. Any oral penicillin is deadly for rabbits.

kjc...Oh dear...I hadn't thought of that. 0_o Is it something that I could do for her, or does a vet have to do it? I often clean my bunnies' glands, and I did have to have my cats' done by the vet some months ago. I'm not even sure I can find Jenna's.
I don't smell anything foul on her. Shouldn't they be stinky if they are full?

You could medicate the bunnie first...

Glands won't smell unless they are expressed or leaking. They can become impacted. With all her symptoms, you may want to run her into the vet, but have him show you how to do it...or there are a ton of U-Tube videos on the subject.

[Jenna AK]

Originally Posted by kjc

You could medicate the bunnie first...

Holy cow, I must be going senile...why didn't I think of that? *foreheadslap* Thanks, hon.

Originally Posted by kjc

Glands won't smell unless they are expressed or leaking. They can become impacted. With all her symptoms, you may want to run her into the vet, but have him show you how to do it...or there are a ton of U-Tube videos on the subject.

Thanks again...I'll go look a few up. We just took her in today and I've got to take my daughter in to an oral surgeon in the next few days for an extraction. We'll try to get another appointment with my usual vet (who only works weekends now) if I can't figure this out on my own.

[AllDogBoots]

Wouldn't the vet have checked her anal glands?

[Jenna AK]

Sorry for not getting back to you, Karen. I've had a heck of a week. Had to rush to my doc yesterday for palpitations that I was certain were a heart attack. Everything turned out okay though. *whew*

You would think they'd check them, but I've had some recurring difficulty with this vet group: my best and favorite only works weekends now and we had to take Jenna in on a Thursday. So I got one that I have a lot of difficulty getting along with.

I looked at a demonstration for the gland cleaning. Will have to give it a try as we're on the last of the amoxicillin and she still is having trouble. I think she may have actually peed just a little on the bedclothes today...I could smell something odd and she was acting kind of guilty. Here 'area' is still a bit reddened and she continues to lick at it quite a bit. Poor baby.

Anyway, I'll be calling the vet office tomorrow. Hopefully I'll manage to get hold of the one doctor I like there. We still need some treatment, apparently.

[kjc]

Glad you are okay!

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

Wouldn't the vet have checked her anal glands?

Sometimes the anal glands are overlooked, or when there is a problem with them and they are expressed, they can fill up again quickly and need to be expressed again.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Jenna AK

Sorry for not getting back to you, Karen. I've had a heck of a week. Had to rush to my doc yesterday for palpitations that I was certain were a heart attack. Everything turned out okay though. *whew*

You would think they'd check them, but I've had some recurring difficulty with this vet group: my best and favorite only works weekends now and we had to take Jenna in on a Thursday. So I got one that I have a lot of difficulty getting along with.

I looked at a demonstration for the gland cleaning. Will have to give it a try as we're on the last of the amoxicillin and she still is having trouble. I think she may have actually peed just a little on the bedclothes today...I could smell something odd and she was acting kind of guilty. Here 'area' is still a bit reddened and she continues to lick at it quite a bit. Poor baby.

Anyway, I'll be calling the vet office tomorrow. Hopefully I'll manage to get hold of the one doctor I like there. We still need some treatment, apparently.

Did the vet find a UTI? Possible she may need a different antibiotic if she's not improving .... full anal glands can be very painful and can stop them from having BMs, which then makes them not too interested in their food.

If her urine has a strong odor to it, it could mean that she's not drinking enough water. Other illnesses/conditions can also cause the urine to smell, but I won't go into them now...

[kjc]

If she's still scratching her ears and face, that could mean she may have food allergies... is it worse right after she eats?

Also that would be cause for the anal gland issue. Is she on a chicken based food? Chicken is the #1 allergen in foods in small dogs. May want to change to a different protein source.