Tough couple weeks for the pup.
Two weeks ago we came back from a hunt, and despite me looking over him pretty closely, I found 4 ticks on Teddy a couple days later. Unfortunately they were buried pretty good and I really had to dig to get them out.
Besides squirming out of puppy curiosity over the tweezers, he didn’t seem to mind, but there were four good-sized bumps that are still in the process of healing today. The bumps don’t seem to bother him much and aren’t infected, but I’m a little concerned about Lyme Disease, as they were a species that can carry it (western black legged ticks).
I’ve previously had a dog with Lyme’s and it did affect him, so I’m watching it closely.
Then part 2: earlier this week another health issue– he and another Vizsla pup were running to get out the door and jammed each other at the frame.
Teddy starting howling and crying something awful and I was sure he broke his right front leg, as he started limping terribly and flopping his foot forward lamely.
After a couple of minutes he started prancing around again, but I could tell he wasn’t playing as hard as normal because he was letting that other younger, smaller Viz pup mount and dominate him. Not his normal MO.
I decided to take him to the vet yesterday and the diagnosis is a sprain, not broken, which is good, right? However, the hard part is for him to “take it easy”– which the vet noted was going to be a challenge for a puppy. And it has.
He’s going nuts in the house without his daily park times, to the point he’s running around, diving under the couch, and, yup, hurting himself all over again– crying, limping, and coming to me expecting a solution.
Well, here’s the solution, pup: stop being so gdam clumsy and chill out for a couple of days. Do they make straitjackets for dogs?
Re. the ticks– I’m not thrilled with the idea of throwing Frontline or other harsh chemicals on my pup, for his sake and that of my young kids. I don’t trust those long term treatments to be benign.
I have read about putting tea tree oil, or sandalwood, on as a short term repellant before I go out to the field for the day.
Has anyone had success with that, or other tick treatments?
Thanks in advance for any wisdom.
PS– I have found one thing that seems to calm him down– a fire! First fire in the hearth this season and he walked right up and made himself comfortable and cozy. Nice to know, hopefully it will stay chilly!
rookiebird 