I've been insanely busy this week, so I haven't had much time to post...but I'd thought I'd do an update on Madison.
She's doing WONDERFULLY. I am completely amazed at what a great dog she is still managing to be after all those years of little/no human contact. I was honestly expecting her to have behavioral problems out the wazoo....but she's really bordering on perfect.
She lived outside for 3 years, and before that, was house trained despite the fact that she wasn't taken out to potty on a regular basis. I never imagined that she would still be house trained in any way shape or form. It's been a week, and she has not had
one single accident. [sm=eek.gif]
She was very, very subdued the first couple of days. She has honestly never been treated like a member of the family...even when she was living inside, no one payed any real attention to her. So at first, she really wasn't sure what to do, or where she fit in. But after a few days of being treated like complete royalty (I admit she's getting some preferential treatment right now [
]) she's really starting to come out of her shell. She VERY quickly took over my whole pack ( not surprising since she's the only bitch) and while I was worried about having 5 dogs in the house, it now actually seems like there are fewer dogs than before...she's that good at keeping everyone (especially Butter) in line. The other dogs love her, and she loves bossing them around, so everyone is pretty happy.
Her ONLY bad habit is that she's a food thief! I discovered this after I left a berry cobbler on the counter to cool and came back to find half of it missing and Madison with what looked like blood all over her face. [8|] Not surpring, since she wasn't fed on a regular basis before, and not really a big deal...we'll just have to learn not to leave any food lying around.
She is, hands down, the smartest dog I've ever met...but I already knew that about her. She remembers ALL of her obedience, and is completely perfectly behaved at all times. Being a retriever, she absolutely loves to fetch, and loves splashing around in our creek. One thing she does that I actually forgot she knows how to do...is find things! You can show her an object, or give her any scent, and then hide that object and say "Where is it?" and she won't stop until she finds it...and she always finds it. She's fantastic at it and she loves it. She'd make someone a great search and rescue dog. [
]
Callie (calliecritturs) has been helping me through all of this, and has been absolutely amazing...she's spent hours on the phone with me helping me diagnose Madison and treat her, and she's even helping me find a holistic vet who won't overvaccinate her given her already weakened immune system. She has sarcoptic mange, a fungal infection (due to the sarcops going untreated for so long), an ear infection, and is *probably* hypothyroid as well.
The sarcops is being treated with Ivermectin, and she's already stopped scratching...which, according to Callie, means the mites are actually dead. More will continue to hatch out, and she'll need more doses of Ivomec, but we've gotten it under control so she can finally get some relief and begin to heal. I had a fecal done on Monday, and she was positive for rounds, but not hooks or whips, and the Ivomec will take care of the rounds. Her ear infection is being treated with Blue Power, which Callie gave me the recipe for, and that's already starting to look better. She's getting TONS of echinacea for the next few weeks to boost her immune system, Benadryl to fight allergies, Missing Link supplement (which is LOADED with good stuff) lots of fish oil, flax, and NutraJoint to help rebuild the cartilidge in her hips...since she's really showing signs of some arthritis.
The first thing Callie had me do was bathe her in Benzoyl Peroxide soap, and I'm continuing to bathe her with that weekly, along with Selsan Blue. Daily, she's getting sprayed down with diluted Tea Tree Oil, which is great for the fungus.
What hair she does have is already MUCH softer and shinier. Her skin, now that she's no longer scratching constantly, is starting to soften up and feel less calloused. I think we're getting the fungus under control as well, since she smells considerably less yeasty than she did a week ago. Overall I'm VERY pleased with the progress I'm seeing already.
Right now the plan is to continue with what I have listed above, until I can get things worked out with a good holistic vet. (Which Callie is helping me with.) Then we'll probably get her titers done, since I suspect she may still have immunity from being vaccinated at an earlier age, and if she DOES need to be vaccinated, we'll get that done after she's recovered, since I do NOT want to add any extra stress to her immune system right now given what she's already dealing with. Then she needs a FULL thyroid panel, and then whatever else she needs for her skin. For now though, even though she has yet to be vetted, we're making headway. [
]
So, some pictures! These are from her first day here, before and just after a bath:
And these were taken yesterday or the day before. I think I can already see some small improvement in her coat.
And the whole family!
