After yet another costly visit to the vet, we’ve once again found an affordable solution to a simple problem that a professional could not solve. As disappointing as these lessons have been, we are more determined than ever to rewrite the practices within the veterinarian industry.
Earlier this autumn, we visited Arizona for an extended period of time. We were excited to be staying at the Grand Canyon Village and hiking all of the incredible trails it has to offer. Fairly soon after arriving Havok started getting itchy, scratching himself an extremely unusual number of times on a regular basis. My immediate reaction was to administer flea and tick medicine onto his coat. He seemed to get a little better but eventually the itching resumed and spread. He started scratching his ears to the point where he was making himself bleed.
Our reaction to that was two-fold. We decided to actively stop him scratching every time he tried, to avoid reopening his scabs on the inside of his ears and we also took him to get his toenails clipped. We don’t usually clip Havok’s nails very frequently because we hike so much, his nails wear down naturally. The ground here is not as rocky as Colorado so his nails did not wear down as fast. Those changes didn’t really help the itching so we also tried an over the counter itch relief spray from Petco. An aloe vera product that we could spray and really reach his skin, we thought maybe there is nothing wrong with him he is just itchy because of the different environment here. The final straw was when he started licking and chewing on his toes. In particular, one day when he chewed so much on his toe that he made himself bleed a little bit. We decided to go to the vet, after doing a lot of research, we chose one specific vet clinic because the vet had a great background in holistic medicine.
An hour later and $220 dollars worse off, I walked out with several prescription drugs that were going to treat Havok’s itching and the potential infection on his chewed toe. At this point, I just wanted to do whatever would treat Havok’s problems. During that 10 days period of prescriptions drugs and cream, he didn’t itch, his ears healed and his toe began to look a lot better as well. I was very happy with the progress. But it was not to last.
He began occasionally scratching again so I called the vet. This time they said they would ask a specialist dermatologist for guidance from an outside vet clinic. Several days of chasing them later, the dermatologist recommended a new flea and tick treatment that costs $45 for one dose. I bit the bullet and got it. Again, no change. Now my option from the dermatologist was a $600 testing process to figure out what was wrong. I did not go down that route. Instead I decided to try an idea the vet offered the first time I went. What if it was an allergy issue? Human grade allergy treatments are actually very suitable for animals so Havok was going on Benadryl. Another 4 or 5 days later, no significant change. The vet just wanted to repeat the prescription drug treatment in case either the infection or the irritation was not treated fully the first time. I am always the first person to decline such a recommendation, we will avoid a prescription epidemic discussion here, I just wasn’t doing it again. I had one final trick up my sleeve and I wanted to try it first. It was always an idea Savannah pushed but it got to a point when we both thought the issue was far more extensive for such a simple solution.
On our next 160 mile round trip to Flagstaff, Havok was coming with us and getting a bath. Especially since my order of natural bite and itch relief dog shampoo had arrived. Let’s just say, after that bath, Havok itched himself maybe once in 3 weeks. Whatever it was, the bath was the magic trick. The bath fixed everything and he stopped scratching, 2 months later he still doesn’t have any issues.
If you are experiencing similar issues with your dog, always try the simplest solution as early on as you can. I’m sure if I had taken the same course of action in October, I would have an extra $300 in my pocket. Unfortunately, my only experience with veterinarians was buying expensive patented drugs and when Havok didn’t improve, the solution was more drugs. There was no holistic approach ever recommended, not even a bath.
Have you recently relocated? Is your pup finding it difficult to adjust in a similar way to Havok? Try giving them a bath. I even recommend Organic Oscar Holisitc Bite and Itch Relief shampoo, I paid just over $8 on Thrive Market*.
Want to try the shampoo on your pooch? You can get it here for an extra 25% off.
*We like to think of Thrive Market as your one-stop-shop with a Whole Foods meets Costco kinda’ vibe. With a year-long membership we save hundreds of dollars on the highest quality foods & supplements for both our furry friends, and ourselves. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Try it for yourself with a free month to try it out and get an extra 25% off of already heavily-discounted items.
Leave a Comment