Buddy was rechecked two weeks after


his initial presentation and all was going well, but not fully resolved. He was rechecked again after two more weeks and the infection was all resolved and the ear swabs were negative when rechecked under the microscope. Buddy is a Labrador who loves to swim. He loves to go into the pool at home and play in the pool at dog- gie daycare. Getting his ears repeatedly damp and not sufficiently dry could be a predisposing reason for the ear infection. Also, Buddy does have a tendency to have itchy skin with scratching and licking of his paws. The veterinarian feels that Buddy does have allergies (atopy) and this may also be a reason for his ear infection. The vet- erinarian cautioned that if Buddy should continue to have ear infections or his itch- ing gets any more significant, then we need to address those underlying causes. If we don’t address the underlying factors, then the skin disease and ear disease will be an ongoing battle and Buddy will suffer. After each swimming episode, an ear


cleaner with a drying agent is used to gen- tly clean the ears. This should help to


reduce the humidity and moisture factor associated with ear infections. Ultimately, Buddy will most likely


need allergy testing and immunotherapy to desensitize him to his allergens. Allergy medication (Apoquel, Cytopoint) to con- trol the itch cycle, allergy diet or hypoaller- genic diet, omega fatty acids, antihistamines and medicated shampoo to provide opti- mum allergy control may be needed. Integrated therapy with acupuncture and herbal treatments may also be utilized for Buddy’s care. This is a condition that requires dedication and long term therapy. But, Buddy is a part of the family and deserves no less.


U Y


Dr. Timothy Hodge, DVM is the owner of Harbourside Animal Hospital in the Channelside District of Tampa. 813.229.3322,


and Cross Creek Animal Medical Centre


in North Tampa. 813.994.6929. Check out the special they’re running on Heartgard & NexGard (below).


How Dogs See The World.


Dogs are basically color blind. The number of colors our dogs can perceive is much smaller than the wide array most of us humans enjoy. They mainly see blues, yellows, and grays. To a dog a “safety orange” tennis ball and green grass have the same color. Dogs can better see a blue ball on green grass. Keep this in mind the next time you shop for a dog toy.


www.TheNewBarker.com


Spring 2017 THE NEW BARKER 71


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104