Poor Roland!

Well, my stupid paranoia of yesterday doesn't look quite so stupid today.

Roland went in to be castrated this morning, but before I let them take him, I got them to have a good look at the scab on his chest (which by this stage had got infected), his scabby ears, and his swollen lip. The vet suspects demodectic mange. We discussed at length (two vets plus final year student) whether to go ahead with the op today. Senior vet said if he was hers, she would, so we pressed on, and agreed that they should biopsy the lip and chest, and take skin scrapes of the ears while he was anaesthetised.

Poor little scrap looks like an old patchwork quilt, with stitches everywhere. OH has taken Bongo out for a walk, so I've done Roly a Kong, and dug him out a squeaky toy to murder, so he's happy enough to be in his bed, even with that awful lampshade on his head!

Oh, and it looks like the anaesthetic has triggered a dose of colitis

Awh the poor critter!!! Hope he's feeling much better soon, bless him. At least he's got you to hand him out filled kongs and such like to keep him occupied and take his mind off all his aliments. xx

I'm sorry But I think your vet was really wrong to recommend the surgery. Demodex is triggered by a lowered immune system, your vet shoulda known that and not recommended any surgeries, vaccinations, or anything that could make it worse. Make sure you're feeding him a high quality dog food, give him plenty of exercise... well actually since he's just been neutered I guess not, but once he's recovered go ahead with the exercise. There are foods, and herbs that will help with boosting the immune system, just google treating demodex naturally, there is a few good sites that can help. I never use dips or meds on the pups that I foster with demodex (almost all of them have it coming off the reserve), and their fur is growing back within a couple of weeks. I believe that the dips especially make their recovery longer.

I'm sorry, how is a dog with an already lowered immune system supposed to fight off infection from a surgery? Your vet really should not have recommended that, I know my vet never would have.

Poor lad. I hope he is feeling better soon. Bless him. xx

Poor Roland Mange is a nightmare in itself. I hope your boy is feeling better, very soon x

Big {{{{Hugs }}}} to Roland, hope he is better soon.

Don't be sorry: you're entitled to voice your opinion about it Of course we discussed the suppressed immune system. You might not agree with our decision to go ahead with the op, but I don't think you could doubt the sheer weight of knowledge in this practice if you were familiar with them.

Roland is actually in better condition now than when we got him, about two months ago. He's gained muscle, grown the hair back on his ears, and is as bright and happy a dog as you could ever hope to meet. He's on good food, plenty of exercise, and a peaceful but stimulating home.

Thank you! I will certainly have a look around... knowledge is power!

Well I'm glad your vet did mention it to you then, it didn't sound in your post as if they did. Did they give him an antibiotic then to help fight off infection? I'd worry about the suppressed immune system with an op. The only dog our rescue ever had a problem with infection after a spay was a dog with demodex. I couldn't convince the prez that it would be detrimental and the vet we use for the rescue is a twit, so never even said anything about it, and didn't give her any antibiotics. She was so red and inflamed, poor girl! after that, the prez understood why I was against the op of a demodectic dog, and we haven't spayed/neutered one since.

I'm all for curing something naturally if it can be done with out harm to the dog, I'm not against meds, like some people, but with things like demodex, that isn't contagious, and not really painful unless it's really bad, I prefer a natural course.

I'm very glad he's on the mend already, it sucks when they're sick. keep it up Roland!

Yep, they gave him a course of antibiotics, and he's going to be reassessed by them twice before his stitches come out, in 10 days time. The vets there are fantastic for sharing information with us, and don't patronise us at all. Actually, with the amount of physiological and pharmacological detail they go into, I think they must think we're medics... I'm sure I've told them that I'm not that kind of doctor!

I'm pleased to say he's much brighter again today. These patterdales really are tough little dogs! I don't know how we're going to keep him quiet for all that time!

(((hugs)))) to Roland healing vibes sent xxxxxx