My sisters dog

[Trinity]

I just recently moved in with my sister. Last year, she found a puppy she really wanted at a shelter, she didnt have the money so I bought him for her. This is Jack, cuddling with my cat.



Well, recently Ive noticed that he's starting to lose fur, at first it was just on his neck, but now its on his back, butt and tail as well. I told my sister, because I think it might be mange. She doesn't care, says its not mange and she's not wasting money on the vet. I dont have the money to take him to the vet. I dont know what to do. In October, her husband's being deployed and she's going back to our mother's house for the year he's deployed, leaving me at the house, and she said she's leaving him with me. She doesn't take care of him at all, he goes days without being fed, hes never let out and hit when he has an accident. I was thinking about while she's gone trying to save up to get my own apartment and taking him with me, and keeping him, since I take better care of him. But what apartment would let me bring a 70 pound dog? I really regret buying him for her.

Here's a picture of his neck so you can see what I mean.



Anyone have any advice? I love this dog and I hate to see him suffering.

[KaylaBlue]

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1593&aid=421

I don't know if I can help you any by putting this up. I know my 8 year old Lab (Is he a lab?), Tessa, starting pulling her butt and chest hair out about a year ago. She didn't have fleas, but just dry skin. At first, we added a tablespoon or two of vegetable (not olive!) oil to her dry food every day, and not only did that help make her skin less itchy, but it also made her coat shiny and soft. After awhile of that, my mom just got a really expensive (upwards of $40 for 35 pounds) dog food that Tessa adores, which took the place of the extra oil. I am figuring if you don't have enough money take Jake to the vets, you won't have enough to buy him this, though. I would go with the Canola/Vegetable oil, which really helped Tessa.

Also, the other problem could be as you said, mange. We had a fox once, who came to our yard eying our chickens, and quite obviously was suffering from severe mange. He/She must have rubbed up against the low brush when leaving, because later, my dogs picked up mange. Not only Tessa, but Tessa AND Rocco were scratching like mad. It made trying to sleep horrible as their collars would jingle on their necks, and someone would have to take them off in the middle of the night. We eventually had to get shots for Tessa, but for Rocco, we just bought some Doggie Dandruff Shampoo, and had a big ol' bath. However, if you chose to do that, DON'T USE HUMAN SHAMPOO - it would irritate his skin even more.

Well, I hope that that helped a little, but in the long term, if your sister can't take care of him the way that she should be taking care of him, take him back to the shelter. If it is a larger shelter, they will probably test him for mange, and put him in isolation if he has it (because of how contagious it is.) If it is no-kill, they will more than likely treat him for it, and find him a great new home. Please, take him back if you are almost positive it is mange, and you've tried both of the home remedies that I mentioned above - without change, and yet you still refuse to bring him to the vet. It isn't worth making an animal suffer if you don't have the resources to take care of him.

Good Luck,

Kayla

[Trinity]

It's not that I refuse to tske him to the vet, She does. In october when she goes away I plan on taking him and getting him checked out for that and get him all his overdue shots. I just wanna see if she'll take any initiative to take care of her dog while she's here.

And the shelter i got him from was a kill shelter. I live in the south, not many shelters ive seen down here are no kill.

And thank you for the advice, ill try adding the vegetable oil to his food.

[*~Trent~*]

October may be late is he has mange. Look on the internet for a no-kill shelter, even if is 5 hours away, you dogs life will be worth it.

[SomebodyDude]

>.<

I would recomend to keep the dog away from your sister. If the dog sometimes goes days without food and is hit/beaten it could be considered animal abuse.

Read this..

http://www.mange-in-dogs.com/

It explains more about mange in dogs. To me it does look a bit like mange. But first thing is first, I would recomend taking your dog to a good vet first. If the mange infection is too far along it could kill him. Some vets will try to find pets foster homes if the owners can not afford to take care of/cure their pets. There are several kinds of mange so I would figure out if Jack really has it or just very dry skin.

Is he bitting at the area? I would also recomend getting a cone for him if he is. Putting some pet safe aloe vera on it may also help with any pain or discomefort he may be in. But dogs [like mine] like to lick it off and eat it. >.< It will not cure him but it may help some. MAKE SURE though it is Pet-safe otherwise it could end up making it muck worse for poor Jack.

Also, if you decide you can't afford to help Jack, just take care of him, or just don't want your sister to hit him and neglect him any more, it would be well worth your time and or trouble to take him to a no-kill shelter. At least then he has a second chance for a new life.

I will keep Jack in my prayers for ya.

I hope I helped.

Good luck hun,

SD

[wolfgirl159357]

from my knowlage of mange, it is caused by mite, under the skin and ,just as a heads up, certain mange can spread to people and other animals, also it can be very painful ofr him. I belive that the contandious one is Cercoptic mage, and is easier to treat, but i belive the non-contagious one is Demondex mage but it is harder to treat. And i dont mean to be mean but if your sister is beating her dog, report her to to your nearest ASPCA and maybe they will allow you custody of him, and also i live in the South and there are plenty of No-kill shelters you just have to do a bit of research . Plus you couldmaybe go to court for custody if she does not agree?

[Trinity]

Thanks guys! I was thinking while she's gone in october I was gonna get my own apartment, taking him with me and not letting her know where i went. And I wanna get him to the vet now to get him diagnosed, but see if i can wait for treatment, ask the vet if there's anything I can do until october when i'll have the money to care for him better.

I don't wanna give him up, because I know I can take good care of him. So, my only choice is to keep him with me until she leaves. And make sure I feed him and let him out. Although, he already spends all his time with me, which my sister hates. She'll sit there and call and call and call him and he wont come so she'll grab him by the collar and drag him out of my room.

[Cocodri]

Jack obviously knows who really loves him

Sadly, that looks like Demodectic mange to me. I had two dogs - both rescues - come down with it some years ago. One dog recovered. I had to have the other put down. If that is what it is the treatment is expensive and lengthy. So I just really hope I am wrong.

It sound like your sister may have problems that go well beyond not taking good care of her dog. I hope she doesn't have (or plan to have) kids.

Bless you for planning to make such an effort to give Jack a good home. Wish I could help.

[wolfgirl159357]

Ditto here Cocodri, i see that you are very concerned, and if the dog is in your name then you can take him back as it is legally your dog, i belive.

[Trinity]

He's not in my name, I stupidly went with them and bought him, but her put him in her name. And she does have a child, a 5 month old baby boy.

And I just found out that she might be taking him with her in October. I hope she doesn't, but one day she syas she's leaving him here, the next she says she's taking him with her. If she does decide she's definately taking him, I may have to take him to a no kill shelter, or give him to someone on craigslist, and tell her he ran away.

[Vitani]

Poor little Jack-man!

I completely understand how he is feeling....I suffer terrible skin irritations myself, and my puplet gets chronic bouts of seborrhea Its possible that Jack may have this instead of mange as they can appear to be very similar in some cases...The only way to absolutely confirm it is a vet visit where they will take swabs and things....

Either way, its pretty much a life sentance - Whichever one he has, he will always have to be kept an eye on for reoccurance. I don't know about in the States, but 9 out of 10 mange cases in the pounds here are NOT adopted out, due to the ongoing expense and level of care that will be required of the new owners...You may want to take that into account if you take him to a shelter unfortunately.

Bathing helps with medicated shampoo, as do medications - You may be given steroids, antifungals, antibiotics, or all 3 depending on what he's got. There are some good creams available over-the-counter too, but NEVER use anything for people unless the vet themselves suggests it...

Theres every possibility he's just having an allergic reaction to something...Fleas in particular can cause a serious amount of damage, one bite in a sensitive dog can cause terrible rashes which leads to biting, licking, hair pulling etc...If he is always licking and biting it opens up the skin to secondary infections which is even worse. A good test is sniff him....If he stinks, and I mean not in that whiffy doggy way, but genuinely smells putrid, theres a good chance of a bacterial infection...And they aren't pleasant

Diet changes can help...A low allergy diet of rice, chicken and veggies can sometimes work wonders. Oil is a great supplement if the problem is caused by dry skin, but in cases of seborrhea oleosa it can do more harm than good. Check out his environment too...Something he touches every day without a problem may now be irritationg him..It happens. Washing bedding frequently can help, and keeping surfaces clean. I'm in absolutely NO WAY implying that where he lives is filthy, just saying that something as simple as that can sometimes help...But don't use chemical products...Again, can make it worse. I clean my little ones kennel with baking soda and vinegar, wash her bedding in my soap powder (hyper sensitive ) hang her bedding in the sun every day, vacuum all carpeted areas every day, etc etc etc......What helps me keep the allergies down helps her too. Win win

At the end of the day....You really can't get around it...He'll need a vet visit My thoughts are with him...Cause it sucks being itchy all the time


As to what to do about the situation with your sister......I'm going to do the good thing and just not put in my two cents. I'm sure you can probably guess what I would say anyway...No need to upset you further.

*cookies for you, Jack and cute Mr kitty*


I'll take some pictures of fatty...She's in the middle of a bad outbreak so it'll give you some idea what it can look like...

[wolfgirl159357]

hmmm then perhaps you can take him to a no-kill shelter and see if you can get custody over him, if she has been abusing him, then she can be charged with animal curuelty, and get you custody of him, i belive.

[Ferox]

Speaking as a vet, if you think he has mange buy some Advocate (made by Bayer).

It treats both types of mange (may require several doses though), will certainly help if he has a flea allergy and since I'm assuming he's not wormed, will partly worm him as well. You don't need a prescription for it, most vets (and some pet stores) stock it, it's easy to apply and is a good first step before seeing a vet.

Just no baths in the 2 days before and 2 days after applying it.

You can also put it on the dog easily without having to confront the whole awkward situation with your sister. Remember that if you fight about it, she may stop you seeing the dog.

*Keep in mind that I haven't looked at the dog or examined his skin so this is the only advice I can really give you over the net.

[Drmchaser]

Whatever you do, do not let her take the dog with her, she is letting that poor dog go days without eating that is animal cruelty. If you let her take him you will be contributing to his neglect. Tell her that you are taking the dog back and if you have too get the police involved and let them know what is going on just in case she tries something. You cannot let her take that dog knowing that she is abusive to him. Ask her "Would you like to go days without eating?" Look around in your area, there are probably some discount vets that you can take him too that won't cost as much. Good luck with Jack and hopefully you can keep him with you and be his forever home.

[Vitani]

Sorry it took so long, had to get new batteries lol >.<

This is what poor baldy butts rear end looks like...Its localized to her hip area this time...2 months ago it was her back but as you can see, all healed and fur regrown nicely....The grey looking area in the first photo is where her fur isin't quite the proper length yet, it catches the light angle pretty badly >.< She doesn't look grey in rl lol! It doesn't take long, thankfully.









She has seborrhea oleosa