Question:
Back in september of '06 i bought a weimaraner at 7 weeks of age. i got her home took her to the vet the very next day. I found out that she had worms. I really didn't worry to much as most puppies have worms and they were easy to treat or so i thought. she ended up having to be on 4 different medications at a time and finally went away. then about a month later she had pus coming out of her private areas and once again i took her to the vet and they told me it was a UTI or vaginitis and i had to get a sample for them to test. Long sory short i couldnt get a urine sample so they did the test for vaginitis. Postive... so she went to get vaginal infusions one a week for four weeks. went away came back and finally went away again about middle of december. Just recently my puppy had a scratch under her eye and so i thought it was harmless, so i put neosporin on it to keep it germ free. well it trippled in size and made her loose her hair. took her to the vet once again and now she has demodecular(sp. ??) Mange. Should i be worried that she is always sick. should i tell the breeder about my problems?? i love my ZOE and i take her to the vet for everthing and it has become quite a strain on my finances. any help would be appreciated!!

Answer:
demodetric mange (aka: Demodex). my dog had it too - it's actually very common in puppies. minor cases usually clear up on their own, when the dog reaches 10 mths or so. but some cases require meds. A vet needs to evaluate the severity. I used Goodwinol ointment. a topical ointment I bought at my vet's office. I applied it 2x a day for a few months, and it did work. it was slow going, but it worked.

another big help was putting my dog on a premium food, to help boost his immune system. the good food, along w/ the topical treatment worked great.

demodex can spread, so you should have any new spots looked at by your vet. it's not contagious though.

as for worrying your pup is always sick... 7 wks is too young IMO to be taken from the mother dog & litter. I got my dog at 8wks, but I think 10-12 is more ideal. where did you get this dog from?

your pup is lucky to have a caring owner like you - who continually seeks vet care for each illness. so don't feel sad, feel proud that you can provide for this pup!

perhaps you can work out a payment plan with your vet? believe it or not, some vets do allow payment plans. another good idea is pet insurance - if you're at the vet constantly I think it's REALLY worth the monthy payments.

Answer:
Jessi's given some good advice here. We, too, had a dog with demodectic mange--not a puppy, though...she was 18 months of age. It occurs when the immune system is compromised, whether due to stress or just because the immune system isn't fully developed yet. A good food should help beef up her immune system. You should try to keep her stress to a minimum, since excess stress can slow down the healing.

We also used the Goodwinol with good results. We took Macie in periodically for skiin scrapings to see how things were progressing. The good news is that, once recovered, most dogs do not have a recurrence of the demodectic mange.

IMO, you should tell the breeder about your problems. Any reputable breeder will want to know about health conditions that develop.

Most importantly, though, get Zoe on a good diet and follow your vet's advice. When she's healthy enough, talk to your vet about spaying her--it may help with her vaginal problems.

Good luck with Zoe! Please keep us posted on how she's doing.

Answer:
I don't have any other advice other than to say kudos to you for hanging in there. He's a lucky doggy despite everything for having somebody in the world who cares about him. Good luck!

Answer:
Aww, sounds like you've had a bit of a rough time. The UTI may have been because of all those meds, they can sometimes reek havoc on a puppies system. I agree with the others about making sure you have a good quality food and get her immunity system good and strong .

Answer:
thanks guys for all of your support. i did recieve a med from my vet called MITOBAN which i have to give her a diluted bath with!! :yay: Other than that she is a good natured puppy... thank god with what she has been through i would be a bitch....ha ha ha..... i have her on a very highly recomended brand of dog food called natures choice... it was recommended by a weim owner that worked at petsmart... thank heaven for angels.. have a good weekend everyone.

Answer:
The dip will help her vastly, however bringing her immune system up to full strength is the most important piece of the puzzle, so as not to have a recurrence. When choosing a food for your pup, be sure to check the ingredients list and make certain that corn does not rank anywhere as a major ingredient. A lot of research has already been done here in the foods forum, so check it out and you might be surprised with what you find, as well as get some awesome suggestions

Answer:
I agree. There may be some better food suggestions in the food forum.

I hope everything clears up soon.

Answer:
Ask your vet about giving her vitamin e capsules to boost up her immune system.

All dogs have the little critters that cause it. They live under the hair folicles. Most dogs don't have an outbreak and loss of hair(kills the folicles) because their immune system prevents it.

Affects dogs that are or has recently been sick or stressed, compromised immune system. I have seen puppies that have lost almost all their hair multiple times.

Answer:
Originally Posted by My_Weim_Zoe
... i have her on a very highly recomended brand of dog food called natures choice...


I have not heard of Nature's Choice......do you mean Nutro's Natural Choice? If so, it is not a very good food. Although it would not cause the things you mentioned there are better choices in food available.

Answer: