Ursa needs your good thoughts, please...

[Black Labbies]

Snowshoe, thanks for this info. Not sure what wildlife animal brought this into the campground, or as Dr. Wanda said, even another dog with mange that came in contact with our girls could have given it to them. Dr. Wanda said it's Sarcoptic mange that Ursa has (Loua didn't go to the vet, yet), they did the comb and skin test on Ursa. Her coat is dry, dull and she's shedding like crazy, no matting. No mention of her to be shaved. I brush her daily to get the dead fur off of her and then wash the brush and comb. Loua's coat is not affected, in fact, her coat is beautiful other than small balding spots from her biting at the mites. As for us humans, it's important to shower daily, which we do anyway, and change and wash our clothes daily. Our washer is working fulltime!

[Black Labbies]

An update on Ursa. Dr. Wanda phoned this evening to ask how Ursa is doing and to say that from her stool test there are no parasite (yay!), but there is 1+ of clostridium difficile. We're not surprised about this as Loua had 3+ of C.Diff 4 weeks ago and was put on metronidazole. Ursa appeared to be fine and pooped nice turds unlike Loua who had watery, mucousy, explosive diarrhea and was lethargic. Loua saw a new vet in a hurry twice for this and is now back to normal.

Ursa will go on a Pro-gut supplement for her C.Diff for 10 days. Her itching is a little better, but we still have another 10 days before we notice the real results of the Advantage Multi. She's still on Sulfur homeopathic which helps her to be less itchy within 10 minutes of giving it to her.

We humans are doing well with no symptoms of mange.

Thanks for all you thoughts and care for Ursa and Loua!

[SunDance]

Good thoughts headed your way from me for continued nice turds and uneventful recovery for Ursa. It's good that the itchiness can be contained somewhat.

Glad that the rest of you two-and-four-legged family members are doing well.

A thought for Loua: I wonder if her diarrhea was actually exacerbated by the metronidazole. Danny couldn't take that...same reaction...and his records at the vet actually warned against future use (I mentioned the couple of times subsequently that he needed antibiotics and was reassured "yeah, it's in the chart").

[Black Labbies]

No, Loua had the watery, mucousy, diarrhea for a few days before she was diagnosed through a fecal panel with C. Diff. The metronidazole really helped her. We also increased her usual daily probios away from the flagyl.

[Macy]

Just seeing this. I hope the recovery is going well. Poor Ursa.

[Black Labbies]

Thanks all. Both Ursa and Loua are doing much better. We're at day 10 for Ursa's mange treatment and she's itching much less. Loua's C. Diff is all gone and Ursa is doing well on the Pro-Gut.

[Jollymolly]

Gkad to see that there is progress and Ursa and Loua are feeling better

[amyb]

sounds awful. sending good vibes

[smartrock]

I'm glad things are improving for your Ursa and Loua!

[Black Labbies]

Update on Ursa...

Ursa and Loua have both recovered from their sarcoptic mange and c. diff. We're so happy to be past this!

With our last camping Ursa did something weird, she suddenly went lame and was spastic, but we figured it out that it's her lower back and left hind leg. Some gentle massages and homeopathies, and Ursa was back to her usual self and hour later. Also, with our camping trips this spring and summer, Ursa has had a harder time seeing in the dark. Even when we turn on all the lights inside and lanterns outside, she still dodges her head a lot to figure out what she's seeing, or not seeing. We tried a few different things and Ursa learned the words "closer (to the steps going into the trailer) and 1, 2, okay, you're in (the trailer), good girl!" She was so proud of herself when she "did it" and we're also proud of her. Going out of the trailer, Loua helped Ursa by standing on the ground at the bottom of the steps, as if to say "it's okay Ursa, I'm here to help you". Loua did this nightly on her own, so sweet to watch!

We had a vet appt this week and yes, her lower back and hind legs need osteo treatments for tightness. As for her eyes, Ursa now has moderate cataracts, but also something going on in her retinas, possibly PRD - progressive retinal dysplasia - age related. Ursa and I will see Dr. Brian, the ophthalmologist, in 2 weeks. Our hope and prayers are that Ursa will not lose her eyesight! PRD starts with night blindness and can lead to day blindness .