Two weeks now!

I SO love what I do and it is times like this - when I look back at their original condition - that I appreciate the gifts The Big Man upstairs has showered in my life... Eros and Venus are not only getting much better skin-wise, they are developing into sweet, sweet normal pups!... 

All four sleep together now in a traditional dog pile - Woody, Ernie, Venus and Eros... Even the nose skin is soft and moist now... The hair has starting growing back in on both and it is soft - like peach fuzz... They still love cuddling in warm and soft blankees... They are halfway potty trained now and psychologically neither cry without reason nor avoid human interaction... 

Tomorrow it will be a full two weeks and we will do another dose of the Promeris, then stop the clavamox... Baths are now every other day, but I still use the aquaphor afterwards... Their toe nails are no longer black and almost dying, but becoming pink and healthy looking again... The swelling of their feet is totally gone now and they play at the intensity that Woody and Ernie do... Great pups!  Great progress!

Playtime outside in the playpen

Nice, warm mornings are now spent outside with the other pups, playing in the playpen... When I introduced Eros and Venus to Woody and Ernie, I had already clipped Woody's and Ernie's toe nail just in case the play got too rough... I was really undecided about this, but noticed that Eros and Venus were becoming isolationists without the company of other healthy pups... 

The first hour or so, they sat in the corner and just watched the antics of the two healthy pups... Then slowly they began to realize they were all about the same size and age... Eros was the first to reach out and make friends, followed by Venus after a bit... Her eye is completely healed up now, and she's no longer 'side scanning' so I believe she is looking at things with both eyes as a normal pup would do... 

Eros and Venus both run to the front, wagging tails and wanting to be held and cuddled now - even if it is me and it might be bath time... It is no longer a horrific experience for them and I truly believe they love the deep massages as I apply the aquaphor after they are dried off and warm...  For sure, the awful nasty smell of demodex is practically gone now, so you don't mind cuddlin' up and lovin' up on them...  The little stinkers!  They are getting spoiled already!

Progress, not perfection - 1 week later

We are making progress... Not quite one week later...  There are still crusty spots, especially on Eros' butt, both of their noses and still around their ears that take time, patience, long warm baths and lots of 'Chi cooing' as we call it around here... But progress we are making for sure!...

 

Oh no! It's bath time again!

I'm not so sure these pups have been handled a lot - or it is painful to be held - but we keep working on making the daily baths a pleasurable experience...  Little by little, their patience grows with me (and teeny tiny bits of Oscar Meyer hot dogs don't hurt either!  smile)... While I had hoped to do a 'before and after' photo op here for post-bath times, it is impossible now to get them to stand still for a photo - they are too interested in 'what comes next, Mom?' (hint..hint..hint)... So I can only post the 'before' photo after a bath...

 

Their arrival - 6/11/10

CAUTION:  Graphic images not for the faint of stomach

I seem to keep finding these little demodex Chi pups at the local shelters... In this case, there were four, but two did not make it (although we do not know if they all came from the same mom or litter)... Eros and Venus were referred to as the 'crunchy Chihuahuas' and I found them in as bad a shape as BabyLove, but in a different way.

In BabyLove's case, her skin had stayed moist (?) and the lesions had cracked in numerous spots where secondary infections had begun...  BabyLove 'sweated blood' wherever there was pressure on her skin (such as picking her up or holding her)... 

In Eros' and Venus' case, the lesions were dry and scaly, very similar to what you'd find in a lizard's skin... (double click on images for close-ups)

In Venus' case, not only was her skin totally engrossed with the scabby, scaly skin, her right eye was dramatically affected by the damage done by the demodex.  In addition on both pups, the demodex was into their ear canals and while a different kind of tissue, it had to be just as painful (if not more) inside their ears.  When testing Venus' eyesight, it was apparent she was scanning with the good eye to fully see what was going on around her.  It was almost as if closing her eyes was painful... sigh...

I did not continue the treatment of Ivermectin but instead immediately switched to a treatment recommended by Dr. Novy of Valley Veterinary Clinic... This has proven in the past to be highly effective and once again so far, the results are amazing... 

Simple, but consult your own vet before attempting yourself... 

1. Warm daily baths of Ketochlor are done with GENTLE washing - use a VERY soft cotton washcloth or luffa
2. Once warm and dried, application of Promeris between the shoulder blades (every two weeks) and application of goodwinol ointment for the first week every day after their bath
3. Once the dried scaly scabs are gone, the goodwinol is replaced with aquaphor to promote the moisture and healing properties as the skin regenerates itself and the hair starts growing back in
4. Clavamox daily for 14 days
5. GOOD nutritional diet (I use a home-made diet of chicken and rice, peas and carrots along with Royal Canin #27 - once a week I add olive oil to the mix) and fresh water plus goats milk as these pups are little ones still

Wish me luck!