Tweed at the vet today Health

I had to take Tweed back to the vet today. She has been chewing at her side, where there were what looked like two smallish spots. I have been washing with an anti bacterial, giving her a Piriton, and applying a local anaesthetic skin ointment, and all was looking well till yesterday, when she started to enlarge the area - from about a 1 inch circle, to one of about 1 1/2 inches. The vet has given Synulox (antibiotic) tablets, and a betnovate based gel. I do hope they work as, in her old age, she seems to get fixated on any area that isn't 'right', and we know what happened to the tail!
The good news is that her pulse and heart sounds are now quite good. It appears that Vetmedin is suiting her nicely.

Hope all goes well with the spot.
Good to hear that Tweed is in good health.

Fingers cross everything is going to be ok with Tweed x

Poor Tweed - but good that the Vetmedin is helping her heart and pulse. Hopefully the Synulox tablets and the betnovate based gel clear up whatever it was that caused the spots so she stops chewing at them.

She was a right booger with her tail and then the stump, so everything crossed here that the spots clear up and she stops chewing them. (((hugs))) for you, Tweed, and also for Eddie. xx

@CaroleC - I have just checked on betnovate and then had a look at the cream I had for Pereg when she developed pimple-like spots which sort of spread into patches, although they did not appear to irritate her and she ignored them.

She had a skin scrape and some hair cut off for a culture, and it turned out to be some sort of zoonotic whatever - not passable to humans, and my Vet gave me E.N.P. cream which is for a variety of skin problems, and contains nilconazole 1%, Prednisolone 0.5% and Neomycin 2%. It comes in a pump action 50ml container but E.N.P. IS an Israeli product although of course there must be similar in the UK.

I always keep some in her First Aid kit as she does still sometimes get little bald patches, mainly in her groin or axillae, although no pimples any more. And this cream clears it without her even knowing it is there.

Maybe if the betnovate cream does not help poor Tweed you can ask about a similar thing to E.N.P. for her?

@Malka. Yes. I will. These spots are not like pimples though - more like a blind sebhorrheic spot, (they wont squeeze). When when she had the cyst on her tail, the vet found several of these small spots in the same area, so when she operated, she undermined the neighbouring skin to remove some of them in case they flared up. I'm wondering if this could be the same condition in another location.
Yesterday's vet was a locum who doesn't know Tweed, but if it doesn't clear, I will make sure we see the vet who operated next time. Between bouts, the inflamed area does actually cool and heal - until Miss OCD has another go at it, flaring it up again.
I'm quite proud of the way that Tweed refuses to let herself become an old dog, but I'm afraid that she is proving to be rather an expensive pensioner!

@Malka Just had a look at the gel packaging. It is called Isaderm, 5 mg/gm Fusidic acid, 1mg/gm Betamethasone as valerate. I think it is a Fuciderm clone. I think she must just be treating as a n/s dermatitis.

@CaroleC - Pereg definitely did originally have pimples and although she has not have any since, she does still, as I said, occasionally have bald patches in her groin or axillae which the cream clears up.

I mentioned the E.N.P. cream as it sorted/sorts out Pereg's occasional "patches" on her skin, especially as that is for various skin conditions, although of course Tweed is not Pereg and who knows what is causing Tweed's problem? But the fact that is bothers her to the extent that she feels the need to chew on these patches, is obviously a worry.

Poor Tweed - these patches obviously disturb her which is why she gnaws at them. Luckily Pereg has never been bothered even when she had very obvious pimples in her groin.

Sorry to hear about Tweed Have you tried giving her Turmeric (organic) powder, its well known for its many healing benefits ,there is also a Turmeric ointment though I haven’t tried it.
Its not recommended to give to dogs on NSAIDS, including aspirin . http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/turmeric-and-curcumin-good-for-your.html

Thank you Vee. I do use turmeric regularly in the dogs veggie stew - really more for Eddie's problem than for Tweed's benefit. She isn't on any NSAID's, but I will follow up on that link as I had never heard of there being any contra indications before.

@GsdSlave I recalled that FiveDogPam had given a recipe for a turmeric paste on Dogsey recently. I've just put 'Golden Paste' into the search box on there, and it does come up under a thread about a Border Collie with a bad leg. I think it is worth keeping on file, so I have photocopied it. However, I am not doing anything yet as, despite my doubts, the vet's treatment does seem to have cleared the inflammation and irritation. I've had a read up, and think these lumps (about 4 or 5mm across) could possibly be little seborrheic tumours, which seem to be age and hormone related - and apparently can be itchy.
Ah well, we all develop something in old age, I just wish she didn't have to do so much damage to herself!

Ive got the recipe for the paste, but found they wouldn’t eat their food with it, so I just put some olive oil, shake of black pepper and turmeric in cup and add boiling water then pour it over their dinner,.
I did notice though that Kyra started to smell like cats pee for a while but it wore off.

I've got turmeric on the spice shelf. I'm going to search online to see what benefits it has for dogs. I'm wondering if it has antibiotic properties or anti-itch properties. For itching and/or doggy odor I buy little packets of timsin at the feed store. It's used as a deodorizer in dairies, but does wonders for dogs and has no odor of it's own.

My Beagle, Joe, was given Vetmedin by his vet and it was helpful in treating his problem.

Yes John, Tweed has been on Vetmedin for a few months now, and has also done really well. The thing that has shocked me is that my vet charges me a few pennies under £73 for a pack of 50 x 5mg tablets. Today I checked on Dr. Google and they are available on prescription, post free, at just 50 pence each. There is even a 15% discount for the first order. My vet charges £18 for a prescription, but I think I'm going to be asking for one next time I go.

I remember Vetmedin being very expensive, so I checked the invoice from my vet and found 50 x 5 mg tablets cost me $73. That sounds like a coincidence because your 73 pounds is more than 73 dollars, but that's the figure shown on the invoice. Your option is a lot better, but still expensive. Joe had heart congestion and I think Vetmedin prolonged his life by a few months.

@CaroleC - Just out of curiosity, how many tablets of Vetmedin does Tweed need each day?

I cannot buy Pereg's medication online here [although I could if I was in the UK and had a prescription at a much lower price] and a pharmacy would not let me buy the amount I need for her each month, even with a prescription for which my Vet would not charge me, so he orders for me however much I want and I buy a few month's supply at a time.

Having just worked out the £ and $ equivalent, it costs £23.53 [$35.56] for just ten day's medication.

It is a human drug and if originally prescribed for someone by a neurologist would be in what is known as "the basket of medications" as approved by the Ministry of Health, and would cost the person a fraction of what I have to pay. But Pereg is not a human [although she thinks she is] so I have no choice, do I.

@Malka. She started on 2 Vetmedin a day, but is now down to one, divided into two doses. She has also come off her Corvental D (theophylline), as it hadn't made any improvement in her coughing, which is intermittent these days . Those capsules were being charged at around £1.80 each. As you say, a vet. license seems to significantly add to the cost of a human drug.
I am able to buy all Eddie's supplements online, L-glutamine, Milk Thistle, Probiotics, Folic Acid and Vit B12. I also take advatage of Holland and Barrett's Penny Sale, and stock up. I buy cheap Vitamin C and Omega 3 at the supermarket, (the one I get already has some Vit E added).
Ever since @Azz suggested it, I have made him sauerkraut - which he loves - and he has the rejuvelac liquid with Actimel and a dessertspoonful of porridge as his breakfast. Like your Pereg, there is no cure for his problem, but he keeps happy.

@CaroleC - Pereg's supplements and vitamins are the same I take and I buy online from iHerb in the US. Health Food Stores are few and far between here, and although the NuPharm and SuperPharm sell them, they are far from cheap. I can and do buy say 250 tablets/softgels of something for a fraction of what I would have to pay for 80 here. See

Tell Me More About Bad Dog Knees

[hope that takes you to the correct post]

It is not exactly that a vet licence adds to the cost of a human drug, more that if the drug is not for a human you have to pay the full price. And there is no such thing as free prescriptions for pensioners or those chronically ill/disabled, just that you get a 50% discount on the "basket" price for chronic drugs. But that is the way it is here.

Incidentally, a friend's husband is insulin-dependent and also has an iliostomy. He is in his 80s and yet still has to pay for his insulin and his iliostomy bags, so how can I complain?

Pharmacies are only permitted to dispense one month's supply at a time. Example - I am prescribed one pack of 30 x 5gm Valium a month, one for use as a muscle relaxant before I go to bed as my joints get locked from being in my chair. But I save them for Pereg as she needs 20mg as soon as she comes out of a seizure. That instantly takes 4 tablets from my allowance.

OK - so Ram can give me a prescription for more, only it will not be accepted by a pharmacy, as my chronic meds are registered and delivered to the clinic here every 30 days. If he gives me a prescription either for me or for Pereg, my Health Fund card has to be swiped through their machine - and if it is a prescription for Valium it will not be honoured as the computer will show that I have already had the amount registered for that month.

As we say, "Ayn brearah" - no choice.