Caring for My Chaos

This is our Rottweiler/black lab mix, Kojack. When we first got him, he was so skinny you could see his ribs and was infested with fleas and ticks. He was 1 year old when we got him and has been the best dog we've ever had. He is my favorite child. About 3 years ago, we started having problems with him getting hot spots from what we think is an allergy to fleas. That first year, he got a hot spot that became infected and we almost lost him. Hot spots are serious business. I have been determined that we were not going to get any hotspots since last year he was naked from about his midsection down he lost so much hair. I had read on Pinterest about a recipe for a homemade flea shampoo that fleas just jump off the animal and it's ok to use on cats or dogs. It's 1 cup blue Dawn, 1 cup vinegar or apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water. You pour this mixture over the animal and scrub it in. You let it set about 5 minutes while trying to keep the animal in the tub. Then rinse. I...

(This is a repost but I thought it was helpful with all the creeping crud that's going around this time of year!) This, as you know, is Bubby, my youngest. All of my kids have seasonal allergies, but for some reason they hit Bubby really bad. We didn't know he had allergies until he was in kindergarten and he woke me up one night about 2 am with what sounded like whooping cough. Come to find out, allergies can do that. So, every year, before the pollen makes it's major comeback, all my kids get put on Claritin. That seems to help. With Doodle, I have to put her on Nasacort also because the Claritin just doesn't get rid of everything. Well, Bubby last night began complaining that his ear was hurting really bad. No fever, which tells me that his sinuses are backed up again and is causing pressure on the ear drum. Along with decongestant, I also do home remedies to combat the pain. My favorite one is dipping a cotton ball in olive oil, heating for a few seconds in the...

This is our almost 13 year old black lab mix, Kojack. He is one of the best dogs we have ever had. Over the years, I have become very knowledgeable in how to care for hot spots at home. A hotspot is when a dog scratches or licks a spot on his body until the hair is gone and the skin is broken open. When we got him, he was skin and bones and covered in fleas and ticks. You can't really tell now that he was skinny. He was a stray that a friend of my husband's had found. After we got him cleaned up, we found he is allergic to fleas, which causes him to get hotspots every year.  About four years ago, I was late getting his flea medicine on him in the summertime and he got his first hotspot. I had no idea what they were and didn't treat it right away. It became infected and we almost lost him. After that, I did a lot of research on what to do when they first appear. The most effective home treatment that I was surprised to find is Gold Bond Medicated powder. A small dusting ...