Seven Year Itch

Oh what a night. If this is what having kids is like I think I'll pass. Leeloo's hives went from bad to worse with more and more of them appearing as the day wore on. The worst of it is her head - she looked like a Sharpei last night with her muzzle all puffed out, her eyebrows swollen and the top of her head looked like a mountain range. Well ... here, let me show you ...

She seems acutely aware of her appearance and the fact I was trying to take her picture did not seem to sit well with her.

So last night at 2am and 6am I was up to medicate because it seems to be the only thing that relives the itching. And itch she does. I remember being stung on the leg by a wasp about 10 years go and my leg swelled up from my ankle to my knee. The itching was almost more than I could bear because of the stretched skin. At least I understood what was happening but do you think this face has any idea why she is so itchy?

The hives are all over her body and no area is safe if she can scratch it - I am being vigilant about her scratching to the point of hurting herself since we have all scratched until we bled. How do you stop her scratching without knocking her unconscious? I put her in the tub last night(which she considered further insult to injury), bathed her for about 15 minutes in cool water and rubbed some oatmeal onto her head. Things like that only work for as long as they are applied and I can't keep her in the tub for hours. This morning we woke up to a much improved, if not entirely perfect, Leeloo. She is still madly itching but her head has reduced and you can almost recognize the pretty Leeloo in there. One whole side is almost hive free so she is on the mend. It just breaks my heart when things like this happen to dogs because they don't understand what is going on. Last night she was barking at me, the walls, the couch, and whining like crazy in frustration over her condition. You feel helpless because you can't fix the problem or explain it. All you can do it promise that when med time comes you can dose them up and knock them out.

Which brings me to the other problem. Giving Leeloo her medication now is almost impossible. It's liquid and I have to inject it to the back of her throat so she is sure to swallow it. Well, she wants no part of the procedure. It takes several minutes of wrestling to just get the medication down. The only saving grace is that once it's administered she is knocked unconscious for about 3 hours but there is always a break between how long the meds last and when I can next give her a dose. We will get through this, just like we get through anything, and while her life is not in danger her pride sure is.