antibiotic injections

[jm215900]

Hey everyone-- I've corresponded with Mike a little bit via email, and thanks, Mike for your advice.

Please bear with me for a rather long set up to a simple question:
I have a 6 month old German Shepherd puppy I adopted on Sept. 20 from one of Los Angeles' county shelters. She seemed healthy and in good spirits while there, but just two days after getting her home she started to show sighs of being sick. I took her to the vet for an general exam and to figure out what this slightly swollen spot was under her jaw. It turns out she was attacked and bitten through her top and bottom lips by another dog who had been in the cage with her. He cleaned the wound and sent me home with antibiotic pills to give her.

Her health seemed to decline pretty quickly, though, to the point where she had very little energy and would not eat. Two days after her first vet visit, she didn't even get up off the floor when I came home from work, so I took her to the emergency clinic fearful that she had parvo. Fortunately the parvo test was negative. She ate some food for the technicians at the emergency clinic and the vet sent me home with instructions to bring her back if she didn't improve within a day or two.

She was even more lethargic and had a runny nose the next day so I took her to her regular vet who diagnosed her with pneumonia. She was running a fever and had lost four pounds within that week. He took a culture of her nasal discharge to be sent out for analysis, and send me home with a prescription for a general antibiotic.

After the culture came back a few days later, I was prescribed a second antibiotic to give her which was supposed to target the infection better. She seemed to respond a little to the medication, but still wasn't acting normal. I went back for a follow-up exam the next week, where they took another round of x-rays that showed her lungs were still infected. Both prescriptions were refilled and they said this must be a tough strain of bacteria. I changed her diet to raw food- chicken and beef with a little rice and some cut-up chunks of that Nature's Recipe stuff that comes in a log like salami. She seemed to take to that and her energy improved a little.

Last weekend, though, she seemed to get worse. She's started this gagging cough and her nose started to run quite a bit again. I took her back to the vet yesterday (october 13) where she was given another round of x-rays. Her pneumonia has actually gotten worse. She was running a fever again and still hadn't gained back any of the weight she had lost (she weighed 50 lbs when I took her home from the shelter, yesterday she weighed 45 lbs.)

The vet was really concerned and said this could kill her, but that i didn't have a lot of options. I could have her treated in a hospital with IV antibiotics (which I can't afford), I could continue with the antibiotics she's been on, or I could try a really potent injectable antibiotic (I don't remember the name, but I will post it later). I took the injectable kind.

Thanks for reading all this, here's my question: Should an owner/handler be giving his dog injections?

I am worried about this because for nearly four weeks, I'm the guy shoving pills down her throat and now I've started jabbing needles in her neck twice a day. She's been too tired and sick to play. I've only seen her run once in the four weeks that I've had her, so I really haven't been able to do any "fun" stuff with her to offset the caregiver crap she's come to be suspicious of. She's started to shy away from me today, and I'm worried that if I keep this up, she will never trust me to be a leader.

I trust the veterinarians she's seeing. They are qualified and have decades of experience in a long-running clinic. but should I seek a different course of action? Should I hire someone to give her the shots? Or am I making too much out of this? The look she gave me this morning after I gave her an injection brought tears to my eyes.

Thanks again for reading, and I appreciate any advice.
-John

[abndogos]

wht antibiotics did they try first? where do you currently live, in NY? I give my dogs injections and/or IV's if needed, but I am also an ER nurse, so I dont see the need to hire someone, unless it really upsets you that much. Did they try baytril yet?

Maureen

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

I wouldnt worry about the injections hurting your long term relationship. Give her tons of love immediately after the injection or feed her immediately after. You will have plenty have time to give her more positive experiences too when she gets better. Please keep us updated on her progress!

[jm215900]

Thanks for your replies!

Maureen, I live in Los Angeles. As for her antibiotics, she was given Clavamox for her infected bite wound. Once they found the pneumonia, she was given Sulfamethoxazole. Once they got the culture results, they gave me a prescription for Cephalexin. When neither of those seemed to work well, they prescribed Zeniquin. This latest kind, the injectible one, is Amakecin. Does that sound about right?

I actually called the vet's office after starting this thread, and one of their technicians offered to stop by my apartment on her way to and from work to give the injections for me. I'm giving her some money for it, but it is more peace of mind for me. Maybe I whimped out??

She seems a little better tonight. I'll keep you updated. Thanks again!

John

[balkis]

First, I just want to say that I know it must be hard having your new baby be so sick -- try to hang in there and if possible try not to let her see you upset. It's better for her.

Second, I want to say that I have had to take care of many sick cats over the years --- in particular feral cats I rescued (many of them live outdoors/ a couple indoors). It took me years to gain the slightest bit of trust from them but when they got sick and I had to alter their routine and keep them in a crate to care for them - they hated it and me! In the very beginning I felt I lost all their trust and I would never get it back. But, the good news is after a short time of their lives being "back to normal" they trusted me again.

In other words, I think, animals are basically pretty resilient and forgiving. So I think you will be ok once your pooch starts feeing better and you don't have to give the shots anymore. That's not to say that having the vet tech come by to give the shots is a bad thing. If you can do it - why not? Don't beat yourself up for that.

I hope she starts feeing better soon and BTW it's not unheard of to get a second opinion. Just because it's a vet (and not a Dr.) don't let that stop you.

[jm215900]

Hi everyone. Thanks again for your responses. I's been a long haul, but Raven is doing better. Her last x-ray, taken last Friday October 30th, showed the pneumonia clearing up. She's still getting injections of Amakacin every day, though. Her final shot should be on this coming Thursday.

Before, one of the technicians who works at her veterinarian's office was coming to my apartment to give the injections, but that started to be a traumatic experience. Raven ended up cowering and drooling in her crate. The vet tech thought a "venue change" would ease some of her fear, so I've been taking her to the vet's office once a day for her injections, and that seems to be a little better.

I appreciate all your advice. I know dogs are resilient, but she's been getting injections since Oct.13th. Ultimately, I feel better not having been the person to do that to her for nearly three weeks now.

I'll update after her next follow-up appointment.
John