Should I have my doggy put to sleep????

[Katra23]

My eight year old boxer has been battling a infection from a dog bite in August. Finally the vet started to look for a underlined condition for why he is not healing and the infection is spreading. The boxer was diagnosed Monday with cushing disease. Fine the vet said for now lets try to get the infection under control before starting to treat the cushing. Tuesday I got a call from the vet stating he has a bad staph infection. That we need to be very careful. Wear gloves and so on. I am looking for a little input if I should spend thousands to treat him or try to treat him. Considering that the infection is going to be harder to treat because of the cushing disease. Can't treat the cushing because of the infection. Than putting my family at risk for staph. I am thinking I will have to make the tough decision and just let him go. What do you think?

[ginger899]

My dog likes the taste of Echinacea. She will easily lick it off my hand, once the alcohol (in  a tincture) has evaporated. That small amount of alcohol won't harm a dog. It's only a tiny tiny bit. Or it could be added to your dog's food. Occasionally I'll give it to my dog, if she has an upset tummy, or a nasty scratch, or whatever. You can also let it down with water a bit and use it as a lotion for scratches/boils/inflamed skin patches, whatever.
One thing, don't combine it with antibiotics. And if there's an auto-immune disease, it won't be good medicine. (Same applies for Humans) It doesn't upset the intestinal 'good bacteria' like antibiotics do. There might be other herbs to help him too. Maybe you could check out herbal vets?

[Katra23]

Thx ginger, I will try it. I am not giving up just yet. It doesn't feel to be the right time to give up. As soon I decided that i will fight with him he seems a little better. He waged his tail and did a kidney bean dance for me yesterday. First time in a while. Herbs are right up my alley. I am firm believer that some of them work. Thx.

[ginger899]

As a last resort you could try giving him ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA Herbal Tincture. 2-3 ml, 3 times a day. It will either help, or it won't. But it won't cost the earth either. Echinacea Angustifolia is available online, from herbal tincture suppliers. It gives a massive boost to the immune system, and is also anti-bacterial.It will not harm him, as long as you don't give him too much, for too long. It's worth a try? I can hear that you're at the end of endurance, and upset. Try it. What is there to lose?

[Katra23]

This is a second vet we have spoke to. We have been trying to treat this since August. Today we also learned that he has strep infection also. The vet also suspects another disease on top of what he already has. Waiting on the test results. So far all the blood has been really bad. Nothing has came back normal. Smokey( my doggie)  just started to look and act bad. He does nothing but sleep all day. He is starting to look deformed. Does not at all wag his tiny tail. Can barely walk up and down stairs.I have eight steps in my house he walks up or down four and takes a 10 min. break. And it can be tranformed to human. The vet had to call the health department because last year there was a bad out break around here causing schools to close because of these infections. We have to wear all this stuff when treating him. And of course clean with bleach. I can not take any kind of chance with any infection spreading. I have a child that suffers from a brain tumor and has spent plenty of time in hospitals.She has had brain operation after brain operation recently.. The last thing I need is her catching an infection.I love my dog and i am very worried..The vet says he still holding out hope for him. I also feel I should not give up. I have fought in court over this dog. This dog was left at my house when he was a year old and 4years later the owners wanted him back. But once again I already spend a pretty penny on him and I really don't have anymore to spend. I know people shouldn't have animals when they can't afford it but up till last before my childs illness it would of been no problem. But spending  on treating my child has effected our finiances this past year.Okay well thx for everything.  

[becky808]

Cushing disease is easy to treat (and inexpensive) if you can just get him over this hump.

I do understand your situation. We lost our 8 year old Boxer last week to an autoimmune disease. We had him on meds for a week before that. Looking back, I wish I would have put him down. The meds made him so sick and so weak. I would have rather seen him go out on a high note.

I'm so sorry you have to make this decision. It's so tough.

[katew888]

Whoops, pressed enter too soon.

I would get another opinion, because it would be awesome if you could treat the staph, and then treat the Cushing's and let him live out the rest of his life comfortably.  

Good luck.  Whatever you decide, your dog will be thankful for his long life with you already.

[katew888]

Canine staph and human staph are different.  My dog had a staph infection 2 months ago and all it took was a round of antibiotics.  I washed his bed to be safe, but other than that, he has been fine.  

"Staphylococcal pyoderma (bacterial skin infection) is common in dogs, but not in cats. It often occurs secondary to another disease and usually involves the bacterium Staphylococcus intermedius. Contrast this to humans, where the main cause of bacterial skin infection is Staphylococcus aureus, and it is clear that the risk of transmission to humans is very low." -http://ezinearticles.com/?What-You-Can-Catch-From-Your-Pet---Skin-Diseases&id=496123

I would talk to another vet and get their opinion.

[babygirl6152]

I certainly understand that you are putting human health above your animal's life. Some dog owner's may have a different opinion but we had to do something very similar last year. It was hard, and we still think of "Max" fondly.

I will tell you too that my dad did catch staph when he was in the hospital for surgery and he had to treat it for 9 months.

I am sure you will make the right decision. We'll hold your hand if and when you're ready