So yesterday morning I noticed that Ruki was looking particularly angry. And then I realized the fold above her left eye was particularly bulging. Was it a bump? It was. A huge one.
What happened? Did she hit her head? Was it from playing rough with another dog? No idea. So we watched it. And when I took her out for her walk, I noticed that she was bumpy on her legs. It's not that you can see the bumps; it's just that her fur is raised in small dots.
Through the past few days, the bumps have come and gone. First on her legs; now on her sides; now on her face, around her lips. Sometimes they seem to subside; sometimes they seem to spread.
We've been giving her Benadryl since yesterday. One and a half pills--that's 25 mg + 12.5 mgs. She's 37 lbs, so the dosage is right: 1 mg per lb. And then give her this dosage 2-3 times a day for a few days to see if she clears up. The big bump above her eye has gone down since then. But there are more bumps everywhere.
I noticed a new thing last night: She dove into her food with the same gusto as usual, but then about halfway through, she stopped, and walked away. Crazy!!! I then held the bowl for her, and she re-approached and finished most of it up. But not all! Crazy!!!
The same thing this morning. I wonder if it's a food allergy.
I initially thought that maybe she had eaten something when we took her to Harvard Square's Oktoberfest (which was fantastic, by the way). But then after doing some reading, her allergic reactions would have started much earlier. They say that sometimes allergic reactions would occur within 20 minutes of contact with the allergen.
So the best--in the worst kind of way--diagnosis might be a food allergy. I'm going to give her some more Benadryl this afternoon. And then maybe just feed her rice and water over the next few meals to see if her bumps go down.
The theory on food allergies is that exposure to some things too early creates these allergies. That's why often the foods recommended for allergy treatment are lamb or fish-based: most puppies have limited or no exposure to lamb or fish until their allergies develop (by 2 years of age), and then they can eat lamb or fish for the rest of their lives. The same theory goes for grain or starch allergies, and new foods containing more barley or potato than wheat or soy.
In retrospect, then maybe we should have limited the types of proteins and grains we fed Ruki as a puppy. Her Innova has turkey, chicken, herring, barley, rice, and potatoes. So what's left to try to eliminate? I'll keep updating on our journey for Ruki to some day be stable and healthy...
Update (12/03/07): We ended up switching her food to California Natural's Lamb and Rice formula. Since, she's been fine.
Her Innova Adult was chicken and turkey based. So we suspected a chicken or turkey allergy. This Thanksgiving, we fed her some turkey, and I noticed a bump or two show up, so we know it's at least turkey. But now we just avoid both.
