Yesterday, we took Norman to the vet for a few different reasons. One, he was due for another Cytopoint shot. But the main reason for the visit was due to some scaly, red areas on his back. He had that infected, yeasty smell again so we knew something was up. Turns out, he has mites. With his allergies and skin irritation, he’s susceptible to these parasites.

Dealing with Mites

Mites basically feed on the top layer of your dog’s skin, and leave a “dandruff” of scales behind. It’s obviously uncomfortable for the dog and you should see your vet right away if you notice these symptoms. A while back we were giving him baths using some shampoos that we got from our vet for a similar issue. We used them a couple times over the past week before we could get in to the vet. They seemed to help reduce the irritation a bit. If you’re curious about them, just leave a comment or contact us on social media and I’ll get you the info. Here’s Norman getting his bath the other day.

He’s obviously thrilled about the bath (or maybe it was the flamingos!). But you can see part of the irritated red spot on his back. For the mites, Norman has a couple new pills to take each day – a 100mg tablet of Simplicef and half of a 100mg tablet of Fluconazole. He’s going to be on them for 3 weeks and hopefully by then his skin will recover and the irritation will go away. In addition to the medication, we are also having him wear his shirt again. He actually doesn’t mind the shirt; it’s a very business-casual style polo!

I’m also considering taking him off of the Apoquel. It doesn’t seem to be doing anything for him and I know there is a lot of concern about it suppressing the immune system. So it could actually be contributing to his itching rather than helping it. I don’t know. We’ll see how he feels after the next 3 weeks and go from there.

Be sure to follow Norman on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for more updates. We like to hear from you!

Norman says goodnight!