Allergies, vaccines...

We went to the doctor last Friday for Nola's annual check up. I've put this off since July trying to decide what to do about her vaccines. North Carolina law requires canines to have a rabies vaccine every three years, ok not a big deal. She wasn't due for that though... she was due for her recommended vaccine combo: distemper, hepatitis, lepto, parvo, and parainfluenza. I really did not want to do this... our vet has been telling us for almost a year now that the doctors are planning to meet and discuss a three-year vaccine schedule that would mean instead of annual vaccines, she would get them once every three years, same as the rabies schedule.

I thought about requesting a titer but that would mean labwork (blood draw) and all fees associated. Ultimately, I chose to give her the vaccine. Next year, we'll re-evaluate and decide what to do. According to research, we are over vaccinating. I do NOT want to give her vaccines if she has immunity. However if she does not have immunity then by all means, let's fix it.

While we had the doctor in our room we asked about her feet. Nola licks her feet almost obsessively and it's difficult to determine if it's a complusion or if they are truly bothering her. Dr. E did a cytology and said that there was a little bit of yeast - great. We're not sure if the yeast has been there from previous licking and that is causing itchiness or if she is truly allergic to something that is persistent and yeast has accumulated that way... she's on ketoconazole for a month and hopefully that will clear it up.

If she continues to have trouble, we'll start to look at common allergens and try to identify the problem. I am really hoping it doesn't come to that... especially food allergies. We LOVE Honest Kitchen and I think she and I would both be devastated if we had to find another food. She's eating Wellness Chicken for breakfast and either Force (chicken) or Embark (turkey) for dinner. We alternate the two, both are grain free. I ordered a box of Verve (beef) not even thinking that it had alfalfa... she refuses it. Sister will get that box. Such is life.