[dogtalk]

Hi, my wife and I have four dogs:

15 yr German Shepherd/Chow Mix
9.5 yr Labrador Retriever (post is about this dog)
5.5 yr Golden/Labrador Retriever Mix
1 yr Golden Retriever/Jack Russell Mix

Daisy, the above-mentioned star of this post, isn't feeling like such a star right now. About a week ago, she started having puffiness above her right eye. My wife put some sort of medicine in there, along with occasional hot washclothes being applied to the puffiness. This really helped a lot. Most of the puffiness went away, with only the pink area below the eye being very slightly swollen. Now, the puffiness is back! This time with a vengence! When you look at her from above, her right 'eyebrow' looks rather enlarged. Ever since I got her as a 1 1.5 year old dog she's had "eye bugars" and frequent drainage. Perhaps more telling is that shortly after I got her she started getting cysts throughout her body. Then, when she turned 5 years old or so she started getting fatty tumours. She had one removed from near her lower belly. The vet said that if that one hadn't been removed it would have interfered with her bladder. She's had a tumour behind the upper part of her right leg for over a year now. We have not had that one tested, as we can't afford the vet bills. When you pet her, you can feel cysts and tumours of various sizes all over body. Is this a tumour above her eye? If so, can tumours shrink or increase in size in a matter of a week or so? Or, does this sound more like an inflammation of sorts? We don't think it's an allergy, else both eye areas would have this problem. And, it seems a bit too coincidental for something to have poked her in that part of her head twice in a week or so. Any input would be greatly appreciated. We do not have the funds to pay for surgery upfront, and if she had to have her eye removed I would have her put down instead. She's had a great life, I think, I'm not going to put her misery. If there was a risk of her going blind from surgery to remove the problem (if it requires surgery), then I'd put her down anyway. Right now I just feel that all these cysts and tumours have caught up to her.

[FFL]

What the heck are you feeding your dog??? She is having severe food alergies. If you are feeding Science Diet or Iams YIKES!! Stop, you are killing your dog very slowly and painfully. Try Timberwolf Organics, or Solid Gold, even Natral Balance. Have an allergy test done and a thryoid test, too. Good luck. FFL