All because of a few too many puppy treats....well sort of. On January 22 we took Rebel to get his shots. The vet mentioned that he could stand to lose a few pounds. Turns out Rebel has had a few extra puppy treats, oh and he was getting a little extra a scant 1/3 cup of dog chow around 10 at night to stop him from whining. So the good doctor says just one puppy treat a day and no extra kibble and you may want to switch him to weight control, but do it gradually.

Rowdy has been on the IAM's "blue bag" for the last few years so no big deal. Actually it will be easier to feed them both the same kind of IAMS.

So I start switching him over and I don't really have enough of his old IAMS so I went and got a little 4lb. bag so that we have enough to mix with the new stuff. Well a day after getting the new bag (which is the same exact stuff he has alway eaten), he gets diarhea , while I am at work of course. Poor pup, locked in his cage with the runs. So now I am thinking I am switching his dog food to fast and upsetting his system. So I stop giving him the reg. & weight control mix of dog food and just give him the reg. food from that little 4 lb. bag.

Then on Sunday we notice that Rebel had a swollen spot near the inside corner of his eye. At first I thought he may have a clogged tear duct. So I put a warm wet washcloth on it. That seemed to do the trick and he looked better last night. He even looked fine this a.m.
I took the dogs out at 7 and then they came in and ate. I was cleaning the kitchen and took the dogs back out around 10. Then at noon I went upstairs to fold laundry and get cleaned up.
When I came back down I was going to give the dogs their lunch when I noticed that Rebel looked like he had been in a prize fight and lost. His entire face was all swollen up.
I made a quick call to the vet to see if they could get us in. As I was waiting for the receptionist I went ahead and snapped these pictures. Poor guy, he looks so sad.
Turns out he was having an allergic reaction. After running through possible causes I am feeling that it may be that dog food. The vet said there is such a thing as "Storage Mites" you can't see them but some dogs can be allergic to them. She said it could also be from a spider bite. But it seems that all of this started when I started giving him the dog food last Wed. So I threw the bag away. I told her I didn't think that it was from the mixed food since Rebel has eaten Rowdy's dog food in the past without getting sick.

The vet gave him a cortizone shot and a shot of bendryl. She also gave me some bendryl pills to give him for the next week or so. She said the swelling may take a day or two to subside and he will drink more water because of the medicine but he should be fine. His heart sounded good, his coloring was fine. She was glad that I brought him in and I was thrilled that they got me in kind of last second.
Paige was upset when she saw him. She doesn't like her puppy all puffed up. He is resting in the beanbag and I think he looks a little better now.