Female dog/swollen personal part/losing weight

Question
Dear Angela,

Let me start by saying I live in a rural area and have had dogs here for 17 years, most of them strays.  The dogs have never been to the vet or had shots, and have lived long, healthy lives.  The mother of the ill one just passed at 18 years old.

She is 8 years old and never gotten pregnant.  She went into heat a couple weeks ago and as far as I know she has only been with our male stray who is so old he's shooting blanks.

3 or 4 days ago I noticed she was not interested in eating her food.  I add stuff like rice, sometimes when I have it leftover and she used to love it.  I tried putting some broth on it and she wouldn't eat that either.  I have gotten nothing but small bones treats and a tortilla down her in the last 2 days.

Yesterday I gave her worming medicine as it had been a couple months.  I thought maybe this was the cause of her lack of energy/appetite.  I have never had a worm problem with any of them.  I noticed she was licking her privates almost constantly so I went over for a look and it was red and swollen.  I thought it was from sex?  Next day, still swollen and red, constant licking.  She has noticeably lost weight.

She had a rabies shot several months ago, and now she is my first sick dog.  Doesnt make sense.  Anyway, I want to let you know that I also have Pygmy goats.  I have never seen her eating their feces but it is in the yard where she lies down and they share water sometimes; if there are any goat to dog diseases.  The male dog is just as happy and perky as every.  BUT he doesnt have a swollen hoo-hoo!  :)

Could she have a vaginal infection?  If so, what can I do?  and would this make her listless and averse to food?  I am in the RED as far as expenses and dont have the funds for a vet. If an antibiotic is in order I can get that at the feed store.  Someone suggested putting castor oil on her for some possible relief and wouldn't harm her if she licked it off.

Please give me a magical cure.  This is a girl who usually runs and runs all day long and is excited about everything. All she wants to do is lay down.  Doesnt even care about our cuddling sessions.  :(

God Bless you for giving of yourself to help others with their loved ones.

Carol

Answer
Carol, to begin, I would like to say that you definitely care about animals trying to care for all the strays with the hectic and busy life that you have, I think that there is a GOD and I am sure he is very happy with the love that you have for animals. As for answering your questions, it is really hard to pinpoint what exactly is going on, with all the signs and symptoms that she is having it could be related to many different things.  My highest concern is that she may have a uterus infection going on, that can be very dangerous if untreated. There are other things that could be going on also like allergies or  Yeast and bacteria can cause pruritus or itching. So the best I could do for you is give you some web addresses on some of the pages that I researched, then you can see if anything else at the site describes what might be going on, the site also sells pet medications. Hope this helps, Sincerely, Angela
http://pethealth101.com/problems_solutions/dog_health.shtml

http://pethealth101.com/anal_sacs/anal_sacs_scooting.shtml

http://pethealth101.com/gastro_intestinal/weight_loss.shtml

http://pethealth101.com/odor/odor.shtml

http://www.1800petmeds.com/

Again, Hope this helps, God Bless, Angela