Wet swim trunks

edited July 2010 in General
Our new house is on a really fun river to play in. As a consequence, Sage is swimming, wading and ...if the water is shallow... doing his "Seiji Submarine" act where he frogs his legs out and submerges as much of himself as he can with his tail sticking up. So he's wet more often than he used to be- we went thru a humid stretch a week or two ago, and I have noticed him furiously nibbling at his pants every once in a while, which despite his mixed heritage are standard issue NK breeches: woolly and thick. A lot of fur came off his pants on each side of his butt recently, I thought it was seasonal coat de-fluffing, but then I saw he has little bald spots with a little scabbing, but the skin seems white (not red or raw) so I think he's healing, or these spots arent so bad.

Is there anything besides him not drying well in the trunks that would cause this? Is this a common area for hotspots? Do you all not swim your NK much? I dry him off fairly well (I think) and take his collar off when he's home, so he doesnt stay wet around the mane, and he doesnt seem to have these spots anywhere else but his breeches...I hope its not some Pants Infection. Is this one of those obvious things that I should have known- "Chrystal, Japanese dogs NEVER dry out! What are you thinking letting him swim so much?"

Comments

  • edited November -1
    If he doesn't pay much attention to the areas anymore, I would take the wait and see approach. If he's still nibbling at it too much for your liking, then take him to the vet. Skin/coat issues can take a LONG time to return to normal, even after the underlying cause has gone away. So let him be your guide on that.

    As for the water thing, Tyson is the only one of my dogs who likes water, and I haven't actually taught him to swim yet, so he's generally not very wet. I think if you give them a good towel rubbing after a swim you should be fine in the summer. It's the winter where he could get too cold that I'd be concerned about.
  • edited November -1
    Wish I could help, but other than stomping in puddles with Maymay my dogs don't like water.

    Bare butt pics would be hilarious though! he he
  • edited November -1
    The pics wouldnt be that exciting at this point. Its not really noticeable unless you know every inch of your dog. Generally if you part his hair, you dont see skin, you see soft light undercoat (as you all know) but I think its his sit bones- the undercoat is blown off. I think since he's not crazy with itching, and the skin isnt red or warm, I'll do as Dave said and just watch. Reilly dries off so much faster than The Boy, I towel him pretty thoroughly, and I often brush him and then towel him again, but in humid weather his heavy coat can stay damp on the side he sits of lays on.

    Sage is my swimmin-est dog. Usually if theres water, or unfortunately mud, he's on his belly in it. I bet he got this from skinny dipping with his old girlfriend, Brandy the golden- the muddiest dog I know.
  • edited July 2010
    Keep an eye on the spot to make sure he isn't picking at it excessively.

    My Shiba boy likes the water and he will be completely soaked and run back into the surf to swim.
    I generally take a chami cloth or cham wow to soak out all the water that lays under the high fluff area. That area can hold extra water next to the skin when he has dense bloomers before a major shed. I also make sure to let him dry out for a bit by leashing up and taking a forced time out, otherwise he would run out all day remaining soaked. I rinse him before he is allowed in the house and also have pet dryer (not human) that has a cool setting so I can blast the sand out that grinds in. The sand or silt if it stays can cause some itches or spots if caked or matted with wet fur. Usually, if I don't blow dry the debris get shaken in the house in little bits which is pain to vac after multiple romps. I also check and dry the ears since they can get gunked up "fungusi" if they get wet. Most of the time he is wash and wear but the pet dryer really helps quickly dry the thick fur areas that can stay wet for hours.

    Snf
  • edited November -1
    Good tips, Snf! My Shibas hate water, so I haven't had this issue, but my new Akita pup LOVES water, so I imagine I will. Right now he just has the puppy "wool" so while I have noticed it doesn't dry that fast after he's lain in his water dish for the third time in one day, it isn't a huge problem here in dry NM. But I can see it could be more of one when he has his adult coat.
  • edited November -1
    I remember once that one of Tom's parent's poodles had fallen into their water garden, it was early spring so the water had to sill be cleaned from overwintering. But they believe that that is where he had picked up a bit of ringworm, which had made a small scabby bald spot on his side. He wasn't giving notice, but a skin biopsy confirmed it. Funny thing is that after he was treated, he wound up having black fur grow in that area (hes light gray).

    Anyways, I didn't mean to scare you, just felt that it was worth mentioning in case these patches aren't healing up or spread elsewhere.
  • edited August 2010
    he has a similar spot on his chest now... the scabs are tiny, probably from him scratching. but his skin doesnt look inflamed-its cool and white. hmm...
    i am now thinking maybe a contact rash from a plant on the ground. He's a bit rashy on his unmentionables (or where they would be if he HAD unmentionables) too, so I think it's an undercarriage issue.
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