Sage is itchy and rashy
Crap- my boy has an itchy, pink rash- it's not severe yet, but its driving him nuts. It's on his underside- belly and in his armpits. I am not sure what manifests in those areas, but I'm going to start with the most obvious thing I can think of-
Back on Thursday we went walking in a forest/wetland area and in one place there were raised boards to walk on- the water on either side was muddy and a bit oily looking. ALL the dogs walked through this, and at the end of the boardwalk, they swam in a creek. On the way back, though, Sage alone lay down in the questionable mud, and though he swam again on the way out of the area in clear water, it was an hour before I could properly bathe him with actual shampoo. I rinsed the hell out of him. This is the only unusual thing he has done that i'd guess could make him itchy and rashy- although I washed him thoroughly afterward.
Anybody else's pup ever get a large rash? I'll be going to the vet tomorrow...I wonder if benadryl will lessen the itch for him in the meantime...
Back on Thursday we went walking in a forest/wetland area and in one place there were raised boards to walk on- the water on either side was muddy and a bit oily looking. ALL the dogs walked through this, and at the end of the boardwalk, they swam in a creek. On the way back, though, Sage alone lay down in the questionable mud, and though he swam again on the way out of the area in clear water, it was an hour before I could properly bathe him with actual shampoo. I rinsed the hell out of him. This is the only unusual thing he has done that i'd guess could make him itchy and rashy- although I washed him thoroughly afterward.
Anybody else's pup ever get a large rash? I'll be going to the vet tomorrow...I wonder if benadryl will lessen the itch for him in the meantime...
Comments
Hope Sage feels better!
I've been wiping down my Tsuki with hypoallergenic baby wipes after walks to try to keep her environmental allergies in check. I've washed all of her equipment (harness, collar, leash) in dye free, scent free detergent and have been giving her 3/4 capsule benedryl a day. So far, so good actually.
That's good advice about the moisture. its been very humid lately (but not yesterday), and I worried about him drying out thoroughly after his bath- but then again this is on his less furry parts- although they are warm parts. Hydrocortisone spray is a good idea, if it comes in a quiet pump bottle- I think aerosol would scare the bejeezus out of him. He is a wary fellow. We'll see what the vet says and take it from there.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
And he DID bark when he spotted a husky going by the front desk, but it was otherwise pretty empty of dogs in the waiting area, so we were fortunate. They know us, and got us in a room quickly. I had Sage wear his soft muzzle in public for the first time, it was the least of his worries, I think- I was still able to give him his treat for getting on the scale, although he wasn't chewing as comfortably because he couldnt open his mouth enough to get the treat into his back teeth as usual. I broke the pieces small for him.
Nobody was really around but the one other customer at the counter didn't look at us like we were freaks for having a muzzle on, she looked at him rather sympathetically, "Awww...!" I think a lot of the public perception piece with reactive dogs is - well two things- #1 is to be WITH him- not the people- and work with him & talk to him, and #2 is that I think b/c people actually see us working, they view us well: worry much less about us than someone else with an intimidating-looking dog who appears rather "off duty" in regards to the dog.
Also the office has a new vet in the practice, so I asked if I could meet her and introduce Sage so that if we come in sometime and get her instead of Jon, she'll know us and Sage will have met her before. Although he loves people, (right, Jess?) but anything I can do to make vet visits more comfortable for him.
Good job at the vet too.
Glad things went well.