When our adopted dog Scarlett greeted me Wednesday on the return from my daily town trip, I noticed a problem with her tail. Scarlett has been "molting" lately, just like my Sweet, Sweet Juno did twice a year. I suppose it's a thing with certain long-haired dogs. Juno was presumably a border collie/lab mix, from her looks and behavior. We'll never know, since we took her as a pup after she was dumped at my mom's house. Scarlett, on the other hand, is a purebred Australian Shepherd. We welcomed her when a relative of a friend of Genius wanted to rehome her, due to a grueling work schedule, and not wanting to keep Scarlett in a wire kennel more than 12 hours per day.
Anyhoo... Scarlett has a bobbed tail, in accordance with the standard for Australian Shepherds. But on Wednesday, I noticed that her stub tail was RAW! Like Scarlett had caught it on a barbed-wire fence, or had been chewing on it due to fleas or ticks.
I told Farmer H (for the -illionth time!) that he needed to get flea and tick medicine for the dogs. AND that Scarlett's tail looked raw, and I didn't want any flies laying eggs on it! I watch The Incredible Dr. Pol! I've seen the vets at his practice pulling GRUBS out of pets!!! I told Farmer H that we either need to take Scarlett to the vet, or get something like fly spray that is used on horses, to prevent such a catastrophe. But I didn't know if the fly spray would be poisonous to dogs if they licked it.
Farmer H was going to the Family Center anyway on Thursday, to buy dog food. So he said he would check on something for Scarlett's tail (stub). He came home with a spray for hot spots. Said at first, Scarlett acted like it hurt. But then ignored her tail, not chewing at it. Farmer H was not clear on how many times a day that hot-spot spray could be used. I just don't want Scarlett to have a raw tail that could become infested with pests.
It didn't look any better on Friday when I came home. Scarlett started spinning, chasing her tail, like it itched. I told her "NO!" and she stopped. I still think she might need a vet visit. Farmer H seems okay with that. We'll see how she does over the next few days.
At least there's a new vet within a couple miles of the Mansion, over by the bowling alley. Scarlett has ridden in SilverRedO with Farmer H in the past, when she used to run away, and be rescued. So it shouldn't be a physical hardship to take her.
Monetarily, it remains to be seen...
Definitely a vet visit to find out the problem, then you can be armed with necessary treatments if it happens again.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about the Australian dogs having docked tails. I know the lambs get docked early in life because "fly-blown" sheep are not what the farmer wants and under the tails is a favourite place for flies to lay their eggs. This is the reason for the yearly "crutching" where the wool is cut away from that area in a fairly large circle, it discourages flies and makes it easier to spot a sheep in trouble.
River,
ReplyDeleteEven Farmer H agrees that if Scarlett's tail is not getting better, he will take her to the vet. There's a new office over by the bowling alley, about 4 miles from here. So not a hardship, and Scarlett is easy to "catch," because she ADORES Farmer H, and is never far from his side when he's out. She has ridden in SilverRedO during all her "runaway" rescues. So shouldn't need to be crated for the trip. However, she's not good about walking on a leash, which would be needed for going inside the vet office. Hopefully, she wouldn't make Farmer H fall with her strong tugging.
That said, Scarlett's tail did not look as bad yesterday. We'll see if this spray helps, first.
I did not know about the lambs' tails. Supposedly they dock the puppies at 2-5 days old. It's the standard of the breed, though about 20 percent are born with stubby tails.
Like everything else, the cost of a vet visit has inflated. If she starts to lose her hair, you should definitely take her in and ask them to look at a scraping of dead skin to see if it is mites. After all the steroids and changing Eddie's food, it turned out to be mites and they gave him Ivermectin. All his hair has grown back and he is his stunningly handsome self again.
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure there would be a "new patient" charge, and recommended shots, and a push for their flea and tick meds.
I'm happy for Eddie returning to his stunning self. Scarlett's tail is still bare, but not reddish like before. Like maybe the inflammation is getting under control, with her not chewing on it due to the hot-spot spray. We'll monitor her progress.