Ollie and his skin (Again…)

I know that many of you like to read about Ollie’s walks, his antics, and his enjoyment of the countryside. So I thought I would update you with what is going on with him. Once again, he has a skin infection. Luckily, his ears are clear, despite the shaking, but he has managed to scratch or nibble off almost all of his fur in the area from his chest, to all along between his legs.

The exposed skin has become sore and bleeding in places, and it has obviously caused him a lot of distress over the past few days. Part of this problem is inherent to his breed, but it is also a combination of factors that make it hard to target the treatment. Hot weather, seasonal moulting, and possible allergies to certain pollen, nettles, and water plants; any or all of these could be the reason he is experiencing so much irritation.

He had a good examination at the vet yesterday afternoon. He was put on a steroid tablet (Prednisolone) immediately. This has helped a great deal in the past, and soothes his itching. For the areas of broken skin, he was given antibiotics, and we also have a medicated shampoo to use at a later date, once the sores clear up. if his ears flare up again, we have two kinds of ear drops to try. This goes on for ten days, and he has to go back for a review. The tablets have already given him some relief, as evidenced by the fact that he is hardly scratching this morning, and managing to sleep peacefully on his bed.

In many ways, caring for a dog is like looking after a small child. They can’t tell you what the problem is, and they don’t like going to the doctor, or taking the medicine. You have to stop them doing things that they enjoy, for their own good, and they don’t understand why you are doing it.
We have no doubt that Ollie will get better in a week or so, and thank everyone for their concern.