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Thanks, everyone. She's the first pet I haven't cremated. She's buried under her favorite shade tree at the farm--she loved the farm and it seemed fitting that the farm would be hers forever. The DH made a marble headstone to mark her resting place. She would have hated the heat we've been having and the thunderstorms....hopefully, those no longer bother her. I miss her so--she was such a character. I still have to take a walk through the fields where we used to walk and send her fur into the wind.
 
OK, here's a new one. You all know about my trials and triumphs with Rosebud. I mean, who knew my husband would fall in love with a stray from a photo in the paper? One that turned out to be epileptic? One that a few other issues (and yes, many of you assisted me in getting her past them). But her latest thing has been excessive scratching and biting at herself. Now most of my dogs and cats have been from the pre-Frontline era in both Hawaii and Florida. It wasn't unusual for me to wash and dip 2-3 dogs and cats on a liesurely (haha) Friday afternoon (yeah, I charged my parents lunch and a couple of drinks). Anyway, since the last time I bathed her, Rosebud has been biting and scratching at herself. I don't let her do it for long, neither does hubby, because of our experiences with dogs and cats in warmer climes, in other words, hot-spots. I was afraid maybe I hadn't rinsed her well enough, but it was the same shampoo I've always used on her, so much to her dismay I tossed her in the tub, after rinsing her towel yet again (seriously, I wouldn't be this careful for me, hubby or any of my family and friends) to make sure there was no residue. Believe it or not, yes, I do know that dogs and cats can get OCD. But right now she's getting a bit gun shy, thinking we're going to yell at her. both of us have held her and inspected her and not found any rash, bug bites, etc; and other than her new-found obsession with scratching and grooming (if she was a cat, I'd simply make sure she had hairball meds). Anyone have any ideas? No skin condition we can see, she's a short hair of some mutt origion, heaven knows. All of a sudden she does seem to like me taking her outside and bushing her, and it gas been a weird year, weather-wise (that is to say cooler than usual for this time of year, so perhaps her winter coat is coming in early?), and for what it is worth, yes she get very regular veterinary care and if she keeps up this excessive scratching and biting (herself that is, if she was a cat I'd call it excessive grooming), she'll go anyway. Anyone got ideas?
 
My daughter has a Highland Westie. They were bathing him every week. A friend who raises Westies as show dogs, told my SIL that you are washing all the oils off his skin. Stop washing him so much. Cosmo was biting and scratching constantly. So now he gets a bath only when he goes for a cut. And all the scratching and biting stopped. As you know Westies are all white and it is hard to stand by and see a dirty coat on him.

When they took him to the vet for his rabies shot, the vet asked about his scratching. When he looked at Cosmo's skin, it seemed a little red still. SIL told him about was he was told. "Fine" said the vet. But you should be washing him once a month. And he may just be allergic to the shampoo that is being used. Tell the groomer to use a more gentle shampoo. Then he recommended a couple that he should try. Problem solved.

Washing him too often and a shampoo too strong for his skin. :angel:
 
(((Hugs Claire))) Hope you find a solution soon, or that it just stops.

Have there been any changes in her diet? Could she have gotten into some food that she is reacting to?

Is there a skin lotion for dogs? Addie's idea that it might be lack of oil sounds plausible to me.
 
Teddy got a bath yesterday. This dog just loves to roll in the grass and dirt. Spike brushes him out. (He needs a haircut desperately) and gave him his Advantage/Frontline (don't ask me) treatment after his bath. Last night I noticed that he was scratching a little. When he was younger, he used to scratch all the time. Drove everyone crazy. He was young and his skin was more tender. Spike changed shampoos and kept his fur really short. Now that it is summer, he gets only one cut. The long fur protects his skin from getting sunburn. On the advice of the vet. Yes, dogs can get sunburn. His scratching last night lasted for only a few seconds. So we knew right away, it was just an itch. Not a major problem like when he was younger. Spike changed shampoos a couple of years back. It is much milder and does not leave his skin excessively dry.

Teddy is all Spike has since his wife died. (Other than family.) So he takes care of Teddy as if he was a newborn baby. He is very much aware of all of his actions and scratching. He knows that excessive scratching is a symptom of something more serious. Even though he gets his monthly treatment for heartworm and fleas, the both of us are constantly checking his skin. Ticks? Fleas? Anything that can give this dog grief. It all comes back to his skin. :angel:
 
I never wash our black Lab mix at all anymore. When she was younger and rolled in something nasty, we hosed her off and dried her with a towel, but that's it. Since DH is building the patio, she sometimes gets sand all over her underside so we brush her before she comes in.

I've never washed a cat, either, unless it got into something sticky or smelly, and I can't remember that happening (although I guess it might have decades ago). I think they do a fine job on their own :)
 
GotGarlic said:
I never wash our black Lab mix at all anymore. When she was younger and rolled in something nasty, we hosed her off and dried her with a towel, but that's it. Since DH is building the patio, she sometimes gets sand all over her underside so we brush her before she comes in.

I've never washed a cat, either, unless it got into something sticky or smelly, and I can't remember that happening (although I guess it might have decades ago). I think they do a fine job on their own :)
Click to expand...
I have washed cat covered in diarrhea. I have flea bathed a cat. That's it. We only washed the Siberian husky when she got in something gross. But, we were told not to wash Siberian huskies.
 
taxlady said:
I have washed cat covered in diarrhea. I have flea bathed a cat. That's it. We only washed the Siberian husky when she got in something gross. But, we were told not to wash Siberian huskies.
Click to expand...

Right. I meant to convey that I only wash our animals when they get really dirty, not as a regular practice. I just don't think it benefits them. Probably makes some owners feel better, though.
 
My sense of smell is almost non existent. So when someone claims their pet has that doggie smell, I just don't get it. Aren't dogs supposed to smell like a dog? The next sentence for the pet owner is, "He is getting a bath today!" Why? Because he smells like a dog? :angel:
 
Wet dogs smell kinda like wet gym socks ;) And dogs love to roll in whatever stinky stuff they encounter on a walk. I think that's what people usually mean when they don't like the doggy smell.
 
I'm lucky, Beagle grooms herself like a cat, and has no discernable doggie smell. My cockers did smell doggie, as do most labs and retrievers I've known.
 
I rarely have bathed a dog unless it rolled in dead fish (or something equally disgusting). Dogs that live indoors and are brushed regularly will stay clean. I would wash one of the Saint's neck area because of the drool, but that was a "sponge" bath. Some breeds have oily coats and that can be more noticeable for folks with a sensitive sense of smell. I don't like "lake" smelly dogs (my parents' lab spends a lot of time in the water in the summer, by fall, she's pretty ripe smelling). I am sensitive to the dander of GSDs and dalmatians, so can always pick up the smell of those two breeds. If dogs have skin conditions, bathing with special shampoos is often needed. It takes about 8 days following a bath for the natural oils in a Newfoundland dog's skin to return (don't know about other breeds).
 
Claire, how's it going with Rosebud?

I got a call from the vet today. Shreddy's thyroid numbers are right in the middle of the range for healthy. The nasty cat food is working. I'm still thinking of getting the scan and radioactive iodine.
 
Shreddy is doing yoga, while he sleeps. Just regular yoga, not cat level yoga. :LOL:

yoga.jpg
 
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