Magpie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2007
Slowly, over the course of a year, my dog licked all the hair off the underside of her tail. We thought at first it was just a bad habit, but she got more and more and more persistent about it, the harder we tried to make her stop.
We sprayed her tail with Bitrex. She licked it off. We put ointment on it. She licked it off. We tried hot spot spray - she thought that was especially yummy. We bought a cone. It was too short - the dog's a contortionist. We bought larger cones. She couldn't sleep. She started scooting, trying to rub her tail on any rough surface, including concrete. I crocheted her a full body suit! She chewed through the thick cotton tail and made it bleed. So finally, we took her to the vet.
The vet scratched her head, looked puzzled, and said, "I've never seen anything like this before! It looks like each individual hair follicle is involved." Checked over the dog, couldn't find any other trouble spots, and said, "It's just her tail. Hmm." So she decided to throw antibiotics at it for two weeks, plus a medicated ointment, plus antihistamines to quell the itching.
We dosed the dog this morning... and she doesn't need the cone any more. Which is wonderful! But now she's passed out on the couch, semi-comatose. She's not even biting her nails, which is her favourite pastime. I have to call her name three times to get her to respond to me (but then she came over and licked my hand before going back to lie down). And she's sleeping with her eyes open, which looks freaky.
Any one else have an issue like this with their dogs? I'm assuming the antihistamines are making her dopey. When should I worry? (When she doesn't get up on command, I'm guessing.)
What about walks? Should I cut them short, if she's this sleepy?
Just wondering if anyone else has been through anything else like this with their dog.
We sprayed her tail with Bitrex. She licked it off. We put ointment on it. She licked it off. We tried hot spot spray - she thought that was especially yummy. We bought a cone. It was too short - the dog's a contortionist. We bought larger cones. She couldn't sleep. She started scooting, trying to rub her tail on any rough surface, including concrete. I crocheted her a full body suit! She chewed through the thick cotton tail and made it bleed. So finally, we took her to the vet.
The vet scratched her head, looked puzzled, and said, "I've never seen anything like this before! It looks like each individual hair follicle is involved." Checked over the dog, couldn't find any other trouble spots, and said, "It's just her tail. Hmm." So she decided to throw antibiotics at it for two weeks, plus a medicated ointment, plus antihistamines to quell the itching.
We dosed the dog this morning... and she doesn't need the cone any more. Which is wonderful! But now she's passed out on the couch, semi-comatose. She's not even biting her nails, which is her favourite pastime. I have to call her name three times to get her to respond to me (but then she came over and licked my hand before going back to lie down). And she's sleeping with her eyes open, which looks freaky.
Any one else have an issue like this with their dogs? I'm assuming the antihistamines are making her dopey. When should I worry? (When she doesn't get up on command, I'm guessing.)
What about walks? Should I cut them short, if she's this sleepy?
Just wondering if anyone else has been through anything else like this with their dog.