The only way to ever learn anything is by listening, observing and paying attention.
Yesterday, when I was petting Cookie she seemed unusually reactive to touch around her right flank. She'd twist her hip toward me, look in that direction and lick air.
I know she's painful in that area now but this wasn't a pain response.
I figured she was itchy in there somewhere. I rubbed the area and she seemed happy with that. However, next time I touched her there, she had the same response.
Did she have a really itchy spot?
The only time Jasmine reacted in a similar way was when she had a skin infection at the base of her tail. So I looked through carefully, smelled it all over and didn't smell anything suspicious. Ran my hands through the fur and didn't feel anything suspicious.
There was no smell, no oozing, no flaking, no matted hair though she was shedding a bit. I FURminated her and she seemed to like that a lot. Got the loose hairs out but it still didn't seem to fix it.
"Did you catch a flea at the vet?" I asked jokingly because that was the only explanation left I could think of.
I kept running my hands over her, parting her hair and trying to look and feel for things. Then I came across something stuck in the fur. For a moment it looked like one of the burs we have around here which look a little bit like a tiny little seed but do have a prickly end. Cookie is often covered with them. Other burs don't stick to her but these do and require manual removal. It seemed as if one of those got really into the skin. But while they can get deep into the fur, actually sticking into the skin would be unusual.
Before trying to pull it out, I figured I'd better make sure that's what it is.
Because it was so tiny, I put on my glasses, grabbed a flash light and a magnifying glass.
It wasn't a bur, it was a tick!
It was relatively tiny, probably an adult that was not engorged yet. I went to grab my trusty Tick Twister and got the sucker out. Drowned it in rubbing alcohol and rubbed some on the bite wound too.
Cookie stayed still for the whole procedure, happy that we found what was bothering her and took care of it.
Thank you, Cookie, for letting us know. Good girl.
We do check our dogs for ticks and bumps regularly but lately, with everything what was going on, as well with the rather cold weather, we slacked off a bit. Plus I doubt we'd feel it in the thick fur without knowing where to look because it was so small. But with Cookie's help we found it.
Most importantly, I believed her when she was telling me something was bothering her there.
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Yesterday, when I was petting Cookie she seemed unusually reactive to touch around her right flank. She'd twist her hip toward me, look in that direction and lick air.
I know she's painful in that area now but this wasn't a pain response.
I figured she was itchy in there somewhere. I rubbed the area and she seemed happy with that. However, next time I touched her there, she had the same response.
Did she have a really itchy spot?
The only time Jasmine reacted in a similar way was when she had a skin infection at the base of her tail. So I looked through carefully, smelled it all over and didn't smell anything suspicious. Ran my hands through the fur and didn't feel anything suspicious.
There was no smell, no oozing, no flaking, no matted hair though she was shedding a bit. I FURminated her and she seemed to like that a lot. Got the loose hairs out but it still didn't seem to fix it.
"Did you catch a flea at the vet?" I asked jokingly because that was the only explanation left I could think of.
I kept running my hands over her, parting her hair and trying to look and feel for things. Then I came across something stuck in the fur. For a moment it looked like one of the burs we have around here which look a little bit like a tiny little seed but do have a prickly end. Cookie is often covered with them. Other burs don't stick to her but these do and require manual removal. It seemed as if one of those got really into the skin. But while they can get deep into the fur, actually sticking into the skin would be unusual.
Before trying to pull it out, I figured I'd better make sure that's what it is.
Because it was so tiny, I put on my glasses, grabbed a flash light and a magnifying glass.
It wasn't a bur, it was a tick!
It was relatively tiny, probably an adult that was not engorged yet. I went to grab my trusty Tick Twister and got the sucker out. Drowned it in rubbing alcohol and rubbed some on the bite wound too.
Cookie stayed still for the whole procedure, happy that we found what was bothering her and took care of it.
Thank you, Cookie, for letting us know. Good girl.
We do check our dogs for ticks and bumps regularly but lately, with everything what was going on, as well with the rather cold weather, we slacked off a bit. Plus I doubt we'd feel it in the thick fur without knowing where to look because it was so small. But with Cookie's help we found it.
Most importantly, I believed her when she was telling me something was bothering her there.
Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat
Observation Skills Of Dogs
If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It
Tricks? It's Not Just About The Tricks
What Constitutes The Perfect Dog?
Are Dog Training Classes Really For The Dogs?
Look Where You Want To Go: Finding My Reactive Dog Training Zen Zone?
Dog Training And Emotions
Dog Training And Emotions: Postscript
Dogs Love Sentences In Question Form?
Not All Dog Trainers Were Created Equal Either
A Thought On Separation Anxiety
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
About Freedom, Trust And Responsibility: A "Pilot Study"
So, We Have A Bear
About Happiness: What Makes Your Dog Happy?
Our Example Of The Use Of "Look At That" (LAT)
Why Do Dogs Dig?
Who Is In The Wrong?
Your Dog Wants To Follow You. You Just Gotta Be Going Some Place
We Still Have Two Dogs: A "Pilot Study" Part Two
Early Winter Safety: Exploring New Territories
Cookie Is Okay. We ... Might Be, Eventually. (Don't Try This At Home)
One Thing I Love About Winter: I See What They "See"
Give Your Dog What They Need, Get What You Want
Cookie, The First Of The Great Hunting Rottweilers
Distance Is a Relative Concept
Dog Communication: Be Good to Cookie or She'll Tell on You
The Benefit of the Doubt
Putting The Guilty Dog Look To Rest?
The Stench of Fear: Is There Good and Bad Timing for Vet Visits?
I am a Helicopter Dog Mom
Routines: Easy Come, Hard to Go
Mosquito Apocalypse
Things Always Change: Cookie's Hunting Adventures
The Advantage of Your Dog Not Barking All the Time: Cookie Saves Horses' Asses
"Look at That" (LAT) Game and Barking at Traffic
The Role of Thresholds in Dog Training and Behavior
Dog Days of Summer: Keeping an Eye on Cookie
Dog Days of Summer: Cookie Gets Her SprinklerThe Evolution of My View on What Is and Isn't Dirty
Not F***ing Cheerios, That's for Sure
Hi, My Name Is "No", What's Yours?
Dogs, Porcupines, Wasps and Learning
Mouse Hunting, Leash Pulling, Begging at the Table and Intermittent Reinforcement
Self-Entertaining Dog? Dogs Need Interaction
Dogs Are Always Testing the Waters
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