Tuesday 5 August 2014

The Further Adventures of Frodo the Faller - Regaining the Limelight

The Further Adventures of Frodo the Faller – Regaining the Limelight
Cooling his paws
Following what everyone believed to have been a successful conclusion in the case of his atopic dermatitis, resulting in ongoing treatment, Frodo decided to throw another conundrum into the mix.
Bumps beginning to appear . . .
Last week we noticed there were a couple of small bumps on his left flank. They were not ticks; for some reason he doesn’t attract those - they seem to prefer the dense fur of the Labradors. Within a couple of days the bumps had developed into pustules, looking remarkably like dermatitis, though they were not irritating him or causing him to rub himself against any available firm surface (my legs, for example!) The pustules erupted and his fur looked much as the fur on his head had done. I shampooed him and watched as his fur fled the scene. Our beautiful Dalmatian was now a white dog with black and red spots. His skin looked very sore but he was untroubled by it. 

A trip to Phil-the-Vet clarified that this was not a further outbreak of dermatitis but was possibly fox mange. Frodo returned home with another course of antibiotics for himself and pipettes of broad spectrum insecticides to treat all the dogs. Nothing that sucks, bites, burrows or nests in our dogs will survive!

Fox or sarcoptic mange (also known as canine scabies) is highly contagious. It is caused by mites (Sarcoptes scabiei) but is readily treated. Foxes are not usually fortunate enough to receive veterinary treatment and die within four months. Though the mites may transfer to cats or humans they do not survive long away from the host species and will not cause any problems.

The things Frodo does to get himself noticed!!




18 comments:

  1. Frodo does seem to have more than his share of problems. I'm glad this one was easily handled.

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    1. Thank you, Janie - he is our problem child!!

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  2. Poor little guy...good thing he has loving parents.

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    1. He doesn't feel sorry for himself - all the humans do that!!

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  3. Frodo is very lucky to have you taking care of him! I'm glad his "spots" were easily taken care of.

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    1. He must wonder why we keep staring at his flank . . .

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  4. Hi Janice - at least he wasn't hurting or frustrated with 'it' .. but honestly as you say he does attract a few challenges in life ... but I'm glad it's reasonably easy to manage ...

    Cheers to one and all - Hilary

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    1. All he ever worries about is the state of his stomach - empty, not full enough, could do with more . . .

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  5. Oh dear, he is in the wars. I hope the treatment does the trick.

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    1. So do we!! He goes months without seeing the vet then has phases of frequent visits. He keeps us on our toes.

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  6. Poor Frodo.I hope he feels better soon.

    I finally figured out why I couldn't comment for so long. Sorry I've been away. Hope you are doing well.

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    1. Thanks, Anne. I've been away, too, so no worries:-)

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  7. Hello Janice, first of all and before I forget, your heading is absolutely darling. Poor Frodo, which I could give him a big hug but maybe you can do that for me.

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  8. Poor thing, fortunately it doesn't itch and will go away with this treatment. We don't have foxes here around, years ago we had one !

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    1. I like seeing foxes so long as they're healthy. It's always sad to see an injured or diseased wild animal.

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  9. Poor dear Frodo. Imagine one's own skin being the bane of one's existence. How dreadful, but I'm glad he doesn't seem to notice.
    Hugs to the dogs and yourownself,
    K

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    1. Thank you, Kay. He looks a bit of a mess at the moment so I hope the treatment is working, poor boy.

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