Laika wasn't much of a licker. She was more of a scratcher. I feel like dogs usually fall into one of these two camps for usual methods of addressing itching, at least in my experience. So, when Laika would start to lick her paws or other areas, I knew that it was time to bring her to the vet. I learned this early on, as the change in habit meant that she was having some sort of allergic reaction.
A long time ago, Laika would go to the park pretty regularly to run around like a complete fool. Although the pack of insane hounds there had collectively managed to trample most of the ground, there was still grass lurking to irritate my poor baby! After one such outing, we returned home and Laika seemed a bit itchier than usual. She was rubbing on every surface possible and couldn't get comfortable. I felt bad for her and gave her an extra Benadryl to help. She seemed to calm down, which was a relief to both of us.
The next day, however, she had moved from scratching and rubbing to licking herself in a very private/sensitive area! I could see that her inner legs and belly were very red and had some small lesions, from contact with some environmental allergen (most likely grass) or from the licking. Either way, it was time to take Laika to see the vet. Being that this was one of our early trips, I hadn't yet built a rapport with the doctors or techs there. Still, they remembered Laika from her first visits and knew she was a complete goof.
We arrived at the vet and were immediately put in a room to wait. Laika continued her licking, despite my attempts to get her to stop. I was really unsure of what to tell them, because Laika was licking her "private area" a lot and I was a bit embarrassed to tell them. Not sure why, but it was a point of overthinking. When the tech entered the room, she asked what was wrong with Laika. I immediately (and nervously) answered, "Um...she has a rash in her bathing suit area and has been licking non stop." The tech responded by laughing uncontrollably, while Laika stopped licking and wondered what was so funny. Apparently, this was not the usual way to describe the afflicted area, and the tech called in the doctor for me to explain it again. Yes, this was a somewhat awkward situation, but still amusing, I think. (It's been about 10 years and I still remember the scene like it just happened!)
As I repeated myself for the vet, Laika, almost on cue, rolled over to expose her rash for both of them to see. Through much hearty laughter, the vet confirmed immediately that it was a skin infection from some type of allergy. She said she was going to remember the phrase "bathing suit area" for a long time, as, clearly, no one had ever said that before. And, in fact, she and the tech did! They probably put it in Laika's permanent record, just to keep it "on file." I feel like they reminded me about it years later and it was still funny to them. I wasn't embarrassed, but was pretty amused that it made such an impact! As far as Laika's skin infection, it went away pretty quickly with the help of antibiotics and she was back to her normal, slightly itchy self in no time.
Laika, though, had some other memorable trips to the vet for very different reasons...
Feelin' good with a rash-free belly!
No comments:
Post a Comment