Dudley has been a bit of a grump lately. He seems to have seasonal dry grass allergies and has a few spots that are slightly irritated on his stomach, chest and the areas of his front legs just above his paws. My acupuncture vet suggested a strong black tea wipedown after going outside. I also attempted a diluted ACV wipedown but he had such a strong reaction to it emotionally that I said “Hmmm…he associates the smell with a bad memory. ” He literally jumped off his bed as soon as he smelled me opening the bottle of vinegar and hid underneath my computer desk. He had a pretty serious case of skin issues when the rescue pulled him from the street, so he most likely associates vinegar with that memory.
My co-worker had suggested a product that she has been using for her dog with skin issues and I ordered a bottle. It’s a leave-in conditioner with aloe, mangosteen, etc and has really good reviews. We don’t do baths often but he does tolerate them although the sight of a 3 legged dog trying to shake off water and dry his butt sent my youngest nephew into a giggling fit. My sister doesn’t have a fenced yard so Dudley was on a leash and was flopping about everywhere. I also forgot how much odor comes from a wet dog and said to the nephews “oh no, your mom is going to say something about the smell as soon as she walks in the door” And of course, the first thing she said when she came home from work was “has Dudley been farting? Why does it smell wierd in here”…
This summer has been good to us. We’ve gotten a lot of dog pack walks in, spent time with the nephews and developed a closer bond. We are coming up on our year anniversary of our “gotcha” date and will probably have a little party over at my sister’s house for the Dude. This weekend, there is a wooden boat show in the town my sister lives in and they have a dog pageant, which is pirate themed. I found out about it at the last minute and probably won’t subject Dudley to a costume when it is going to be warm. He doesn’t deal with any sort of clothing or harness that goes around his body well…so we will figure something out for next summer! I do love a peg legged tripawd! He’d probably tolerate a pirate hat and an eye patch…for the win!!!!
Speaking of Dudley’s intolerance for things going around his chest and waist…I have a confession to make. The harness that was gifted to me by the foundation didn’t work for Dudley. I’m sure I could have forced him to wear it, but he is such a stubborn boy. I would have regifted it back to the community but there was this situation that just made me think that it was meant to be. We’ve been walking with a really nice young guy who has a GSD who is developing hip issues. His dog is named Koda, which is the same name of my GSD that I had before Dudley. My Kota passed away last summer and it just seemed like the right moment to pass the harness on. I told him to try it out and if it worked, he could keep it. We saw them a week later and his Koda was wearing the harness. He told me that his dog loves it and you could even see that Koda felt more confident wearing it. This young man gave me a set of booties that he had bought for his dog that didn’t fit proper in exchange. I totally would have moved the harness back into the community but it felt like it was the right exchange.
I’m going to purchase one of the light weight harnesses from Ruffwear for Dudley to see if it works and if it doesn’t, I will definitely see if anyone from the Tripawd community can use it. Part of the issue with Dudley is that if his leash gets caught underneath his front leg, he just stops. I think he has probably stepped on his leash before and had a fall. And of course, his brain says that anything underneath his body is restriction. Factor in the stubborn Dudley and his mind is made up. He must have been a cat in a past life!
Awwwww poor Dudley. I’d be a grump too if I was all itchy like that, or getting apple cider vinegar on me. I hope the new shampoo works (and smells berter!).
That is a REALLY sweet story about the harness. I totally agree it was the right thing to do! YAY for it helping a dog who will wear one. Especially a GSD, which I’m a total sucker for!
Hope you guys have a terrific sunny weekend.
What’s involved in the black tea wipe down? One of my dogs has terrible seasonal allergies. She’s on apoquel but it’s been a rough summer. Washing her face with water helps, so I’m curious how you prepare the tea for a whipe down. I’ll give it a shot! She haaaaates getting wet, but it’s better than the itchies.
He said you just brew a really strong black tea, cool it down and keep it in a jar with a washcloth to wipe the dog down after coming inside. I haven’t been consistent with it but since I’ve been keeping Dudley out of the sword ferns, he isn’t as bad. The only thing with the tea is that it can stain a dog’s fur. The black tea is an antihistamine. I would also look into nettle powder if your dog will eat it sprinkled over wet food. Nettle is really good for them and us 🙂 Also a natural antihistamine! I use it for myself and actually need to get some since my allergies are starting to get worse with the dry weather we’re having.
I know how expensive the Apoquel is! My mom’s dog was on it all of the time. And Dudley hates getting wet too!!! I feel your pain there.
Oh good point about staining… Her face is very pale tan and white. I’ll look into the nettle powder though!
Here’s a link to an article about nettle for dogs from a TCM perspective. When I was giving nettle powder to my GSD, I would just buy the capsules and give him one capsule sprinkled over his food. He was 110 lbs. For myself, I would take 1 or 2 capsules. You can also make a nettle “tea” and use it topically. I am not sure if it would stain however, my GSD was very dark brown 🙂 Dudley has white feet but I would sacrifice his cute white socks for less itchy.
https://dailydogfoodrecipes.com/is-nettle-better-than-quercetin-for-itchy-dogs/#:~:text=Nettle's%20natural%20antihistamine%20properties%2C%20attributed,with%20arthritis%20or%20joint%20pain.