Hi all, My BIL invited me to take Harvey along to a Beaters Day at the shoot that he attends. Harvey had a great time (so did I) but ... ever since we've got home he has been doing this weird 'skating on the carpet' thing in the living room as if he has incredibly itchy feet! What might have caused this and how do we stop it? (and, if possible, how do we stop it happening if we go again) We've given him a bath (which he needed anyway tbh!), we've tried salt water, we've tried cider vinegar - nothing seems to help for more than about 30 seconds.
Sounds like he has been stung, perhaps by nettles or some other plant that has irritated him. Is he still doing the skating thing?
It may be worth trying sudocreme. It's helped Harley before when she was stung by nettles. Hope the itching stops soon for him.
My pup had an allergic reaction this week on her paws and was skating, pawing at the ground, licking and biting them. Because it was so severe she needed IV antihistamine and a steroid but the vet said if it happened again but less severely I could give her a piriton tablet 4mg (had to be piriton and not other forms and not the super strength dose). I've since googled online and it seems you can give other antihistamines but the dose is based on weight.
Apologies for the late update - it's been one of those weeks! The itching gradually lessened as the evening went on and had gone completely by the next morning. Very odd ... Poor lad also had what I think is called 'cold tail' - limp tail and no wagging at all, which is very unusual for Harv as he is generally a very happy chap with a very waggy tail. This, too, cleared up but took 3-4 days. Good job we both enjoyed the outing or this could have put us off
Completely off-topic here and I have no words of wisdom for itchy feet. I just wanted to say I love your avatar pic of Harvey and his teddy. Just makes me go all mushy inside.
There wasn't supposed to be any swimming ... But Harv finds any water, from a muddy puddle to the sea, irresistible and did take a couple of unscheduled dips!
You might feel differently if you saw how most of his soft toys are treated shortly after such pictures are taken
Not wanting to make you worry - and I might be completely wrong, but just relating to our dog - could Harvey have hurt his back? Sometimes dogs chew their feet in response to pain somewhere else. And a limp tail might be related to a sore back. Does Harvey rise from lying down and stand stiffly, back arched like a cat?
Hi MF Thanks for your concern. No, Harv tends to leap up from lying down! And his tail is back to it's normal Force 10 wagginess