Hot Badly Dog

 Ziggy and Sofy have been trying to keep cool while the weather has been so hot.  They've mostly managed this by keeping calm and sleeping a lot!  Sofy gets herself into the paddling pool while Ziggy will paddle if I drop little cubes of cheddar cheese in for him.  

Walks have either been 6am, 9pm or not at all as it has been difficult to walk in the shade.  Some evenings I've taken him for a drive with the aircon on in the car and the windows wide open and he's loved sitting with his head up, turning this way and that to feel the wind in his ears!

Ziggy is still having his bath's every 3 or 4 days and he is starting to look very handsome and is even sporting a distinguished single grey eyelash:

We love our Baldy Dog:

Waiting for more cheese:

Little Miss Sofy with wet paws:

Sofy and Ziggy's tummy clocks wake as soon as it is light so we have been up early while it is still cool.  Being in the field at 6am is perfect for Ziggy as the sun is not too hot and the long grass is damp with dew:

The grass is now taller than Ziggy:

Sometimes I can't decide whether Ziggy is looking cute or goofy!

Ziggy's busy few weeks!

Mr Ziggy has had a busy few weeks with holiday, days out, weekends away, visitors and seeing his dermatology specialist so there is a lot to catch up with!

But most of all, he has been busy being handsome, just like this:

Ziggy is off the steroids and antibiotics and only on the Cyclosporin for his allergies and I'm pretty certain he has some tufts of new fur!  This is very exciting as it has been a long journey to get past the skin infections and getting the right medication and treatment since he first arrived, looking like this:

He has had a lot of problems with his ears, a combination of the allergies and bacterial infection but we've recently started new cleaner and gel and after just a week his ears are way better and not causing him to scratch.  Ziggy still has a bath every few days as it has been a combined effort of topical treatment as well as medication but we are getting there.

I've had time off work as our lovely friend Jana has been visiting from Seattle.  We got to know each other through Twitter back in 2009 when Wiggle met Jana's choccie girl Lucy and from then on we have been the best of friends.  While Jana was here, we did a lot of tourist things including taking Ziggy down to Southbourne Beach.  Sofy chose not to come by refusing all bribes and not moving from her bed.

I don't know if Ziggy had been to the seaside before but he had fun, running around and splashing in the sea:

While Jana was here we spent a few days in London so Sofy stayed with my mum and Ziggy went to stay with his would-be girlfriend, Lilly.  He loves Lilly so was very excited when she came to stay with us for the weekend.  While she was here, she had a bath and so did Squirrel which meant that the 3 Labbies got together to plan how they could rescue Squirrel from the washing line.....

Before Jana left we took Ziggy and Lilly for a date night at the pub.  They both got some leftovers of our dinner as they were both on their best behaviour.

Now that everything is back to normal we are trying to keep cool during this warm weather.  Ziggy does not cope well with the heat and has been a bit under the weather but he's fine now and staying out of the sunshine.  Sofy has been enjoying their new pool but Ziggy isn't sure yet....

Ziggy Update

This morning we were all up not long after sunrise and with another warm day due, Ziggy and I went down to the fields by the river just after 8am, by which time mist had come down.

Ziggy was super lively and so excited to be running around in the cool, damp grass:

Soon enough, he got to the river:

But as yet, Ziggy hasn't done actual, proper swimming when he has been near water!  He prefers to paddle:

We weren't the only ones at the river:

And just because he could, Ziggy did zoomies, up to the tree and back again!

Yesterday was a busy day for the Ziggster, visiting Grandyma and going to lunch where he was a Very Good Boy and got to share with us as well as being given his own bowl of water by the lovely staff:

Even though the grasses are the worst thing for Ziggy, he still needs to go for his walks.  The pollen's are airborne so even if we aren't in the fields, we can't avoid the allergens.

To reduce the reaction, Ziggy has been having his Malaseb baths every few days.  He likes to take the opportunity to look utterly depressed but really he likes his baths and gives kisses while the shampoo is massaged into his skin

Last week he had an appointment with the dermatology specialist so came into work with me.  After the usual bin check and going to each desk to say hello, he settled down, thinking he could sleep until lunch time: 

Wrong!  His sweetheart arrived and the Baldy One was overjoyed!  He loves Lilly but so far she has been resisting his charms.  He feels he is making progress though as she did bring him her bear for a game of tuggy, so Ziggy hopes she might like him just a little bit.....

Grasses are the enemy!

Poor Ziggy, turns out he is allergic to quite a few things.

The results from the recent tests have been coming back and he is allergic to: 

Orchard grass

Rye grass

Timothy grass

Mustard pollen

Plantain

Thistle

Dandelion

Rapeseed

Penicillin mold

House dust mites

Add the above to bacterial skin infections and it's no wonder Ziggy has been so itchy but at least the antibiotics have been working on his infection and he is not scratching as much.  He is unable to go without the prednisolone so until he starts allergy treatment, he is having the steroids alternate days and in two weeks when we next see Bridget will start n a high dose of Cyclosporin which will hopefully bring the allergic reaction under control.

It makes me so sad for him as he loves being outside and doing stuff a Labrador should do:

Thankfully he doesn't know that he has a long list of things that make him itch so he doesn't look at the grass in our garden and notice the dandelion, plantain and other stuff like I do.  He does, however, like the comfort of a dog bed for his outdoor lounging like earlier today:

In himself, Ziggy is as daft and happy as usual, he is affectionate and cuddly which makes it all the more sad to see him so bald and threadbare.  We are so grateful to Labrador Rescue South East & Central for taking on Ziggy when he was given up but he's going to take a lot more care to get better and that costs money.

Ziggy is just one of many dogs which the charity cares for and all donations are very gratefully received.  Please visit the Donations page on the website for different ways to help with much needed funds.

Thank you!

Getting better, day by day

Thankfully this week's blog entry is good news - Ziggy is much better than he was a week ago!

After speaking and texting with Bridget the vet, the various test results came back in after the scrapings and blood samples etc taken on Friday.  Fortunately, Ziggy did not have sarcoptic mange but he did have a severe skin infection caused by 3 different bacteria.

New antibiotics were prescribed and we started back on the prednisolone steroids, initially on a higher dose which has since been reduced.  

By Tuesday, Ziggy was a lot brighter although the fur he does have was falling out in clumps and his sore skin was flaking off due to the infection:

But despite the flaking skin and fur falling out, even just looking at his eyes, I could tell Ziggy was feeling a lot better:

The extra dose of steroids was making Ziggy need to wee more but he was able to come to work and have plenty of toilet breaks.  Ziggy likes coming to work as he gets to hang out with Lilly and he loves Lilly:

Happy Baldy Dog:

Hopefully now we have got to the cause of Ziggy's skin problems and he will continue to get better and back to being the daft but happy boy I've come to love.

Poor Ziggy, getting worse, not better...

It's not been a good few days for Ziggy.  He's been seeing the dermatology specialist and undergoing tests so I've been weaning him off the steroid tablets ahead of blood being taken on Friday.  We know he has allergies and he also has a skin infection which has been resistant to the usual treatments but this week he became more itchy and was rubbing his face and licking himself, causing more hair loss.

This was how Ziggy was looking on Tuesday:

I had been in touch with the vet during the week and she said it sounded like Ziggy had Sarcoptic mange and the mites were burrowing in the surface of his skin, causing his discomfort and hair loss.  When we went to our appointment on Friday Ziggy had blood taken as well as more skin scrapings and swabs, all of which will be tested.  He was given a steroid injection to give immediate relief from the itching and I was given a solution called Aludex to make up and apply to his skin and fur as a dip and leave to dry.

Unfortunately, Ziggy had a bad reaction to the dip and was being sick and lethargic so in line with the information, I washed him to remove the Aludex that was still on his skin and fur but his body would have absorbed some into his system.  

By this morning, after a restless night, poor Ziggy was no better and by now I was worrying so I took him to our vet which is open on a Sunday morning.  As Sarcoptic mange is contagious I kept him in the car until we could be seen (we didn't have an appointment but thankfully they were able to fit us in).

This is how Ziggy was this morning:

We were seen by one of our regular vets who checked Ziggy over and gave him an anti-vomiting injection as well as eye drops as his eyes had become sort of sunken as the skin around his face had thickened.  

Ziggy has had plenty of rest and after being very quiet, he came and sat with me on the back door step:

This evening he managed a little walk which is more than he has done for a couple of days and he's been keeping down his bland meals so hopefully he will be feeling a lot better soon.  I'll be speaking to the specialist this week once the test results are in and all being well she will have a plan of action.

He really has had me worried and I want my daft, boingy boy back!

Itchy Ziggy

Poor Baldy Dog Ziggy is still itchy as we continue to try and get him better.  He saw the dermatology specialist a few weeks ago and had more tests done, which sadly have shown that on top of his allergies he has a bacterial skin infection which is resistant to the antibiotics and other medications he has been given so far.

So, he is on different medication and having a bath every 2 to 3 days as well as Yumega Itchy Dog supplement added to his prescription kibble and we are back to see the dermatologist later this coming week. 

Despite his rather threadbare exterior on the inside he is very affectionate and lovely, a happy boy and loves his cuddles and playing with his toys.  

He loves Sofy and today she wanted to come out with us so we went up to the old railway track and they got to kick up some mud:

I tried to get a photo of them together, but Ziggy hasn't learnt yet that the idea is to sit next to each other:

By the time Ziggy sat and faced the right way, Sofy had got bored and was off again: 

Sofy was happy to have a rest on the bench:

And Ziggy was happy to get into a muddy puddle:

Back to the beginning of the walk, practising their positions for the obligatory photo!