Ringworm v.s. Insect Bite

We had a bit of an eye-opener the other night. I noticed a spot of Bella's tummy that looked really odd—a red ring about the size of a fingernail with a dot in the middle. My husband thought it might be ringworm. Looking it up on the Internet made it seem fairly likely. Our neighbor is a vet tech and my husband ran the picture over to her to take a look. She was late for work and took a hurried glance (at the picture, not Bella's tummy) and confirmed it.

Yikes! All the dog's bedding needed washing, it was recommended toys be washed in a bleach solution or tossed, carpets needed daily vacuuming. An over the counter anti-fungal cream needed to be applied to the outbreak twice a day. Ringworm is highly contagious to boot, so our clothes needed washing, our hands had to be covered to pet the dog—and the verdict was this could last for months! Not only that, but Bella had just been playing with a couple of friends' dogs, so they had to be notified. You get the picture; a cascade of events around this spot.

I called the vet and ran through what I was doing and wondered what else was necessary to control and contain this. Her returned message stated it was highly unlikely it was ringworm. Wow! Really? Her take was it could be a bug bite. Bella did not seem to be bothered at all by it, though she hated being quarantined to the kitchen.

Still, I made an appointment to take the pup in to the vet in a day or two, but already the spot is nearly gone. No other spots have appeared. I've called everyone back with what's going on and will continue the update if necessary. However, I just couldn't, just can't, imagine what it would be like not being able to pet my dog (without gloves) or kiss her furry face. (That brought up a whole additional rash of horrible thoughts. Wonder if I got ringworm on my face!)

I'm feeling pretty good about it all. I think by tomorrow there will be no indication there was even a mark on the pup's stomach. What a relief! The lesson here is don't self-diagnose on the Internet and don't ask a knowledgeable person who is in a hurry for a diagnosis!

Puppies

Bella has been lucky recently. She's had lots of opportunity to play with other dogs. This, unfortunately, isn't normal. At the dog park, she's completely focused on any tennis balls that might be flying by—not the dogs. Our friends have older dogs whom she loves, but they aren't interested in playing. When she gets to see her half-sister, Molly, it's always a great day.

Recently we spent several days at the ocean and two very large puppies attached themselves to Bella. They looked to be about four months old judging from their teeth and fat. It was cute to see the dogs together, but sad that the puppies were loose all day (and even at night?). They were at our van in the early hours of the morning and stayed until we went to bed.

The little girl looked more Siberian, her brother more like a golden German Shepherd. She was more adventuresome and would pursue Bella to play, while the boy puppy was a bit intimidated by Bella. He'd chomp on his sister's back flank while her front end was engaged with Bella. What a sight!

At one point the two puppies were playing together. Only the girl had a collar (no ID), but the boy's teeth got hooked in his sister's collar which twisted around his bottom jaw. It was awful! They were shrieking and tumbling. Luckily we were there to hold them and unhook (and remove) the collar. What would have happened if they'd been alone?

Bellie had another opportunity for play this afternoon when our former neighbor was mowing the lawn at his former/now rental house next door. They recently purchased a 1 year old golden doodle from the pound and he had her with him. He brought her (Amber) over so the two dogs could play. They had a great afternoon. I wish I'd taken a picture of the dogs together. Bella's exhausted—a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Last Class

Saturday was our last class. I'm always relieved when obligations are completed, but also disappointed. I enjoy these classes and am looking forward to signing Bella up for another one. I think we may do the Canine Good Citizen class. It would be good for both of us to learn to do things without her training collar.

Our last class was uneventful. Even Charlie, the agro boxer, was pretty well-behaved. His owner deserves lauds and applauds. The Rhodesian Ridgeback wasn't there and I wonder how much that affected things. We did off leash healing and commands for our last "assignment."

In the afternoon, I took Bella to an Intro to Agility workshop. We were able to run the open and collapsed tunnels, climb the ramp, jump through the tire and attempt stopping and sitting on the table. She did okay considering it was her first attempt.

Our weather has been really awful the past four days (cold, windy and rainy) and we haven't gotten outside as much as we normally do. I was hoping this class might take the edge off, but realized it just showcased what a slightly bored puppy is like. A bit over amped and sassy. Without her training collar, she was pulling as if she had no idea how to walk on a leash. Definitely not the case, but embarrassing. There is no class available right now, so our only opportunity to try agility is these once-every-two-months workshops.