Remember how I mentioned that Olga had a rash when she came home from the dog-sitter's?
Well, that rash had us really stumped. It looked like poison ivy -- raised red bumps all over her belly, but apparently not on any part of her skin covered by fur. It seemed like she ran through nettles or rubbed against something that irritated her, but she wasn't visibly itchy or in pain. The dog-sitter professed to not know the cause. (Can you tell I'm skeptical?)
I took a photo of her rash to work to show a coworker who also owns a staffy. She gasped when she saw it and suggested we bathe Olga -- a suggestion I'd already made to Dave. We hadn't yet had a chance to do it, but in the meantime I rubbed some diaper rash cream (in Britain, "nappy cream") on her chest -- we had good success with that when she had a milder rash years ago in reaction to a certain kind of pet food.
And yesterday, voila! Her rash all but disappeared.
Could it have been stress? I wonder. She's definitely calmer being home and she's been sleeping a lot. I think she was exhausted.
In that case, I can identify -- today I have to go in to work early because one of my coworkers (not the staffy owner) is sick. Which means I have to get up and out of here by about 7 a.m., concurrent with Dave, which is always a challenge. And then I'm working until 5 p.m. as usual, and we have a student concert to attend tonight.
Lots of people at work seem to be ill. Apparently something was going around during the holiday season. I'm not feeling so great myself, but I think it's partly jet lag.
If I come down with a rash, I'm suing the dog-sitter.
(Kidding!)
Last night we started the fourth season of "The Wire." I'm hoping I can get Dave more into it, and apparently education begins to play a part in the show's plot this season -- being a teacher, he might respond to that. He hasn't loved the series so far. I, on the other hand, have a secret crush on Omar.
(Photo: A laundry on Finchley Road, on Tuesday.)
I'm glad the rash is resolving and I hope you get through your long day well enough to enjoy the evening.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know LOVES The Wire and I just can't understand why it doesn't hold my attention. I've tried several times to get into it and finally even skipped to the season with journalism as the central theme and even that I soon abandoned. But it is repected by so many people I whose opinions I respect that maybe I'll try yet again. Glad Olga's rash is better.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that the rash has disappeared. If it was the stress, I wonder why Olga hadn't got it at your old dog sitters place.
ReplyDelete(Sorry, I didn't comment recently, although I read your blog every day, I vow to improve).)
Nice picture of the laundry frontage... Poor old Olga! It is probably contact dermatitis which can, I understand, be triggered by any of the following irritants:-
ReplyDeletePlants
Mulch/Cedar chips
Herbicides
Fertilizers
Fabrics
Plastics
Rubber
Leather
Rugs
Carpets
Concrete
Metal
Rough surfaces
Soaps
Detergents
Floor waxes
Carpet and litter deodorizers
Sensitivity to the sun/heat
Topical agents
Medications
Food allergy
Insect bites
Bacterial infection
Fungal infection (e.g., ringworm)
Lupus
Dandruff
Flea collars
Parasitic hypersensitivity or infestation (e.g., mites, fleas)
Insecticides, including newer topical flea treatments
perhaps something at the dog sitters, a blanket or rug or something that Olga was laying on. glad it has resolved itself.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a remedy for the rash. It probably was a bit stress related.
ReplyDeleteWe can't ask Olga any questions to find out what might have happened. the range questions is long like Mr. Pudding suggests.
ReplyDeleteDexter had a rash, I used everything I could think of on it, then it turned black and we knew it was something other...turns out it was a (ick) fungus. He had to take a half tablet of a tiny pill everyday for the rest of his life, Sorry OLGA...When I came back from London with in the week I not only got a rash but my hair fell out...again...What is up with that? Stress shows up in peculiar ways, I suppose. Tried a few episodes of the WIRE, so intense and yes, I totally get the "crush"...oh yes...welcome home!! I do love the photo of the diamond laundry with the headless person.
ReplyDeleteDogs love routine so the stress theory may not be wide of the mark. I'm sure Olga will be fine now that she is back home.
ReplyDeleteI can confirm the Christmas bug story though. My son brought it into the house when he stayed over and we've all been succumbing to it since. Not quite a full-blown cold but not feeling great either.
I've heard that dogs are very loyal to their owners so she may have just been afraid she'd been abandoned when you were on your trip.
ReplyDeleteWith pets and kids, it's always something! I'm glad Olga's rash has resolved. It must make you less than enthusiastic for her to go back to the sitter the next time, though.
ReplyDeleteYour secret crush is not a secret now. lol
I was literally seduced by the man I'm seeing over The Wire. I had tried to watch it a few times years ago, but I just couldn't get into the dark and gritty thing. Then I met this guy -- and it was all over. I would say now that I truly think it's the greatest television series ever made along with The Sopranos. The characters, the dialogue, the almost Shakespearean plots and themes -- well I think it's extraordinary. And yes to Omar. He is the soul of the whole shebang and one of the greatest characters EVER.
ReplyDelete