Mindy is such a sweet wonderful dog. I adore her. We were outside in the yard this morning taking photos. I just love when she looks up like this. So regal.

She’s got such lady class!

Well, this is it! Last year I got all sentimental & I didn’t have the heart to let my mindyGirl.us domain name expire. I even registered a new domain name mindyGirl.com!

So one year has passed, and both domains sit unused. So, this year I am just letting go. Time to move forward. TwoRatties.com is all I need for my girls, Lexi and Mindy!

Goodbye sweet mindygirl – oh well. Gotta move on. It’s time.

Disclaimer: This post might be too graphic and gross for some. Please don’t read if you are easily grossed out.

Oh what a morning! We woke up at around 4am this morning to find Mindy compulsively licking her butt area. I checked and it was a terrible ‘hot spot’ sore (dermatitis). We’ve never had to deal with anything like this, but I remember our previous neighbor had an issue with her dog.

I dug out an old Elizabethan collar and we stuck that around her neck, but it didn’t seem wide/long enough to stop her from licking. Also, Mindy is a burrower under the covers, so needless to say, I wasn’t able to sleep, since I was worried about her trying to lick herself, even with the collar.

I was upset and ready to head to the emergency Vet, but DH calmed me down and said we should wait until daytime at least, so we all went downstairs to the family room.

I tried sleeping with Lexi on the sofa and Mindy was settled down with DH on his recliner. She didn’t seem to have any itching or licking issues, which was good! We woke up later, and Mindy seemed to be acting okay, she was a little put off by the collar. We took both girls outside to pee/poo. Mindy pooed a very small amount at first, and then pooed much more a few minutes later. It was not runny at all, very hard in fact, which is normal for her.

Both girls ate, and I ended up taking the collar off of Mindy to see if she would be more comfortable, and she did fine without it.

In the meantime, I did some online research, and found a great page: http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/hot_spots.html. The conscientious was to use apple cider vinegar, so we made up a batch of 50% ACV and 50% water in a spray bottle.

I sprayed a tiny bit on a paper towel to make sure it wasn’t too painful. (Note: there are reports that it will sting like crazy if it’s an open sore). She didn’t seem to be in pain, so I sprayed some on the sore. I kept spraying every couple of hours.

The sore on her butt was definitely oozing. It ranged from brownish to clear to brownish again.

I also tried applying black tea bags (cooled off) – no herbs or other ingredients, just tea. It stated black tea was best, and initially I only had one green tea bag, but I purchased a box of black tea at the store. It seemed to help, and I think it eased some of the itch.

I didn’t want to use any anti-biotic ointment, because I was afraid the petroleum jelly wouldn’t allow it to dry out enough. Vinegar has anti-biotic properties, so it made sense to use that.

The “redness” was definitely spread from the sore (which was right next to her anus) up to next to her tail (she’s bobbed). Her fur is short, but thick, and it was tough to see under, but there was definitely a larger area of redness, but it didn’t look infected or sore like that one spot.

It was suggested to trim the fur in that area. I tried to, I really did. I put on a latex glove and thought maybe I could trim her fur with little scissors, but it really was impossible. Her fur is so short, and we don’t have any electric clippers. I just figured I would leave it as is for now, and try not to stress her.

So, I did calm down a lot. I’m still upset, but I have a better handle on the situation. I realize it’s not a life and death situation so the Emergency Vet isn’t really necessary. Plus, it’s so expensive ($125 just to walk in), so we’re hoping to get through today and tonight, then call her normal Vet in the morning.

Why do these things always happen on Sundays, after the Vet is closed?!

Note: When we came home last night, I recall seeing some strange stains on the blanket covering the living room chair upstairs – looking back now, I think it must have been some sort of oozing discharge. And Lexi kept sniffing the chair and DH saw her sniffing Mindy’s butt area last night when they were outside. I think she must have started oozing last night, but we never noticed because she never licked herself in front of us. I bet she was licking herself for awhile on the chair when we were out.

UPDATE: I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I didn’t know if she was going to keep trying to lick at the sore, and with the collar/cone on, I didn’t know how she was going to sleep under the covers. I was planning on sleeping with her on the sofa somehow but I didn’t know how that was going to work, since I know that she would want to sleep in the bed with DH. I started by putting towel and sheet on the sofa, and true to form, she ran upstairs to sleep in our bed instead. So, I figured I would see how she would do under the covers in bed. I was thrilled that she actually did okay. At first, I was skittish with her every move. But it looked like she didn’t even attempt to lick, so we both got a decent sleep. I gave her 1/2 a Benedryl at around 8pm, so I think that might have made her a bit sleepy too.

So, in the morning, I checked her sore, and it was a little oozing still, but not as bad. Plus I was really happy that the redness all above the sore (under her fur) seemed to be gone. I applied another couple of cooled black tea bags, but I didn’t spray on any apple cider vinegar & water mix. I didn’t know if it was stinging her, so I didn’t want to upset her.

I called the Vet and made an appointment, and we went in. The vet said it was an infected anal gland, which was what one of my Facebook friends thought! They trimmed a bit of the fur around the sore, and expressed both of her glands. He prescribed Clavamox (anti-biotic) for 2 weeks (twice daily) and Carprofen for 3 days (twice daily) for pain and inflammation. Both are to be taken with food. It was also suggested to spray warm water once a day to clean out the area. He said that it would take about a week for her to heal.

When we left it was horribly read and oozing blood and pus. It looked very swollen. The poor baby. We also left with a larger Elizabethan collar (cone) that should stop her from any licking. It’s pretty big on her head, so I am very nervous about her walking around alone tomorrow while I am at work, so I will hopefully be able to shut our bedroom door so she won’t be able to move downstairs. I just don’t want her to fall! I know she would hate to be crated, so the closed bedroom would be the best option I think.

Awesome! Mindy went to the vet to get her nails trimmed and she is down to 13.2 lbs. She’s lean and mean!

Yay!

She didn’t like being at the vet at all today. I made the mistake of bringing both lexi and her last time and it was chaotic! I think I ruined her for good!

Lexi was still very young when she experienced snow last season, so I am not sure if she remembers it. Plus she was sick for so many months, that I don’t think she got outside for too long.

Last night, the first snow of this season fell.

Lexi was out in the yard for a little bit last night, while it was first snowing, but she stayed by the door/porch where it was drier. There was about 4 inches on the ground when we took the dogs outside this morning. Lexi went out into the yard cautiously, but she seemed okay.

I saw her pee, and while I was taking some photos, I thought I might have saw her poop, but I am not 100% sure.

By the end, I think her feet were very cold, and she just wanted in the house! I tried to keep her outside for a little bit, to make sure she didn’t need to poop, but she just wanted to go inside. Just as suspected, Lexi is not a cold weather doggy! hehee.

Mindy doesn’t mind the snow, but she hates when there’s freezing cold ice under her paws. Last night, Mike said that while Mindy was outside, she went crazy running around playing in the snow (on leash). She likes when she can kick up the flakes! I tried to get her to run around this morning, but she wasn’t in the mood I guess.

Mindy loves to sit on my lap when I am working on the computer every morning. She will even sometimes fall asleep! It’s a nice time to bond with her.

Since Lexi has been doing very well with her house training, I have been leaving her out of her crate in the morning, and she usually finds an old bone to chew on, but she usually hangs out in my office. Sometimes, she begs to sit on my lap too. She loves to watch the laptop screen, the cursor moving or the colors moving around. It’s so cute to watch her fascination with the screen!

But since she is still young and energetic, she only stays on my lap for a short while, before she wants off!

Well, this morning, Mindy came up on my lap for a few minutes, then it was Lexi’s turn for a few minutes. Then shortly after, Mindy AND Lexi both were begging to sit on mama’s lap at once.

I decided to give Mindy a turn, and petted Lexi while she sat on the floor. Well, that wasn’t good enough for her, she leaped up and landed on my lap on top of Mindy! aaacch! It was so funny. I had two small dogs battling it out on my lap!

I scrambled to try to launch “Photobooth” so I could take a photo of the situation! And here is one of the better shots! It was hard to keep them still in front of the camera!

And here are a couple of outtakes:

The other morning, I took Mindy outside, so I could snap a few photos of the rain drops in the yard. We started out calm and relaxing. She loves when I bring her outside with my camera.

Then, she caught a burst of energy. I love how she gets like this, running non stop like the wind. All four paws are airborne!

She would race, then run over to the side, and dig like crazy in the dirt.

Then take off again running! She even got a little leaf on her paw!

It was so funny to watch, and I can’t even say how exciting it is to see her happy, healthy and active like this. I know her legs hurt sometimes, but when I see her run, it’s amazing. She is trim, fit and full of life!

So, when we got back into the house, her feet were filthy from the mud, I had to throw her in the sink for a quick foot bath!

A much happier video that I neglected to post. My girls playing in the yard. I love this one, as Lexi has a piece of grass stuck in her mouth and she has the cutest sweetest face.

Mindy has lost a lot of weight, she is trim and looking fantastic. And her energy seems to be way up too. She’s bouncier and more playful.

It seemed like she lost a little bit of her joy when we brought Lexi into her world, but I think she is finally starting to come around.

She’s chasing and playing with Lexi more, and she is definitely acting more like her old self (pre Lexi). She’s been playing frisbee with Mike in the yard, and has been having a blast! It’s so nice to see her happier.

Gave both Mindy and Lexi baths this afternoon.

Lexi really really hates it. Lucky for me, she’s so tiny, I can hold her with one hand and wash with the other. She is always trying to jump out of the sink.

Mindy is okay. She is uncomfortable, but she puts up with it, and stays in the sink.

But now they are nice and clean for Grammy and Grampy’s visit tomorrow (Grampy’s birthday celebration)