321. Teaching responsible pet ownership - The Internet Beagle
The father bought a Beagle puppy for the Primary Six Girl in 2003.
http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporepets/
031011beagle_internet_sale_Singapore.htm.
Now, it is 2006. The Beagle is in an excellent bodily condition. Shiny white coat with black and brown spots. His shiny coat showed good feeding, grooming and maintenance.
But for the past few weeks, he keeps licking his right hock daily. Bite wounds seen. Self mutilation.
"What's the solution?" the daddy says.
"No fast cure," I said. "His left hock and elbow have big sores. Usually due to friction with the floor. Pressure sores. The dog starts licking to relieve the itch. The sores become bigger and infected. The dog licks more. Bites to relieve the itchiness. You can see the bite marks. His right elbow and hock were also injured but not badly."
The Beagle needed antibiotics and daily washing.
"How are his anal glands?" I asked the father. His daughter had gone to a good girls' school. Slim and bright eyed. The father must be happy.
"I could not squeeze out any anal discharge since you did it 6 months ago," the father said. He seemed to have lost weight and grown tired. Or I could be mistaken.
The Beagle was put on the consultation table. Nurse Anna was first to check the anal glands. Black thick oily paste squirted onto the tissue paper. I squeezed the glands and more paste swirled out from the right anal gland. The father was surprised.
Now, this Beagle did not show any signs of anal gland impaction. No tail biting. No dark skin licking blemishes in his anal area or flanks. Yet, his anal glands were badly impacted and the abundant black oil showed that the oil was blocked from coming out daily.
Could the left hock sore be his response to anal gland impaction? Hard to say.
"How about his ears?" I asked the father.
The Beagle wrinkled his muzzle and showed his canine teeth a few times as I tried to put a cotton bud to check the lower ear canal. No way.
"Get a muzzle," I told Nurse Ann. She put on the muzzle. The Beagle used his front paw to remove it.
"Tie the muzzle ends tight," I advised. The ear canals had dark brown wax. The owners just cleaned the ear flap and had not done any maintenance of the lower ear canals.
"I will do the ear cleaning," the father said.
"I will clean the sores," the Secondary School girl said.
I had not expected this sharing of dog care. The father was teaching his daughter responsible dog ownership by example. It was a surprise to me as I had never seen such teaching by example from a father to a child in my past 30 years of practice. He did not leave it to the domestic worker. Father and daughter bonded well.
http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporepets/
031011beagle_internet_sale_Singapore.htm.
Now, it is 2006. The Beagle is in an excellent bodily condition. Shiny white coat with black and brown spots. His shiny coat showed good feeding, grooming and maintenance.
But for the past few weeks, he keeps licking his right hock daily. Bite wounds seen. Self mutilation.
"What's the solution?" the daddy says.
"No fast cure," I said. "His left hock and elbow have big sores. Usually due to friction with the floor. Pressure sores. The dog starts licking to relieve the itch. The sores become bigger and infected. The dog licks more. Bites to relieve the itchiness. You can see the bite marks. His right elbow and hock were also injured but not badly."
The Beagle needed antibiotics and daily washing.
"How are his anal glands?" I asked the father. His daughter had gone to a good girls' school. Slim and bright eyed. The father must be happy.
"I could not squeeze out any anal discharge since you did it 6 months ago," the father said. He seemed to have lost weight and grown tired. Or I could be mistaken.
The Beagle was put on the consultation table. Nurse Anna was first to check the anal glands. Black thick oily paste squirted onto the tissue paper. I squeezed the glands and more paste swirled out from the right anal gland. The father was surprised.
Now, this Beagle did not show any signs of anal gland impaction. No tail biting. No dark skin licking blemishes in his anal area or flanks. Yet, his anal glands were badly impacted and the abundant black oil showed that the oil was blocked from coming out daily.
Could the left hock sore be his response to anal gland impaction? Hard to say.
"How about his ears?" I asked the father.
The Beagle wrinkled his muzzle and showed his canine teeth a few times as I tried to put a cotton bud to check the lower ear canal. No way.
"Get a muzzle," I told Nurse Ann. She put on the muzzle. The Beagle used his front paw to remove it.
"Tie the muzzle ends tight," I advised. The ear canals had dark brown wax. The owners just cleaned the ear flap and had not done any maintenance of the lower ear canals.
"I will do the ear cleaning," the father said.
"I will clean the sores," the Secondary School girl said.
I had not expected this sharing of dog care. The father was teaching his daughter responsible dog ownership by example. It was a surprise to me as I had never seen such teaching by example from a father to a child in my past 30 years of practice. He did not leave it to the domestic worker. Father and daughter bonded well.
posted by Photography by Sing Kong Yuen | 7:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home