The Spaniel Diaries: The continuing adventures of Billy

The Spaniel Diaries

Well, my threats to bite the weatherman haven’t seemed to have worked; it’s been more like November than August lately. We have been getting absolutely soaked on our walks and mum has taken to putting us in silly drying coats afterwards; I would prefer to roll around in the horses’ stables in their nice wood shavings, but mum put the kibosh on that after I shook half the contents of one of the stables all over the inside of the car. Personally I couldn’t see the problem as it made the car smell better anyway!

Mav isn’t very impressed as he went to the groomer this week, I thought it was hilarious as he really hates being groomed and he always comes home smelling like flowers! I really must search him out some fox poo to roll in as I do feel a tiny bit sorry for him having to smell so flowery. One thing that is driving mum mad at the moment is the burrs. We spaniels love to snuffle around in the undergrowth and we come out full of them, which then takes mum ages to pick them all out of our fur. She has taken to using the slippery stuff she sprays on the horses’ tails and spraying us with it to stop the burrs from sticking to us. I find this disappointing as when she’s busy picking those out of our ears it gives her less time to plan training!

Mum has been doing more gardening recently which has been lovely for us dogs as we get to potter around with her while she trims and tidies the plants, although I have to say that I feel insulted when she tells me off for trying to help by picking the heads off the marigolds! Mav gets told off for eating snails, he really is a disgusting little urchin and it’s totally his fault that we have to go to the vet and have horrible medicine to stop us get lungworm from those slimy critters. Yuk! I am a gentleman so I don’t eat slugs or snails, I’m even picky over my bedtime biscuit; only a gravy bone will do you know! I’m really noticing the evenings starting to draw in and as such mum has got obsessed with trying to take pictures of us saying something about perfect light, I try to hide my face as much as I can, I mean, she should be paying me in gravy bones for this, especially my good side! I know it drives her mad, especially as I’m quick to recognise the camera coming out and thus I stick my head in a bush, I also find flopping down when she’s sat me up for a pic is fun too! That little sneak Mav poses like a supermodel, mum loves it and spends hours taking photos of him, lord knows why, he’s nowhere near as handsome as I am and hasn’t got any beauty spots either like me.

Mum is talking alot about a place called ‘Devon’ so it sounds as though we may be off on some travels again soon. I really hope it’s like the Cornwall place where we got to run and swim in the sea – I’m not sure who was more tired, us dogs or mum! Jeannette Douglas

Itchy dogs?

All dogs scratch, but when it comes persistent you should see your vet. An itchy dog might have a skin infection, a flea problem, an allergy or something else.

There’s lots of different treatments your vet can suggest you try, some are to give immediate relief from the irritation, and some are long-term treatments to help with allergies.

Like us, dogs can be allergic to pollens, dust/house mites, fungal spores, flea bites and food.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want you to rush to your vets each time your dog is scratching, so here’s a few things to look out for: • Excessive licking, chewing, biting or scratching • Excessive rolling, rubbing or scooting • Chewing, especially around the base of the tail and paws • Redness of the skin • Changes in the skin, such as sores or darkened colour • Body odour I believe in a preventative approach so recommend regular parasite treatment to avoid flea bites as one of the causes. Some vets have health plans which allow you to spread the cost of your preventative treatment across the year.

Sophie Hall B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S. (veterinary surgeon and owner of Meadow Hall Vets)