golden retriever

[choxanwine]

Have just noticed sore patch on my golden retriever's rump. He has obviously been licking it a lot (although I hadn't noticed it until now). Can't see any obvious cause, i.e. insect bite, scratch, etc. just some hair missing and quite raw. Vet's closed at weekend unless emergency. Any ideas? (dd says neighbour told her retrievers are prone to skin problems - is this true? (he is 4 yrs old and never had anything like this before.)

Sounds like what is known as a "hot spot" - just a nasty deep infection that will get worse with further self trauma.

You need to stop the dog licking at it - use a t-shirt on him if necessary. Ideally if you have one of the lamp shade hats for him or can borrow one (about a 25-30cm one for a retriever) that would stop him better.

If you are able to CAREFULLY clip some of the fur away from the edges of the site so that there is less to get matted and dried into it. You may need to gently soak the wound to get any dried hair loose again though.

Wash the area with salted water - 1 level tsp of salt to a pint of water. Clean at least twice daily and pat dry.

Contact your vet on monday for further checks and medications as required - though worth phoning your vet tomorrow and seeing if they do run an urgent cases clinic in the morning - many do and this I would say would warrant a visit to that if possible as it will be quite uncomfortable for the dog.

Hope he is feeling better soon

Thanks Beaut for advice - it seemed to calm down a bit by Monday am but by pm had flared up again. Took him to vet tues am and she gave me a whole list of things it could be, including mange (from a fox), problem with glands, etc.. but eventually decided it was probably caused by a bite or sting of some kind and gave a jab to stop the itching and Fuciderm gel to apply. He's not licking it so much now (useful t-shirt tip). We shall see... thanks again.