[BeausMama]

Hey everyone

I'm feeling very discouraged and like a rather crappy mom right now. I thought I was doing something good and its turned out to be not good. Since I can't walk Beau out on the street and such in case of unvaccinated dogs, I've been walking him with my mom and our other dog in the woods behind the house for a little adventure. I only did it for two days when this morning I went to groom him and I noticed a red spot on his neck under his collar. I took his collar off quick to look at it and sure enough it was rubbed raw. ( no bleeding or scabs or anything, just hair is falling out and it looks like blood vessels popped under the skin. Basically, rubbed raw.) It looks awful in my opinion, but he doesn't seem like its hurting him at all. Still - I left his collar off and I'm using a harness now (from one of our other dogs when they were young) so that his spot can heal and not get irritated or anything. I also called the vet to see if I should do anything about it - clean it with something? Put some ointment on it? He said just keep it clean and dry and walk him with the harness until he can stop pulling so much. I still feel crappy. Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips on making it heal faster or keeping it from happening again? Beau is a little over 3 months old. We start puppy kindergarten tomorrow and hopefully it'll help us teach him to heel better.

 

[cgriffin]

Things happen, don't beat yourself up over it. You noticed the problem and did something about it. That is all that matters.
Keeping it clean, dry and from rubbing further is fine. You can put some neosporin over the rubbed area, that will make it heal faster.
Good luck in puppy class!

 

[Megora]

What kind of collar was it? Do you usually have his collar on all the time or just when he was walking?

^ I'm just curious because I know of two people with dogs who had this issue. Both dogs were very short coated (mastiff and doberman)... neither were really heavy duty pullers.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Awww, I know how you feel but really, stuff happens fast. Don't be hard on yourself.

Sending hugs for fast healing and better heeling. lol Have fun in puppy class!

 

[LibertyME]

Some nylon collars have really rough edges where the nylon material ends and is kind of 'melted' to prevent fraying...wondering if that is what got him?

Don't beat yourself up...I'm guessing that he will heal fast.

 

[BeausMama]

Now that his collar has been off for a few hours, it doesn't look as bad as I thought originally. I don't think the fur is gone/fallen out, I think it's just matted from the collar. Maybe a little fell out but not as much as I thought.


Megora - it was a nylon collar, but Beau is definitely a puller (in the woods only, not in the yard/side walk). He's still a puppy so his fur is shorter, probably why it got rubbed so quickly. He wore his collar all the time. I went to the vet less than a week ago and had him fit the new collar, so it wasn't too tight either I don't think.


thanks everyone, I don't feel so bad now.

 

[Megora]

Megora - it was a nylon collar, but Beau is definitely a puller (in the woods only, not in the yard/side walk). He's still a puppy so his fur is shorter, probably why it got rubbed so quickly. He wore his collar all the time. I went to the vet less than a week ago and had him fit the new collar, so it wasn't too tight either I don't think.

One suggestion I have... is if he's wearing the collar in the house, you want it to be loose enough for him to slip out of. This is safer in the house anyway.

Then tighten it up before you leave the house.

The other option is keeping the collars off in the house and putting them on when you leave the house.

If he's still getting marks, there may be softer collars at the petstore. For my guy I use a rolled leather collar that does not catch or rub the fur. Our collie has the same thing.

 

[coppers-mom]

I'd think the medicated gold bond powder for hot spots would also be soothing for his little rubbed neck.

I'll bet he loved getting to play in the woods and would say it was well worth it.

 

[Dallas Gold]

I hope it continues to improve.

BTW, has he completed all his vaccinations yet, including the rabies? I tend to be very protective of my puppies before they have all the vaccines so I'd be somewhat concerned about walking in the woods without full protection.