Worried With Red Ring And Others

[inbox]

Hi everyone

Just today I noticed these two marks on his body, one around his chest and lower body. The one on the lower body is a faint red line that looks like a shape in an oval. The other one though was more pimple like though.

I'm really worried it may be ring worms or something like that. I haven't had time to get it checked with a vet and wanted some opinions for now. What should I do? I've read around and its contagious where I have touched it and left it for like 10mins because I didn't know what it was but I did wash my hands afterwards, so does that mean I caught it? How does it affect my puppy health? Cures? I have used other things already like hand cream etc and say I did catch it would I have affected these things? How does it spread so much and where? Sorry really paranoid after reading so much..

Also some other unrelated things I have to ask as well.

I noticed while he eats that hes legs are wide apart and one time I noticed that he actually almost fell from spreading it too much as if it was weak standing on his back legs. Is this a problem?

Also I wanted some tips on keeping him still for checking him up and brushing or anything that needs to keep him still. The main problem is that he keeps trying to bite my fingers/hands when I try to pat or look around him and even brushing. I know I need to stop and ignore him and say bad etc but is there anything else i should be trying or its just normal puppy behavior and he'll learn eventually?

Lastly about training him, when should i try to teach stay? Its like he'll never learn to haha and also collar training since it seems he keeps trying to bite it off or since hes small still he would squeeze out of it.

Thank you

[lucknow]

It does look like ringworm, treatment wise antifungal creams applied as directed by your vet (presuming they confirm this is what it is)is usually sufficient. Unfortunately it does take several weeks to clear up and there is a strong possiblity or more lesions underneath the coat making detection and application tricky in some cases.

Health wise there are no long term effects as such but I find I am much more susceptible when stressed or suffering a stressed immune system such as when pregnant, just something to keep in mind. You do need to quarrantine your dog from any group ativities you participate in such as training, swimming etc. Also any other pets in the household are at risk and need to be checked.

Use good hygiene, washing your hands after handling your dog, wash bedding using an antifungal wash etc. If you do catch it get straight onto an antifungal ointment and it is easily contained (don't forget to check your back etc, my most recent episode started with one lesion on my hand but when I checked myself there was a bigger one on my shoulder blade and another in a place I won't disclose on a public forum ).

Sorry can't help with your other questions but I am sure someone else will be able to give great advice!

[Bjelkier]

Looks like ring worm to me.

Everything lucknow said is right. Take him to the vet and get a good cream for him. A pup I had years ago got it and he was fine. However some family members got it too *sigh*

As for teaching stay I try to get it done as soon as possible with my dogs, its a really helpful command.

Teaching him stay while having his dinner should work really well, its what i have always done with my dogs. You might need him on a leash in the begining or have someone else around to help. Put him in a sit and then give the stay command, if he tries to move forward put him back and give the command again, dont give him anything until he has done what you ask, wait about 3 secounds at first and then give him his dinner. It has been the most effective way of training stay in the begining for me, it seems to get the idea in their heads.

One of the trainers on here will be able to give you better advice, but I hope this helps.

[inbox]

Hi everyone thanks for the replies

I'm just wandering how do i spot if i have them on my body? Is it itchiness? or there will be similar markings on my body as well with the ring as well. I'm going to take him to a vet today and hope it all goes well. Also is the anti fungal cream something over the counter? Any recommended products? And any you recommend to wash the beddings.

Thanks again

[Bjelkier]

Hi everyone thanks for the replies

I'm just wandering how do i spot if i have them on my body? Is it itchiness? or there will be similar markings on my body as well with the ring as well. I'm going to take him to a vet today and hope it all goes well. Also is the anti fungal cream something over the counter? Any recommended products? And any you recommend to wash the beddings.

Thanks again

You will know if you have them, a ring will show up just like on your pup and thankfully people dont have huge amounts of fur so it makes it easier to see

I am not sure that the cream is over the counter or not, I got ours from the vet, so yours should be able to tell you all about that. As for the bedding, I would use a disinfectant, like detol or something similar and then hang in the sun for a good amount of time.

Hope everything works out for you.

[inbox]

Also how would he have got it? I dont want this happening again

Thanks

[puggy_puggy]

How old is your pup? And what breed?

It does look like ringworm but the only real way for it to be diagnosed is for your vet to take a skin scraping and/or look at it under a special fluro light.

If your pup is just young then he probably got it from other dogs at his breeders. Do you have a cat? They can get ringworm as well. The spores can also live in the environment for several months.

Wash all the bedding, flooring, carpet etc with a bleach type product. Your vet will give you some antifungal cream and an antifungal wash for your dog.

As for his back legs splaying when he is eating. That is normal for a puppy.

[persephone]

ringworm is a fungus.

The spores are shed with the dead skin/hair.

they will be all over your house, if it is ringworm

Burn/dispose of as much bedding as you can...

Spores last for ages.

A diagnosis can only be made at the vets- do NOT treat the area with anything(or wash it) before seeing a vet- this will confuse the diagnosis

explain your situation to the vet=- other digs/cats/kids etc....

[inbox]

Hi again

I took him (My Japanese spitz) to a vet recently and the vet gave me the anti fungal treatment but I have heard otherwise from him about the situation. Well he looked at the marking under that Uv light(or something) and didn't find anything but still suspects it's a ringworm. I'm going to take my pup to another vet sometime soon to recheck the ringworm and also get his 2nd vaccination.

What confuses me is that he told me ringworm wasn't such a serious issue and that I should continue normal weekly washings and not to worry so much about it spreading onto people as adults are unlikely to get it except children or those with weak immune system as he treated a lot of cases and never had any problems. I don't have any other pets around the house but I'm still kind of paranoid of getting it myself or others in the family but none have noticed any markings. Is this all true what hes told?

Also just yesterday my pup has just started to chew on his bed and pretty much opened it up and started taking out the wool inside. I managed to sew it up but just this morning he already has started to open it up again and take all the wool out. Any suggestions with another type of beddings? I got those circle fabric with wool stuffing inside from ikea.

Thanks again

[Bjelkier]

Hmmm well i know that i caught it when one of my dogs got it years ago, as did most other people in my family, and I am pretty sure that we dont have weak ammune systems . . . oh well.

I was told once by a vet that i should get my Samoyed desexed at 4 months (Yeah i dont think so) and that it is hard for people to catch sarcoptic mange, when my OH mother caught it . . . I guess they all have different oppinions.

Dont stress too much about it, it is easily treatable but its a good idea IMO just to keep everything nice and clean so that you reduce the chance of it spreading.

AS for the bedding, well that sounds like pretty typical behaviour from a puppy. Until my Lab was out of the teething stage I didnt bother getting him nice expensive beds cause he kept destroying them. Maybe try a different kind of bedding like, an old blanket or something that isnt stuffed with fun things to rip out .

Otherwise I cant really help, I only just bought a nice expensive new bed for my dogs and the Lab is now well over 3

and slightly off topic, you have a Jap Spitz, come and join us on the Spitz thread! We would just love to see some pics of your little baby .

[inbox]

Hmm thanks for the replies

Another problem I noticed with my pup is that he has been eating his own stool.

I'm currently feeding him advance puppy growth kebble, advance/optimum puppy wet food(Cans), chicken necks and also tried using pineapple. He is still eating his own stool and I'm trying to find some helpful ways in stopping him from doing so.

Thanks again

[LuvMyCav]

I would mention that to the vet too Inbox, to rule out any dietary/medical reasons that your pup may have for eating it's own poo. You also need to clean up the poo when pup is inside and can't see what you're doing so he doesn't feel that you're taking something good away and reinforce his need to "get it first".

[Rascal]

Hi again

I took him (My Japanese spitz) to a vet recently and the vet gave me the anti fungal treatment but I have heard otherwise from him about the situation. Well he looked at the marking under that Uv light(or something) and didn't find anything but still suspects it's a ringworm. I'm going to take my pup to another vet sometime soon to recheck the ringworm and also get his 2nd vaccination.

What confuses me is that he told me ringworm wasn't such a serious issue and that I should continue normal weekly washings and not to worry so much about it spreading onto people as adults are unlikely to get it except children or those with weak immune system as he treated a lot of cases and never had any problems. I don't have any other pets around the house but I'm still kind of paranoid of getting it myself or others in the family but none have noticed any markings. Is this all true what hes told?

Also just yesterday my pup has just started to chew on his bed and pretty much opened it up and started taking out the wool inside. I managed to sew it up but just this morning he already has started to open it up again and take all the wool out. Any suggestions with another type of beddings? I got those circle fabric with wool stuffing inside from ikea.

Thanks again

Try putting his bed inside a large pillow protector. Stopped our pugs from eating their beds and keeps them cleaner. Just on ringworm - I got it from a kitten when I was six and I lost over half the hair on my head (down past my waist at the time) my kitten used to sleep on my pillow when I was at school and the ringworm was on the crown of my head 32 years later and I still hate that damn cat. I have friends that clean houses and they are always picking up ringworm. Very contagious. See a different vet.

[persephone]

I would also suggest you be more cautious than your vet thinks necessary Ringworm is very persistent!.. also takes quite a while to clear.