Three Months' Itch and the Chinese Concubine

Shortly after I moved in with Mom and Dad, I started developing an intolerable itch around my face and neck. I would scratch all day and all through the night. Thinking that I might have fleas, Mom shaved me down but found nothing. In the end I scratched so badly that I bled all over my face, so off to the vet I went. At first it was suspected that I had some sort of bacterial infection, but biopsy results were negative, so the vet suggested putting me on hydrocortisones. Mom objected right away because she knows that steriods and hydrocortisones are not good for the body and should not be used unless as a last resort. She took me to a homeopathic vet instead who suggested changing me onto a completely raw diet starting with alternative meat proteins instead of the common chicken and beef (common allergens in dogs). That got me started on yummy, wholesome foods like salmon, bison and pheasant, which were either wild or organic (hormone-free and antibiotic-free) - yum yum. I was also given some homeopathic remedies with herbal antihistamines and wild salmon oil. My itch improved almost immediately but then my biopsy wounds were starting to heal and got really itchy, so I started scratching again. Eventhough I had an E-collar, I utilized my Yoga skills and managed to stretch my feet up through the opening of the E-collar so I can scratch whenever Mom's not looking. BAD idea. The wounds would open up again and again so I could never heal completely.

Very soon, Mom caught up with my tricks, and modified the E-collar so I cannot scratch anymore, at least at night when Mom and Dad's asleep. During the day, Mom will stay with me and watch me all the time, so I could take off my "fencing mask" and rest my shoulders.

"The Fencing Mask" - mesh screen sewn onto an E-collar

However, the itch was still so unbearable that I would steal a scratch whenever I could. All it took was one or two hearty scratches and the wounds will be bleeding again.

Finally Mom igeniously created another gadget which helped to solve the problem:

The "Chinese Concubine" with "dainty feet"?

This is another pix showing Mom's creativity - the socks would stay on to act as a buffer if I did manage to steal a few scratches, so the wounds would not open up so easily:

Getting ready for bed now...

Well, the whole ordeal took about 3 months and you can imagine how relieved I was when I didn't itch anymore!