dogs burying bones and Elocon cream for skin problems

Yesterday Penny enjoyed a nice old bone, one which she brought in from the garden. We can't figure out where it came from, because it seemed to be a lamb shank bone, and the last lamb shank she had would have been in January, or early February, given that we fed her the ultra low allergenic diet for months.

However old it was, she sure enjoyed it, chomping on it for more than an hour. She arrived back inside with a dirty face, so I guess some of it is buried out there again for later enjoyment.



It's so satisfying to be off the restricted diet!

We're wiping her vulva area with baby wipes each time we see her wee (who would have thought that buying a puppy could lead to having to do that?), and we have put Elocon cream or lotion on her vulva, paws and rear end for a week. Now we'll put the cream or lotion on twice a week.

So far so good - no bottom licking and no paw licking!

a dog eats a knuckle bone to clean her teeth

After I read Honey's post about knuckle bones being good for cleaning dogs' teeth, a mystery was solved. I'd heard about knuckle bones but didn't know what they were. But Hsin-Yi, Honey's human, explained that they are the knobbly ends of marrow bones, with the hard, potentially tooth-breaking middle cut out.

Since Penny did break a tooth when she was young, and unfortunately had to have it removed, I'm nervous of bones. But we give them to Penny because we realise the value of bones as part of a dog's diet. Usually we stick to the soft brisket bones of beef or chicken bones such as necks, but I decided to take Hsin-Yi's recommendation and try Penny out on a knuckle bone.

She worked on it for about thirty-five minutes, actually getting quite puffed with all the exercise, and then buried it in the backyard for later retrieval. I was pleased at the way she took weight on her back leg during the long eating session, and also at the way she walked down the steps to the garden. Her limp was more apparent on the way up the stairs after she'd buried the bone, but we do realise she may limp for as much as six months after her surgery on the cruciate ligament.

Here's a video with the story of the Magnificent Huge Bone.

dogs and buried bones

I walked into the lounge room this morning and noticed the smell and thought, "Oh, poor Penny. She must have been sick in here. Or have diarrhoea. Poor thing."

But she looked fine, lying on the carpet eating her bone.

Wait a minute, what bone? She hadn't had any lately, only that one she buried in the garden days ago... At my not-so-quiet exclamation she took off guiltily through the doggie door. (Maybe dogs don't feel guilt, but that's what it sure looked like!)



Who'd have thought such a little bit of dirt would smell so bad?



After about half an hour she took a rest from chewing and came inside, so I popped outside to take a photo of the bone for this post. But I'd have needed Olympic speed to make it to the bone ahead of her. She grabbed it and raced off to bury it.



It seems as if the doggy logic failed at this stage, as she didn't mind my photographing the work.