Update on Alfie

I took my Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Alfie, to the vet yesterday, as he's had another bad flare-up of his skin problems.


The daft dog's been biting himself silly as a result, bless him. He also needed to have his eye checked again, after my evil cat, Leo, decided to smack him in the eye. Luckily, he's suffered no permanent damage to the eye, and no infection. Thanks to Aileni and Dragonstar for enquiring about his eye - and my apologies for not updating you sooner.

Alfie's seen at least three different vets at the PDSA since I've had him. The vet I saw yesterday has asked me to make all Alfie's appointments with him from now on, so that he gets consistency of treatment. It seems my poor doggy is suffering from some kind of allergic reaction. Detecting the cause of allergies in dogs is notoriously difficult. So, the vet has doubled Alfie's Piriton dose. He was on half a tablet twice a day. He's now on one tablet twice a day. He's also on antibiotics, and two lots of eye drops, for his keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Unfortunately, Alfie HATES vets. He changes from his usual sweet, docile self into a yelping, snarling, snapping monster as soon as a vet gets anywhere near him. He gets very defensive if anyone probes his eyes, yet I've never had any problems bathing and treating his eyes. So it looks as if he's known from day one that I've been trying to help him. I still can't get near him to trim his nails, though, nor can anyone else. It looks like he will have to be muzzled for that. Luckily, most of his nails wear down from walking, and don't need trimming, but he will need his dew claws chopped soon.

Apart from his physical issues, he's made a lot of progress since I first brought him home. I now rarely have to clear up any accidents after him in the morning. In the beginning, I would have to mop up several puddles a day. This means I can now trust him in carpeted areas of my home. He's a much calmer dog now, too. Travelling on public transport with him was a nightmare, until I hit on the idea of taking some of his Gelert dog food with me. As long as he can sit on my lap and have some kibble every few minutes, he travels quietly. Not sure how to break his habit of trying to pick up and eat discarded chewing gum, but at least he now drops bones and other food items he picks up on his travels, once I tell him to.

Overall, he seems to be settling really well. The last few months must have been so disorientating and bewildering for him, so I hope he finally realises he's safe and has a permanent home.