Shared Brushes Might Mean Shared Infections

This has been the summer of floods here in the Northeast as well as the summer of extreme skin conditions for my dogs. Amos usually has allergies around this time of the year as evidenced by rough, scaly, red patches of itchy skin that emit a distinctive odor probably detectable only to me because I have learned to recognize it. The culprit is seasonal allergies and the remedy involves lot of medicated baths and use of a long term antibiotic--usually until the first frost.

So when Amos started itching a few weeks ago, I checked his skin and found no evidence of infection--just redness that seemed to respond well to lots of medicated baths.
When Phoebe, however, started to itch--she of the never having had skin conditions in her life--I began to wonder. About a bottle of prescription shampoo later (and yes, my back was very sore), I lugged them to the vet.

Sure enough both dogs had bacterial skin infections and Phoebe was covered. She was shedding lesions which is why I could not see them because she was scratching so much. Delightful. Both dogs are on long term antibiotics and pro-biotics to ward off stomach distress. And yes, both seem remarkably more comfortable after just a few days of medication.

But here's the catch that I had never considered. There is the possibility that I may have transmitted the infection from Amos to Phoebe by using the same brush to groom them. Why Sammy never got it (at least not yet) remains a mystery but my vet suggested I wipe off the brush with clorox between dogs.

So consider that your tip for the day: remember to sterilize your brushes if you groom more than one pet.