Vinegar

I managed to leave the cone off of TJ for a couple of hours this afternoon while he slept. I can't imagine how irritating it must be to have that cone on, even though it's a soft one, rubbing right on the area that is the most irritated. He had laid down in the living room and made the most horrible whining sound for about 5 minutes. It was breaking my heart, and it was really hard to know what he needed. It's not a sound that he normally makes.

After the typical itching episode around dinner time, I got the idea to try using a vinegar rinse on TJ's chest. It's so wet and irritated. I had sprayed it with an anti-itch spray first, which didn't appear to phase it at all. So I mixed a little vinegar with water and rubbed it on, and he's totally calmed down again. It looks like it's still irritating him, but he hasn't scratched it with his back paws. I'm sure I'll have to put back on the cone at some point tonight, but I'm going to wait as long as possible, knowing he has to wear it all night.

I'm really hoping he'll be better tomorrow.