In late April Niko developed a mild rash on the left side of his muzzle, near his nose. We took him to the Vet, who wasn't immediately certain of the cause. With the rash being localized to a small area and not spreading, it didn't seem to be an allergic reaction, so she took a skin sample and ruled out certain varieties of mites and other microscopic critters. She prescribed a course of antibiotics with the hope that they would knock out any infections, thinking that was the most likely cause. Unfortunately the antibiotics had no effect and Niko started scratching the area with his paw the last few days, so I took him in for another visit today.
The Vet still doesn't know what is causing the rash, so she did another skin sample and checked it to no avail. She also took a hair sample and is sending it for a culture to check for a fungal infection. The Vet said if that's the cause, then she would typically prescribe a topical ointment, however because of its location, she thinks Niko would just lick it off before it had a chance to work. So, while we're waiting for the hair culture results to come back, we're going ahead with what's probably the only treatment that will work if it's a fungal infection: making Niko wear an Elizabethan collar, also known as a ruff, to prevent him from scratching the wound. As you can tell from this photo, I don't think Niko is too happy with this idea:
If this isn't a fungal infection, then we're probably going to have to get a skin biopsy and see if it's some form of immune disorder. Please keep us in your thoughts as we hope that a few weeks of wearing an uncomfortable ruff is all he has to endure to get better.
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