Rosie is suffering from the worst hot spot (sore) she has ever gotten. Usually these things are quarter-sized sores from scratching too much or from allergic reactions to things; I can only assume this one is an allergic reaction.
So Noel went and bought her a donut, which is supposed to basically do the same thing as those cones used to. She was pretty miserable with it on.
Actually, she was pretty miserable without it on. Soon the sore spread over her head, around her ear, and along her neck. She refused to stand up or eat. I tried wrapping her head in a bandage instead of the donut, but nothing helped. So we took her to the vet.
The vet shaved her head, gave her antibiotics (by this time the sore was infected, too) and dusted her with styptic. Here she is lying morosely in her crate after she got home.
After a couple of days of sulking around (plus an exciting and definitely never-to-be-repeated episode in which we extended the shaved area), she is feeling better, and the sore is looking a lot better. I really hope this was a one-off, because getting a big dog sore like this every spring would definitely suck.
