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Hey Erny, My Boosting and your Boosting are 2 different things and that is where the confusion has laid in but also me saying that it doesn't make sense to boost an immune system if allergies are because of an overactive immune system is also logical in my head and I think some people here are confusing underactive and overactive. All all seriousness I don't understand why others don't understand why "boosting" an immune system would not be good for an allergic dog who is allergic because of an over-active immune system LOL Obviously I'm in my own little world here. Do I think you can over-boost an immune system...I guess if you could then Cancer patients would be doing so. But here are again...BOOST vs OVER BOOST LOL I think because we're using different levels of thoughts here we're not going to get on the same page. Please see my explanation on boosting an immune system when you have a cold - hopefully that will help you understand where my head is. In an allergic dog who is allergic because of an over-active immune system you would need to bring the immune system down some nitches to behave normaly - so therefore is your question that by supplementing a day can we get the immune system to behave on a normal level? I'm not saying I'm right, as I said before I'm not a dermatologist and I can only go with what we know already, playing theories does my dog no good and it sure as shit doesn't help my wallet LOL

We already know that Atopic allergies has a genetic component. I'm not a Determatologist, I can only comment on my own personal experience and the information already out there. I, personaly have not 'over-protected' my dog for anything. They get wormed if they need worming and they get flea treatment if they need flea treatment, they get washed if they really need to be washed etc. etc. See the thing is, this 'over-protected' theory doesn't work in multi-dog house holds where there is only one affected dog. Can I please clarify that when I refer to BOOSTING the immune system I am talking about what a person does when they have a Cold. I am not referring to giving everyday supplements etc to a dog to help 'maintain' a body. He got skin eruptions. There seems tol be some crediance to the theory that lack of a typical skin barrier could be a genetic problem. There lies a problem....not that many Dr's let alone Vets believe supplements do much at all, in addition not many Vets are trained in Supplementation, this is where Holistic Vets come in. And that's your theory and really that's all we have, is theories because each dog is different. In this thread alone each dogs' skin problem is different and what seems to assist for one dog may not assist for the next. I wish you every success with your dog and hope you get a handle on his condition, I'm been fighting ours constantly...summer and winter for 3 years.

Erny, I think the thing here is we just don't know, lot's of theories and that is about it. If we go on our own experience of allt he kinds of things we've pumped into our allergic dogs and still have the same problem at the same intensity then what does that tell us?

Secondary skin infections occur in dogs without over active immune systems so I can't really answer your question I'm affraid. We personaly avoid around 90% of possible secondary skin infections with topical applications. How do you mean Skin problems can lead to all kinds of other problems? Can you provide examples so I know what track you're on? I think the thing you may be confusing what I am saying as my version of boosting the immune system seems to be different to what your understanding of that is. If we go on the premise that allergies are the result of an over active immune system that would mean if you were to 'boost' the immune system you could be potentially doing more damage. Boosting the immune system isn't going to cure the allergies. I think you'll find many owners of allergic dogs have pumped all kinds of vitamins and minerals into their dogs under this guise with very little positive result....Obviously I can only refer to myself and other allergic dog owners I know.

Isn't that just charming.....someone has their puppy attacked but they are the one in the wrong not the aggressive dog.

BSL aside, report this lady because A) Her dog attacked your dog B) He has already been reported twice before - he will now be labelled a Dangerous Dog an she will have no choice but to handle him as a Dangerous Dog should. Whatever you do, do not stop socialising your dog with other dogs, ever your ever feel as you though you want to avoid get a Behaviouruist to go with you.

Handbook of Applied Dog Behaviour and Training (2 or 3 volumes?) is a good start! I actually think I have one already, a mammoth one that was pretty pricey yeah?

I used that years ago, it seemed like a good quality product. Did help us though. You'll need to find out the reason for the itching though so you know what you're dealing with, if your dog happens to have allergies it could react to what is in Pooch Power Plus i.e. my dog is allergic to Brewers Yeast which is in the product. In addition, dogs don't have to have fleas to have a flea allergy :D

Good stuff. Just remember with the Listerine don't apply it to open wounds and use the Yellow original formula. If it doesn't clear up within a week head to the vets and they'll probably give you an anti-biotic/anti-infam cream to try instead. Whilst you're home, towel your dogs mouth off after water and food to keep the area dry. Plastic bowls have mirco cracks that harbour bacteria so that's why you want to go back to metal :D In the above photo the male dog came to me like that and then gave that to my girl and we had plastic bowls at the time, cleared up within a couple of weeks. Some pro-biotics / yoghurt would also be good

What books of Steven's would you guys reccomend to someone interested in learning more about his theories?

Sounds like what is referred to as puppy pimples? (even if they're not a puppy) We just wipe them with Listerine to kill the bacteria and remove any plastic bowls and replace with metal. Does it look anything like the below?

Green? It's White which dissolved in hot water.

I always mixed it with boiling hot water, then put it in the fridge to cool. I would spray on affected areas 15 minutes prior to bathing. I would also add to the Shampoo if I needed an extra kick out of it.

I'd say I want proof first before making any decisions. i.e. X-ray or however they diagnose this apart from touching and seeing.

We're 8 weeks into VAN, we're doing: 1) Roo Meat 2) Van Skin Support supplement 3) Van Omega Blend oil 4) Van Complete Mix He did detox through his skin at the 3 week mark which VAN said is expected, he did recover from that. We then ran out of Roo (Stupid I know!) and fed him fish that he had been fed for the last year and he had a big reaction through his skin, it took about 3 weeks to recover from that and then he got into the rubbish (Super) and then he got into Leila's kibble (Big Super!). Because of this I am going to try the VAN for a bit longer. I have seen a reduction in skin staining especially around his muzzle but I personaly think it may be a bit itchier on it. Generaly he doesn't itch on Cortisone but he has been itching a bit lately. It is costing me about $100 a week for a Great Dane so it is pretty pricey but I don't mind if I'm going to get a result. If this fails I'll probably go back to Raw, he had been on raw for some time a while ago but it didn't seem to improve anything but I do think the kibble is not agreeing with him and we have tried different ones and given them time to settle etc. The Calendula isn't working for us at the moment, I think we're currently past that threshold. On another note, I think we should do a thread on all the miracle cures we have all tried and the results LOL

Sorry, forgot about this thread I'm affraid I can't be too open minded about this as science is black and white on this subject that allergies are because of an over-active immune system so if you attempt to boost the immune system that wouldn't be benifical to the dog? I'm not saying don't give the dog things that are good for it like Fish Oil etc but I'm referring to the actual boosting of the immune system. If we were dealing with a 'dysfunctional' immune system you would first need to accertain what was dysfunction i.e. was it over or under active? I've personaly been down the track of boosting the immune system in an allergic dog so my opinions are also drawn from my own experiences as well as scientific based information, right now we're using a skin supplement that would be technically boosting the immune system and I'm not seeing anything positive come out of it. If I have mis-interpreted something I'm more than happy to re-educate myself.

Dante gets muscle spasms in his legs sometimes but he has Osteo-Arthritis so I'd say his are connected to that.

Head to the Vets

I wouldn't thought a Lab was considered a big dog to start with? What's so wrong with a Labs conformation that it can't handle Agility? We get comments in the Dane world that Danes are too big, however in our breed if they are bred well they should be able to do agility without any problem however when training there are some obsticles they should not do until later as their growth takes longer. There are thousands and thousands of Danes that do Agility in America, in Australia so many clubs discourage it through lack of education and also they just don't know how to train such a big dog to do certain obsticles. Last year the Australian Dane community lost Csaba who was an amazing Agility Dane with I think every title possible. We went to agility classes and had to pull out because they had no idea how to deal with us.

We tried to do CGC in Sydney....contacted over 30 Delta Instructors....none of them did it. We did go to a CGC group class once in a big shed full of aggressive dogs....we didn't go back.

Maybe...studies haven't come up with a definate link yet but why not try.

I had thought Steve Austin was a good guy prior to last nights show.

Even when you're walking along? That would drive me nuts. Drive you less insane that the dog loosing the plot!

So, question....what happens if you dog won't do what the sign says such as 1) They refuse to do it 2) They don't know how to do it i.e. Spin with a Dane *giggle* Has Rally-O been approved yet?

A different style of obedience with a 'course' (like in agility). There are numbered signs that has instructions of what the dog and handler must perform (e.g. halt and sit, 360 degree turn, side step, fast pace, etc). Before the trial starts all the handlers are allowed to enter the ring and 'walk the course'. During the trial, if you screw up a particular sign you can re-do it. You are allowed to talk to your dog the whole way through, too. It's a lot of fun! When it's done properly it's almost like a dance. Awesome!