sas

You've confused me with a Dermatogist

Oh God, are you here blaming owners again for allergies? My dog came with allergic skin disease as a puppy so your little theory doesn't sit well with me thank you very much. We already know there is a genetic link for Atopic allergies. In my breed Allergies are pretty common as they are in others too. I've had a number of dogs through my home as fosters and also as my own and they haven't experienced allergies so there you have it again your theory doesn't pan out there either when none of those dogs had allergies and my current one does and they are all treated the same in terms of flea/worming/bathing blah blah blah. Maybe keep your little theory for the pet owners you sell too when they complain of skin problems.

Says who?

Interesting... http://www.cell.com/trends/immunology/abst...4906(07)00124-X The skin barrier (stratum corneum) is a major factor for determining the nature of immune response to antigens presented at the skin surface. Genetic abnormalities in skin barrier function are associated with allergy and atopic dermatitis, and removal of the skin barrier by tape stripping results in dominant Th2 responses to protein antigens. Langerhans cells take up antigen applied to skin from which the skin barrier has been removed; they then migrate to draining lymph nodes and initiate typical Th2 responses. These observations lead us to propose that the high frequency of allergic disease in the industrialized world might be due to lifestyle choices that result in loss of integrity of the skin barrier such as excessive washing and exfoliation of the skin.

Sounds great! One of my previous fosters goes to their Dad's workshop everyday. If the pup is crate trained you don't have to crate the pup if there is a safe area for the pup to be in Crates are for sleeping in and short term containment, they're not for being in all day

WOW! How Awesome was that! I'm stoked enough that she remembered the course!

I guess you either need to re-home Ben or stop Fostering - it's up to you to figure out what your priority is there. I'm not sure I could support re-homing a dog who is snapping at humans though unless he goes to a dog savy very balanced quiet and calm home where the behaviour may cease all together. Good Luck

Yep, you wanna get a referral to a Dermatologist

I have a very allergic boy who gets pretty un-tolerant when his skin is bad and you can understand why. I would get a referral from your Vet to a Derm and follow their advice which will probably start with a super strict elimination diet and then onto intra-dermal testing if the dog is not on Cortisone. Has the dog had a short-term course of Cortisone to give some relief? If you can afford it Atopica is an alternative to Cortisone. Fish Oil is given at the rate of 1 capsual per 10kgs of body weight. Fish oil isn't going to fix this problem though. You may like to make up some Calendula tea, let it sit for 15 minutes, strain it and put it in a spray bottle then pop it in the fridge and then spray the dog, it can help. If you're not getting anywhere with your current Vet sometimes it pays to get a second opinion. You'll probably want to ask for a Thyroid blood test to be run too just to rule that out.

Sorry hun, but you really have to keep to Giant breed Puppy Kibble otherwise it growth could be really affected. When you take on a Great Dane you really have to be prepared to take on the cost as well....they are a deep pocket breed. I would be consulting with your Breeder if they are a registered Breeder who knows what they're talking about.

If the Dane in concern is under 12 months of age it really needs to be kept on a Giant Breed Puppy Appropriate Kibble, if over 12 months you can really feed as you want, each dog does differently on different foods. I have heard Great Barko has put weight on their dogs.

Yep I did around an 8 month trial of pure MSM powder/crystal for Dante's skin allergies and Osteo. Pure MSM is a really tricky product because the length of time it takes to work and the dossage amount is completely individual. In humans you can say ok , well I still have pain so let's up to dossage, in dogs that's a really hard thing to do. Right now I use MSN powder in Calendula Tea spray for his skin and I use the MSM mixed with water as a facial toner for me, it makes my skin tingle and really cleans out the pores. I also used it by spraying it on my wound when I had my wisdom tooth out and it did well.

I don't think a Shelter is a suitable place for a dog to live out its' life. The dogs either need to go to family or friends or make the decision to pts i.m.o.

*Splutter*

Dante went on Clomicalm for 4 weeks but not for Seperation Anxiety. It was the best thing for him, it was almost like it re-set him, after coming off that we put him on St Johns wort, he's been recently weaned off that and is doing fab. I think the most important thing is that if you're going to medicate a dog you need to do the behaviour modification training at the same time.

Yep, your Vet shouldn't have told you that as well as they usually feel more hungry too.

I got to see a front clipping harness in the weekending on a Dalmatian and it gave the Handler no more control than a flat collar would, the dog was still bouncing all over the place and pulling like crazy. Nothing beats giving ones commitment to training to learning how to walk a dog regardless of what tool you put on it you still need to know how to work that tool.

Dante is a 56kg Dane (He's a very small Dane), he is on a Vets All Natural Diet for his Skin Allergies that is about $50 a week. When he was on normal kibble, he'd have a cup of Kibble and 250gram of meat per feed and that was 2 feeds a day. Bag of kibble would last about 3 weeks and it was around $120 per bag. Leila who is a 47kg Dane (She is also a small Dane) gets one Barf patty per feed and that's 2 feeds per day. I can not for the life of me remember how much a box of BARF is, but if you look it up, it's Dr Billinghurst. Flea & Worm preventative is expensive for a big dog.

Good Luck!

Sorry to hear your dog is doing this, I've known a couple through training that have done it also. Agree with others to contact your Breeder for help.

Because Kudo's to you if it's your business, it's a great business idea.

Is it your business or you're just on the links page?

Dante got into the Kibble on Monday, he had a big hard tummy. We just watched him, kept him on his bed and inactive and no food for 2 days.

SAS I have a similar problem with my boy - only I know when he is sore because he sits squiffy (slumps back usually with a leg out to the side). But then you start to wonder whether it is a habit - because I can say to him - thats an awful sit and he will immediately sit up straight (little bugger). I take him for regular accupuncture - but don't think that will help you. Have you watched him sit when he is out in the yard and does he have any trouble sitting or staying sat? I can tell when he's really sore as he very slowly goes into his sits and drops but I can't tell if it's just uncomfortable when he breaks his positions. He's not a dog that naturally sits alot, he prefers to drop. When he sits during any training routine it's fast but it seems to be the sitting there for a period of time that is the problem.