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My boy has the injections. We had the $200 blood test, it orginaly came back as being allergic to nothing so the Vets sent it to a different lab and then it came back with allergens which we are now treating. Itching is under control but pooch still has red feet and legs....as long as he's not ripping his nippled open I'm happy!

Cortisone isn't terrible, pls don't frighten the original poster. It all depends on the dose and the length taken. Most dogs with allergy conditions get given a very low dose that acts as an anti-inflam and that's about it. Cortisone is used in big doses for serious illnesses and those are the doses that come with a downside. If it's just being taken to get on top of an issue is not a biggie. If you're going to be doing skin testing I believe you need to be off Cortisone for a month?

Nope, my dogs are fed raw and don't have White poo all the time, 95% of the time it's Brown.

My dogs are on raw and have brown poo. From time to time when I pick up poo there may be poo that has turned White but not all the time. So yeah....not a commercial diet.

How we got weight off Leila was to feed her Mashed Veggies (as much as you want to, Zero Calories) only with no carrot and a high ratio of pumpkin for 2 days then BARF for the 3rd day and then back to veggies for 2 days and the cycle continues. They can turn their noses up but they only get fed what you put down, soon they love the veggies! Found some where for her to exercise off lead safely and the weight dropped off.

I have spoken with my Vet. There are no other issues apart from excessive marking so I can't see the point in running up costs when it appears possibly behavourial. The testosterone theory was my theory. Thyroid can cover lot's of behaviour traits, it costs about $70.00. At least it can be ruled out? Would I be flamed if I said give the dog a reason not to mark inside the house? Oh and I had a dog whilst growing up that was desexed, he later on become the proud Dad of 12 Goldie x Labradors LOL

Instead of testing 'hormone' levels what about testing thyroid levels? Or explain the problem to the Vet and get them to test for a wider range of things?

Could be in a fear period at the moment. I also would not reccomend an off leash park, they're too dangerous in my opinion. Dante was nearly attacked twice within 10 minutes on the outskirts of a dog park when he was a puppy, and that's an experience you don't want to have as the dog can end up fear aggressive throughout its' life. I agree to take him to training and then after class (not before) ask the owner of dogs you deem ok if it's ok if the dogs interact.

Our routine was to wear Dante out an hour before bed and after he could hold his bladder through the night he would sleep right through. We used to head to bed around 9:30-10:00pm and get up around 5:30am.

Alpha status does not apply until the puppy is a mature adult? Where did you get that from?

Congratulations guys, that is a fantastic achievement!

As soon as my shoes go on in the morning, both my nut bags zoom around the lounge room, Leila jumps and waits on the sofa, Dante plonks himself on the bed on the floor and wait for their good bye treat, they won't move even if you've changed the routine slightly. A slight move on the sofa at around 5pm gets Leila zooming around again as she sits and pleads for her walk. The most annoying thing is in the weekends when she gets the time of the day confused and starts acting like a loon at around 2pm!

Remove the word 'zap' and you'll get closer to understanding e-collars.

Yes smashing them on the concrete was at times trying but I found trying to open that tray then get rid of the boxand then scoop out that watery stuff inside more annoying and I like to see what is in the food I feed to my dogs and cats how do you know what was in it anymore without sounding like i am on commission CC barf have a portion pack 6 serves much easier to use and look like the old patties did before they changed the packaging. I slice the toplid with a knife down the side and tip upside down and nothing gets left? Are you defrosting overnight in the Fridge? Get rid of box? You put it in the bin LOL Um, you look at the ingrediants to see what's in them LOL I think you're sounding more like you're on commission LOL ingredients on packaging is the greatest misleader in any petfood.check it on the PIAA regulations tell all. a product can be called Beef but only contain 20% of that meat. if anyone would like to pay commission it would be good then i could feed my 7 dogs and 4 cats for nothing. so what are you paying for ingredients or packaging? I prefer to pay for the ingredients myself and see that something looks like it says it is otherwise I could close my eyes and feed dry food. Ah ok, so you're saying that Dr Billinghurst BARf only has 20% meat in their patties?

Scabby would probably indicate a secondary skin infection so pooch might need some anti-biotics. When you have a dog with allergies the killer is always the secondary skin infections, not like the allergy itself is enough to deal with LOL

Yes smashing them on the concrete was at times trying but I found trying to open that tray then get rid of the boxand then scoop out that watery stuff inside more annoying and I like to see what is in the food I feed to my dogs and cats how do you know what was in it anymore without sounding like i am on commission CC barf have a portion pack 6 serves much easier to use and look like the old patties did before they changed the packaging. I slice the toplid with a knife down the side and tip upside down and nothing gets left? Are you defrosting overnight in the Fridge? Get rid of box? You put it in the bin LOL Um, you look at the ingrediants to see what's in them LOL I think you're sounding more like you're on commission LOL

I love the new BARF packaging! No longer do I have to throw fozen patties on the concrete to seperate them LOL

That's exactly how my boy stands when he thinks he's spotted Leila in the park. What was your girl looking at when the photo was taken?

Dante does it a bit and from what I can tell he does it when he's uncertain. i.e. There are certain humans he just adores one of those is his obedience instructor and when we turn up at training he gets very excited to see her, when I correct him for his over the top behaviour he will lift his leg and chatter his teeth. When he sees a dog in the park miles away he thinks is my other dog (she gets walked seperately by my OH) he stands very taunt and lifts a leg....almost like pointing. We he's being trained something new and he doesn't understand he'll lift his leg and chatter his teeth.

We did actually go through a bit of a rough time which is a hell of a lot better now, it's hard to know if Cortisone is attributed to it.

Dr Billinghurst is too expensive to feed my Dane that gets fed 1.5kg's twice a day so we make our own. With my boys allergies we had the allergy blood test done and then the desentising injections made up. He's doing a hell of a lot better and is down from 3 cortisone tablets a day to 1 every 2-3rd day. Changed to a raw diet that I control what goes in, for treats he can only have Pigs ears and Smackos Beef Strips as those are the only ones that are suitable with his allergies. Vit E Capsuals and Zinc Tablets daily. The true test is when Summer comes. We did try Roberts herbal mixtures for about 6 months without success He still has a thin coat and his growth has been stunted. He stands at 33" whereas he should be around 36" in comparison to his litter mates and his lines. His maturity overall is also a lot slower and this seems to have arrisen from the use of Cortisone, however at the time we had no other option.

I think you might get more help you drop the attitude. You haven't been lectured here at all, I think you may just be in defense mode because you're feeling down about all of this. If it were my pup, I would be feeding it a bland diet i.e. cooked chicken and rice for a week along with the Peps. (Pink liquid) and if after a week it wasn't all cleared up then I'd be heading back to the Vets, if no luck there, I'd be finding a different Vet.

Is it excitment barking? What does his body language tell you? In regards to obedience school, it's very normal that your puppy isn't doing fantastic there, there are heaps of distractions for such a young dog.

Humping is not a natural behaviour???!!!! Why would you say that? Of course humping is a natural behaviourfor a canine, you may not appreciate it, but it's very natural, how you interpret it, is a whole other thing.

At least we're not alone LOL Not serious I can see so that is good, I'll try the tips mentioned!