sas

No dramas, but no cure either.

Hiya, here's an update. Went and saw Karen Hedberg on Saturday, she wanted to test his Thyroid, the results came back today and his Thyroid is functioning very well. She has put him on some anti-biotics for 2 weeks and will re-assess after that. Allergy blood tests came back today, all reading....would you believe it....ZERO!!! Vet asked us to come back and take more blood so they can send to a different Lab.

Strangly enough my Vet told me they were due to growth spurts?

My 13 month old did the whole puppy pre-school, puppy school routine, all fine and dandy, no worries in the world. One day at a park we hadn't been to before just before he was 5 months of age (he was on lead), 3 different off lead dogs all wanted to go him, none got the opportunity, we handled the whole situation in a very calm manner, didn't baby him etc, however the scare alone seems to have made him nervious/excited when meeting/seeing other dogs. Dogs parks are just too risky, I won't take the risk again. Some people think that an attack needs to happen to change the way a dog percieves other dogs but a good scare in my opinion can do just the same. I'll stick to interacting with dogs I know and trust.

Humping is almost like a baby taking its' first step but it's not an awwwwwwww moment LOL I just did the growly voice and he got over after a wee while.

That's the one!

Obviously I was being dramatic The dog the poster is enquiring about is not 6 months old and is fully grown so the comment wasn't necessary. Came across like scare tatics, not sure if you meant it that way?

Dante is a week into his full raw diet. His stools are amazing LOL It's funny to say that. he's always had soft stools or really really soft stools. Also giving him some yoghurt in the evenings. Allergy blood test is due back this week. I've been reccomended to see a vet named Karen at North Richmond, apprantly a Dane specialist. I looked her up and she's quite into skin disorders. Have been doing some research into Dante's lines too and found something that may help me pin point the issue.

If he's not suitable for breeding then I would de-sex. I personaly haven't known a giant breed to collapse after de-sexing because they don't have muscle tone to support their frame. You generally don't want to de-sex until they are fully grown so they develop correctly.

Looks like puppy pimples that have been irritated?

My dog looks guilty when I come home and find its' destroyed the house Let a puppy be a puppy otherwise you'll ruin it My dog peed in the house just to spite me

Even though I love a raw diet, I would be cautious of feeding it to a fast growing puppy who needs to maintain correct ratios of protein and phosphorous. I would stick to kibbles like Eagle Pack, Royal Canin and Eukanuba that are for medium-large puppies. I think Royal Canin actually have one specialy formulated for Labs.

We gave Dante apples, that helped him through his teething period. Mind you he's a tad bit bigger than a Maltese.

What diet does your Breeder reccomend? I would probably minimise exercise for a growing large breed puppy, do you have a Breeder you can speack to in this regard? I have a giant breed and he was on no more than 10 minutes until he was around 10 months of age and then slowly increased, at 13 months he's now on 30 minutes. I would most likely do the same with a Lab puppy as well given that you want to look after their joints and so forth. Generally it's safe to take your puppy to a friends home of a fully vaccinated dog. There are pros and cons to early socialisation before vaccinations have kicked in. With Dante I took him everywhere bar places dogs visited but his feet never touched the ground unless it was on a matt or a rug.

At this point I would be looking at something like CavsRcute, the chlorhexidine will fight the staph infection. Get her off the cortisone ASAP, its not helping this problem in this case. You might also look at putting some Manuka honey on it too, it is anti-bacterial and promotes healing. Woolies has it in the health food section for around $10, look for the ones that are "active". He only wears a collar when I need it on him i.e. if we're going somewhere etc. He has a check chain for Showing and a cloth collar as his general collar when we go somewhere. Just in regards to your comment on the Cortisone, he is on a safe dose that does not prevent him from fighting infections etc.

Yep, we used the Zinc / curash, it just made the area moist which allwowed it to spread You use curash powder not the cream and zinc as a dietary supplement.. The curash powder helps to dry it out. Where do you get the Curash powder from? Dante was on Zinc Supplements for about 6 months without any change.

It's great to hear a positive story! I'm glad you're girl is more comfortable now! Do you mind if I ask out of curiosity: What your girl was allergic too? How much was the Spot Test? How long did the test take to come back? How much are the ongoing injections? How long was it before you could take her off the Cortisone? Sorry for delay in replying, busy busy ,busy! Hmm what wasnt she allergic too! I did post it somewhere else on here...looking looking..ahh found it! Couch Grass, Paspalum,Orchard,Canary Grass,Johnson Grass, Dock/Sheep Sorrel, English Plantain,Oilseed Rape,Juniper/Cedar, Box Elder/Maple, Privet, Willow, Aspergillus,Alternaria, Cladosportum, Pullataria,Nigrospora, Cat hair, House dust mites, Chicken, Eggs, Milk, Turkey, Oatmeal, Barley,Tomato Pomace,Peas, Pyrethrum, Tobacco Smoke, House Fly and Malassezia. Spot test cost $495.00 Test had to go to USA, took approx 2 weeks to return Ongoing injections, first course which we are on now (9 months) was $525 but she has to have 2 lots of injections as she has so many allergies. We had her off the cortisone by December but she was still on the polaramine until Feb this year. Now its only occasionally she needs a polaramine. I was bathing her twice a week in Malaseb, which I honestly think helped heaps. She still gets a bath every couple of weeks and we now have to use the dryer as she has so much more hair Good luck with your boy and the best advice I can give you is to be totally vigilant with the programme. I dont feed her ANY of the things she is allergic to, I even make her own dog biscuits as so many of them have some form of chicken in for flavouring. They cant make a serum to desensitize the food allergies., makes sense I guess as you can eliminate these. The injections get easier also when you've done them a few times. Let us know what the test reveals. Wowee, that's a lot to be allergic too. We didn't do the $495 blood test, we did the $240 one as that is what I could manage at the time. Did you have to be off the Cortisone for the American test? Interesting about the tobacco smoke, I had wondered about that myself as second hand smoke has a shit load of chemicals in it. Hopefully the blood test should be back next week, I'll get the $495 one when I have some more $$$

Antihistamines were the first thing we tried, tried different brands, unfortunately turns out he's one of those dogs that they don't work on.

There really isn't an option of not taking the dog to the Vet, when it comes to skin complaints it could be anything. Even if the dog has mites they don't always appear on skin scrapings. The Vet is the best person to speak to because then at least they can advise on a course of action.

It's more about balance, a balance between the meat, bone & vegetable/fruit. Dr Billinghurst books are probably a good place to start.

I've never heard of it but went to Google to look it up thinking people can't possibly do this and this is what I found: I also spit into my dogs mouths: a very senior-to-subordinate action in the canine world. Puppies and subordinate dogs are always licking the muzzles of socially senior pack members. Spitting into a dog's mouth is not to be done if you can't read a dog's willingness to be voluntarily subordinate: you can get badly hurt. Spit serves me as a top reward to the dogs for doing something very well, or as a reassurance. Unlike treats, I've always got my voice, my hands, and spit with me for the appropriate level of reward. My dogs actually seek for me to do this. Try it with your own dog, or perhaps one that isn't, and be prepared for one of three general reactions: First -- Dog doesn't reject the action, may be a bit puzzled at first or immediately ask for more. In any case, the dog will readily continue to accept the action. Second -- Dog acts offended and retreats, but does not become unfriendly. Will return if called, but clearly indicates it is unsure of its status. Third -- Dog rejects the action, hackles may rise, and you need a new nose and lots of stitches. The first reaction is the most indicative of existing puppy mentality. Always be cautious and prepared for the third. The next method of asserting control that I am going to mention might seem a bit disgusting to you but it works; I learned this from a horse trainer. Every now and then, just grab your dog’s muzzle, open his mouth, and spit in his mouth! This works especially well on dogs that are being obstinate. I was told that it has the same effect as if Mama canine regurgitated food into a puppy’s mouth - and all dogs remember the respect that they had for Mama. I regularly spit in each dogs’ mouth when I have them on my force- fetch table; it has the effect of calming them down and reaffirms control.

I've heard of a number if puppies that out grow it, perhaps speak to your Vet about this.

Dante gets it when required. Usually he gets it before going to show training, obedience and shows to take the edge off a bit, he's a hyperactive dog coupled with some nerviousness chucked in for good measure. I find it more effective than Rescue Remedy. I'm not sure it's going to help a dog with more sevre issues such as being reactive after a dog attack, that's more the kind of thing you want to see a behaviourist about. No harm in trying it though. You administer per the weight of the dog, check the labels. Dante gets 2 morning and night (63 kg's) on the days when I give it to him. I have had a highly fear dog-argo dog before that I know this would not have worked for, he was on Beta Blockers and Prozac whilst we carried out Behaviour Modification training.

*puke* Clyde that is disgusting LOL

hehehe thanks, tried it a few months ago, stinky product that one eh LOL