sas

My dog was fed quality diet and what the breeder reccomended and so do loads of allergic dogs. Dogs don't become allergic because they're fed PAL or some other non-high quallity food - that's a cop out because there are a huge amount of non-allergic dogs who are fed super market diets.

My boys sat one ontop of each other....too big to sit side by side LOL

I would be more concerned with Aussies than those from Finland for some reason LOL

I'm interested to know how and why it was decided to put the dogs on stage - did the rescue know the dogs would be ok?

Dosn't risk it with the Goldie, a tie can happen in seconds.

Breeders should not use allergic dogs or dogs from allergic lines in their breeding programs fullstop. Research shows there is a genetic link - Breeders choose to ignore it or not educate themselves futher....ignorance is not bliss. You hear people talk about a dogs Grand Sire who used to itch with certain grasses but don't see that as being an allergic dog.... A Breeder that knowingly breeds a line that has allergic roots is being cruel.... How is this not cruel... Allergic Dog Owner

Try Craig Murray on 0408 113 874, he's the only one I know personaly that boards and trains that I've heard positive feedback about, I've used him personaly as well.

You can believe whatever you choose to but that doesn't mean it's factual, so I'd just ask you to keep that in mind when stating things on here as if they are fact. Edited: Sure, look up Behavioural Science books, also books by Dr Temple Grandin are a great place to start.

I think it means he's the Devil...

They're not neccessarily accurate tests unfortunately and most Derms don't believe you can diagnose a food allergy through a blood test.

In some dogs.... Calendula will do nothing for my boy when he's really bad.

I don't think there is any other option but to see a Derm. I would not reccomend to stop heartworm treatments unless you are advised to do so by the Derm.

Not always, there are so many variables. A little bit of re-educating yourself on the subject wouldn't go astray.

Hi Guys, I thought I would report back, I tried a couple of methods as suggested and the best reaction I got was with the food in my mouth and spitting it...going well so far....we did have an accident today though LOL I spat the food to him and went to bend down to tell him how good that one was and he thought I was bending down to spit again and jumped up with his mouth open and collided with my nose....blood nose.... It will all be worth it in the end!

I'm so sorry for your dog, please report this inccident to the Council.

I have a giant dog so I'm affraid I'm only familiar with that dossage is but it wouldn't be hard to find oout the info for smaller dogs, there's a bit of info out there now, just a matter of finding it - I do start everything at a low dose and then work up - alot of allergic dogs are sensitive in their guts so you don't want to just bombard them. EPO - starting at 2 capsuals and then working up to around 6 over time - Derms are currently using higher doses of EPO now in combination of using omega's. Chia - 1 Desert spoon of the gel. Grapeseed - 1 Desert spoon of the oil. it's not going to stop them itching if they are a standard allergic dog, however this preparation is the one that sits best for my dog as we have tried a number of other supplements.

Your dog could be allergic to anything. Your Vet has given you a short course of Cortisone - you hopefully will not have to keep on with it long term however in really bad cases it provides quality of life to the dog. Cortisone will increase food and water consumption of the toilet and in-turn will need to toilet more. Have you contacted your Breeder to ask them if any of their other dogs have been allergic to anything in particular? The dogs diet isn't great, you might want to look at Raw or a Kibble for sensitive dogs. I think the food you mentioned is Tuckertime which is Ok - but that doesn't mean your dog won't react to it if it has a food/sensativity. For bedding, you can cover your existing beds in Cotton or Callico - Callico is cheap and has no dyes etc. I wouldn't go changing the actual beds when it may not even be the case. Washing in Medicated shampoo is pretty harsh and can ause their skin to dry out and get itchy - however can be a neccessary part of the elimination process - is it Malaseb? If your puppy is still itchy after this round of Cortisone I would 100% be asking yoru Vet to send you onto a Dermatologist - if they're itchy young that's not a good thing, they'll get worse if they are an allergic dog and you're going to need guidence from a professional (other than a standard Vet).

LOL I personaly wouldn't recoment SWF for inexperienced owners - they tend to make them into aggressive little prats by treating them like babies.....massive generalisation there LOL

Disagree. Great Danes are not dangerous or extremely destrcutive if they have an inexperienced owner. Any breed can get out of control if they aren't taught manners and training - due to the size of a Great Dane it would be more obvious than in a Chihuahua.

Again, it isn't necessarily anyone's fault that DA occurs and certainly not "hands down" always the handler's fault either- unless you happen to be aware of some training method that completely eliminates instinctive behaviours that others could be using to make their dogs safe? Yes, people need to realise that breeding has a huge effect on temperament. Whether we are talking about natural tendencies being heightened in some breeds, or faults due to careless breeding in any sort of dog. The handler has a responsibility to manage the dog to prevent it causing harm, but the problem may not be their fault at all. I hear you! I reccomend people read Temple Grandins book - Animals in Translation - she talks about Rapist Roosters....Well they were actually Rapist Murdering Roosters! This was at a commercial egg laying farm where farmers where breeding for certain traits and next thing you know they have accientaly bred in mental instability.....Roosters that would rape then hens and then kill them. They fixed it by removing the rapist mudering roosters and over the generations they get more stability....but shows how easy it is to stuff up temperament when you turn a blind eye to it or make excuses for it. Obviously to the Farmers the temperament was not even important because they're breeding animals to produce eggs.....but then they discovered it did matter....in unexpected ways. Temple also touches on emotional problems in mainly white animals such as Albinos and other animals who are mostly white that have pink noses and/or blue eyes in combination with being mainly white.

I see where you are coming from, however instinct is hard wired....it would be like training you to breath in a certain way all the time rather than the way you are hard wired to....you'd slip up. Unacceptable aggression is not instinct (although can have genetic links), dogs become aggressive for all sorts of reasons and you have to understand the nature of the aggression. To me training and Leadership are 2 different things. I've seen the most awesome trained dogs be aggressive in an unacceptable manner. Leadership is not an easy feat for humans....training humans how to be Leaders to their canines should happen before training in my opinion and even then aggression can occur i.e. fear aggression is said to be one of the trickest forms of aggression and some Behaviourists believe it can only be managed and never cured.

A couple things here.... Dog Clubs teach obedience commands to owners to teach their dogs they CANNOT ban you from doing certain things in your own home. In addition Obedience Instructors most of the time wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to cure barking because they teach obedience commands - they are not Behaviourists.

Very exciting stuff! I love light bulb moments!

Yes....Sane people don't kill other people....

You shouldn't assume the dog isn't bored because it has a lot of toys, in-fact dogs who have heaps of toys don't generally value them, it's better to have 2-3 toys out per day and rotate them. If it's seperation anxiety then technically the dog would be doing it inside the house as well but just might not be as audable as it would be whilst outside. Also if it's seperation anxiety then bark collars aren't the best for that type of stress....if you can avoid that route. Have you considered getting in a Behaviorist to get their opinion on why the dog is barking? Although just from reading what you have typed, it seems the dog has been getting attention (regardless of whether it is negative) and what it wnats (inside) when it has barked so it may be just doing what works.