KobiD

Plus her outside isn't just tied up in a yard, or caged. She has free range of the whole back yard, the garage, the verandah and the decking around by the washing line. We all have different ideas of what a pet should be. Only have a handful of apoquel left to get through, so will be back to the vet soon.

Cause dog hair, kids, cat.. she has not been house trained to be left inside alone.. she's not a small dog who can be isolated within a confinement in a house, and I don't think indoors life is a reasonable life for a dog. I let her in on her mat in at times, supervised.. She would tear the place up if left in alone.

It could be food. But her diet has been constant, and her symptoms have resided, improved, had minor irritations, and then gone full blown out.. all without any dietry changes (unless if she is eating something in the yard; paspalum grass/small palm seeds). I haven't seen any palm seeds in her droppings, nor have I seen her eat any this year though.. I know she has in the past. She is drawn to the paspalum for some reason and it is a common trigger. Our yard has been smashed by armyworms (grubs) this year so have had to put some pesticides down for that, as well as some lawn feeder to boost it back up. The buffalo has quite a few new runners shooting, but any weeds we have are also making the most of the wet conditions and nutrients. She certainly hasn't suffered the whole time, but when she breaks out like she in she (which she hasn't since this time last year) it breaks my heart; knowing it must be uncomfortable yet everything I'm trying doesn't help. On the bright side, it doesn't appear to damper her personality at all. She's one tough little mutt. Next vet visit I'll be moving to a smaller one where I can build a relationship with a single vet hopefully.

The last couple weeks we've endured a LOT of rain. And I probably haven't paid as much attention to maintenance as I should have. I knew shes had a couple hot spots on her rear feet but today shes broken right out. Inflamed up her rear legs, underside of her front legs into one arm pit. Her elbow callus's look a little red and angry, and her chin appears a bit inflamed as well. Poor little thing. Get her back onto a full dose of apoquel for now and a medicated wash. Hopefully can bring it under control. Going back through this thread appears it was the same time last year that I struggled the most as well.. indicating most likely is environmental/seasonal.

15km is massive... I agree with everyone else above. Work on mental challenges. Short quick sessions. You'll find out how enthusiastic your dog is to work quite quickly.. and wear it out as well. Operant conditioning.. Reward the behaviours you want to see. Reward heavily and frequently initially.. You should start to see the dog offer said behaviours pre-empting a reward. Interupt anything you dislike, and then the moment a wanted behaviour is shown reward heavily again. It becomes a game for the dog, but as an added bonus they tend to offer what you want more often.. If you can't control the environment to reduce unwanted behaviours occurring then you need to work to do so.

Well mid November now.. and everything had been going well. We have a bit of a flare up on a back toe and I'm not sure what the cause is. Have had some rainfall, which in turn has also put a lot of grass to seed and growing madly. We also ventured out on the weekend for a bbq where she may have snaffled some beefy/lamb/pork treats.. Anyway, dropped her half an apoquel and put some betadine on the inflamed area. Hopefully we can nip it in the bud and get back on track without having the full flare up we had last December. At present all the hair had pretty much grown back.

I'm not sold on beef at this stage.. It has just been eliminated to keep things simple for now. But I agree.. She doesn't get a lot of dairy anway, apart from some yoghurt here and there.

I had considered such scans, and was seriously thinking about it, but it's hard to see if they provide accurate results or not.. and if they do highlight something that is out of my control leaves me in a position no better than before. Diet wise she is on something that works. Very stable.. hair has grown back over the last few months and she's not itchy. I'm also more aware of when she does have a flare up and nip it in the bud rather than letting it escalate. If it is environmental, I don't think its contact allergy.. more likely inhalant and as such harder to manage.

Veganwhat?? Not a chance... I think vegetation is the probable cause. She's rather itchy again tonight.. however no red patches or flare ups. The paspalum is seeding everywhere!

That's a cool poo chart pers. Do you have the link to the site where it's from? We all know something isn't adding up here. Those weights of food are crazy huge.. so either the food is passing straight through, dogs are full of worms, or they aren't being fed as much as we're being lead to believe. I've never really weighed out the dog food. I just scoop a cup here and there and work off averages and adjust as required depending on how the animal looks. Just crunched some numbers, and the last 20kg bag of food we bought will have lasted around 3 months, on an active 22kg dog. That's around 1.6kg per WEEK or 230g per day.

Had a little flare up again the other day, which seems to have come under control again quite quickly. Still no closer to identifying the source. The paspalum grass is in seed at the local park, but the worming medication I had to administer around the same time also happens to be a chicken flavoured chew!

Interceptor Spectrum.. as above

I'm not too concerned at this stage. Everything appeared to clear up within a couple bowel movements. I'll keep an eye on it and if I see anything suspect I'll try some Droncit. Thanks everyone

Any suggestions?

All covered. Interceptor Spectrum Each chewable contains Milbemycin Oxime 11.5mg, Praziquantel 114mg Interceptor Spectrum protects your dog from deadly heartworm. Immature heartworm are spread to your dog when they are bitten by infected mosquitoes. When the heartworms mature, they live in the vessels of the heart and lungs, and can reach up to 30cm in length. If left untreated, heartworm disease causes heart failure and sadly death. Treatment for heartworm is dangerous and expensive, so prevention is essential. Unlike some other monthly heartworm treatments, Interceptor Spectrum also treats and controls tapeworm plus all major intestinal worms including roundworm, whipworm and hookworm.

I was thinking tape worm too as they are definitely segmented. They aren't very flat though. They truly look like a well formed maggot. I redosed with the same wormer as I had it on hand last night. By all accounts wormers aren't preventative and only treat any active parasites, and since the last dose we spent a long weekend away at a pet friendly caravan park, which was fully booked and most sites having animals. There was much potential for exposure to fleas etc. She was dosed on arrival with Nexgard and daily inspections have not shown up any fleas/droppings. Went through the 2 movements in the yard this morning. Still formed as per normal. I picked a couple of grubs out and have them in a plastic snap lock bag. They weren't moving and weren't nearly as visible as yesterday. I might be able to upload a pic later today. I'll continue to monitor the situation.

Just thinking back, right after we wormed her we did go away for a long weekend with her. She's a real scrounge and did manage to scoff down a few things here and there on our adventures (beach etc). No idea what the time frames are for parasites to develop, however have re-dosed her on worming meds (Interceptor Spectrum - Milbemycin and Praziquantel).

They were definitely imbedded into the stool. Not just present on them. Well formed poo and no sign of pain. I'll have a look but pretty sure no sores/wounds. She does live outside so very possible she's found a gecko/skink/grasshopper. I'll be inspecting the morning evacuation closely.

Today the dog did her usual bowel movement, and on picking it up I noticed quite a few large creatures crawling in it. It was fresh as I watched her do it and immediately bagged it. I did not take any pictures. To me they looked like adult maggots, complete with segmented body. Probably around 1-1.5cm long and as thick as the lead in a pencil (maybe a touch more). She was wormed on the 17th July, now being 5th August, so about 2.5 weeks ago - preventative only. Any ideas or suggestions as to what it could be? She hasn't been exposed to anything unusual that I am aware of, and hasn't been showing any other symptoms of worms, bloating, itching etc. I know the old 'a vet will know' is coming, but this just happened now. Will collect some of her next stool to inspect.

Well said Thistle. I have found many people on this forum to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful, while others are simply judgemental. Such is life, and such is the internet. I frequent many forums for various hobbies and on the whole they're all slowing down in favour for the instant gratification/large audience that a certain social media platform offers. I much prefer forums for specific content! To the original poster, googling your specific questions will also turn up much information which can help you, if you are willing to take the time to read and apply the knowledge that is available. Every animal is different, and every owners situation is equally as unique. DDD, what is wrong with an animal not being allowed inside??

Off topic, but another thing I've noticed is that the leash is a source of frustration for us both. Quiet often if something excites her on leash she leans into it and becomes fixated and it's very hard for me to gain her attention again. Same scenario off leash and she'll often move towards what she wants a little but still follow cue to either say hello or leave it.

I would agree.. but I won't.. The problem I have is that with a pocketful of food, flowing fast this dog will do whatever you please. Even with other rewards thrown in such as free running and sniffing. Withhold the treats and she immediately looks to self reward. I know I need to look into transferring value and I have been, but even then at times she just doesn't have a lot of motivation. Not every walk is on my terms either.. but on leash I have certain expectations... which are not even strict. She can roam ahead, and behind.. she can sniff as long as she doesn't lag unless released to extended sniff.. But I do expect her to still have some attention on her handler and follow cue... not her nose to the ground leaning into the leash. As stated.. a few biscuits and a couple marks of the right behaviour and she'll play the game.. until a time at which she determines that something else is more rewarding.. This afternoon I brought a tennis ball with us to the park. She'll play ball on her terms.. Sometimes she'll retrieve and play.. other times you can throw it to her and she'll let it hit her in the face and continue to ignore it... regardless of how much you jump around passing the ball from hand to hand increasing the excitement. That is her.. she knows what she wants, and she knows what she doesn't.. The challenge for me is finding rewards in what she wants, and waiting for the behaviour I want before she gets what she wants... and knowing exactly what she wants at any given moment.. it makes it hard to transfer value when she is often focussed on only one thing at any given time. On the whole she's a good girl though. Above I said she doesn't like praise or touch.. however if you get her in her town time, she'll happily climb on your lap and snuggle into your armpit... it just depends on her mood.

Persistence is key! Sometimes I need to let the frustration go and remember to work the dog that I have infront of me, and remember to look at her behaviours as hints to what I can use as alternative sources of reward. This morning before writing this, on our morning walk she was very determined to follow her nose.. On leash, in the middle of the road. Nothing that should have been too overwhelming for her.. but I wasn't marking and rewarding for every time she'd be beside me in a nice relaxed state. She was trying to find the end of the leash, nose on the ground. I'd stop.. wait.. she'd circle back and off we'd go not even 2 steps and she'd be at it again. We repeated this cycle for a block before I had enough, told her off, and turned home. She pulled her head in, walked well.. we stopped a bit further.. she apologised (as they do) and I rewarded by heading out for some more walk. She continued to behave.. and was rewarded by a run off leash in the park where she promptly did some number 2 business. In hindsight, did she just need to find a place to 'go' the whole time? Perhaps. Did I expect too much from her to walk as she usually does.. maybe.. The fact that the pocket full of biscuits I had weren't being dealt out made it not so usual as well. Later we went for a 1.5hr walk through the bush with the young fella and her. We passed a few dogs. Some she struggled to ignore as they passed. Some she got to greet and behaved well for moments... but once again she tested my patience with her nose on the ground... pulling at her leash. I lost my cool and gave her another serving before she listened.. I don't like getting angry at her (or the kids).. and discussed after with the young fella that getting angry isn't the right way and that she is only doing what she feels is right in that environment.. good training for the kid at least.. From there opted that if sniffing was so keen for her, that we'd use that for the reward. If she'd sit on cue we'd release her to go sniff.. recall.. go sniff. etc. Really highlighted how much more work is needed in that regard though. Need to carry either higher value treats, or continue to train in such environments to get her used to it. She wasn't bad, just different... and as we came back into the normal streets we usually walk her behaviour went right back to normal too. She'll be 2 years in October.. so I also have to remember that she really is still a puppy too!

I still struggle with this concept at times.. and through my struggles I think what I am dealing with is a dog that is not very biddable, somewhat intelligent, and quite independent. She has drive when it suits, but isn't insanely driven to work unless if she is aware of the reason behind it. IE, a bag of food that she wants.. On a walk though if I decide to not mark and reward with food she'll then shift her focus into the environment rather than me. She has little interest in human contact, touch, petting, etc. She associates contact with food following. Games are the same.. Down on the value scale.

Another couple months, another update. Touch wood, but things seem to be well and truly under control for the moment. Hair has grown back under the paws and is continuing to improve on her front legs. Itching is well reduced, and inflammation gone. Seasonally, we've moved into the cooler months so it could be environmental. Have exposed her back to the park, streets, etc without any signs or symptoms returning which is great. Diet wise, have her on a blend of Blackhawk fish and potato and MfM Kangaroo and Lamb. All poultry and beef have been removed. I did feed one beef bone which may have induced some inflammation however haven't repeated the test. Yoghurt and assorted veg seems ok too. Will take some more time to see how things pan out, but at least for the moment we're going alright!