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I've found cortisone to be very good to help with the itchies but Bob drinks a massive amount of water and I mean massive. The Vet reduced the dose and it helped a bit. It doesn't affect his appetite too much. At the moment he's on a low dose for his IBD but it's been a couple of years since he's had any. Mostly now I manage his itchies with frequent bathing and diet restrictions, but the cortisone was helpful when nothing else worked. My kelpie used to put on massive amounts of weight whenever she had it. Just as PM said it has it's place in treatment, and probably safe if not used long term.

Peigirl: Leah had the Joint Formula with her breakfast so it was a few hours earlier. I am leaning towards a sting too as it was so quick. We hadn't long come inside. She's a tough cookie so even if she was stung she probably wouldn't have yelped at the time to alert me. She's doing fine this morning. Inspector Rex: I'll have a read of that website. Thanks

Leah came home last night. She was still very sleepy but comfortable. I didn't get much sleep, heard every breath she took, and was so happy when she wanted to get up at 2am to pee. She's pretty clingy this morning, but ok and much happier. One Vet thinks it was the Joint Formula, the shellfish, and the other Vet thinks perhaps a sting of some sort. I have cortisone on hand in case it happens again, hopefully it won't. Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Leah had an allergic reaction to something this afternoon. She started itching and rubbing her face on the floor and furniture and then her face started to swell. I called out to OH that we needed to go to the Vet as she was extremely distressed. OH played 20 questions on the phone to the Vet nurse until I yelled out "We are coming NOW, it's urgent" and he realised that this was an emergency and not just me being a paranoid dogmum. Although Leah walked to the car and got in herself, by the time we reached the Vet which is only 15 minutes away she had collapsed and was barely breathing. I was so scared. She was given adrenaline and something else, and put on oxygen as her gums were blue. Fortunately we were allowed to stay with her and hold and pat her duriing the treatment. She was also put on a drip. I think it was the longest hour of my life. When we left her she was a fair bit brighter and hopefully will be allowed to come home a bit later on tonight. We are not sure what caused this, it could have been a sting/bite or maybe the Joint Formula I have just started giving her. She's monitored outside at the moment as she's still on restricted exercise after her OCD surgery, but does go outside into a small yard to toilet.

Yes, and they own Warner Brothers Movie World shops as well, and have recently opened a franchise of coffee shops I was told by an employee of PGD.

It's good to hear others experiences. Blacklab: I know exactly what you mean. I feel shellshocked. Am going through the "why is this happening to me?" and all that crap. Leah may have two of the conditions that make up ED. It's all whirling around in my head at the moment and I'm not thinking too clearly. She's been an endless money pit since we got her with health problems but she's a lovely pup and I'm happy to do what is necessary.

Leah has been limping on her front left hand side for a while now. No great improvement with a course of Cartrophen so we had her x-rayed yesterday. Diagnosis is she has OCD in the left elbow and a small lesion as well in the right elbow. She's going in on Tuesday for the op. The vet will do the left elbow and then depending how he felt the first one went he'll do the right one as well. I'm worried sick. She's not quite 7 months old, so it should be successful. I'd love to hear other's experiences with recovery, etc. And especially if anyone has had both done at once, sounds extreme to me.

Are the Joint Guard and Green Lipped Mussel new as well as the Previcox? If they are perhaps you could try just adding the Previcox initially, then the Green Lipped Mussel as it can have a protective effect on the intestines in some, and then lastly the Joint Guard. This way you may be able to work out which one is causing the problem.

Rappie, I think it's wonderful that you are so honest with your clients. I know the vet's where I go say very little about weight and I usually ask them to check my dog's condition to back up what I think. It's so easy to get complacent about their weight, a small gain often isn't noticeable and it just creeps on slowly and becomes a much larger gain in time. When I was at the vet last week there was a 36kg lab there and the owners thought it was ok. :D

Discussing the weight of my Goldie pup recently with my vet his recommendation was, "you have her lean but she could be leaner. In fact when people start telling you she's too skinny, you will have the right weight" It's what I aiming for now, she has other ideas.

Any news? Hope the pup's okay.

During an elimination diet it's usual not to add a calcium source. Dog's can survive just fine on their mineral reserves for a couple of months. If you can use bones of the same source that's great. Once you have figured out what foods suit the dog you can add calcium and other supps gradually. Some dog's react to certain supplements. My Bob doesn't tolerate calcium carbonate powder but has no problems with egg shell.

I thought it might have been the high fat content of the Satin Balls. Some dogs intestines don't handle fat well. Could you put him back on the breeders diet for a short while and see if he settles? I realise you probably don't want to go low fat as the pup has a weight issue. Did the vet's give him any medication for the bacterial infection? Antibiotics? Perhaps try probiotics to replace good bacteria. IBD can often be handled with diet and some medication. I know of quite a few dog's who have IBD controlled by diet with very little if any steroid treatment. I think runny poos is a difficult one for vets. There are so many potential causes, diet, IBD, parasites, bacterial overgrowth. I just battled 3 months of pudding poops with Leah my Goldie puppy. She had Coccidiosis and it took several treatments to settle it down. Bob my other dog has IBD and we keep it under control with diet. He has food intolerances, so I know your frustration.

Is this dog the one you are making the Satin Balls for?

Glad I'm not the only one. I thought that I wasn't smelling the same smell as everyone else.