Domestic Dreamer

What do you do when you find she's done it inside?

Ta, she's on BARF so easy to replace the beef.

Update: It's a secondary bacterial infection, not allergies!!!!!!! Malaseb shampoo and herbs to boost her immune system should clear it up. She's allergic to beef protein so am switching her off those, but the main cause of the itching is the infection. I'm overjoyed that Clare gave me cause and solution, the money wasted on the first vet trip and useless drugs is pretty depressing though. Shall just have to chalk it up to experience.

Thanks all. The tablets are 5mg once a day (0.6mg/kg), then every second day for 4 days, plus the spray. I'm holding off on treatment until I see Clare tomorrow morning so she can see what's what and depending on what Clare says might put her back on the tabs afterwards so she gets some relief while we work out a long term solution. I'm really looking forward to the appointment.

Thanks peigirl, I was wondering about that. I've only given her one prednisolone tablet (yesterday) so was wondering whether to continue seeing as it should make the inflammation lessen.

How do you work out dosage of human meds when giving them to a dog? My appointment is this Saturday.

Will do. I loathe the idea of using steroids on my girl, I wish I'd thought of seeing Clare sooner and not bought the meds at the vet yesterday. I left there feeling so depressed.

I've just called to make an appointment with Clare Middle...

About 3 months now, not too long. How much fish oil/vit C and zinc would you give an adult Cav?

Sasha has been chewing her paws heaps lately so brought her to the vet today who said she had allergies. She's always been a pretty itchy dog and I've tried a few things over time but right now she's on BARF patties (beef), chicken necks, veggies and sometimes sardines. No preservatives, no grains, no yeast. Treats are dried liver. I use a natural dog soap which doesn't strip her natural oils and keeps her coat looking good but the white section is still dryer than the black. Skin and eyes are slightly on the dry side (she had a tear test done years ago and it was borderline dry). Since these changes she scratches less, but obviously there are still issues. She's mainly itchy on her belly (which has discoloured, it kinda looks like dirt rubbed in) and legs. No fleas or bites, and her last vaccination was about 3 years ago. Face and ears are fine. The vet has her on prednisolone tablets since her paws were quite inflammed and irritated, as well as a steroid spray to use on her paws, and suggested I switch to roo meat for 6 weeks instead of beef/chicken to see if it's a food allergy before looking at other possible causes. Someone in the CKCS thread suggested grass as a possibility. Her latest flare with the feet started on Sunday after some heavy weekend rains, and I've been letting her out early when there's still morning dew. Could it be? It's certainly a constant that she's always had contact with, but if so, how do I solve it? Make her wear socks? Her anal glands were also quite full and the vet emptied them but I wonder why she's having the anal gland issue in the first place. Her stools are firmer than they ever were when she was eating dry food, wouldn't that help? Any thoughts/ideas on what I should do?? For those who have dogs with allergies, did your dogs have similar symptoms and what ended up being the cause for you?

How stressful for you Bubbly, but I'm glad Mason's on the mend.

Self explanatory, I'm after a soft slicker for Sasha and can't decide which to get. Help me! Anyone know the difference between them or have tried both?

What do you do if the dog wants to sit down all the time? I put my hand under Sasha's belly when trying to do the back end but she keeps wanting to sit down. Is it just a matter of saying "no" and propping her back up again?

Ah yup, according to the calculator I'm definitely overfeeding. Thanks for the reccy Cavandra, will reduce the patties and add bones/veg and ignore the big earnest eyes.

Sasha is a 7.1kg Cavalier and currently getting 1 BARF pattie a day (split into 2 meals). Does that sound about right? I'd also like to add more variety to her diet but I'm afraid of overfeeding her. She's at an okay weight at the moment, could probably afford to be a smudge leaner but she's so food oriented and hungry all the time that I feel like a meanie if I cut it down. I only started raw feeding a few months ago and I don't really feel like I know what I'm doing. Am I on the right track? Any tips? ETA: If I feed sardines a few times a week to increase her oils and improve her coat, do I need to cut back in other ways?

I hope it can be fixed Lofty, thinking of you and Cody.

Mini update: We were sitting in the park on the weekend, and there was your usual mix of children playing, dog walkers etc. Pom was a little nervous at first but seemed to settle down. Apart from sniffing me and Sasha a little she pretty much ignored us and I was able to pat her without reaction. Owner can do basic commands with her: come (on extenda-lead), sit, stay, and I did come and sit with her too. She was never really relaxed, always alert and aware, but maybe it's a Pom thing? Other dogs came over for a sniff, including a beautiful, calm Golden Retriever, and the Pom was fine. At home is a different story, so sounds like she's being territorial?

She lives at home, so it's her parents, sister, BIL, neices and nephews...

Thanks for the alternative suggestion, I think that might suit better. She acknowledges the dog has issues but I don't think she realises there are things she can do to correct it while family members she can't control give the dog mixed signals (eg. feeding from the table then complaining when dog jumps up). Am working on that. I think it's mostly ignorance rather than not caring. Unfortunately I've been there myself. ETA: Yay, progress! (of a kind). Got the opportunity to speak openly about it all. Dog's showing more signs of stress.

Thanks Nekhbet, will see how I go with your suggestions, and let you know if I pass on your email.

Thanks for the reply Nekhbet, convincing the owner is a tricky thing. The dog's never bitten the children, but has growled at them. I don't want to offend her owner or make her defensive, and because the dog is so tiny I guess she sees the issues as undesirable but not intolerable. Because of this it is very unlikely she'd agree to a trainer. I only hope I can give her some tips so she can slowly start making a few changes that will help. Also with the grazing.. she's had a bout of diarrhoea lately and been listless but the owner can't tell what/if she's been eating. Has since had food removed for 24 hrs and is now on chicken and rice twice a day which she loves and just hoovers.

My friend's female Pomeranian is 2 yrs old. She's rarely taken for walks, and hasn't really been socialised with other dogs/people. Because the dog is only 2.1kgs, her owner is afraid other dogs will hurt her and will usually pick her up if another dog approaches. But most of the time she's not walked anyway. At home, she's really aggressive with strangers. The last time we were there my friend was carrying her because she wouldn't stop barking, and she growled if we came near. We didn't reach out to pat her, but she'd have bitten us if we had. On neutral ground she's not growly, more timid. She'll sniff my finger if I hold it out to her but I wouldn't dare try anything more since my friend warned that she'd bite. There are 4 young children at their house (ranging from 1 yr to primary school age) and she's fine with the family since she knows them well but I still think her behaviour is far from ideal. She's spoilt, and carried a lot. Oh, and she'll bite her owner when she tries to brush her so she doesn't really get brushed, the occasional matt is just cut out. Her food (Advance dry) is left out and she grazes, hence she's never hungry or interested in food reward training. She hasn't really been trained. No recall to speak of etc. Can anyone give advice on handling the aggression? At the moment she's a vicious (very beautiful) little ratdog that no one but my friend likes. Sasha (my 5 yr old Cav) is very easy going and gentle, one thing I thought of to help is perhaps start having some playdates? I figure most of the work would need to be done at home though... ETA: They've met before when we took our dogs for a walk. Her dog was a bit timid during the initial sniffs, then Sasha ignored her and they pretty much didn't interact for the rest of the walk.

I give Sasha a wipe down and clean paws and bum with damp paper towels after every walk. Regular brush. If it was wet, muddy paws, I'd put her in the laundry sink with a few inches of water and shampoo her paws and feathering.

I've never heard of her before but she looks interesting, I didn't know there was such a thing as a homeopathic vet. Thanks!

Title pretty much says it all. I've just switched Sasha to BARF and was wondering what sort of time frame is normal before seeing any improvement in her condition, especially her skin? TIA