Stitch

Not what I would choose - the green one will cause the poos to turn green! The white one is highly processed to get it to the white colour, probably bleached. Why not try raw chicken necks or wings or else a big meaty bone?

Supercoat plays up with my Dobes skin allergies unfortunately.

I haven't heard of that one. Maybe it isn't in Qld??

I know that you get what you pay for and personally I feed BARF and Royal Canin but I was just wondering what everyone thinks is the best of the cheaper brands?? Pedigree Natural, Supercoat, etc. etc. Is there one that has meat as its first ingredient??

You can also add home made chicken stock (warmed) to the dry food - it works for me with a fussy eater. Royal Canin is very good.

The mystery continues. She is now on a course of 'just in case' antibiotics and I have switched her back to Hills ID. I have also started to add the Apple Cider Vinegar. She seemed happier this morning but I have been sucked in before with this girl. We will see what eventuates.

Is there another specialist dermo vet you can go to??? If so, I would be getting a second opinion however when you are dealing with immune system issues it can be very difficult to get a positive outcome. There seems to be so much that is just not known or if known, then able to be satisfactorily addressed.

I can't for the life of me understand how/why a vet would make a scar on the side of a hairless dog. I mean its not like it is going to be covered with hair and will probably be noticeable for the life of the dog. Sorry, but I would be on their doorstep when they came back from their holidays!!! You may have to take her to another vet if the swelling doesn't look like it is going down. Did they give you any anti-inflammatory pain relief??

I have found Royal Canin the best dry food at the moment. I feed it to my puppies in conjunction with Dr.Billinghursts BARF. I used to feed VAN but found it to be too much grain which can instigate allergic reactions. Dr.B's BARF is the BEST!!

Things have progressed, she is now drinking more than usual especially after her dinner. She didn't drink this much after the Hills ID.

How much do you add to the water or the meal on a daily basis please??

What other food do you feed her??? ie dinner, etc.

Everyone is different however in hindsight the throwing up was the first sign of my older girls irritable bowel syndrome. I would be thinking that this dog has an intollerance to something in her diet - I wouldn't be taking it personally so don't go thinking she is doing it deliberately rather that when she isn't feeling well, with mum is the best place to be. Sometimes one dog just can't tolerate the fat in its diet or maybe some other component of what it is eating. Sometimes feeding them at a different time helps. First place I would start would be to ask what are you feeding??

Several weeks ago she had a upset gut. I think there was a bug going around but of course if she gets anything like that it always effects her much worse than my other dogs. Anyway, she couldn't tolerate the Hills ID which she had been successfully eating for quite a while. So I started feeding her boiled chicken, rice and veges which you can imagine she loved after having to eat ID. Promblem was that she absolutely needed to wee several times in the next few hours, and this is a dog that can hold on for ages normally. If she wasn't able to get outside in this period she would have an accident in the house which for her is totally out of character. I put it down to the extra water content of the new diet. I noticed also that when she was so full of urine it would leak out involuntarily. I stopped feeding her the chicken,rice, veges. when her gut settled and consequently the need to urinate excessively also stopped. At that point I decided to try her on Scottys Nutraroll and low an behold I found she could tolerate it without vomiting or diahorrea - GREAT! However now, after about 7 days on Scottys it seems that the frequent urination after mealtime is returning. So all the above is the recent history - I am now thinking that it just might be pertinent to the present condition of excessive licking of the privates. It is sounding like a UTI but it is different as urination is normal at all other times except for 1-3 hours after eating - she does not need to urinate overnight and her first wee of the day is not excessive or strained etc.

Yes you can, T-time!!! I have to be careful what I feed this dog - her digestive system from mouth to bum has always been a problem!! (sigh) I guess I will never know until I try it, but as I said she doesn't drink alot however...... I will get some from the health food shop tomorrow. I believe it has to be the organic kind.

You could ask your vet however I suspect it is just old age. I knew it was time to let one of my oldies go when she would just stand in the rain, not moving, just getting wet. Very sad to see but I knew it was time when that started happening. Vets say that when they stop eating is the marker but there are also other considerations.

I have forgotten how many dogs I have crate trained and Koala has the right idea. Crate training really is the best way to restrain a puppy/dog and comes in very handy all through their life. My older girl has her crate in our bedroom and puts herself to bed at 9pm every night. She hasn't always been in our room but we think she now deserves to be spoilt. They really get to like the crate as long as you make it a positive experience and give them a treat when you put them in it. It is just a matter of being consistent and fair when you use the crate and don't use it as a punishment. :D

And the answer is........... immediately after they have weed and pooed!!! Then you follow them around and see what they are going to do, get into and destroy!! I put the puppy I am training on a lead and tie the lead to my belt, that way it gets out but is always being supervised. Of course the older the puppy the longer it can go between wees - so the younger the pup the more times you have to remember to take it outside. :D

Bathing with Malaseb wouldn't hurt but I do use a T Tree oil shampoo normally anyway. I suppose it could be a yeast infection though. She doesn't drag her bum along the ground, I use Interceptor so I isn't worms. I apply Advantix so it isn't fleas. She doesn't urinate frequently but she isn't a dog that drinks a lot of water either. Hmmmm, that is starting to narrow down the possibilities.

Just posted a similar topic but with your dog it does sound like anal glands needing to be expressed. That always smells metalic to me.

My older girl (desexed) who has IBS is constantly licking her girl part and around the bum area. She has ongoing issues with her anal glands which I express every 1-2 weeks. It is the constant licking that concerns me though as she has always been regularly inspected by the vet and apart from the anal gland issue he can never find any other reason for the licking other than the glands. The glands would cause the bum licking but licking the other area to me seems like another issue altogether. I wondered if it could be the pH of the urine which is irritating her - thats the only thing I could think of, but someone may be able to throw some more light on this problem. I need a Dr.House to solve this mystery.

I used to buy it from Leonards but had a few problems. The mince often smelled badly of the bleach that they clean the shop surfaces with. Plus I used to find bits of other meat/spices. in it obviously the residue of what had been in the mincer prior to the chicken frames. I found that when I stopped feeding it and started feeding the Dr. B's BARF my dogs rarely vomited. When I was feeding Leonards pet mince they would vomit at least weekly. Continuity of supply was also a problem. I don't think chicken frames are very important at Leonards and I always wondered how they were handled and stored prior to mincing.j I guess I am just fussy!!!

Don't know anything about DAP spray however you can now get medication from the vet that is especially for dogs that don't travel well ie. drool in the back of the car. I have a Dobe boy who does this and the vet told me for years that there was nothing available..... until the other day when he told me with glee that finally there was specific medication available now!!!

If you are interested in successfully showing your dog you need to do your homework way before you buy a pup. Go to the dog shows and see who is winning in your desired breed. Find out more about the breed from the exhibitors and also by doing your own research. Read, read, read!!! You will not be able to become an expert overnight but you can learn quite a bit if you so desire. Once you have bought a pup you then have to live with it even though it may not be a very good example of the breed. This is OK if you just want a pet but a successful show dog is another thing altogether!