Elfin

Our older boy was itchy and scratchy from about 18 moths old. Our veterinary dermatologist blames over-vaccination/over-worming/over-chemicalling... but who knows?! (We know his bloodlines on both sides back several generations and keep contact with his littermates, and there is no report of atopy, but they all had minimal- or no vaccination, and the breed is not know for allergies) But no probs bonding... he is a mummy's boy!

She doesn't happen to be in South Road, does she? If so, she is the one we found after doing lots of research into vets that "think outside the square". She was wonderful when I took our pup there and asked for "minimal vaccination", and only gave us a C3 (she said she would only give Parvo vacc if we wanted). She also promotes raw feeding, minimal chemical treatment for worms/fleas (doesn't like spot-on treatments at all), titre testing and natural remedies. As we were leaving after our second (and final) puppy vaccination, she said "see you in a year for titre testing!". She also didn't condemn us for not wanting to de-sex immediately.

My grandfather accidently took his poodle's DEC tablet everyday for about 6 weeks, and she got his diabetes tablet!!! Both were fine, and lived to a ripe old age. That said, I prefer not to give DEC to my dogs... just a personal choice, I s'pose.

Our older boy started desensitising injections under the guidance of a dermatologist just over 12 months ago. It took about 4-5 months to work, but he is a different dog. His coat all grew back, and he is generally much happier. He had completely bald feet where he had ripped the hair out (he even tried pulling out his nails!), but they are normal now. He was never on any medication apart from Cortavance spray for his bad spots. I think it the desensitising injections have worked really well for us, and we are more than happy to continue with them for the rest of his life, as the dermatologist reccommended. (And thank god for pet insurance!!!! We wouldn't be able to afford it without it.) Best wishes for you and your dog.

My older dog was on Cephalexin for a skin problem. He was fine on it. I was on it for a kidney infection and my head felt weird (weirder than normal!!). I read the leaflet and it said a possible side effect was "visual disturbances". That pretty much described it! :rolleyes:

My vet is a bit of a hippie - that's why I go there! She is a huge supporter of minimal vaccination (only 2 C3's for our pup, then titre testing at 15 months), and also minimal worming/heartworming treatments, and raw feeding. We are in suburban Melbourne, supposedly a "low risk" heartworm area. Our vet said it was only necessary to heartworm 2-3 times a year, as Heartguard has a 6 month "reach-back". I used to heartworm every 2 months, but am considering every 4 months. Does anyone else do this?

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to respond, especially sas and kyliegirl who sent me very helpful PMs. The little girl is doing very well (she is not so little, though! We started giving her a little Rescue Remedy when she looked like she was about to take herself to bed, and it seems to have helped. Even at the times we forget to do it, she is not having the episodes quite so often and they are much less "severe". She just lefts her head, barks once or twice and then goes back to sleep. She has slept in a crate from the first day we got her, and always seemed to do it less when asleep in there, and now never does it when sleeping in her crate. In every other way, she has been fantastic, and even got Opposite Sex Baby Puppy at our Specialty last week! We were soooo proud! Thank you all again, we appreciate the incredible collective knowledge of this forum.

Hi periannath and Jaxx'sBuddy and thank you for your replies. She is not a Bull Terrier (but we luuuurve Bullies!), so hopefully that rules out Sudden Onset Aggression. The vet said she shows no signs of neurological defects and that epilepsy presents differently. When she is awake, she is completely normal. She doesn't seem to remember, or to be upset by the "episodes". The vet spoke to a veterinary neurology specialist about her today. He immediately suggested REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder, (well done, kyliegirl, you should be a veterinary specialist!) and recommended medication. (The same medication as used in humans with the disorder) Apparently the disorder is poorly documented in dogs, and he was fascinated. He asked if we could get a video of the behaviour, but as she only does it for 2-3 seconds at a time and only about once a day, it will be very difficult. Once again, we would love to avoid medication, and are open to any suggestions. (And how do I change the topic sub-title to make it more relevant?!)

Hello kyliegirl and thank you for your reply. I have been reading all about REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (google is my friend!) and it is quite frightening! It sounds very like what our pup does. When I tried to research treatment, every site suggested medication. I would like to avoid medication, but will try it as a last resort. My next question is, does anyone have experience with the Disorder in dogs? Would seeing a behaviourist be of any assistance? Any advice, ideas or stories would be appreciated. Meanwhile, I shall keep googling! Thank you again.

Hi joelle and thank you for your reply. We had the pup "ordered" from the breeder but he was waiting to see which one of the two girls he wanted to keep for himself. The rest of the litter were sold at 8-9 weeks. I am quite confident that our girl had a great start to life - the litter was born and raised inside until 6-ish weeks and then placed outside with their mother into the kennel complex with lots of human contact. The set-up is great. We saw the litter several times between when they were born and when we collected the pup. The reason we chose this breeder is because of his dogs' temperaments. We got a retired show dog from him (one of my older dogs) when she was 3 years old and she has the most wonderful temperament.

Hello I am new to the forum and hoping for some advice. We got our 18 week old puppy 5 weeks ago. She was been fantastic in every way - happy, outgoing, quick to learn, easy to house train, friendly to everyone she meets and gets along wonderfully with other animals, including our two other older dogs and our cat. The only concern we have is now really starting to worry us, as it is getting worse. She will wake very suddenly and jump up - barking and snarling in a VERY aggressive manner as though she has had a terrible nightmare, and then instantly flop back down and be fast asleep again. It is all over in about 2-3 seconds and is quite frightening to watch. The "aggression" seems to be directed at the nearest living thing, which is normally one of the older dogs, who just look at her. Yesterday she was fast asleep on the back seat of the car (wearing a car-harness), then suddenly jumped up and nearly flew into the front seat snarling and snapping at me (driving!) and then fell down fast asleep again. It was really scary. I have had her to a vet and a chiropractor and they can find nothing wrong with her. Any ideas? Thank you in advance for your advice.