Winterpaws

SV???? Malamutes can be prone to ZRD too so may be worth ruling out. Glad you plan to do a scraping as it really is the best way to see what is going on - it should at least tell you if and what bacteria is present. I will ask for that test as well In the meantime he has attacked his tail and it is red raw and he is in obvious discomfort Not sure what I could put on it tonight to soothe it?

Just gorgeous!!!! As you can see in my sig we have one What breeder did s/he come from?

Stormies post reminded me that when he went in before the vet had take a sample of tissue in case we needed to do a biopsy in the future. I've just gotten off the phone from him and we will head back down tomorrow morning as he wants to have another look at what is going on and possibly take another sample I'm going to ask for a course of AB's - it won't hurt him

I think you might be on to something Sas. It makes sense that it is all over and seems to be getting worse rather than better. I'm tempted to just give him some cephalexin and see if it helps. I have a heap left over from when Tina was sick...... but probably best to get vet to dispense some more Espinay - he is a malamute, well that is what he was chipped as. So that might be worth doing more tests as well. I know the vet did the thyroid but I don't think he looked at anything else

The first one is his tail and that is after I washed it with some vetadine - the whole top of his tail was a black scabby mess. The second photo is on his body - he has patches like that all over him. His coat is neat, no matts but it is a lot thinner than he normally has???

I just took some photos

I'm tearing my hair out here trying to work out what is going on with Charlies skin It started a few months ago when he was chewing at his coat. We went to the vet who saw one flea and we were told it was a flea issue and to treat with comfortis and it should resolve. He also went on some cortisone for about two weeks But he still kept chewing at his coat. I also noticed that his coat was really thinning from the shoulders back and he has these large dry scabby type sores all over his skin. Went to a different vet who thought thyroid and we did a blood test. That came back negative and so we were told to put him back on steroids and it was an allergy. I did the steroids for about two weeks but it made him manic so weened him off them. Whilst he was on the steroids he was still chewing anyway He has stopped chewinh his skin but I just went to groom him and was horrified. The whole top of his tail was a dry scabby sore. When I started grooming through his coat I found more large patches of dry scabby sores. He gets brushed through every other day and I do a big grooming session once a week I am at a loss as to what is going on. Prior to this he was on a raw diet. They're now eating some eaglepack and I introduced the Bruce Symes omerga oil supplement for skin. It's not an allergy and it is not fleas (they are all on regular comfortis). Something is causing this scabby dry skin but what??? The vet is going to tell me to put him on steroids but that doesn't fix the problem Has anyone else come across this???

Brave guy Stupid woman for walking her dog OFF leash on a day with forecast gale force winds along a pier :D http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...536&hl=pier

I wanted to buy all my cat food and dog food through them but they were just too slow to respond to queries and it worried me a little. They have a great range though!

To be honest I am really not sure what possessed me to give them bones as I never do because of the issues we have.... He has tried to vomit a couple of times this morning but I think it was just a small piece of bone as did a sharp piece on his bed this morning. Of course this all happens on the day when I don't have my car here.... I'm monitoring him and he looks fine. If he looks like he is going downhill I will try find a friend at home to come take us to the vet Never again will I do the bone thing - I end up a complete stress head Oh and I have a kilo of turkey necks left in the fridge

Thanks everyone He is fine and yes I think he may have swallowed in an awkward way - he scared the bejeesus out of me!!! I've watched him like a hawk and he is fine - gums look good, bouncing around like his normal self so he should be OK

I gave the boys some turkey necks for dinner tonight. I'm not normally a bone feeder as Charlie can get a bit food posessive but figured with these they could eat them straight away and there would be no remnants to guard But when he was eating his second one Charlie started yelping and whining. I put the other dogs out and let him out of his crate and he stopped almost straight away and then raced back and ate his last neck. He seems OK. Gums normal and he had a small drink of water then Vet said to just keep an eye on him and if he appears to be in discomfort then to take him down Has anyone else had this happen - just need some reassurance

I think Snooza does one don't they? For our big dogs and the one who has athritis we bought a cheap cot mattresses from Ikea. Then at Spotlight bought a double bed egg shell foam cover and cut that to fit the two ikea mattresses. Then put a cover over the top of the two. Nice and thick and the dogs love it. Cost about $40 a bed I guess

If the bulldog begins to shows signs of aggression towards the other dog we separete them - also we sepearte them when they are eating (which is normal) We have not seen a behaviourist - and i dont have the belief that a dog therapist can help resolve aggression issues. I guess i may be naive in that area but i have never heard of it actually working? So essentially rather than trying everything possible to resolve the issue you are going to pass the buck to someone else by rehoming one of the dogs.... You do realise that if the new home ends up with a DA dog they will more than likely just have the dog PTS. As i said in an earlier post NO I AM NOT TRYING TO "PASS" my dog onto anyone else because she has a few problems. Hence the reason i logged on here to get professional advice and advice from others that have been through the same thing i dont see that as "passing" on my dog i see that as taking a proactive approach to helping my dog. I absolutely adore my Bulldog and will try anything which is why i logged on here!!! Well I am truly sorry if your posts don't come across that way but you have been given really sensible advice a) don't let them run togethor b) get a behaviorist in to help You didn't like that advice??? If you follow that advice and you still have issues then my comments would be completely different, but I am responding to what YOU write Get them some runs or some way to separate them so the fights can't happen and then get some professional help and advice. That will at least give you an unbiased opinion from someone who truly knows the dogs. If you don't believe in a seeing a behaviorist then I think it is very unfair to move the problem on to someone else. This is the rule I always lived by when we had rescue and foster dogs - would I trust the dog? Was there any possibility that one day I might read an article in the paper and that dog had attacked another dog, or god forbid a child holding a dog. If you can answer yes then you have to ask yourself whether you can ethically rehome that dog. I'm not saying give up on your dog - I'm saying you need to do everything to try and work out why the issues are happening and if there is any possible way you can fix them. If it means they live in separate parts of the yard then so be it

If the bulldog begins to shows signs of aggression towards the other dog we separete them - also we sepearte them when they are eating (which is normal) We have not seen a behaviourist - and i dont have the belief that a dog therapist can help resolve aggression issues. I guess i may be naive in that area but i have never heard of it actually working? So essentially rather than trying everything possible to resolve the issue you are going to pass the buck to someone else by rehoming one of the dogs.... You do realise that if the new home ends up with a DA dog they will more than likely just have the dog PTS.

You should make a complaint to the ombudsman. It costs you noting to do so. Another member also had issues getting a pet insurer to pay due to an interesting interpretation of an exclusion (same insurer as CavnRott...) and I beleive she finally had her claim paid after going to the Financial Services Ombudsman. With these policies you absolutely have to check all your documentation when you receive it. PetPlan had put a broad lameness exclusion on Bundy (horse) because I declared a minor injury where a foreign body got under his skin above his hoof. I queried the exclusion and they did agree to remove it. Check, check and double check. If your claim is declined, show someone who knows about insurance your paperwork and ask them to look at it for you. Did your policy schedule state that all skin conditions would be excluded?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1225941432530

I wish ALL vets would charge a little less... not because I have a problem paying them, but because there are many people out there who are not rolling in money and often, the animals don't get desexed because of how expensive it is. $200 to someone making $400 a week is a LOT. Do you realise how much desexing is already discounted? To castrate a 30kg dog with us is $250.70 (pain relief, fluids, overnight stay, top of the line monitoring system). Now if I were to calculate the same operation as if it were a 15min lump removal with an overnight stay, it would start from atleast $375. I'm sorry, but owning a pet involves costs. What happens if the same animal gets hit by a car and breaks its leg? Should we discount that too because an owner can't afford to pay? People seem to expect so much from vets. They want the best anaesthetics used, fluids, everything monitored etc to ensure the safest, smoothest surgery, but expect it to come without cost. ;)

A friends dog recently got into some rat bait when they were at another friends property. He had to take Vitamin K daily also. He's absolutely fine now Hang in there and I am hoping you have the same positive outcome

Thanks Stormie. I will keep the cortisone in my box of tricks for now. Re dosage he said that for 10 days and then we would see what response we had. I only realised how large a dose it was when I saw the old bottle of cortisone that he had 8 weeks ago when he first saw a vet (different vet) No not itchy along back and base of tail - it is all confined to his sides from the ribs down towards his hip and then all over his groin. He actually doesn't really go on the grass much either - he either lays on concrete or the wooden outdoor table . His outdoor bed is a trampoline bed that is that flea free material and he doesn't use kennels. But the beds in the kennels are flea free as well (Snooza d1000's) He used the word atopy? I'm just baffled how this has started and he has lived here since he was 6 months old without any issues. Mind you the only difference I can think of is that the garden beds do really really need a weeding - but they are fenced off and he shouldn't be able to get to them Erny I will try calendula as well. It will be interesting trying to get his coat dry

Rinse over the coat. Allow it to dry on the coat (ie don't rinse off). I think this is worth trying first as IME if it is going to work to ease the itch and redness you should see signs of improvement generally in 24 - 48 hours. Not a long time to wait to see if it is the right management treatment to use, before you go to using chemicals of any kind. BTW - Calendula can be taken orally - it has good qualities. I purchase mine from my local Health Food Store. A 50g packet will set you back about $8.20. Although the price varies depending on the brand (and, I find, the prettiness of the packaging). ETA: When my boy has been really bad (skin wise) I tackled the first application (after I did a 'spot' application to make sure it wouldn't worsen the condition) by running some warm to hot water in the bath tub. About 3 inches deep. I put a fistful (scientific measurement ) of the calendula in the toe of a cut down stocking and tied it off. I left this floating/soaking in the hot bathwater. When the bath water had cooled to tepid (if the weather is warm/hot, cool is ok) and then put my dog in the bath tub. I used the stocking with the soaked calendula as a sponge (of sorts) to soak his coat and skin all over. The water in the tub had of course been infused and was the brewed calendula tea. A towel dry off and one clean, fresh smelling and far less itchy and more comfortable dog, in my case. I would need to wait for a warm day as we have a thick double coat which is really difficult to dry!!!!! But I might try a spot application? I went out to the post office at lunch and put dogs outside - came home and Charlie had two huge chew marks and when I turned him over his whole grin area was covered in an angry red rash. Went back to vets and he is adamant we need to try steroids. He gave me Microlone and said one 20mg tablet twoce daily for ten days. The poor dog is going to do nothing but drink water and pee if he has that much cortisone

Erny do you give Calendula orally or as a rinse over the coat? Did you just buy from the health food store? I think flea allergy dermatitis seems to most logical after ruling out everything else. They did take a tissue sample to test and they also took some bloods. He was showing classic symptoms of a thyroid issue and we were certain tests would come back this was the issue. He's never had an issue with his skin in the entire time I have had him and now all of a sudden he is chewing his coat out So what are the chances of him still having a flea when there is no sign of the other two dogs or 3 cats having any issue with fleas. Can I try giving him something else along with the comfortis every 4 weeks or should comfortis be enough to work? He's had 3 lots of comfortis over 8 weeks I did find little red dots on his stomach like something had bitten him - in between his legs along side penis. He is biting all down his sides and leaving bit red sores. The vet said he saw no signs of fleas when he had him under the anaesthetic, neither did the groomer who did him a week earlier. When this start he was on steroids for two weeks but they really messed around with him. He was drinking a heck of a lot of water and got really bloated eta - which antihistamines should I try first? He is 24.7kg

Just putting this out to see what other people think and what your experiences are. Charlie our double coated boy (chipped as a malamute but looks more biscuit samoyed) has a skin issue and I have no idea what is going on. He is 7 years old and we have had him since he was 6 months old and we have never had an issue with him or his skin. It started about 2 months ago. He had what I thought was a hot spot so we went to the vet. Vet said it wasn't and that he had a flea (yes one) and that it was a flea allergy. So we started him on comfortis and he was on a course of steroids for 2 weeks. It seemed to get better. In the last week or so he has been chewing at his coat again and his skin looks bright red when you part the coat. None of the other animals are showing any issues that it might be fleas and he has had 3 lots of comfortis over the last 8 weeks. If it is a flea (and I can't see any) then comfortis doesn't work as he only had some on Monday The vet did some blood tests on Friday as we thought he might have a thyroid issue but they have come back normal and so he thinks it is a flea allergy. His reccomendation is that he will need to go back on steroids. I am a bit loath to put him back on the steroids as they really messed him up when he was on them. I'm just not sure what to think. He was groomed about two weeks ago and the groomer also saw no evidence of fleas?? Should I give him something else as well as comfortis? Any thoughts on something we could try instead of steroids or how best to manage a dog on steroids.

Thanks!!! All sorted they will send me the right product. Easy mistake to make I suppose with the names a bit similar

Is there a phone number you can contact them on? They have sent me the wrong product :D