Mas1981

I think you are right Longdog....

No, apple pips apparently have cynanide in them so they shouldn't eat a lot of apple pips, but I often give a chopped apple to my boy and have done for a few years now, he's as healthy as a Malley Bull! I know quite a few people who give their dogs apple, I often chop it up and put it in his Kong...

Skruffy & Flea thanks for the advice, I do appreciate the support the forum provides, dont know where I would be without it, a lot of people on here have given really good advice and I will always try anything as long as it sounds reasonable. I have sent my hair analysis off and should have it back next week, until then I suppose I should feed kibble and then change to raw depending on the test results. I have a feeling my dog may be a bit allergic to lamb and chicken, he does better on roo and beef. I am keen to try some goat and camel though.

Yes, lumping big time was happening even when I set out at the beginning to NOT go too fast too soon. I wanted some solid foundations but by attending class to learn foundations, it caused a lot of rushing and lumping. Not blaming class, I blame myself for not taking that information away with me and then actioning it as necessary. I got caught in the trap of doing it in class, like you'd normally do or why else would you go to class? But too fast, too soon. Which is an easy call in hindsight, you always seem to learn things from your mistakes and hopefully do better next time! Just a bit down that Ruby had to be the guinea pig in that scenario. She usually copes very well with being my training guinea pig!! Hmm, think outside the box, not too sure I'm very good at that! Gosh I have sooooo much to learn when it comes to training dogs and dog behaviour! Lucky I'm persistent and hate giving up :D Its really hard training a dog to do something for the first time, I constantly question myself because Mason is the first dog I have trained, but put it this way there is always a first time for everything and I just try my best its all anyone can do ;)

Meh, I'm doing it wrong then. OK is my release word for everything (well, except for dinner, that one is "take it" ), so it is easiest for me to use it in agility, too. I wanna know what gumby word you tried out briefly, now :D I also use 'ok' for everything.... ;)

Thanks for the info Rat, just wanting to know do your dogs fart a lot on lamb or is this just my dog???

Thanks I will look into getting the book, I am going to see another vet who uses more natural methods etc so I am sure she will also have some pointers in regard to diet

I am thinking of trying him on some meats he has never had before, I have sent a hair analysis off that tests for food allergies ( I know a lot of people dont believe it works but I will try anything at this stage) . With my dogs allergy he may be allergic to food on top of a contact allergy but to me I think its more of a contact thing, there are 2 places where if i take him he scratches immediately and his face swells around his eyes. I am trying Hills ZD with him at the moment but it is not agreeing with his stomach at all! If he is allergic to any foods at all I wont be surprised if its chicken...

I was thinking of changing my boy over to a more natural way of eating to see if it helps his allergies at all, I am not sure what the best way to go about it is, do you go half meat half kibble for awhile or do you just bite the bullet and start feeding only raw? What I am looking at feeding him will be a variety of meats and some bones ( have to be careful as some bones make him sick) and then veges to go with that. Would just like to hear others experiences

I dont know if my current vet will not feel judged......

I dont know if horses are the same as dogs but sometimes when you leave it the fear escalates...... If she were my horse ( lol) I think I would try a different approach to try get her to do it sooner rather than later but thats just my opinion and you know your own dog. Wish Mason could have some of Ruby's caution as he goes hell for leather at anything and isnt at all cautious with things which scares me......

Can we do stays under a gazebo? That's even if I make it to stays! Ruby doesn't have a rain jacket. If she did, she'd need one with a hood too, the big wuss.... Just got Mason's raincoat in the mail today, he is so funny though as he wont move when he is wearing it he freezes, if I let him wear it for stays it would be cheating Can I borrow it? More than welcome, of course we would need to be in a class where stand stays are necessary because with a jacket on he mostly wants to stand .......

There is a lot of Parvo in Midland, there was an article on it in our local paper.....

Can we do stays under a gazebo? That's even if I make it to stays! Ruby doesn't have a rain jacket. If she did, she'd need one with a hood too, the big wuss.... Just got Mason's raincoat in the mail today, he is so funny though as he wont move when he is wearing it he freezes, if I let him wear it for stays it would be cheating

I am very interested in getting my dog tested, where did you have it done? Would you inbox me the details. I made a mistake last week and took my dog to the vet for allergies ( something I swore I would never do, wanted to treat them holistically) got put on cortisone and anti-histamines and told to feed Hills ZD, oh and my dog got a antibiotic injection. My dog has changed so much in one week it is incredible, I want to stop everything besides the anti-histamine ( I know I have to do the cortisone slowly) and i want to change to a raw diet. He has no personality, is very depressed, he acts like he is starving and on top of all this his paws are still red.

I will let him know what treatment we are on and I will take all the bills with the medications on them etc, I only saw my old vet once for the allergies as they were not that bad when he was younger but seem to be getting a bit worse.

Yeah if I like the new vet I will probably just go there as I could walk there The other vet 30 mins away, more in traffic.

I would love to feed my boy natural foods and get him allergy tested but its not something my vet feels is useful. I did see a naturopath but those treatments were stopped once we had seen the vet.

Thats another reason why I want to see another vet my vet says she doesnt feel that my dog needs a dermatologist, I have asked 2x for a referral.

The vet I have been recommended has a special interest in allergies ( got told about him from another forum member and it makes more sense to see him as he is 5 minutes away, my vet is in my old area) and more importantly I want someone who listens to me and can see my point of view. I would never suggest things for my dog if I thought they had no hope in hell of working or if I knew they would make him worse.

Yes I have spoken to the vet about my concerns, told them I dont want certain meds which were till given, advised that the food we were told to feed is making the dog not well but just told to keep trying it all. Bottom line is I dont want my dog to take cortisone and eat a food that doesnt agree with him.

I am thinking of getting a second opinion on something and was wondering what the right way to go about it is? Do you tell the vet when you go in that you are looking for a second opinion or do you just tell them what the issue is and see how they would treat it and then let them know you what you are doing for treatment at the moment??

Normal reaction to Hills ZD at our place !! Vets seem to push this but it doesn't seem to work my lot. Really? I am glad that I am not the only one who seems to have this problem! Instead of trying all this commercial food I would rather try raw or something that is prepared here at home, I liked Holistic Select as it had the least amount of 'unatural' things in for a dry kibble. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is do you think Mason has a food allergy, up until now you have always thought that it was environmental. If you are unsure or say yes - then you need to work out what it is he is allergic to and the only way to do that is through the elimination diet and you have to be really strict. But at least at the end of it you would have a list of foods that he can and can't eat. We have done the fish only diet and that made little difference and now the vet asked us to do the Hills only for 2 months which I am prepared to do but in all honesty I dont want my dog to suffer through these loose stools and stomach cramps and then be told ' oh he has to just stay on it for awhile longer' to me if something disagrees with you it disagrees with you and you should not have to keep on with it. Not sure what is in the other foods that he is not ok with but whatever it is its not in the Holistic Select as he can eat that and not get the runs, he isnt itching on Hills but then he is on cortisone and anti-histamines so he would probably not be itching on the Holistic Select right now too.

Normal reaction to Hills ZD at our place !! Vets seem to push this but it doesn't seem to work my lot. Really? I am glad that I am not the only one who seems to have this problem! Instead of trying all this commercial food I would rather try raw or something that is prepared here at home, I liked Holistic Select as it had the least amount of 'unatural' things in for a dry kibble.

I have noticed that mason's one back paw is really red again and yesterday was his first day on only the Hills ZD, when he goes to the loo he is making runny blobs and his stomach seems to be cramping..... I am not happy and Mason is even less happy.