Mas1981

I can relate to that. I think this probably illustrates why it's possibly the best thing to get an actual diagnosis first, before anything else. Because for us, it's completely the opposite and regular washing with something very mild helps, because being atopic, he absorbs pollens through his skin as well, so regular washing/rinsing actually reduces what is absorbed and helps to reduce his itching! Another thing which I think makes it hard, is the way you diagnose allergies/atopy. It can only be a process of elimination. Say John Smith comes to see us with Rex who has itchy skin. To relieve Rex's discomfort, he's given a short course of Pred. Now if it was just a secondary problem, because of some plant reaction, Rex might get better and not get itchy again. This isn't all that uncommon and many dogs just get given a single course and are 'fixed'. But if its an allergy, he will get itchy once the Pred wears off. So John and Rex come back. So we discuss allergies. Talk about eliminating parasites, foods etc first. Talk about supplements to help with the skin and then referrals to Derms. In most cases, Mr Smith doesn't want to know about all this. The pills worked the first time, so lets just have them. If only there was a simpler way to get to the final diagnosis that doesn't involve the months of elimination prior to getting to the end. Would it be better, if you had an allergic dog and wasnt 100% sure what the cause was , to try and find out through a vet what the allergy is before consulting a homeopath?

She was a lovely looking dog .

They are really efficient and respond to questions quickly as well. I am also 100% happy with them, and my dog also eats less of this food than any other brand so the bag lasts longer which makes it very cost effective. I think I bought my bag around the 20th of February ( a 14Kg bag or 13,7 or whatever it is) and I am not even half way through it and its April!! Yeah well I was going to get my dogs through their SC before getting replacing it but Im considering just turfing it when I try these samples Do you know if Holistic Select is available at Petbarn? Im on holidays atm so I have no idea how much food I even have left at home...and Im out bush so Ive got quite a drive to find out if petbarn sells it LMAO I think on the Ep website there is a list of places that stock it

I saw one like that at City Farmers

If the dog has been desexed earlier they are often a bit longer in the legs because the stage at which growth plates close on the long bones is affected by hormones. I am not sure how hormones affect breadth of skeletal structure but I'm sure there must be an influence. Hormones definitely affect muscle bulk. I would expect a desexed dog to be less bulky generally. That is probably true although my dog and one of his brothers were desexed at the same time and his brother is way bigger, much broader and a huge head. They are the same height though.

Lol I am interested but seeing as I have tracking on a saturday and obedience on a sunday I say my chances of making it to a meet slim to none unless its on the Anzac Monday Anzac Monday sounds good, I didn't realise we got that off! I hope we do, I have it listed in my diary that its a holiday?

That is also true, its the same as people we all have a different bone structure If a dog has been desexed though could he still end up being more broad and solid?

Lol I am interested but seeing as I have tracking on a saturday and obedience on a sunday I say my chances of making it to a meet slim to none unless its on the Anzac Monday

I agree with you SG. Posting pictures of a skinny adolescent puppy under the age of 2 doesn't always reflect how the dog will end up. The other thing is that every dog is built differently and must be assessed individually as to whether they are overweight or not. Sometimes photos don't display this very well. This is Mr Boney. His grey moustache is a giveaway to his age (he is seven). He certainly continued to fill out until he was 3 but he's still a long legged, rangey boy. This doesn't show his physique very well but you can get the idea from looking at his chest area and general size. I Boney... he is my heart dog. Love the pic on the red couch! He looks lovely. At what age do labs start becoming less active so that I can watch for it and perhaps reduce the food when it happens?? At the moment m boy only eats about 1,5 cups of kibble a day and around 150g of meat, by how much would I cut the food? Will it get to a stage do you think that I would only be feeding him 1cup a day? I would then feel like I was starving him lol!!

They are really efficient and respond to questions quickly as well. I am also 100% happy with them, and my dog also eats less of this food than any other brand so the bag lasts longer which makes it very cost effective. I think I bought my bag around the 20th of February ( a 14Kg bag or 13,7 or whatever it is) and I am not even half way through it and its April!!

What area do you stay in?

Will this happen even if he is desexed? I am in touch with 2 of his littermates families and his brothers are way bigger then he is, they are really broad and have huge heads.

Gorgeous photo! Interesting to compare Misty to Ruby above. To my untrained eye, Misty has a much broader and deeper chest, bigger thighs and neck. Misty could perhaps be a touch skinnier (?), very hard to tell from a single photo, but then she is also a much more solid girl to begin with so maybe not. Ruby looks a fair bit younger in her photo too which makes a difference. Misty is a nicely bred and fully matured dog who looks like a labrador should. A well bred labrador is heavily set because they are a SOLID BREED. A deep chest does not equal an overweight dog. Ruby is just a puppy in that picture and is very light-on in bone which is normal for a puppy. Don't mistake the two! People are too willing to see a poorly breed lab with not enough bone and too much length of leg and say it's the best looking lab they've ever seen. I know because I own one. I also own a beautifully bred one who has correct length of leg and is a similar build to Misty with a beautiful deep chest and well sprung ribs. She is quite thin at the moment but her beautiful labrador coat hides her ribs - even though I can easily feel them. She just has so much coat and a nice amount of bone. She can be quite underweight but nobody ever notices her - they invariably comment on my poorly bred boy. I agree with you 100%, my boy has the same build as Misty does. He is very fit and active but I wouldnt call him skinny, to my untrained eye he is a good weight etc, he is the first lab I have owned and I try and not feed him too much, he eats so little as it is!

I often give mason little treats but then I make sure hat he gets less kibble or meat etc that day

She is lovely BM, love the way blacks shine and she is a good weight, well done

Lol does he have the lovely teething breath to go with it???

He is lovely Macka and I think ( but hey what would I know) a good weight for his age. The boys have much thicker legs and bigger chests than the girls.

show us yours !!! Here's my boy, sometimes I do think he looks a little skinny, but he's only just turned one so prob got a bit more growing/filling out. I would really rather have him a bit lean than have joint problems. Archie is about the same size as Mason, have u weighed him lately?? Yes, I meant to post in labs -- he is 31.5kgs too !! Must be twins, same size and age almost exact!

Love the photo where the pup is touching its paw to her face

My lab swells around his eyes quite often when he has been in the garden and in parks, it looks as if he has been punched in the face, however he is in no discomfort. I know one thing that sets him off is pollen and some plants ( i have no toxic plants to dogs in my yard so it has to be just regular plants) the trouble is is that where ever we move and have different plants he gets it so I am guessing he is allergic to many plants. Maybe it is plants also affecting your dog?

It is a lot of hard work

I think she is lovely! Masons photo's didnt get any comments so he obviously didnt crack the nod in the skinny stakes

Did the vet give you any Protexin or any other probiotics for your boy? If not it may be worth getting some, a lot of people on here use inner health plus too My pup had a lot of tummy probs as a pup but as soon as I started him on the Protexin they went away. I feed EP Holistic Select, Artemis is a good food though. I dont think you would be able to change him to a new food straight off the chicken and rice, maybe others will have some better advice though??

That is very good advice, I was told to do something similar by my instructor as sometimes when I am working off lead with my dog he runs off after other offlead dogs to play. What I was told to do is everytime another dog is around and he ignores it and looks it me he gets a treat, if he doesnt look at me after a few seconds i say 'me' and then when he looks at me i treat him. You could also try teaching Archer to heel Macka as that way he will be looking at you all the time I taught Mason to heel with a toy as a reward, works a treat!

I must have read it wrong, i think it was mentioned in a book I read on dog sports awhile ago. I actually already let me obedience club know about the seminar and they said that when rally is up and running here they wouldnt mind teaching it at our club as it has been mentioned to them a few times now.