Scales of Justice

Definitely a job for the vet. Is the Malaseb actually burning the skin? Could it be the top layer of skin peeling off? I would suggest you should clean away all the visible wax with some cotton wool and/or cotton buds and re-examine the skin underneath. Clean the gunk out of the ear canal too. This poor puppy probably is in pain.

The absolute best treatment for hot spot is Friars Balsam from the chemist ($4 odd). You usually only need about 1 application per day over 2 or 3 days and the hot spot is finished.

I agree with Shantiah - it definitely looks like a hot spot.

A couple of tips which might help: Travel the dog between the front wheels and the back wheels - that is not in the back of the car. The back of the car gets buffeted around more than just behind the front wheels (which is reasonably stable). I had a bitch which was drooling and vomiting before the car even left home. I decided to get her mind off the car and car sickness, so I put her in the back (just behind the front seats) and spread out a big blanket. I gave her a marrow bone. She was so interested in the marrow bone she didn't notice the car any more and within about a month the car sickness had completely gone. If you decide to try this, make sure your dog hasn't just eaten - wait till the dog is hungry! You could try small trips to begin. That way, apart from keeping the dog's mind off what is happening, it also positively reinforces the car as a pleasant place to be.

Seeing the dog is only 10 months old I would imagine what you have been experiencing up till now are growth spurts, where the food is being used by the dogs body for growth instead of maintenance.

Mix up and spray on Fido's Fre-Itch Flea and Tick rinse to keep grass bugs off. It works for about 3 days before you have to do it again.

Hello Poodle Wrangler, Thanks for the better photo. I see what you mean (that's what I thought). Has the dog got any discharge from the eye as well? Also check out whether the pupil is dilated. Is the pupil the same size as the other one? I would definitely get it checked out by a vet. There may be something happening in or behind the eye if nothing is obvious or visible on the surface (that is if there is no infection)

If you are referring to the third eyelid coming further across the eye than normal, there are a few reasons why this can happen. I've had it happen when the eye was accidentally hit with a ball and the dog had pain in the eye and I've had it happen when there is eye infection. If that's not what you are referring to, you might need to further explain what you mean as we can't see much on the photo.

Here is a link to the Equine Flu Website http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/live...nformation/faqs (Scroll down to the question "Can dogs catch EI" If I am reading the website correctly, a closely related strain of equine flu has been carried to dogs overseas.

I think within reason most breeds whether large or small should not necessarily be treated as "fragile". A certain amount of "normal" exercise would be beneficial, after all, the muscles and ligaments need to support the joints while they grow and if you do not exercise a growing puppy enough with the correct muscle tone that cannot be beneficial either. Everything in moderation!

Don't worry, normal play exercise will be very unlikely to damage the growth plates, provided that the dog/pup is not being roughly knocked about over a long period of time by heavier larger dogs on a regular basis. What they mean by not too much exercise is taking the dog for a run for quite a few kms on hard surfaces regularly. A shortish walk on the lead or a quick romp around running free is not detrimental.

I would be suspecting something viral until proven otherwise!!! (possibly with bacterial side effects). Either way I would be getting a vet to thoroughly check this problem out.

Just before you get into x-raying or vet visits - check this. My dog does that on odd occasions and I thought she had done herself a muscle injury and I even got the vet to do a visual check for cruciate ligament problems. Nothing seemed obvious. A day or two later, after still showing similar symptoms, I opened between the pads on the offending foot and found a dark red colouration on the foot up between the pads. I wasn't much but it was the culprit. It was an allergy which cleared up with Ilium Neocort. Every time she gets this "limp" I check the pads and sure enough the red is there. Add Neocort and problem solves. It comes back especially when the ground has been wet. It is very difficult to check the skin between the pads which is why it sometimes goes unchecked.

Count about 12 days from her first day of season, then add 63 days and see if the timing coincides with a phantom litter. If she has gone past the time for a phantom I would be keeping an eye on her for pyometra.

I presume Stevie&Jodie means Royal Canin for Labradors!

Firstly, I'd be watching that he didn't bloat. Then watching for the effects of the ingredients, such as phosphorus. I would visit the vet just to be sure

A job for the vet to sort out. It could possibly be a small tumour which should be checked now, if it is.

Mine are nearly through to China

Who would you believe - all the texts or an internet forum?

Falling Dawn, 4 eggs is, in my opinion, far too much. The Albumin in raw egg white breaks down other vitamins and it is not recommended that dogs get eggs too often for this reason. Because raw feeding is a guessing game, that is the reason I recommended a good quality dry food.

Eileen, You can use dry puppy food as treats. Its not the same in your mind, but most puppies will eat it as a morsel quite readily, especially when the morsel of puppy food is dry and the meal is wet (soaked puppy food).

I would only give the puppy large marrow bones that she can't actually digest until you see whether the problem has been caused by an imbalance. During the 6 weeks only feed nothing but a balanced puppy food. (no liver treats, no chicken wings or anything else at all).

Fish oil capsules are a better way to go. They have a better balance of omega 3 and omega 6 than cod liver oil

If she did pass worms, her intestines may be eroded a little from the worm infestation which may be causing the diarrhoea. I would include probiotics into her food to keep the intestinal flora in good shape. Wait for about a week and if the diarrhoea does not subside, she may need some gut antibiotics to settle down any possible invasive bacteria. You should worm her again 10 days from the first worming to make sure there are no more maturing worms and then again in another 10 days.

Everyone has their own favourite food to recommend but the message here is choose a high quality large breed food with particular attention to the lower amounts of calcium and phosphorus in a ratio of 1% : .85% (as most good quality large breed formulas are).