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Went back to Murdoch today - the Heska blood tests came back positive for moulds, grass and weed pollens and dust mites. I forgot to get a copy of the breakdown of the results while I was there, so they are going to post one out to me. We started the vaccine today and I gave Rex the first injection Actually, he didn't seem to feel it at all, although I dithered around for a bit before I was able to stick that needle in. Oh well, I guess I'll get used to it, having to give him jabs every 3 days until about the middle of July! I'll be an old hand at it by then and the 10, 14 and 21 day injections won't seem so bad :D This lot of vaccine will last until mid-November although probably won't start to see much of a result (if any) during this round. Mandy has also said to put him back on his normal diet to "challenge" his system to determine whether there may be some food allergies as well. Having him on the elimination diet didn't really seem to make much of a difference - he has been on it for 8 weeks and Mandy said they would have expected to see an improvement by the 6 week mark. I did actually give Rex a small amount of chicken during the week, just to see what would happen - a couple of small chicken necks one day and a small chicken wing another day (all raw of course). He didn't suddenly start scratching himself to pieces but he did seem to be more itchy, he had an upset stomach and has been farting something dreadful ever since!!!!!! When I think back, he was always "farty" when he was getting chicken wings and necks and quite often his poos would be "yucky" (that's a polite way of putting it!) afterwards. This time it may just be because he hasn't had raw chicken for a while, but I only gave him a small amount and I am starting to suspect he may have an allergy or intolerance to chicken - then again it could all be coincidental and a bit of a red herring and it really is just the pollen and mould allergies causing the problem. If we can eliminate the possibility of food allergies by doing this "challenge", Mandy will then look at what medications can be used (probably anti-histamines rather than steroids as Rex is so young) to help him along the way until the vaccine starts to take effect. I'll keep you posted - and thanks for the support everyone! :D

Thanks for explaining that Dan, now I have a better understanding of the whole procedure . So off we go to Murdoch on Friday to start it all off and for them to give me all the relevant info - and then I need to keep my fingers (and arms and legs) crossed that it works!

Well, the blood test results are back from the US, much more quickly than I'd expected. And it seems Rex is definitely allergic to the usual suspects - dust mites, weed pollens etc. I don't have the full list at the moment, the Derm Nurse just gave me a call to give me a rundown of the results and to ask whether I wanted to go ahead with the vaccine. She said it costs $260 and will last about 4.5 months, so I assume each shot of the vaccine costs that amount. EEEEEK! Don't know if the insurance will pay out but can only find out when I put in a claim I guess. If it doesn't, well, I'll just have to wear the cost but it will be worth it in the end if it helps make Rex better. Dan, have you been through the vaccine thing? If so, how long does it take to start to show a result and also how long do the injections have to been given for? I suppose it probably varies from dog to dog. They said it's also possible Rex has food allergies but we will look at that as a separate thing with bringing him off the elimination diet. So at least those results have shown something that we can start to work on. We did have an appointment on 9 June but have managed to bring it forward to 2 June so we can get started on the vaccine asap. Wish us luck! :D

Hi Dan I'd be interested in the articles, although I have to say I have always been a strong advocate of vaccination for both humans and dogs! But that's a whole other argument that people can get into You've obviously been through the elimination diet bit - did you just start reintroducing a single food at a time to see what reaction there was? And for foods that your dog was allergic to, how long did it take after giving them that food before there was a allergic reaction? Thanks Julie

Crates are the best thing EVER - I wish they'd been a common thing when I was raising my two previous dogs (GSDs). Crates aren't exactly cheap but you can get good quality ones that aren't hugely expensive either, and the metal crates will last for years (and possibly even outlast the dog). We have 3 crates (although only 2 dogs ) One is an airline crate (solid plastic) which I bought off Ebay - it is an extra large one and they rarely come up, especially here in WA, so I was delighted to win the bidding on that one. We also have two collapsible PetMate metal crates which I bought from a local pet supplies store - the large one just fits in the back of the station wagon and is excellent for separating our two dogs - our adult girl tends to be really hyper in the car and we were afraid she'd squash her little brother! So pup travels in the crate, he goes in quite happily and almost immediately lies down and goes to sleep for the whole journey and it also gives our other dog much less room to hoon around in so makes trips much better (and safer) for all of us. We can then take this crate out of the car for use at shows. The other crate is an extra-large one, and our pup sleeps in that crate (with a puppy pen attached) and will also suit him well once he is fully grown. The airline crate currently sits in the corner (we used it for pup to sleep in before we got the really big crate) and quite often our adult dog will go and have a sleep in there while we're watching TV etc - she's never had any crate training at all but is still quite happy to lie in it. This crate will come in handy when the winter weather arrives and pup needs more protection from the cold at shows and we also hope to attend some specialty shows in the eastern states maybe next year so it will be perfect for transporting our boy. There's certainly nothing cruel about crate training that I can see. Our pup is confined during the night so can't get into any mischief, and he whines to be let out if he needs to go to the toilet (they don't like to pee or poo where they sleep if they can possibly avoid it), which is very rarely - from the age of 10 weeks he was able to go through until 6am without needing to go out. Just a tip - when crate training your pup, if you take her out to go to the toilet during the night, make sure she is on a lead so you have control over where she goes - otherwise you'll find you have a pup who thinks it's a great adventure going outside with you in the middle of the night and will want to galumph all round the garden and totally forget about going for a pee/poo! If she is on a lead, she will soon learn these nocturnal trips are for toileting, not for play. We also invested in 5 baby gates, 3 metal ones with swinging gates and two wooden ones to block off areas whether either the dogs are not allowed because it's dangerous (i.e. bathroom in the process of being renovated and our home gym area) or where they are only allowed when we are with them (such as our main carpeted lounge where all our DVDs are!). They aren't cheap either (although you can get them secondhand at a cheaper price) but the amount they have probably saved us in things being destroyed/chewed up etc, carpets ruined by "accidents" and also the time saved in us not having to watch the pup every second so he didn't go somewhere he shouldn't or get hold of something he shouldn't, has certainly made the cost worthwhile. We needed lots of gates because neither of the lounge entrances or the hallways have doors that we can shut to keep woofers out! I'd definitely have to say the combination of crates and baby gates has saved our sanity when it comes to puppy raising!

Our Belgian Shepherd pup is 5 1/2 months old and now has a lovely mouthful of big, shiny white teeth! He and our adult Belgian girl tend to "tooth fight" a lot (difficult to explain, seems to be a particularly "Belgian thing" and involves a lot of wrestling and head waving with open mouths and bared fangs, with hissing and moaning and groaning going on) and a few weeks ago we noticed something white hanging off our other dog's ear (she has a long black coat with very hairy ears, so it really stood out!). On closer inspection, it was a big long baby tooth with all the icky bit still on the bottom of it - YUCK!!! I'm glad he's just about finished losing teeth!!!!

InspectorRex: No, Mandy hasn't mentioned Elidel, I will ask her about it as I send weekly email updates to them on Rex's condition. Rex got his name, by the way, because I'm a big Inspector Rex fan (even though my boy's a Belgian, not a GSD) Jed: I've never heard of Alpha Keri Oil, thanks for the info, I'll be heading straight off to the chemist to get some today! Yes, the itchies are SO frustrating as there are just so many things that could be a cause. It's quite possible Rex has reacted to a flea or heartworm treatment, who knows? He was treated with Advocate by the breeder and then when we brought him home, and is now on Revolution. My last dog (A GSD) had severe itchy problems as well, I tried Colloidal Silver with him but unfortunately it didn't help at all, although I know a lot of people do have good results with it. I'll have to have a look for the Poly Vite - often products that you guys get over East don't seem to be available here in WA!

Hi Dan No, haven't used Vitamin E yet - but I'll give anything a try!!! I have to get some flaxseed oil for him, so will get some Vitamin Es at the same time. Thanks for the tip! I'll let you know as soon as I get the blood test results, it will be interesting to see what shows up. If the test is a truly effective one, it will certainly be a lot easier and more convenient than the intradermal testing, for owners as well as their dogs! Julie

Hi Dan We just had our first revisit to Murdoch yesterday (Sharon is on study leave, so saw Mandy this time). Unfortunately there has been little improvement in Rex's itching. He has been on the Hills z/d for 4 weeks now, and is nearly at the end of the scabies treatment (it obviously wasn't scabies). He is still biting and scratching at himself in all the same places - I have been giving him evening primrose oil for the last couple of weeks and have also been breaking open some of the capsules and rubbing the oil onto his chest every morning, which was one of the itchiest areas, and this seems to have helped a bit. I was very reluctant to go ahead with the allergy testing for a couple of reasons, mainly because Rex is so young and it's quite likely the testing would not give accurate results anyway. However Mandy said there has been a new blood test developed (currently only available in the US) which has proved quite effective in identifying atopic allergies. The test won't be available in Australia until later this year, but Murdoch can access it via the US (the bloods have to be sent there) - it was less expensive than I thought it would be ($250) so we went ahead with it, although it will take 4 weeks for the results to come back. In the meantime, Rex remains on the Hills z/d and Mandy said to increase the amount of EPO he is getting, as well as giving him flaxseed oil. She has also given me an insect repellent to spray on him twice daily for an "insect trial", to see whether it helps in case he is reacting to insect bites. If there is still no improvement for Rex in the next few weeks, Mandy wants him to go on the home-cooked diet, in case he is one of the tiny percentage of dogs who is allergic to the chicken in its hydrolysed form in the Hills z/d. Oh, and continue washing him with the Johnson Baby Shampoo - the Episoothe was DEFINITELY making him worse. So it's still really a matter of wait and see

Dogs usually cope fine with a combination of inside/outside time - our two dogs (6 year old adult and 5 month old pup) spend all day outside in the yard while we are at work, they are inside with us a lot of the time when we are home and both sleep inside in our family room, pup sleeps in a crate with a pen attached and our older girl has one of those hessian beds with the metal frame (with lots of comfy bedding of course!). I wouldn't recommend getting a soft crate for a puppy, especially if she loves to chew, it would be wrecked in a pretty short period of time I would think The wire/metal crates are great, we also have one for the back of our station wagon for pup to travel in (to avoid him getting squashed by his hyperactive big sister!).

As other posters have said, the most important thing if bloat is suspected is to get your dog to the vet IMMEDIATELY. A few years agp, my 12-year-old GSD had an attack of bloat one Sunday evening (always on a weekend night or public holiday, isn't it, when hardly any vets are open!). He had had his tea (kibble) and then started trying to vomit but only brought up yellow bile. He was crying in pain as well and literally running blindly through the house as if we was trying to find somewhere to hide. I rang the only local vet who was open (thank God!) and they said to get him down there NOW! We had him there within 15 minutes and they immediately rushed him out the back where they took x-rays to confirm the bloat diagnosis. Thankfully torsion had not yet occurred and they were able to get a tube down him, but hix oxygen levels went through the floor and they almost lost him. It was a long and anxious night for us, and the vet told us that if we had got to them any later, they could not have saved him. From the start of the attack until the time we reached the vet would have been LESS THAN AN HOUR. So time is definitely of the essence when it comes to a bloat attack. Although Coco survived the bloat attack, the vet told us the x-rays showed an enlarged heart and fluid on his lungs and to take him to our normal vet the next day. We were quite shocked at this, as there was practically no sign there was something wrong with Coco - the next day our vet told us the condition appeared to have developed very quickly (within the last month or so) and he did not have long left. We hoped to have a couple of last weeks with him but sadly, because the bloat attack had put so much stress on Coco's organs and had been so severe etc, his system started to "shut down" a few days later and we had to have him put to sleep straight away to end his suffering. It devastated me then and still brings tears to my eyes now, more than 4 years later :p .

I was really surprised when I was told that Episoothe etc can actually make the itchies worse, because they're designed to help soothe itchy skin! Just goes to show, different things work for different dogs. I'm glad you've found something that works for your dog Carabelle, thanks for your post - I will try the baby shampoo first and if it doesn't help then I'll give the Malaseb a go.

Hi Dan I definitely think the shampoo has something to do with it - I gave Rex another bath with the Episoothe yesterday and he was itchier afterwards, even though I'd put on the Resisoothe leave in conditioner. I might give Aloveen a try, I've heard good things about it. Anything's worth a try at this stage!!!! Actually, have just had an email from Sharon - she said the Aloveen has the same active ingredient as Episoothe so may cause the same problems. She said for extremely itchy woofers, they often use Johnsons Baby Shampoo, so I guess I'm off to the supermarket this afternoon!

Thanks for the info and advice guys, it's always interesting to hear how other people have dealt with this problem as it gives me other options I could try. Sounds like the BARF patties were a huge help in your situation goldieneale, I think from what you and Dan have said, the all natural diet might really be the way to go. Dan, could you please give me the links for the other diets? Thanks. Unfortunately, two weeks into this elimination diet / scabies meds trial, Rex actually seems to be getting worse. There has been no reduction in the level of itching yet (although maybe it's too early to hope for that) and he seems to be scratching even more at his chest / armpit/elbow area and is getting red sores and marks there. I am using the Neocort cream on them at the moment, but if it gets any worse I will have to try and get him back down to Murdoch this week as it won't be long before he breaks the skin and makes the situation a whole lot worse.

Well, Sharon said EPO would be fine, as well as safflower/sunflower oils. I went and bought some venison today so will be cooking that up to use for treats. I'll see how Rex goes on the 6-week trial with the Hills Z/d, I certainly wouldn't be happy about keeping him on it for much longer than that, not at such a critical growth period in his life, so I would certainly need to look into the natural/ home-cooked type diet for the longer term if we can't pin down what's causing the itchies! Poor Zayda, she did go through a rough time! She looks lovely now though, you've done a great job to get her looking so well - and that must have been a long hard road as well, as those of us with allergy dogs know only too well

Hi Dan Thanks for the info re oils. I might check with Sharon first to see what (if anything) I can give him that won't muck up the elimination diet trial! The Bactroban we are using is a cream that I rub into the "armpit" area where he has the superficial bacterial infection, do this 2-3 times a day. Unfortunately I'm not using a novel protein source at the moment - Rex is solely on the Hills z/d biscuits - Sharon wasn't happy about putting him on a home-cooked elimination diet as he is so young and it would be difficult to get the nutritional requirements correct given the restrictions of the diet. I was going to get some kangaroo to cook up and use for treats, but then remembered that Sharon had said the diet may need to be repeated at a later stage when Rex was older (as testing with young dogs sometimes gives false positive/negative results) and I would use the home-cooked diet then. If I used kangaroo this time, then I could not use it next time and it's the easiest novel protein to get hold of! Maybe I should try getting some camel/horse/donkey or something. Murdoch gave me a list of suppliers where I can get those, although none near here I don't think!

Great idea about the craisins, Dan, I'll have to look for them! I emailed Sharon with a few queries (she's great, I got a really comprehensive answer to all my questions almost straight away!), and she confirmed that vegies are fine except the corn, onion and potato as well. She also said to discontinue his fish oil capsules for the moment in case there is a fish component to his allergy. I would like to still keep some oil in his diet for his coat and skin - is something like olive oil OK, do you know? She also suggested using something like dried venison treats and said most City Farmers stores stock them. Well, not exactly ... Balcatta store said "used to stock them as a promotional item, haven't had them for ages", 3 other stores had NO idea what I was talking about (one even asked "what's venison?") but finally tracked them down at the Joondalup store so had to take a hike up there after work today. I thought they might be better (and easier) to use in the show ring than fruit! Mind you, the craisins would probably work well too! Tried Rex with apple today, he gobbled it down, so at least I'll have a few options for training sessions at home and at the park, so I can give the poor little bugger a bit of variety! Interesting what you said about your girl's throwing up sessions with the allergies. Wonder if Rex's bout was caused by a similar thing? The skin infection is a "moderate superficial bacterial infection" and am using Bactroban cream for 2-3 weeks - as well as all the other creams/lotions/etc!

They actually said all vegetables are fine, except for corn and onion (which you wouldn't feed to a dog anyway because they can make them VERY sick). Rex actually hasn't eaten anything in the way of vegies because he's been on biscuits and raw chicken wings / necks, so hadn't given him any table scraps to date. I will be emailing Sharon today to ask her a couple of things, so will check about the vegies. I tried Rex with strawberries and banana the other day - he loved both! Typical, he likes the most expensive fruit I will try him with apples and pears as well and also have some fresh pineapple. Just trying him with little bits to start with, don't want to upset his tummy.

Had our appointment with the dermatologist (Sharon) at Murdoch today. It was such a relief to talk to someone who was so knowledgeable about itchy/allergy dogs after all the waffle I've had from various vets about the subject, especially with my GSD several years ago. She said poor little Rex's itchies are most likely due to sarcoptes or demodex mites (did scrapings for both, no sign of either but sacroptes/scabies often don't show up from these scrapings), atopic allergies or possibly a food allergy. He is on Interceptor for the next 6 weeks to kill any scabies and is also on an elimination diet (Hills Z/D Ultra - hell, that stuff's EXPENSIVE!) with calcium supplement for 6 weeks. The only treats he can have is fruit, not something I've ever even tried him with, so that'll be interesting when it comes to our training sessions! Have to try all sorts of different fruit until I find something he likes. Any suggestions anyone? He also has some bacterial infection in his "armpit" areas from where he has been scratching, so anti-bacterial cream twice a day and also use Neocort cream if he scratches and reddens those areas (sometimes he nearly breaks the skin). Have to wash him weekly with Episoothe and also have another "leave-on" lotion from the same range that can be used daily to soothe itchy areas. Then we go back for a revisit in 4 weeks, and if no significant improvement, they will then look at intra-dermal testing. So, an expensive day **sigh** but at least they know what they are talking about and have given me some options to work with to try and sort out what is causing the itchiness. Fingers crossed that we'll have some success!

Well, at least I know now I'm not the only one with this problem LOL. Thanks for the advice everyone, Rex already gets fish oil capsules every day but I will give the sardines a try and get some Metamucil as well!

Our adult and baby Belgian love to play together. Alas, Belgians have a habit of using their teeth a lot and "grabbing" at each others' coats, which in the case of young Rex means he ends up swallowing a lot of hair from our adult girl's long black coat! Some of you may have seen other posts I have made over the past week or so where Rex was hospitalised due to severe vomiting and dehydration and ended up having exploratory abdominal surgery. On the day he got sick, the first time he vomited he brought up a mass of solidly matted hair, bits of wood and various other disgusting little bits and pieces (I took it along for the vets to look at, I didn't take too close a look myself). Afterwards he only brought up yellow foam and bile (sorry, I know that's pretty yucky ) Although the vets at the hospital where Rex was admitted seemed to dismiss it as not having any relevance (!), I'm sure all the matted hair at least contributed to his illness (if not the initial cause of it). Obviously I can't (and don't intend to) stop the dogs playing together, and don't really want to shave off our Belgian girl's coat So does anyone know of anything I can give Rex to help him digest/pass/break down the hair? I'm really worried about this happening again and just wondering if there's anything I can do to avoid problems in the future. Thanks

Thanks for your post Babushka, good (well, not really, it's no fun having an itchy dog!) to hear from someone else with an itchy Belgian! The breeder has told me she has never heard of any Belgians with allergies / itchy skin. The vets never said anything about the itchiness and the vomiting being related. Glad to hear that your girl seems to be doing OK at the moment - I feel so sorry for poor little Rex, I also have to keep telling him to stop scratching all the time! Only problem is, once his stitches are out and we are both back at work fulltime (my BF and I are each taking time off work this week to look after him while he recovers), there will be no one there to stop him from scratching. I was giving Rex fish oil capsules prior to his illness, so once I'm sure his tummy is OK, I will start giving them to him again. We live near the ocean here in Perth too, so maybe I should take Rex down for his first swim! Having said that, I was worried that the sand / salt etc might dry his skin out and make things worse? I always completely rinsed my dogs off after having them at the beach but you know what it's like trying to get everything out of those long coats! He is on Hills Science Diet biscuits - the problem is the biscuits for sensitive skins etc are not made for puppies and I'm worried about giving him an adult blend during this critical growth stage. He also doesn't get red meat except for (very) occasional bones. I will ask the vet for advice before using Phenergan or another antihistamine, so I can (a) make sure it's safe and (b) find out the correct dosage. I will have to give the calcium ascorbate a try, as several people have recommended it. And I assume you would just given them plaint yoghurt? I use Neocort cream on the really bad areas (usually under his armpits) and aloe vera gel on other places that are itchy but not yet red/inflamed. How often do you wash Luca and what shampoo do you use?

Hi guys Well, young Rex is back at home, with us still really none the wiser as to what the initial cause of the vomiting etc was - the vets have put it down to "some sort of viral gastritis". He is recovering from the op, still on a number of small meals a day and he is so thin it's heartbreaking. He is desperately hungry and will try to scavenge up ANYTHING he can get into his little mouth, no matter what it is so we have to be very vigilant with him. I am feeding him as much as I think is safe without overloading his system and making him sick again and am gradually increasing the volume of food. Thankfully he does seem a lot brighter, so fingers crossed he's on the road to recovery. Thanks for the info re allergies - Rex's problems seems to be all over, on his back, sides and legs as well as under his chin, chest and armpits so I doubt contact allergy is the cause. I only started using shampoo (colloidal oatmeal-based) AFTER the itchiness developed, so I'm stumped as to what is causing it.

Well, poor little woof is still in hospital. The ultrasound technician was "pretty sure" there was a foreign body showing on the ultrasound so the vet recommended surgery but ended up not finding anything so we still don't really know what's wrong. They wouldn't let us see him last night as they don't allow visits after surgery, I have to ring back this morning. If he has had a bowel movement overnight and there is no more vomiting, they then feel he will be on the way to recovery and can come home in the next couple of days. I just want him out of there and home. If he has any further problems I will be taking him to Murdoch. We had him admitted to Balcatta Vet Hospital as it is only a few minutes from home so we thought that would be a better option but I think now it was a mistake and he would have been better off and received better (and faster) treatment at Murdoch. Still, we can all be wise in hindsight I suppose. Fingers crossed that he will be home soon.

Thanks Dan, I will give them a call. Unfortunately the "itchies" have been overtaken by something more serious at the moment. Poor pup had a sudden onset of prolonged and violent vomiting late afternoon two days ago, he was unable to eat or drink anything, by 7pm he was vomiting blood-specked foam and has been hospitalised since . X-rays and blood tests haven't shown up anything so he's having a comprehensive abdominal ultrasound this morning to rule out possible blockage or foreign body that might have been missed on the x-ray imaging, and the ultrasound will also show intestinal inflammation etc so they can try to make a solid diagnosis. Poor little bastard has been on a drip and pain meds for the last day and a half. It's so distressing not knowingh exactly what's wrong and it's awful going home and he's not there. And he's such a baby as well, this sort of thing is so hard on such a little man. Hopefully will have some good news later today. On a slightly brighter note, I guess it will be interesting to see whether he is itchy when he comes home as he will have spent several days in a "sterile" environment, away from any airborne or contact allergens and also off his normal food as well so it might be an opportunity for us to see what he is actually reacting to. So maybe there could be a silver lining to this cloud.