spikey

We haven't seen any of the Derms yet - yesterday was our first visit, I wasted so much time with various vets with my previous dog who had allergies that I thought I would go straight to Murdoch, have him seen by one of their vets and they could refer me straight to the Derms. I have to ring them to make an appointment for the testing for when these steroids are out of his system.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It's certainly a frustrating time for us - the vet at Murdoch said she is pretty sure it is some sort of airborne allergen but the only way to be sure is to have intra-dermal testing done. Unfortunately he has to be off steroids or any other sort of medication for 6 weeks and as he has just been on the short course of steroids, we will have to wait 6 weeks before testing can be done. In the meantime, she has suggested washing him with something like Malaseb and also using the cream - although the cream has cortisone in it, so I would have assumed that would affect the test results as well? I will have to check with the dermatologist. Morgan: Great idea about the Vitamin C. Where would I get the powder? Health food shop or maybe supermarket? Abergavenny: I thought of contact allergy too, but it would have to be a grass allergy as we do not have ANY plants or trees in our yard at all, we have no garden whatsoever, just sand, grass and concrete in the backyard. We do have an outside pen but of course the ground in the pen is covered in grass! Keeping him inside all day is unfortunately not an option as we both work full time and there's no way we can get home during the day to let him out for toilet breaks etc and we don't have a "safe" area in the house where we can shut him in except for the laundry (we are renovating the bathroom at the moment, so that room has no door!) which has large glass sliding doors and it gets horrendously hot during the day so there's no way I could leave him in there. Thanks for the suggestion of homeopathic medicines, I will look into it.

Our Belgian pup is 15 weeks old and is suffering with the "itchies" at the moment. I went through allergy problems with my last dog and always hoped and prayed that I'd never have a dog with the same problems again, but looks like it's not to be! He always had an itchy tummy when he was at the breeder, and tended to scratch at himself a bit - we brought him home at 10 weeks and the problem is continuing and now seems to be getting worse. After a severe scatching bout one evening (and apparently overnight - happened after we'd been down to a breed show) when the skin in one of his armpits was blood red and he was close to breaking the skin, I took him to our local vet who pretty much just threw her hands up in the air and said it "could be x, y, z, or a, b, c," and we could try "this, that, the other and anything else" and just waffled on for about 10 minutes about all the things it could possibly be and all the treatments he may have to undergo which wasn't particularly helpful! I already knew all that because I've been through it ALL before with my GSD - and I'd told her that. She then put him on a very small dose of steroids to break the itching cycle and give his skin a chance to recover - the steroids have done practically nothing, the itching has maybe reduced by 10% -20% but that's all. I am not happy about putting him on a elimination diet at the moment - those diets are nowhere near adequate for a growing puppy. He is currently on Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy and also gets chicken necks and wings - he was on a completely different food at the breeders and was itchy then too so I have my doubts whether it is food related. He does seem to be particularly itchy when we go down to the Canine Centre for training or shows - maybe there's something about the grass there? He had been on Advocate prior to us bringing him home, when he came due I treated him with Frontline Plus (same as our adult dog) so I'm sure the problem isn't fleas. I have now treated him with Revolution (3 days ago) in case it's scabies/sarcoptic mites, he is on fish oil capsules (1000mg) morning and night and have been putting Neotopic lotion on the worst itchy spots. I've also been using aloe vera gel as well in some spots. He seems to be particularly itchy under his chin, on his chest, armpits, shoulders, hocks, flanks and the backs of his legs - most places really, the poor little bugger. I'm not happy at all about taking him back to the same vet as she really didn't seem to know anything "concrete" about treating allergies and I will be taking him to Murdoch Uni next week to get them to have a look at him - he will be referred there for intra-dermal testing anyway if it comes to that so might as well cut out additional unnecessary appointments (and expense!). Anyway, I have seen a number of people who have mentioned they use Phenergan for dogs with allergies. I have Phenergan tablets at home and was wondering what dosage is used (our pup is 12kg) just to help ease these horrible itchies and make pup's life easier until we can (hopefully) find out what's causing it all. I suspect it could be a contact allergy of some sort although all we have in our yard is sand and grass, we have no plants or trees of any kind. The breeder lives in a rural area, almost an hour's drive away from our suburban backyard so if puppy was itchy in both places, then it's unlikely to be a similar allergen. **sigh** The joys of having an itchy dog Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have only just come across this topic - it's made interesting reading, although unfortunately I haven't had time to go through all the posts so this subject may already have been raised ...... I just wonder in a situation like that quoted above, where the dog is totally focussed on the owner, the owner is their entire world ..... what happens if the owner is hospitalised or has to go away for a period of time, the dog has to be kennelled or something similar, or be cared for by someone else in a different environment possibly with other dogs around etc? How distressing might this be for the dog if they are completely "attached" to one person and then that person (for whatever reason) is not there for a long period of time. I know of dogs who will fret and refuse to eat if their owner has to go away, these dogs cannot be kennelled or cared for even by family members, the owners can never go away without their dog for ANY reason. I mean, we all want our dogs to think we are their world but not at the expense of our dog's mental wellbeing if we have to be parted from them (not that any of us enjoy that!). Maybe a bit OT but I'd be interested in comments on this (especially K9)

Oi, that's a bit rough! What, are you flying business class That's not QUITE what I meant about regardless of the cost!

Yes, yes, yes, I'll DEFINITELY be there! There's no way I'd miss an opportunity of this sort of thing happening in Perth. If it's two days, I'll be there for both days, regardless of the cost. Would I be able to bring both Rahni and new baby Rex? I know I've already put my name down with you Anna when I messaged you recently, but just thought I'd put my hand (or BOTH hands) up again when I spotted this thread. Any luck re a venue? Just wondering whether somewhere like Wanneroo Showgrounds might be suitable? I have checked the City of Wanneroo website and both the showgrounds (fully fenced, might be ideal?) and Kingsway Sporting Complex (out near Landsdale) can be booked for dog training or shows. Or maybe Robinson Reserve at Tuart Hill (where they hold the Osborne Park show)? It's also fully fenced, although I guess it might be used for footy/cricket on the weekends. One of those might be worth a try. Have PM'd you as well re this. Good on you for taking on organising something like this, I'm sure it will be a great success!

Maybe try doing some close recalls while you're in the middle of heelwork? Do some heeling and then when he's still "bouncy", leave him in a wait and then do a short recall, then continue with heelwork? Or maybe you've already tried that! Contrary little buggers, aren't they? Julie

and doesn't that just look GREAT in the obedience ring. Does he get "hyped up" at other times, e.g. with heelwork?

I used to feed my Shepherd once a day as that what was recommended by the breeder. He was 12 1/2 years old when he suffered an attack of bloat one night shortly after eating his dinner - although the vet managed to save him, the x-rays revealed he had fluid on his lungs and an enlarged heart, neither of which we were aware of and our vet later told us it was something that appeared to have only developed in the previous 6 weeks or so. Sadly, the bloat attack made Coco extremely ill and exacerabated the existing problems and he went downhill very quickly within a few days, his system started to shut down and he had to be put to sleep later that week. I hadn't really known much about bloat until that time, but read lots about it afterwards to try and avoid it ever happening again, although it can be due to a whole range of factors, but just feeding. Certainly I've seen lots of recommendations that breeds such as GSDs should be fed twice rather than once a day to minimise the risk of bloat. I know of a number of people who have lost GSDs (both young and old) in the past few years to bloat so it obviously is a risk factor for the breed. (In our case, the vet said because of the heart problem Coco had developed and the fluid that was collecting around his lungs, he would have been working a bit harder to breathe, panting more and swallowing more air, which in turn contributed to the bloat attack.) I think feeding twice a day is probably good for any dog, especially the large breeders who may have a higher risk of bloat, and also if the dog has to be left for part or most of the day while you are at work, breaking up the feeding can really help to keep your dog happy and occupied, especially if you give bones, treat balls or Kongs stuffed with food, etc. And as Amhailte said, you can use part of the ration for training as well.

Northern Suburbs Training & Obedience Dog Club does agility at Carine Open Space - I think it's on Wednesday nights.

Yes, the member's comp is next Sunday (May 15). By the way, there is training on this Sunday (Mother's Day), I have just checked with Jackie to make sure and she said training is definitely on.

I know this post was started a couple of weeks ago, but I've only just come across this forum, and would like to add a reply! I can certainly recommend the Northern Suburbs Training and Obedience Dog Club (NST & ODC for short!). I joined the club with my 5 year old GSD when we moved to Perth nearly 11 years ago, and worked our way through the classes until we achieved our CD when Coco was 7, what a thrill that was! In those days, training methods were quite different - mainly use of check chains and rope collars, training with food was strongly discouraged and the training methods were quite "regimented". I was a junior instructor there for a while. Sadly Coco had to retire from training due to problems with arthritis. Six months after Coco died (3 years ago), I got another GSD puppy and joined the GSD club but became disillusioned with the club for various reasons, as well as being worried that my pup Simba was becoming obsessive about GSDs as they were the only other dogs he socialised with. So I went back to Northern Suburbs and was pleasantly surprised, the club is now run by different people, although many of the (excellent) instructors remained and the club thrives on "food and fun" training methods. I had a great time until sadly my marriage broke up, I had to move into rented accommodation and was eventually forced to find a new home for Simba a year ago, which absolutely broke my heart. I am now in a new relationship and my boyfriend has a Belgian Shepherd (Groenendael - the black ones), a beautiful dog, great temperament and very lively, but not very well trained! My boyfriend lives only a few minutes from Carine Open Space (where the club trains) so we have joined up with Northern Suburbs and will start classes this week. He knew I would love to get back to dog training and offered to let me take his beloved Belgian - although he has an ulterior motive obviously of getting his dog trained If you want to join Northern Suburbs, the way to sign up is: If you have a puppy up to 18 weeks (I think), get down to the grounds on a Sunday morning about 8.30am and sign up and you can join the puppy class that day (starts at 9am). If you have an older puppy or adult dog, you can join up at the caravan after 9.15, but will not start classes until the following week, when you go to orientation class at 9am. Orientation class explains how the club works, the training methods used etc, and also does some basic work with you and the dog to enable the instructors to assess you and your dog to decide which class to place you in. For most people, that's Class 1A and then you're on your way! The club doesn't train on the Sundays of long weekends or if there is a trial or members competition on. You get a regular newsletter that has the training dates in it so you know which Sundays you can have a sleep in! Wishing your friend good luck with training! Julie