2tollers

Good on you Evolving. I'd love to see that cheeky little pup again. I'm not too sure what will be there and what it will be like. It's a first. Our club is doing a demo for flyball (with Bellarine Dog Club) and there'll be a few doing tricks etc.

Maybe this

Any DOLers going to this? Hope it's not too small to read. ETA Definitely too small. I'll try to find a bigger one to copy.

I might go for the flyball because I won't be at Berwick.

I hear you Erny. It's a LONG slow process sorting out all this stuff. I know that from dealing with my son's allergies. I only mentioned the derm testing interfering with your current path of treatment to make sure I was on the right track. I agree with you that you should focus on the treatments you're using at the moment and see if you get results. If, at some stage later on, Mandela has a flare up, then it might be worth looking at visiting Derm Vet. Using that knowledge with Naturopathic treatments could be good? Human doctors do push the cortisone thing but over the past few years they seem to be coming around to more "prevention" rather than treating the problem. My vet from yonks ago said that they weren't too worried about treating dogs with cortisone because they outlived the worst of the symptoms. You have to find a balance and do whatever you think is best for your dog and for yourself. Hey Staff'n'Toller, Do they go straight to desensitisation injections after positive reactions? I might book my son in there.

Would getting the derm tests done interfer with any other treatments. If they're what I'm thinking they are, they wouldn't, probably expensive though. Thanks for the pics Erny. Poor bugger.

LOL Feel free to whinge any time Erny, and hang in there, you're doing a great job. Maybe Mandela WAS supposed to come to you? I've had a dog in the past with allergies and he spent his entire life on antibiotics and cortisone. Even with the medication (and a very basic diet) he was never really comfortable and he had the hive/bump type things you're talking about. At that time (nearly 30 years ago) I wasn't aware of alternative treatments for dogs, but if I had been, I would have tried anything. If you do ever create a fussy eater, that's not a problem. He can come to my place for a few days and compete with my tollers for food. They're such pigs that I'm pretty sure they'd help to get rid of the "fussy" business after a while. When your vet says there's nothing more that they can do for him that's when you have to get out and try anything you can to help him. There has to be a reason for the behaviour, something's not right somewhere, but where to start???????????????? As for the cat, give it a good kick up the arse if you can, they can be such pushy little bastards. Staff'n'Tollers suggestion of intradermal skin testing sounds like a good idea too. I think that's the same thing I have done to my son but it's called "skin prick testing". Give Mandela a big hug from me. I'll keep my fingers crossed that he'll find some relief soon.

Thanks for the updates Erny. God I feel for you, it must be so hard going through this with Mandela. I don't think Macka minds if the thread is highjacked, who knows it could help Leia. Please do keep us udated on Mandela's progress. Even if Barry and your Naturopath don't solve the problem, they might help to reduce medication and that can only be a good thing. There's never an easy "fix" for these things. I'm a great believer in conventional meds, alternative meds and procedures in combination.

Mel, Thankfully I haven't needed to use him for allergies but do know 2 people who've had some success with him. I did use him once to put Lilli's shoulder back in. I'm thinking of sending in my yougest son's hair for testing. He's a very allergic little boy and if I can reduce any of his medication that would be a big plus.

I've only just caught up with this. What do you think Erny???

T'Keilor really enjoy their flyball. Great buch of people.

Someone sent me this.

I'm so sorry Gillbear.

A couple more http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Recipes.htm http://www.gooddogexpress.com/recipes.htm

I love home made treats. Here's a couple of sites. http://www.hungrymutt.com/ http://www.cooksrecipes.com/category/pet-recipes.html http://www.all-natural-dog-treat.com/homem...at-recipes.html http://www.dragonbear.com/recipes.html http://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/christma...ls/dogtreat.htm

Thanks for the link SAS. Your experience doesn't sound good.

Can you give more info on this?? What are they analysing? What allergens do they test for in this way? Sorry but I don't know alot about it. I do know that poisons, drugs etc can be detected in hair and that hair stores information for a fair while. If Erny talks to this guy she might be able to let you know more. It might not work for everyone but if nothing else is helping it's worth a try.

I don't know if you'd be interested in trying something like Hair Analysis. There's a guy in Ballarat, who, from what I've heard, has had a lot of success with allergies. His name is Barry Templeton and people from all over the place send him hair samples. I have his phone number if you're interested.

That's a shame about Josh but I hope he's enjoyed being in the lime light. Good thing you found the tick early.

I checked this out when we were in Brisbane a couple of years ago. Todd loves frisbee but I need throwing lessons to make sure it's safe for him. I'd try to make it to a clinic.

Hey Julie, I hope you and Josh go well at the games.

Great, we're about to leave so I can print it out now. Thanks

Earlier would be good. Most of us will be travelling at that time.

We've half packed and will be leaving on Wednesday morning. I'm really looking forward to what will probably be Todd's last nationals, we'll be out to have a great time. We're staying at Avina Van Village and will be testing out our new camper trailer. If anyone's going past the Ballarat gazebo drop into say hi, I'd love to meet you and your dog(s).

I don't know if this will work but this link is from the dog sports thread. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=174024 Sounds like a wonderful dog.