SparkyTansy

i found the thing that worked best for my ES pup was when the would bite i would say uh-uh then give them a toy they could chew, then praise when they obliged. A loud yelp sometimes works too... if she bites one of the Irish, they might just tell her about it which is a good thing IMO.

I am so in love with all these babies!!!

Glad Mason is ok

Outside with a hose... the weimaraner doesn't do the hose so she gets a bucket of warm water... Used to do it in the bath but I would end up wetter than the dog.

Thanks Ellz :D I'd love a good dryer... I love the dog ones where you can see the water droplets flying off the coat!!

sorry to thread hijack, but Ellz or settrlvr, would either of you care to share which human dryers you recommend which are good for dogs coats?

I prefer males to females so i would get a boy in your situation, however in saying that i have a couple of times successfully run bitches together. First time was mother/daughter combination Weimaraners (desexed) Second was a desexed greyhound and an entire weimaraner. The grey, now desexed weimaraner and another entire weim female get along fine now and we have never had any issues. Both instances their personalities are quite opposite which is what i would look for if adding a dog of any gender to an existing pack of 1.

Thanks Austen I will give my butcher a try.

I would be more careful giving a chicken neck to a larger breed... they are small enough to swallow whole if your dog is a scoffer... I much prefer carcasses as they tend to chew them better and cannot scoff. I also like Turkey necks. Austen, where do you get your lamb necks from? I wonder if they are easy to obtain in WA.

Don't leave the food out... if Cookie doesn't eat it within a certain time, take it away. He'll soon learn that if he doesn't eat, he'll go hungry. I also agree with taking him to the vet for a checkup, if he is losing weight and not wanting to eat.

I remember when it happened to my boy and they told me to bring him down... he had just swollen up however an hour later in the waiting room it had gone down completely without any aid at all... that's one hour of our lives we will never get back!! the next time it happened he went into anaphylactic (sp) shock and I am so glad our vet was open and nearby!

Renee08 Duke is gorgeous!

Ideas to put weight back on him? i would consider just building it back slowly. As long as he is happy and healthy with energy I think you should give his body time to recover from the illness and put weight back on in his own time.

I agree 100% with Stormie... a lot of vets don't generally like to touch skin issues because they are so hard to diagnose... it is possible that your vet diagnosed atopic dermatitis because it is the most common of all the allergies out there... simply sticking him on a steroid and changing his diet probably isn't enough, if you really want to get to the root of the problem, as opposed to just keeping it at bay with a steroid. I would get a referral to a dermatologist. you could go down the road of intradermal skin testing, but you want to rule out food allergy and contact allergy first. A derm vet can guide you through this process. A good quality diet with lots of omega 3 can help, but a diet change isn't going to 'cure' atopy... atopy is an inhalant allergy which, just like in humans, can be combatted with antihistamine, or in bad cases, desensitisation. I believe the success rate of desensitisation is about 2/3, but this may have changed. I haven't really seen atopy much in Weims... it certainly isn't a breed that springs to mind when you think of those breeds most affected with skin issues. Yes, they do have immune issues, which they think has been identified by overuse of vaccination... breeders are working hard to make their puppy buyers aware of this issue, as well as trying to identify it (i don't think there is a test for it yet, but please correct me if i am wrong) I would also ask about thyroid testing as well. Welcome, btw, to DOL. You should come and join us in the WEimaraner thread in the breed sub section! we love seeing new pics of weimies. :p

I found wings and chicken frames best for a puppy enthusiastic about necks... another good bone (if you can find it) is Turkey necks... I would keep feeding beef heart but i would not be cooking it... i would also change it up so that it is either beef heart or another meat, such as chicken/lamb/kangaroo. Interesting you can get beef heart i can't seem to find it anywhere, only lamb heart

Ari's came out with a pigs ear chew... only days before she was booked in for removal.

you could try Kangaroo too, if he will eat it... it's very low in fat :D Oh, and congratulations on the new addition!! He is gorgeous!!

Yes last year was particularly bad in WA, but this year touch wood doesnt appear to have been so bad.

RIP Angel... Fly high with those Angel wings.

I get to start over with my garden once our house is finished, so this is a great thread!! In my first garden, we put in a heap of Flax. We had stones (bluemetal) and pavers and a really nice area with pots and a tree, as well as a large grassed area for the dogs surrounded by raised garden beds with lavender and rosemary. The flax is great for the dogs, very hardy and can withstand a bit of damage, but it can get out of control and needs cutting back... ours also just died and we think it may have been some kind of fungus The lavender and rosemary are great... particularly the rosemary which smells beautiful... I won't be putting lavendar in our next house because James is allergic to bees and they just love the lavender in particular. When i had just spartan, the garden stayed beautiful... he isn't a very active dog... but when James came along the stones became as much a dog area as the grass, and they would run THROUGH the flax. Several times they crashed into the pots and as a result, smashed a paver. Then the worst thing of all happened... James discovered retic... so my biggest piece of advice is, BURY YOUR RETIC DEEP!!! (or get drought tolerant plants that don't need a lot of water)

My sister will occasionally feed Natures Gift (i think?) when she runs out of food for her dog... I have never thought much of the tinned foods... the lingering smell makes me want to I would sooner feed a good quality kibble and add raw mince...

I had this problem... I just hung washing on the line when i was home... kept the dogs inside for that time...

Yep... it's a lovely site... I am thinking it is good for them - cleans em out like an enema (sp)

I used a similar trial product on my boy a while ago, but never clipped him off for it... use a rubber glove and spray it then rub it in...

I believe Ester C is a buffered form of Vitamin C (non acidic) If you google it you will find a bit of info about it. You can buy it in tablet and powder form from the health food shop.