Fat And Itchy Dog

[dogbesotted]

I too recommend the pre made barf patties.. easy to buy, easy to serve up, can cut one in jhalf say to an am and a pm feed. Maybe try cutting up carrots ( lengthways) for snacks most of my guys love carrots.. young smallish carrots have a sweet taste. Maybe even try feeding small amounts of dry from a kong feeder that rolls about thus encouraging the dog to exercise for its food..

Check that it was a full thyroid panel carried out for the thyroid tests , as well as testing for antibodies. ( this is often not done) .. just testing for T4 level is only part of the picture..the full panel includes: Total T4,Free T4, Total T3,Free T3 and TGAA, (link here will explain relationships http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/how-to-test-interpret-thyroid-function.aspx?sc_cid=4828620 )

does the dog have a smell..if so how would you describe that smell?

H

[essentialdog]

I can help shed some light on your dog's skin irritation. This can be due to the presence of allergens during the warmer weather. Alot of dog owners wash their dog more frequently during warmer weather (I know I do). If your dog is being bathed more often check to see if there are synthetic fragrances and sulphates in your dog shampoo as these ingredients can be highly irritating. Unfortunately dog grooming products are not required by law to disclose ingredients, although some do. If the ingredients are not listed perhaps try grooming products that specify they're sulphate and synthetic fragrance free as this may be contributing to your dogs skin problems. Best of luck.

[denali]

I have noticed most vets don't seem to say much about dogs weights to their owners, I suppose they benefit too much from the health problems that go with it.

Obesity in dogs is almost epidemic IMO I groom so many that are disgustingly over weight, cavi's the most common.

I agree. I don't think they care about the weight much.

I guess i probably shouldn't either, but he snores like a freight train, wobbles around and has all of these health issues that i swear are related to his weight.

Plus the excess weight is not good for a breed prone to heart issues..

Which is why i haven't given up on this yet.

I too recommend the pre made barf patties.. easy to buy, easy to serve up, can cut one in jhalf say to an am and a pm feed. Maybe try cutting up carrots ( lengthways) for snacks most of my guys love carrots.. young smallish carrots have a sweet taste. Maybe even try feeding small amounts of dry from a kong feeder that rolls about thus encouraging the dog to exercise for its food..

Check that it was a full thyroid panel carried out for the thyroid tests , as well as testing for antibodies. ( this is often not done) .. just testing for T4 level is only part of the picture..the full panel includes: Total T4,Free T4, Total T3,Free T3 and TGAA, (link here will explain relationships http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/how-to-test-interpret-thyroid-function.aspx?sc_cid=4828620 )

does the dog have a smell..if so how would you describe that smell?

NIce suggestion with the carrots -good idea :)

Thank you for the thyroid explanation. I personally don't think it was the full panel done.

He does smell bad, but its not yeasty, I am not sure what it would fall under.

I can help shed some light on your dog's skin irritation. This can be due to the presence of allergens during the warmer weather. Alot of dog owners wash their dog more frequently during warmer weather (I know I do). If your dog is being bathed more often check to see if there are synthetic fragrances and sulphates in your dog shampoo as these ingredients can be highly irritating. Unfortunately dog grooming products are not required by law to disclose ingredients, although some do. If the ingredients are not listed perhaps try grooming products that specify they're sulphate and synthetic fragrance free as this may be contributing to your dogs skin problems. Best of luck.

Interesting idea. I feel like this isn't his problem, but i noticed it with one of my previous dogs, He always itched in summer, i thought it was heat, maybe it wasn't. Very interesting.

[megan_]

Vets All Natural have a Roo <4% Fat BARF.

The amount of food has to decrease. My 16 kilo Lab x has 60 grams of raw a day and I still need to decrease it and he gets exercise twice a day - you just have to keep adjusting as needed.

Yes to this . The dog will improve all round .

Also, is she actually using measuring cup to get the food? People tend to underestimate what a cup is (a mug, for example , is often closer to 2 cups).

[OSoSwift]

Exactly - when I talk a cup it is a metric measuring cup, level with the top. Some peoples cup is an enormous mug that once was two and a half cups when I checked it.

[denali]

Vets All Natural have a Roo <4% Fat BARF.

The amount of food has to decrease. My 16 kilo Lab x has 60 grams of raw a day and I still need to decrease it and he gets exercise twice a day - you just have to keep adjusting as needed.

Yes to this . The dog will improve all round .

Also, is she actually using measuring cup to get the food? People tend to underestimate what a cup is (a mug, for example , is often closer to 2 cups).

This is so true. The size of some of the cups that my dog sitting dogs have is enormous!

She uses a royal canon measuring cup. Not sure if it is a metric cup, but I think it is.

[RiverStar-Aura]

I can help shed some light on your dog's skin irritation. This can be due to the presence of allergens during the warmer weather. Alot of dog owners wash their dog more frequently during warmer weather (I know I do). If your dog is being bathed more often check to see if there are synthetic fragrances and sulphates in your dog shampoo as these ingredients can be highly irritating. Unfortunately dog grooming products are not required by law to disclose ingredients, although some do. If the ingredients are not listed perhaps try grooming products that specify they're sulphate and synthetic fragrance free as this may be contributing to your dogs skin problems. Best of luck.

Interesting idea. I feel like this isn't his problem, but i noticed it with one of my previous dogs, He always itched in summer, i thought it was heat, maybe it wasn't. Very interesting.

Denali, if the dog is only getting itchy in summer, he may have mites. My old dog, Poochie used to rip her hair out every summer and it took us about 13 years before a vet did a skin scraping and discovered the mites (I think it was dermodex mites). He said she'd only suffer in summer because her natural immunity that dogs should have against them didn't kick in during summer thus the mites thrived and caused the skin problems.

If your Grandmother's dog only seems to suffer this problem during summer, I'd be very inclined to get a skin scraping done at the vets to check for mites. They do the test out the back under the microscope so you can get same day answers and start the meds immediately. If no mites present, at least you know you can cross it off the list of possibilities.

[denali]

Denali, if the dog is only getting itchy in summer, he may have mites. My old dog, Poochie used to rip her hair out every summer and it took us about 13 years before a vet did a skin scraping and discovered the mites (I think it was dermodex mites). He said she'd only suffer in summer because her natural immunity that dogs should have against them didn't kick in during summer thus the mites thrived and caused the skin problems.

If your Grandmother's dog only seems to suffer this problem during summer, I'd be very inclined to get a skin scraping done at the vets to check for mites. They do the test out the back under the microscope so you can get same day answers and start the meds immediately. If no mites present, at least you know you can cross it off the list of possibilities.

How strange!

Will do that. It's a simple enough test to do for some peace of mind :)