Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I appreciate everyone's comments. I have checked out a few Daycare places and even asked my vet for a petsitter recommendation .
Rachel, I actually checked out kudzu.com last week and used them to get reviews on Barking Hound Village as well as others. I guess great minds think alike. So far, Barking Hound is the front runner if I do decide to go with daycare/boarding. I'll keep you posted about my experience with them.
Thanks again to all.

Jason

Moon,
I am so sorry to hear about Lou's passing. In the grieving process you will always have a period where you feel you could have done more, but you should not blame yourself. Sometimes it just happens. Allow yourself to be sad, but also remember back on the good times you had together. Look at some old pictures, think about the good times, share a story about Lou with friends, and hopefully, in time, you will smile again when you think about him.

Jason

ick! ear infections... was the guck dark brown and smelly?? probably a yeast infection!  def go to the vet and get it checked out! they can give you an antibiotic to squirt in there and it will clear up in no tiME!
fumble is the KING of ear infections.. i nearly spnet a small fortune in vet visits, until 'I' figured out that he was allergic to chicken! lol!

Oreo went through a similar thing when he had an ear infection. Several different antibiotics and daily cleanings for weeks on end until we tried a food change and realized it was triggered by an allergic reaction (either chicken or wheat, not really sure).

Jason

We see these at our house too. Not often, but maybe once a month. They aren't much bigger than a hershey's kiss though so I attribute it to "the package was already at the loading dock but was overlooked on the last pick up." After typing this, I have no idea what that means.

Sorry if the hershey's kiss reference grossed anyone out.

Jason

Thanks Jason, that is VERY helpful! May I ask what you did with his diet that helped the skin issues Oreo was having?
 

For 6 years Oreo was on Science Diet Large Breed formula. I knew it wasn't the best, but he liked it and the food agreed with his system so we stuck with it. About 2 years ago, Oreo became anemic, went through drastic weight loss and was on some pretty strong steroid meds(prednisone, I believe) for 2 months or so. He got through everything OK and his food didn't seem to be a contributing factor in the anemia so when his skin showed problems a year later (and I forgot to mention the ear infections earlier, and licking his feet), food issues weren't the first diagnosis. Like I said, the first treatment was antibiotics. After several rounds of that, some tests to rule out worms and stuff, he had the T4 done which showed hypothyroidism . We treated with Soloxine and a different antibiotic, but like I said, the results were less than stellar. That is when we looked at allergies.

After consulting with an allergist, I decided to try changing food and treats before going through all the lengthy tests and stuff. In Atlanta, there is a place called Red Bandanna dog food and I talked to them about the problems I was having and asked for recommendation s. They gave me several options and I picked a Trout and Sweet Potato formula from a company called Pinnacle. Oreo loves it and it helped tremedously with his skin condition. From the difference in the ingredient's list, the best guess is he is allergic to chicken or wheat.

I will also note that on the onset of his skin condition, the vet recommended giving him 4 3V caps (from DVM) a day. It's basically vitamins with omega-3 supplement. That did help some as well and I still give him that daily.

I may have missed early posts, but you never really said what Connor's "issues" were. Is it a skin issue? Infections?  Behavioral?

Jason

The bare patches on Oreo were bigger than that eventually. Sometimes they would be about an inch or so in diameter. Does the skin on these patches get scab-like and then flake off with the hair? Any change in demeanor or energy?

I trust my vet a good bit, but they were very hit an miss with this problem. We did a variety of tests looking for ringworm, low thyroid, etc. I'm glad I went though all the tests to rule everything out, but in the end, daily observation and trial and error prevailed.

Oh, I almost forgot... are you giving Bella any treats? If they are dog treats, check the labels on these very carefully for possible allergic ingrediants. If they are people food, I guess the same applies. You would be amazed at what contains wheat.

Jason

Rebekah,
If his ears fall, it shouldn't be the end of the world either. Oreo apparently had his ears cropped and they fell long before I got him. They have the point, but they creased slightly above the base. It actually gives his face a bit more angular look. He hasn't had any health issues related to it either.

Jason