alicat613

Cassie, the info on Kaopectate has just recently become public, that I know of. Apparently it has had toxic levels of lead all this time! They got sued by California. The liquid now has 80% of the lead removed, the pills have not been reformulated. Scary, huh? FDA approved. Great. I love Dr. Weil!

Sounds like it could be staph. Can you get a pic? Had a chance to see the vet yet?

Oh no!!! And she was doing well for so long. Any better yet? Pssst Cassie, I have a feeling you might not like to recommend Kaopectate. The ones on the shelves now I believe still have toxic levels of lead in them.

Were there any foods he liked? Sometimes you can get a clue from that. I think Wellness is really tasty (yes, I've tried it).

Find out if her crystals are because her ph is high or low. One calls for more protein, the other calls for less. Pitcairn's diet is very grain heavy. Wendy Volhard's book and Kymythy Schultze's book are good ones too. As for the calcium/phosphorus ratios, it should be 1:1 or 2:1; for every pound of meat you will do 1 OR 2 tablespoons of bone meal powder (human grade). Pitcairn also tells you other options such as eggshell powder. I'd write those too except I stupidly loaned out that book about 6 months ago...guess I'll buy it yet again.

Mine is somehow both smart and well...not so smart at the same time. Sometimes he'll amaze me with something brilliant, and then turn around, stick his head in a bucket and run through the fence! (said bucket is no longer around LOL) Gotta love 'em though!

Here are some links that might help you, both are on barfing pups [url]http://www.ultimateakitas.com/barf.htm[/url] [url]http://newcastle.falcin.com/RawPuppyDiet.htm[/url]

the info is here [url]http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/home/charities.html[/url]

Natural Balance feeders - please save your receipts and UPC codes! If you send them in to a shelter, they can send them to the company and receive donations. More info on the site. I love the food - my dog eats a raw diet but my stubborn cats eat (and do great on) Natural Balance. The rolls do have a lot more stuff though.

I don't care much for Nutro. What foods has he seemed to like best? Can you tell us more about his history on foods? His reactions in the past to different ingredients can help give you clues about selecting the right food for him. As for finding other food choices, smaller pet stores are the best bet. Using product finders on websites like [url]http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com[/url] (Wellness, Neura) and [url]http://www.naturapet.com[/url] (Innova, CA Natural) can help you locate smaller shops near you. Natural Balance and Wysong are quality foods available at Petco that may be an option. Especially because he is so small and apparently finicky, he should be on something that is easy to digest and relatively simple. When reading a label, look for the most specific ingredients. You'd rather have chicken than poultry, and never ever ever anything that says 'animal'. Nothing with the word 'rendered' either. Also avoid the word 'product' (often seen as potato or egg product). Everything before the first fat in a food is the main ingredients. The ingredients listed after are minute. Aim for whole grains, such as rolled oats over split pieces. Go with brown rice, oats, millet, barley, and other more nutritious, low glycemic grains over corn, wheat, soy, etc. Watch out for ingredient splitting. The first ingredient may be chicken, but if the next three are all grain parts, the food is more grain than meat. Grains are harder to digest, and make more poop. Avoid chemicals. Look for naturally preserved foods, usually have vitamin e with mixed tocopherols in them. These are common allergens in dogs - wheat, corn, soy, safflower oil Lamb as a single protein source may be a cause for concern in levels of taurine, which dogs cannot manufacture on their own. Either choose a brand of lamb that has a supplemental source, such as Eagle's lamb mix, try to see if another kind of food such as beef or chicken will work, or supplement the lamb with beef heart and liver.

The problem is that while you tried Pedigree for his allergies (although why I have no idea since it's a terrible food) but you also give him a wide variety of treats that are unhealthy, from those little tins of mush to table scraps such as ham (which is loaded with salt, nitrates, preservatives and other things that are really hard on the body, especially a very sensitive little body like Ben's). You say things like, oh he can't be allergic because he can eat everything I give him so maybe you don't understand allergies well. There are allergies that cause acute reactions, where a person might get swelling or hives, and then there are more chronic allergies that manifest in the skin. The skin is the body's way of getting rid of bad stuff when it can't do so in a closer location (bodily orifices - eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc). Just because he doesn't keel over when you feed him something doesn't mean he isn't allergic to it. And he may not really be allergic to anything specifically, he may just be very sensitive and have a hard time with all these chemicals and unnatural things he is eating. You need to stop switching foods, stop feeding him bits of things, and start feeding him the most simple thing you can find, or make him a stew of chicken and rice and carrots. Stay on this until he starts to get better. As he heals and rids his body of toxins, you can slowly introduce other foods to see how he does. Getting a lot of water and bathing will also help him eliminate what is bothering him. The prescription diet may help for a little bit but it is a superficial treatment, not a solution. Again, the anal glands should not be a problem on a good diet.

As far as the anasthesia, well, I have a Great Dane which is obviously much bigger! but they also require very gentle sedation. I request an IV induction first (propofol or ket/val) and then go to the inhalant isoflourine.

Yes this is a bad thing. No, it is not normal or healthy. I don't know how to explain this to you any better. You ask over and over about the things you feed him. You feed him crap. That is why he is not in ideal health. You get what you put into things. Some dogs can do ok on junk foods but would do better on good food. Other dogs have problems right away with bad foods. Things like this and Ben's allergies are things that would be helped by feeding him anything halfway decent. There is no magical answer, you can't just ignore reality and hope that there will be some easy way out. If you ate nothing but McDonalds happy meals for your entire life, you would not be in good health either. Nutrition is the foundation for a healthy happy life.

Deramaxx has a 13% fatality rate in reported incidents, and is formulated as a POST operative painkiller. It's being touted as the new safe drug to replace Rimadyl but brings many new threats to the table. Ask your vet for something else if possible, or why she chose this drug for your animal. Ascriptin is a brand often recommended as it comes in 5 grain (325 mg) the easiest size for dosing dogs (in quarter, half or whole pills depending) and is buffered with Maalox. Call your vet and check about the safety of aspririn and dosage for your particular dog.

Sadly, Hooch was actually shot and killed in the filming of the movie. I've not watched it again since I found that out.

I believe Pedigree actually makes Cesars anyway. Neither are healthy or good quality. Both are about equal in quality although if I had to choose between 2 poor quality products I suppose I'd choose the chicken and rice.

What dog food? Raw or at least home cooked generally makes even the most finicky eater excited about eating again, if the owner has the time it is well worth it.

RAW bones of appropriate size, with supervision are fine. It's no COOKED bones. No grapes or raisins. They can be fine, but not worth the risk. NO: macadamia nuts green parts, vines or eyes of potatoes green stem or vine of tomatoes onion family - leeks, chives, onions chocolate

It doesn't sound like you have the time to spend with them now, nor did you before. They may not be the right breed or age for you, this may not be the right timing, whatever, but it does not sound like you can adequately care for them both financially and time-wise. Please contact someone to help you. There are great no-kill shelters and even rescue placement groups that help you find them a new home while they stay with you. A garage is NOT an appropriate place for dogs. Training is an absolute must. You have not been able to train them for the house, so when your fence is finished, they will just live outside? What's to prevent them from digging out, barking all day, etc? I know it is hard, but I think you have probably learned a lot about dogs, and hopefully next time you will be better prepared. I lived 6 horrible dogless years because I did not have the time or money to really give to a dog. It was hard, but the right thing to do.

Well what appeals to you? What do you consider a large dog? For some a lab is big, for me that is small. One good way (and fun for the whole family) to look at dogs is to go to an all-breed dog show. You can find them in your area at [url]http://www.infodog.com[/url] Understand that breeders there may be too busy to talk. If you see dogs you like, you can approach a handler after ringtime and ask if it is a good time to talk. Buy a show program (about $10) and make notes of the dogs you like. Research the breeds, both through breed sites, the breed clubs and breeders. Learn about their personalities, health issues and what health tests to look for. Learn how to choose a [u]reputable[/u] breeder. Be honest about your lifestyle, what you want in a dog and how much time you have to spend.

Well, we have a bullmastiff friend! He lives across the street and comes to play almost every day. He's a really great dog.

I have heard that many people have had great successes with holistic care during cancer. Something to think about. [url]http://www.ahvma.org/states_and_directory/directory.html[/url]

Where does your dog sleep at night? Sleeping in the same room with a family member will help her feel less isolated. Is she good in the house while you are away? A doggy door may also help the problem. Many trainers feel giving them access to the place they associate with you can help when dogs bark over isolation.

Sounds like a lovely setup! Could you find out more from one of your neighbors, maybe someone who is home all day? Is she just barking right after you leave or is it in response to something, or totally random?

In Danes, they are merles, not blue merles. Merles are the result of harlequin family breedings, and carry a lethal gene if bred that can result in up to 50% deaf and blind or even dead puppies. But merles themselves have no special health problems based on their skin color, they simply carry a double merle gene (which is expressed in their coat color) that should not be bred. All others in the harlequin family carry this gene as well, but it is only doubled up in the merles. Please, all of you considering getting Danes learn what to look for in a breeder. The BYB breedings of Danes not only can lead to enormous heartache and financial ruin, but is destroying this incredible breed. Breeders should health test (OFA - hips, elbows, CERF, thyroid, heart at least), show, have a strong contract (no breeding, spay/neuter, outline the care of the dog, return policy, health guarantee), keep puppies until at least 8 weeks of age, and be inform you how to care for a Dane as well as be there to support you for life. "WhoDoesThat" I have to say that I am very concerned about where you got this dog. I hope you at least have researched a lot into the temperament of a Great Dane, and plan to do a lot of early socialization and training. It is also important you know not to ever feed puppy or large/giant breed foods, only an adult quality food that is 21-23% protein, not to force your pup to exercise, not to have your pup jump up or down from places and the signs of bloat.