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Messages - mastiffmomoftwo

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1
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Dog Allergies-HELP!
« on: May 09, 2008, 08:49:47 pm »
Hi, and welcome.
You will have to find out if your pup is allergic to food, or something in his surroundings.

Since the dog is 4 years old already, has he had any issues in the past?
Are you feeding him a different food?
Which food are you feeding?
Has anything changed in his life when this started?
Are you able to contact the breeder and find out if any other dogs have had issues?

Natural Balance makes 3 flavours of allergenic foods.
Duck & potato
Sweet potato & fish
and Sweet potato & venison.  I have used the fish with success.
They use a single source protein.
He may also have allergies to wheat & corn which is huge in dogs (as mentioned by KiraNGunnersmo m).
They can also develop allergies to certain proteins such as chicken, beef etc.

OR Hudson could be allergic to something in his surroundings.
A friend of mine has a border collie who is allergic to 26 different things, not just food, but certain grasses, tree bark, etc.  She has had great success with the Sweet Potato & fish as well.  My friend also washes her dogs paws everytime she comes in from outside.  This has helped a lot as well.

I would not keep giving the dog drugs if it is not helping him with his allergies. 
You can also get him allergy tested.

Chris

2
German Shepherd Pictures / Re: I laughed so hard I cried!
« on: May 07, 2008, 09:55:38 am »
Too funny!
Great timing on taking that picture!


3
Some people make me sick.

THANK YOU  for all you do for these poor souls.
Roo is now on his way!!!
What a sweetheart.
We have many problems at our SPCA with reserve dogs coming in
with mange, lice, fleas etc.  They are primarily pitties, and soooooo sweet!
You're a very special lady!

Don't know if you know of this website, she has terrific info.
Could this be what Roo has (except more severe) ?

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/knuckling_over.htm

5
Old English Mastiff Pictures / Re: Teachers Pet!
« on: May 05, 2008, 08:03:16 pm »
Love those brindles!

I think he's playing hard to get coz he's got a harem to choose from.

6
Games & Jokes / No Hunting
« on: May 02, 2008, 10:11:22 am »
Hi, hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I thought it was funny!





One of the few animals not hunted for it's skin.......
The Pubic Hare.

7
Games & Jokes / Never Argue with a Woman!
« on: May 02, 2008, 10:06:21 am »
Never Argue with a Woman

One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside
cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, puts her feet up, and begins to read her book. The peace and solitude are magnificent.

Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up
alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?'

'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.

 

'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.'

'Yes, but I see you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'

'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.

 

'But I haven't even touched you,' says the Game Warden.

'That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.'

'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she
can also think.


8
I think I was more than that the first time I tried!!

Good for you guys!

9
There are no words to ease your grief.
I'm sorry.


10
This was sent to me years ago, and I found it again.
How many guesses before you get the pitbull???

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

Have fun!

11
Anything Non-Dog Related / Re: My kiwi died this morning
« on: April 28, 2008, 06:21:54 pm »
Aw, thats terrible!
Sorry for your loss. 

I used to have cockatiels that had one litter of chicks.
I left them in the cage with mom and dad to take care of.
Apparently I did wrong, as they never did take to humans
that well, even though I handled them a few times a day.
I was told at my local pet store that I should have been
feeding them so that they bonded with a human.
Have no idea about your breed though.

12
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: It's my biggest FEAR!!
« on: April 28, 2008, 06:14:35 pm »
Is there a vet around that will let you in with Titan?
If you were taking your baby to the doctor's, they would not separate you would they (I don't know I have no skin kids)????
Do you know any other dog owners in your area that have a different vet? One that is more relaxed?
I would just ask why you are not allowed in with your pet.
My biggest fear with Luke is that he would snap at them.
He always thinks people are going to take him away from me, and he panics.  I would hate for him to have to be muzzled, or have it be a bad experience for him.
I would think that Titan would be a much calmer pup if you were there holding and talking to him.  Poor gaffer! :(

13
Helpful Groups & Dogs in Need / Re: Question about rescues
« on: April 28, 2008, 06:03:11 pm »
Hey, no reason to apologize!
I learn lots of stuff from all the questions.
I have no idea what protocol is in the US!
I can only tell you what I have seen here.  I know that our
SPCA really appreciates all the work that breed specific rescues do.  They usually have a ton of resources as well.
Keep asking those questions! ;D

14
Well I'm glad you finally got some answers!
When we first got Luke, he had horrible skin issues!  To the
point where he scratched himself raw.  There were open wounds on his side and he rubbed his chin on the concrete, till he was dripping blood.  Off to the vet and she said he had a skin infection, yeasty ears and probably food allergies.  I know that he didn't get the best food before he was handed over to rescue, but I also found out less than a month ago that he was eating food that was on the recall list before I got him!!
Anyway, we gave him strong antibiotics, cortizone shot and I started researching a new food for him.
I switched to Natural Balance allergy formula, the duck and then the fish.  He did better on the fish.
Have you switched his protein source?
After having Luke evaluated by my homeopath, I discovered he's allergic to beef and I have to keep him off all red meat.
Since I did all that, he has not had a recurring episode (touch wood) and we've had him nearly 10 months.

As for the pills, I just made little canned dog food meatballs and put pills in there ontop of his kibble.  He never had a clue.  Mind you he's always ready for food of any kind!

Good Luck & keep us posted.

Chris

15
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: It's my biggest FEAR!!
« on: April 28, 2008, 05:47:33 pm »
SHe does the bunny hopping quite a bit when he jonts around the back yard...and also misses the bottom steps of the staris...anthe r thing...he stands there looks at you and starts to move and trips over himself...i think thats a combo between "I am soooo awkward at 10 months cuz I am big and clumsy and the possiblity of growing pains"

Beau used to do the bunny hop thing when running and playing.
Now he does it every once and a while.
Mastiff's are not always comfortable around stairs.  I was told the fewer stairs the better.  Beau can go up but not down.  Took my husband and I half an hour to get him down the stairs from the office - one paw at a time.  He hasn't gone back up since.  If he encounters 2 or 3 stairs somewhere else, he always jumps them.  I think it's because their stride is too long for the width of the stairs.  If the stairs were a couple of feet wide, there would be no problem!! ;)
Beau still trips occasionally when walking or jogging, and used to do it all the time as a pup.  To the point I took him to the vet to have him looked at.  After strutting around the parking lot for 10 minutes, she came to the conclusion that he was just a teenager and not grown into his body yet.


I just dont want to take hime to the vet...he hates it and my heart hurts when i have to DRAG him through the front door....yes yes yes it's that bad.

The girls at the front desk at my vets gave me the best advice EVER before I even got Beau.
The told me if you have a big dog that's afraid to come in, there isn't anything you can do to get him comfortable at the vets.  They told me to bring my pup in about once a week and just sit in the waiting room (after he had all his shots and was 'safe'), weigh him on the scale, let the staff fawn over him and feed him cookies etc.  It was the best advice I ever got.  I now tell anyone with a pup, as I think it would work for all breeds.  When Beau sees the vets office he gets very excited.  He goes into the door and drags me over to the scale and sits on it.  He gets cookies and everyone tells him what a good boy he is.  It showed him that good things happened at the vets office and people liked him!  There was no issue with taking him in for his neutering or a couple of other procedures he had done.  You could still work on that.
Following the vet visit I took him to our local strip mall and walked up and down.  He met all sorts of people, heard cars, saw kids, lots of loud noise etc.  There isn't much that phases him now.

I recently took Luke in to get checked as he got very congested and I was worried about pneumonia (?).  They wanted to xray him.  I told them I would have to be there with him as I didn't want him put under and could we just try first.
He's only 160, and it took 3 of us to get him on the table.  I took a minute to settle him down, and he stayed VERY still for me.  I held his head and talked to him the whole time and he was the best boy.  I was very proud of him.  They said they couldn't believe that he was no trouble and that if all the dogs were like that they'd be in heaven.  He was no worse for wear and got many treats and hugs after.

Sorry for the novel!!!
Chris

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