Question by Paulina F: the vet recommended my dog eat some things i am unsure of his reliability?
my dog is a 1 year old male bichon frise and he looks like hes 6 years old because as a puppy he caught something and his skin got dry and and red and itchy and now his entire back is bald he is constantly biting himself so hard sometimes he bleeds and its all over his body. I have taken him to the vet countless times and they kept saying it was an allergy and gave me some food which did not at all help and iwhen i took him to the groomers the groomer said it was awfull it looked as abad as some dogs with mange and if it was allergy it was the worst she had ever seen. She recommended me a ‘natural’ vet who practissed chinese medicine he said my dog was “hot like fire, he is fire dog, we must cool down fire dog” not as in temperature but just hot he said chicken, veal, vennison were all hot foods and turkey, potato and fish were cold foods, he said dry food (which i was feeding him) was hot and wet food was cold, he recommended my dog eat watermelon every day and to give him ice in a bowl. he also gave my dog herbs which he has to eat every day, they are not pills though they are natural herbs. I am just wondering how reliable this doctor is as he didnt actually diagnose my dog i am looking for some opinions on all this

Best answer:

Answer by Kat
See, I’m down with natural medicine for dogs, but I’m always wary of the practitioners who say dogs have a fire or ice condition or they can see the dog’s aura and it’s brown, or some garbage like that, and then give you herbs for it. Herbal medicine can be very dangerous if not administered under an expert’s care. I’d go to a vet clinic that has a legitimate holistic veterinarian.

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Question by Youre worthless so eat a bullet: What are some alternative treatments for doggy ocd?
I already asked this but people aren’t listening. My dog has OCD, I know she has OCD, I know it is NOT A FOOD ALLERGY NOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGY. I have a 4 year old American Red Nose, she was previously abused before she was given to me and it took me a long time to get her issues in check. The one issue that she has problems with is her OCD licking and chewing on her front pads, mostly the right, and licking at her crotch area. My dog is already on a special diet for her skin and coat because she is a pit and they have dry skin recommended by her vet, so it is not her food. She is a very healthy in door dog, I have a large fenced in back yard which is hers and sprayed with an animal safe bug spray just for her, we go on walks, and she gets to play at the doggy park across the street from my house. I know my dog has OCD I am not looking for what other alternative issues she could have, I am only asking if anyone knows any alternative treatments for this condition besides medications which can change her temperament. She is completely and excellently trained using sound mixed with my native american language, I trained her personally. She is the best dog that I have ever owned it’s just for some reason she cant get past this OCD. Please if anyone has had to deal with doggy OCD could you please share how you got your dog to stop the behavior. Thank you

Best answer:

Answer by L
Spray her in the face with a squirt bottle or get her lots of toys that she can chew or lick (put peanut butter on them) or just stimulate her brain by walking her A LOT

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Question by Theresa: Need Some Help With Dog Allergies!!?
I need some help. My dog won’t stop scratching. She doesn’t have fleas and I just switched her food to Wellness whitefish and sweet potato dry food. I think she is allergic to cats. My BF and I moved into a house that has 2 cats. We have been living there for a while now. Someone told me to give her children’s benedryl. She is only 4 pounds does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do, or how much benedryl I should give her? Unfortunately I can’t afford to go to a vet right now. I am going to take her as soon as I can, but is there anything I can do on my own in the meantime?

Best answer:

Answer by Dalai
Give her a bath. I use John Paul oatmeal and tea tree shampoo. You can only get it at Petco

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Question by jaded_illusions78: Need some advice on my dog (please read full description)?
I have a dog who has swollen areas on his skin not just in one area.

I believe this is due to either a different grass allergy, tick drops…especially tick drops.

I called my vet at 2 am in the morning and told me to try to wash with dawn soap a few times and I did this about 3 or 4 times very well. He is still in lots of discomfort and whining and crying so I took him INTO the vet at 3:30 am. He is on prednisone, benedryl and still gets some slight swellings and still whines in now alot! She believes this to be discomfort and so do I.

I called again today because he is whining alot still she prescribed him some tramadol to ease some discomfort. She noted that sometimes its takes 1-3 days to recover and that it can be very uncomfortable for the dog.

I also have him in a big dog collar (Elizabethan collar) aka cone collar so he doesn’t over lick to make matters worse…so he whines and still tries to get to the affected parts but cannot get to them.

My question is all this me just worrying too much because the whining really bothers me, the pacing bothers me, and I hate seeing my dog in pain? but is it really pain or just lots of discomfort due to not being able to get to those spots he wants to get at.

Do you think I am more over reacting to my dogs discomfort…given the time it will take for him to heal? I

What do you guys think?

please note the tick drops were on one area not the whole body and I washed his whole body just in case its more systemic.

Best answer:

Answer by christinasn00
Call your vet and get an antibodic shampoo it’s called Malaseb it will help with the discomfort also some. It might take a couple of bath’s but it will definitely help it did with my dog. Let it stay on him for a little while also at least 20 to 30 min. I hope your baby gets better

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Question by nobodysyndrome: Great Dane owners, some questions?
I’m in the process of convincing my parents to get a Great Dane puppy. I know it’s a big decision and with such a large dog comes a whole new set of problems and expenses. I’ve been looking into them for over a year now, and I’m pretty confident it’ll be the right choice. I just want to gather some more opinions on some things:
1. Growth problems. Some sites I’ve read say that high protein levels cause skeletal deformities and increase the risk of hip displaysia, others say it has to do with high calories and unbalanced calcium/phosphorus levels. I’m leaning towards the latter.. Anyway, the highest quality dog food in the area seems to be Taste of the Wild, and it’s all life stages, and Pacific Stream has relatively low protein levels just in case (and around the forums it says that it’s better for sensitive stomachs and allergies anyway), so I was thinking of it, but I’m not sure. Pros and cons would be nice. A lot of people have also recommended raw diets, but that seems a bit hard to manage.
2. Bloat. I’ve read some conflicting studies, so I’d like to hear what you think about how elevated feeders, exercise before/after eating and all that effects the risk, or if it does.
3. I’m allotting 30-60 minutes a day for an afternoon walk. Does that sound adequate?
4. Any personal experiences you’d like to share?
In all reality I have about 3 or 4 hours in the evenings I could be walking him. I don’t mind, however much exercise he needs.
Ahem, to clarify, I didn’t mean for 3-4 straight hours. We’d probably both collapse from exhaustion.
And I am still in high school, but I can get up earlier to walk him around our property (most of you are recommending multiple walks a day). I can probably spare a half hour there.
I haven’t decided on a breeder yet, but there’s one fairly close that has dogs with excellent hips.

Best answer:

Answer by GracefulFalcon
I can answer you on number 3. No that is not by far enough. It’s a big dog. You’re going to have to walk that dog for about up to 2 hours a day and a few miles. Half an hour is not going to give it the exercise it needs.

All dogs have their own problems, big dogs tend to have a shorter life span than small dogs and yeah what you’ve listed here is true. But you’re just going to have to cope with them. Ask a vet for more detail. Why does a raw diet seem hard to manage? when you’re out buying steak for the family buy one for the dog and feed him it raw. sorted

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