It's not the premier school, it's the only school, isn't it? Last I heard, when my sister attended Vet school, there were only two in Canada. One in Ontario for Eastern Canada and one in Saskatoon for Western Canada. It's actually harder to get in to Veterinary medicine than it is to get in to Med school. :2 cents:

That's pretty interesting.

my bad. ;)

We feed our dogs Blue Buffalo :winkwink:

sux those *domesticated* wolves are caged up like that but i wonder what they feed them.

Feed mine this:

http://i.imgur.com/X2ZqT.jpg

because she thinks she is a greyhound.

Because I've never heard of that dog food -- it's probably good stuff.

Word!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox

my dog licks his front paws constantly like a cat, we always laugh about it. We feed him Acana Pacifica.

Sounds exactly like my dog....what can I do?

I did quite a bit of research into it last year and decided to feed our rat terrier raw from the day we got her at 8 weeks. The results have been fantastic. Luckily there is a nearby place (Surrey Meat Packers) that makes dog food mixes in frozen 1lb bricks. She's on beef-chicken-bone-veg, and then I add a bit of natural yogurt and a salmon oil capsule once a day. Once a week she gets a raw egg cracked on top.

A few times a week she'll get a lamb neck section or the trimmings off a chicken (back, organs, chestplate) for her to clean her teeth.

She's in perfect health, full of energy, and everyone comments on how shiny she is. I would never go back to kibble. Cost is about $1 a day for a 15lb dog.

That could also be boredom or understimulation. My in-laws Jack Russell does that constantly. THe cure? a kong filled with cream cheese and then frozen, to be brought out at times of boredom. Also lots of exercise.

Dogs have what is known as an "Itch threshold". What that means is several factors can contribute to to them being itchy. It could be just fleas, or just a food allergy, or just an enviromental allergy, or a combination. It might be that a mild case of fleas alone is tolerable to the dog, but combined with a mild allergic reaction it sets them off itching.

The first thing you want to do is make sure the dog has a good flea control system. I'd go ahead and use Sentinel, it's a pill given once a month. Not only does it kill adult fleas, but it also kills other parasites including many forms of common worms.

If the dog is already on a good flea control system and there is no evidence of fleas, remembering that you may not even notice a mild case without careful inspection of the skin for bite marks, then chances are good it has developed an allergy to the protein in its food. Switch the dog to a protein it hasn't normally consumed like Fish or Kangaroo. Iams makes a Fish and Potato and a Kangaroo and Potato blend that works well. Keep in mind that you will not want to give the dog Rawhide or any other beef or chicken products either.

If your dog has or develops hotspots, treat them by shaving the area and washing it good with a surgical scrub or another non perfumed soap like Hibatane. Your vet will sell you a small bottle of surgical scrub very cheaply. Keep the area as dry as possible until the hotspot heals.

Finally, be sure that if you are washing your dog that you are using a pure, non scented wash because it could be something in the shampoo causing a mild reaction too.

Yes in and of its self it could be something else, but combined with scratching or biting elsewhere and especially hotspots, it's most probably a reaction to being itchy.

I already have good flea control, it's not a flea problem, boredom sounds more like it.
As I said I already feed my dog 5-star FISH based kibble, I also add an organic raw egg ones a week.
Also as it's a pug I already wash him with hypoallergenic shampoo.

What's exactly these hot spots you are talking about?

Yeah we go with Acana blend foods too, I'm not sure if they have that in the US though..

Oh I didn't understand your post then. I thought you were experiencing more than just one symptom. If you're already feeding a fish protein it's probably not allergies.

Hotspots are sores on the skin that look sort of like a rash byut weep a clear liquid and can become infected if not treated.

was having a convo w/ my mom recently about hot spots,

you do not want your guy to get those.

my guy was developing one, he got a flea or 3 from some buddies of his and since i use de for flea control it took a couple days and he was scratching at the 1 spot.

it got me wondering if wolves get hot spots. seems they would a lot and that would ultimately kill many wolves right? just wondering. my mom didn't know either.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DGmjKsBO0a...vet_banner.jpg

If anyone see's CNN reporting on a beef shortage in Bermuda it's because WarChild put his Rottweiler's on a raw beef diet.

.

Well, fleas are generally a seasonal thing, although in many climates it doesn't get cold enough to kill them off in the winter.

In general, I think wolves have a lower survival rate in general than domesticated dogs though so it wouldn't surprise me if they do die off, at least some of them, from infections on the skin.

Alas I am down to just one old boy now. He's nearly 10 and doesn't eat anywhere near the amount he used to.

I put down my last female the day I went to Bermuda, August 4th. She was a rescue that had very, very bad hip problems (her femral heads were removed at 9 months old so she could simply walk) and eventually blew out both of her cruciate ligaments (like a human ACL). She was also 10 years old, but her quality of life was very degraded because of her leg problems. It was her time to go.

thinking about it, this has to be the case for all warm-blooded wild animals. they don't sit around and gnaw on an itch

hell, 1 hot spot could be the end.

Obligatory puppy pictures because I love to share :)

Daisy at 8 weeks, then Daisy at 1 year:

http://www.ellinude.com/Personal/Daisy-1.jpg

http://www.ellinude.com/Personal/Daisy-2.jpg

As far as I understand it, and remember I am not a Vet, a hotspot is a fairly severe skin reaction. Read what I said about itch thresholds. Not all animals infested with fleas or parasites will develop hotspots. Just like not all people with food allergies will go in to anaphylactic shock. Only the worst cases that have the worst kind of reaction. :2 cents:

Sorry to hear that. Very sorry.

Years ago I had a neighbor that brought home a beautiful Rott puppy. For a few days everyone gave their 2 cents about a name. Finally after watching him eat one day his wife started calling him "Lunch-time" That was it, lol. "lunch" for short. Man he could eat.


.

I've had to put dogs down before and it was very sad. This time, though, when I saw her lay her head down and finally relax her whole body I fealt nothing but an overwhelming sense of relief. She finally looked at peace.

Yeah I miss her, but for her it was the best thing.

Switched to Canidae, never looked back. Also add in some raw bones and meat on a regular basis.

i hear ya, i read what you read about itching, no worries, that's what i was agreeing with and applying that to all warm-blooded animals in the wild. plenty of national geographic episodes with lions and wildebeasts and shit covered with parasites and no discernible concern/issues.

I recently took our dogs off Science Diet after reading about how awful and over-hyped a brand it is! They are on Wellness CORE brand. They had ear infections which have totally cleared up!

I was told by our breeder that the Raw and BARF diets raise the dogs BUN levels.. so you have to watch their kidneys. just fyi

I recently switched my dog from premium kibble (can't recall the name) to The Honest Kitchen.

Verve.

Take a second and read the first 5 or 6 ingredients in each flavor.

My dog has made such a radical improvement that I would do a free commercial for these guys. It's astounding to see how much energy and vigor she has in just 3 boxes of The Honest Kitchen's food...and it's made in San Diego!

i feed my dogs dehydrated food from a company called Honest Kitchen and they go nuts over it. it's considered raw food, just add water, let stand for 10 mins and serve.

please tell me that was entered in contests...i died laughing :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

i had my dog on a diet due to a health issue for about 6-8 months. i would make her food for the week, 4 days of food in fridge and freeze the rest. she had a bladder stone and i treated her with a remedy for them sold on pawhealer.com...they recommended the diet and hers needed to be low protein for 3 months (normally a bad idea to go low protein for dogs but aid in stone dissolution). here are the ingredients that i would mix together after all was cooked:

boiled organic potatos (brown rice could be substituted but pawhealer said no grains for the stones)
steamed organic carrots - food processed after
steamed organic green and yellow squash (zuccini and crook neck) - food processed
steamed celery (just a couple stalks) - food processed
steamed garlic (only a clove) - food processed
steamed organic green beans - food processed
steamed organic spinach (just a couple cups) - food processed
boiled whole chicken - cut into bite sized pieces

the quantity was enough to nearly half fill a lobster pot. garlic is not recommended for dogs by most experts but in a very small amount is ok to add flavor. if i was doing this now, i would use 2 chickens instead of 1. my dog is a small breed so i found i needed to food process the veggies or she wouldn't eat them. i would mash the potatoes as well. i fed her a cup and a half at breakfast and the same at dinner. her coat and weight never looked better. if you do any natural food diet, be aware that it is normal for the poop to look completely different so don't panic (it doesnt stink like normal either so that's cool).

now they sell fresh food for dogs in a refridgerated stand at some stores. saw the commercial but cant remember the name of it. best of luck with your pup!

Years ago I worked with animals and some of my customer's dogs were on a raw food diet. The dogs all looked very healthy to me. These were smart wealthy people too.
My boss at the time, a regional dog expert, said it was good for the dogs