Weight: 42.8 lbs
Likes: your spider squeaky toy and rope toy, our friends spoiled you with new toys when they came to meet you. ice cubes, always and often. everyone at the vet's receptionist desk, they fawn all over you and you love it.
Dislikes: leaving our yard for a walk (still), taking pills, when the cat swipes you through the baby gate. being told no when you bite us.
The vet thinks your skin irritation, which is not getting any better, is possibly a food allergy. So we're trying to quick switch you back to your old food. We had switched him onto Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Food, since we thought Blue was supposed to be one of the best out there. We're not so sure that it is an allergy, but are hoping it is since that's an easy enough fix. Here's hoping you just can't tolerate chicken.
I did extensive research online on Friday to find out there are very few 'large breed puppy' foods and add sensitive/allergy-prone to that and it's pretty impossible to find anything. The large breed specific puppy formula is supposed to pace their growing so they don't grow too fast for their skeleton and cause joint issues, like early onset hip dysplasia. I'm not sure how serious it would be to feed him a allergy-sensitive puppy food that isn't large breed. Our vet gave suggestions in terms of types to look for, but not brands. I really just wanted her to just say, "buy this". We also have to check all the ingredients on his treats.
If you have any advice on dog allergies I am all ears! I've never dealt with this before. I feel like dogs didn't used to have so many issues, but we have several friends whose dog's have allergies (peanut butter, grain, etc). It's a little like how so many kids have severe peanut allergies these days. I really hope he's not allergic to something in our yard (which really isn't much besides grass & weeds).
xo
Kate
I wish I had advice to give about his food allergies, but I don't. He looks like a sweet puppy...and HUGE.
ReplyDeleteBronxy has a food allergy too and our vet (who is also a very close family friend) suggested we go with Dick Van Patten's food because it has limited ingredients. Here's a link: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/categories.aspx?ProductCategoryID=2&category=Dog
ReplyDeleteHe's also had a bit of a rash under his stomach and the vet said that it's a summer thing where he might get a little bit wet under there when we take him out because of the dew and then he curls up and sleeps and bacteria grows. He suggested we just try to keep him dry and if it's not clearing up, to use clearasil pads.
Hope that helps!! It's the worst when you can't figure out what's wrong and you just want to help!
absolutely precious!!! what a cutie!! if he is this big at 16 weeks how big will he end up getting??
ReplyDeletei cannot get over that FACE!
ReplyDelete