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Post by theresa on Feb 20, 2011 12:10:22 GMT
We got our lovely ozzy from elaine/mark at 14 weeks old and he had already had a bad start in life, we have worked with overcoming manys of ozzys fears, phobias and odd behaviour and love him for being different but i am concerned that he is still having times of pulling hair out of his tail. Does anyone have any advice or experience so i can help my little ozzy. He is walked for hours a day and my mum looks after them when we are at work and he is always with Toby much to Tobys dismay. Any advice would be great Attachments:
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helenS
Quite chatty
Posts: 149
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Post by helenS on Feb 20, 2011 15:56:28 GMT
oh bless him he is a super cutie!
do you know why he is pulling the hair out?
does he do it infront of you or only when left alone?
it could be many things, habit / seperation anxiety / boredom etc
I have had very good advice on the forums at dogsey.com there are trainers about on there at most hours of the day and ive had some great advice that probably would have cost me a fortune if it had been in the flesh not online! x
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Post by theresa on Feb 20, 2011 18:22:41 GMT
Thanks Helens, we have not idea why we can be in or out when he does it, it may be habit i will take a look at the forum thanks again x
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helenS
Quite chatty
Posts: 149
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Post by helenS on Feb 21, 2011 13:27:16 GMT
I only have very basic knowledge, im currently reading 'the culture clash' by Jean Donaldson, its reward based training and in my opinion the best way to train dogs. I think you need to break the behavoiur by interrupting him everytime he starts to do it, like by making a loud high pitched noise or something similar, but definitely ask on the dogsey forum they are good on there with training stuff!
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Post by Andy on Feb 21, 2011 23:36:39 GMT
Hi T, I've not heard of this before as a behaviour issue, so I mailed a vet- below is my question and her answer, I hope you find it usefull. Q; Somebody asked on the forum why one of her dogs bites its fur off. I'm guessing the obvious is take it to the vet and check for parasites or allergy, that would be the first move. Is it possible that if the dog is found to be healthy that the cause is behavioural, or is it almost always likely to be a physical cause?
A; I'm more than happy to give you my thoughs on this... firstly, yes it probably needs to see a vet. It depends where its biting the fur off, if very close to its bottom or on its tail, it may well need its anal sac emptying - not a vets' favourite job! If it's more all over then we would look for evidence of parasites - as these are easier to rule out than other causes, fleas are most common and they leave flea dirt/poo on the coat ie. digested blood - this can be seen by doing a coat brushing onto a piece of white paper and wetting it - they dissolve into red patches. Other parasites like mites can also be very itchy these are less easy to find but can easily be treated with a spot on product eg stronghold or advocate but not frontline. Once parasites have been ruled out then there may be some skin allergy or hypersensitivity or even allergy to food - often but not always have diarrhoea with this. So i normally start with a food exclusion diet trial by using a specially formulated diet that has novel hydrolysed proteins in that will def not cause an allergy. Try this for 4 weeks, if no joy then blood samples for allergy testing and mite serology. With cats definitely they can pull there fur out with stress - eg if they are being picked on by another cat, with dogs they can lick at particular areas if there is a focus of pain there eg over joints, not seen a dog yet that tears his hair out due to mental issues!!! Hope that helps,
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Post by dodledeedle on Feb 22, 2011 0:12:53 GMT
Cats have the same problems - not just due to the usual allergies mites etc I have spent a fortune at vets in the past and ended up treating them with Benadryl the human anti histamine it MUST be that particular make due to it's chemical make up others are similar but there is a difference in the molecular construction - you also have to be careful on the dosage - it is body weight better to under than over dose but it works it stops the itch and then stops the cycle of bite/ pull fur out with a cat they have quarter of a tab to half a tab depending on how big they are normally a week and it sorted - my friend Paul's cat had been back yo his vets 5 times or more vet gave injections and even special diet nothing worked - so he used this and it did - hope this helps. Also found the following info on iternet: Yes dogs can be given Benadryl. The dose is 1 milligram per pound of body weight given orally every 8-12 hours. Do NOT use the Cold and Sinus variety only plain Benadryl is safe. Treatment of allergies is multi-modal and it is unlikely Benadryl alone will control your dog's allergies. Work with your veterinarian to develop a plan to control your dog's allergies.
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Post by theresa on Feb 26, 2011 11:44:01 GMT
Thank you so much andy i will give the diet ago and if no joy i will get some tests done i will keep you updated. Thanks dodledeedle.
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Post by Andy on Feb 26, 2011 18:00:43 GMT
No problem. Looks to me from the vet's comments, Ozzy needs to go to the vet as your first course of action. I didn't tell the vet where she was biting, so for her to suggest tail area - anal sac, looks on the money. If thats not it, parasites is far more likely than allergy and simple for the vet to diagnose. Rule out the obvious first, if your vet can't reach a diagnosis, then they'll probably suggest allergic reaction is the last route to investigate. Good luck, let us know how she goes.
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helenS
Quite chatty
Posts: 149
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Post by helenS on Mar 2, 2011 10:47:48 GMT
yes if he hasnt already seen a vet that is definitely the first port of call x
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