krun15 said

mom2shelby said
 Or maybe she was just too distracted by the people outside last night and was practicing her vocal chords (she was drenched by the spray bottle when I was done with her and kept on barking!!!!). 

This made me smile. I tried the spray bottle on Tani a couple times to calm her barking down.  She would bite at the water, like she was attacking it, and bark more!

I also tried throwing a towel over her head when she barked. Of course she kept barking, but at least it was muffled a bit...

Karen

OMG ... brilliant! I'm SO going to try that! 

I've never had a dog that barked like this ... growing up, our dogs would bark when the door bell rang or something and Shelby never barked in her whole life except maybe once. But Jasper .... oy vey... that does does not have an off button. I've tried letting acknowledging her and letting her know it's ok, telling her to shut the F up (which I am sure my neighbors love), spraying her w/the water bottle, a little booty smack ... the only saving grace is that she does not do it all day when I am not home. 

SO little miss itchy is getting to try Apoquel. Her vet was part of the trials and he deals w/super itchy dogs. He did mentioned the prednisdone and I'm not sure we want to go that route yet ... So she is going to try that (it's $$$ though) and one other drug that starts with the letter T. We'll pick it up tomorrow.

And apparently "someone" needs a bath more frequently. I know I say this a lot but damn Shelby was low-maintenance... Jasper hasn't had a bath in a couple months and she needs them weekly w/her itchies. Thankfully she fits in my kitchen sink.

Oh and her 'stink' ... as long as it doesn't smell like fritos or mushrooms, it's probably not yeast. I can sniff her feet but I'm pretty sure she's just got normal doggy BO.

My vet also said no fish oil until we figure this out. He gets that I want to treat this as holistically as possible but also the reality is, with the drought and as hot as it is here already, allergies are the worst he's seen in years. This is now a year-round issue for LA dogs. It's 90 this weekend here. So yeah, it's hot.

I am just thankful it's probably environmental because figuring out the food or products would be so impossible since I am not consistent on cleaning stuff.

And we're also on year-round flea meds so confortis for her!

She is becoming a pricey little dog and this isn't covered by insurance since her allergies are pre-exisiting.

She's lucky she is cute and likes to build forts. Her fort of the day!

Michelle said
Alison,

Be careful with baths so frequently.  They can get dry skin and sometimes end up with infections because it washes all the good stuff off too.  Contact Chris (Franklin's mom) she has a soap called dirty dawg soap made from goats milk.  Awesome stuff.  The first time I tried it I washed the dog with commercial stuff (I always wash them 2 times) I thought I got most of the dirt out.  Wow was I ever surprised.  I washed them again and I had what seemed like a gallon of mud come off when I washed them with her soap. 

Lets say I will never use a commercial soap unless I absolutely have to.   They are soft & clean and 100% natural.

 

Hugs

Michelle & Angel Sassy

Thanks Michelle! That's why I didn't wash her (or Shelby) that often... We actually have a special soap from her vet that is for allergies but I'll definitely reach out to Christine if this doesn't work. I used to use Suave Strawberry on Shelby since she would smell so pretty! And then when it was too hard to bathe in my tub, we used what the do-it-yourself places offered. I can't actually bathe dogs in my tub unless I get in with them (the way the sink is positioned, I would have to be flat as a board and have longer arms)! LOL 

WOW... washing three dogs!? I have huge respect for that ... I barely want to wash one 18 pound pooch!