XTRAWLD

Ugh! Poor girl! No advice as fortunately I haven't shared that experience.

To a lesser extent of LP, gakking might also be acid reflux. You might be pleasantly surprised if the vet suggests Pepcid.....

Did they check for Scabies?

I offer sardines maybe once a month. Instead I use an omega 3-6-9 tablet. I do an egg maybe once a week or when I remember. Glad to hear there's some resolution!

Forti Flora (probiotic), Pepcid and Slippery Elm are main stays here. The problem with slippery elm (powder) is you have to wait 1-2 hours before giving meds as it coats the esophagus and stomach and wont let the meds get absorbed (I mix it during feeding and make it like a slurry). If it doesnt conflict with med timing, IMO its rather effective. Taylor might eat it readily on its own if it'a a slurry but unlikely.

I second that!

Wow.

To be fair, Kasey's allergies first hit when we moved and changed houses. Don't be surprised that it's the environment that has set him off. Was the house you moved into a smokers house? Does it have a different type of grass out back than what he's used to? Frequent oatmeal baths might soothe him, but really you can't over due it with the frequency or he'll just start to get dried out, then you'll be battling two skin conditions. Dermoscent is wonderful, but it's expensive. We tried it for months and while Kasey grew a healthy coat, and it helped strengthen his skin to help put a better barrier up against the environmental allergens, it still wasn't enough so we discontinued. I was fortunate to become educated over the years by dermatologists and the allergy professionals at a vet university as well as other savvy vets to be able to help me understand true allergies and how, why they occur and how to help treat them. I'm really sorry but there is no one magic medicine. It's just a bandaid here on in.

The epsom salts do both They make the skin more soft and tender so that it's easier to remove the object. It soothes because it's able to work to relieve tension. If you've never had a epsom salt bath for yourself, it's wonderful at helping to release tense muscles and also helps to heal open sores.

To help her paw pads heal up, may I recommend trying to soak her foot in a warm epsom salt bath? If you have a tall container, like for yogurt or something, it would work best. Mix a bit of epsom salts and warm water and have her stand in it, if she's a tolerable pooch to that sort of thing. Soak it for about 5 minutes and then just pat dry and let her stay off her feet. Try not to let her lick, but it won't harm her if she does. If you can try to do this twice a day for about a week and she should feel some relief after having glass stuck. I had to take "something" out of Ryder's paw pad, I still don't know what that something was but I think it was glass, and I softened the pad first with epsom salts to help draw it to the surface for a couple of days, then I got it out and continued to soak until it healed. Also, as noted, she's new so she's not used to walking around so much on pavement, so her little paws haven't quite hardened yet. Reduce your walks for a little bit if you can until her body can catch up. I have had my share of limping issues with Ryder all his life, but not paw related, so I can certainly sympathize. Glad you resolved it.

I forgot about Oxyclean. That came with my spot bot and actually it has a marking on the soap reservoir that marks how much Oxy to add to the carpet cleaner plus water. I agree it's great stuff.

I fear that a diagnosis with a chronic allergy does not have an easy solution without some effort on your part to eliminate certain foods or environmental things that are causing him discomfort.

I copied my response to from another topic with some edits: Kasey was terrible for allergies. He had both environmental and food based. What I suggest is try to narrow down what might be causing the allergies by doing a blood test. Just honestly get that done and out of the way and save yourself a bit of grief. While it is not as accurate as a skin test, you'll get some information and a better direction than just trying to shoot anything that moves. With new baby, maybe there was a new introduction of laundry detergent, or fabric softener, or he's getting some baby food.....it could be anything, just a small thing, but it's put him over the brink. What you have going for you is that he's not currently on meds, so you can still do a skin test. Kasey's itching occurred mainly on his ears, neck, head and face, and he would scratch like crazy so to keep him from harming himself, prednisone is what worked to keep the allergies at bay and he stayed on that until the end of his days. It wasn't ideal, but it was affordable. I sympathize with the head scratching and open sores and wounding himself. In the interim, use neosporin to help heal the open wounds and if he has really itchy skin that are not open wounds, apply some hydrocortizone to help stop the itch. Also Natural Tears II would help his eyes. ONLY use this brand and type. NO OTHER brand/type as they are not good for dogs. I became quite the pro at the pet store trying to read ingredient lists on different foods. Food trials were lengthy as it takes a while for everything to leave the system and for the body to react. You also have to be SUPER SUPER diligent of rewarding with cookies, and not giving ANY table scraps. Isolating the food source is paramount with food trials. But you need to have some guidance, so a blood test or skin test to help narrow down the food sensitivity. Switching to raw made an immense difference, because he was allergic to chicken, and chicken is in SO many varieties of kibble, even the derivatives of it we had to stay away from. To be truthful, we also avoided raw chicken. But turkey, not in the same family, was fair game! If you want to investigate the raw option, I also highly recommend it. Poops will also be good. I wholeheartedly wish I had done the blood test first, and then went raw, so that is my strongest recommendation to you. It would have saved years of trials and money and doggie wellness. Prednisone took care of the environmental allergies that I couldn't alleviate with food, and he was on the lowest dose possible to keep them at bay. We did try many medications too, but you know what, they were expensive and not a sustainable method for me to upkeep. If you need any other info about my experience, feel free to PM me directly!

A spot bot has been a life saver for me in the past, primarily though with bile and not pee. Can't go wrong with a machine you just set down and walk away. I even use a bit of laundry detergent instead of carpet cleaner.....

I agree with excitement making the yawn. Ryder often yawns before our walk, and I know he's pretty happy about going out every time!

To be honest, I'd go by what his condition looks like. Since you can nicely see 2 ribs that's pretty good! Does he have a "sexy hour glass figure" when viewed from the top? Can you maybe include some pics? Also, is he a picky eater? Is he famished when fed? I tend to think that racing weight is a performance weight to stay within a class (I think?) and might not be optimum for every dog (which I also believe might lean more towards being underweight - meaning the dog should probably weigh more than that when retired). As his muscle will deteriorate by not being on the track (and since it weighs more) I'd keep him at a minimum 66 lbs if possible. Kasey was incredibly slim all his life and could not pack on weight for the life of him no matter how hard I tried. Satin balls worked somewhat, and really helped when he was sick and kept his intake up. He was also at a 66 racing weight, but I often struggled keeping him near 62. I was told by the vet that if looking from above you don't see a "triangle" by his hips than he's in ok shape and isn't underfed. You want a nice roundness there.... Ryder looks at food and gains weight.....so....it indeed can be tricky! Good luck!

The only other thing I'm thinking is how fast he might be eating, but truthfully his amount of burping could also just be normal for him... There are some raw mixes that are different proteins and they should really only act slightly differently regarding the poop deposit. (ie. Ryder does best on a chicken and beef mix than on duck or salmon) Hopefully others will chime in, as I'm not really sure. Maybe the batch you got was bad? Or maybe it's too much? I use this calculator... http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

You'll find they won't poop as much on raw than on kibble. Nearly half at least as there is more intake. If it's runny, usually that is a sign that there is not enough bone or there is too much organ. Shouldn't be burping really. How much are you feeding and how often? Are you exclusively raw?

Ouchie. I agree it also looks like a corn too. Be aware, corns are tough buggers to get rid of an often recurr. Stay on top of them. He's so young I'm kind of surprised as they usually (I think) happen to older pups. I've tried Murray's Apothecary before, but nothing worked as well as duct tape. There are lots and lots of threads on this forum about corns. The nails also appear a little long so getting those cut back a little more would ease the discomfort.

That's some promising good news. A similar strain (not in the organs) took my Kasey.

She looks absolutely ripped when standing beside your TV. Beauty. Welcome!

If seeh2o isn't interested in the gaba I'd be happy to use it if you don't mind shipping across the border.

How old is your pup? Kasey's slowdown was rather evident around age 10 and when I would walk a younger Ryder with him, I always had one way ahead and one way behind. The old man just couldn't keep up like he used to. Also keep in mind your pup might be hurting which might be why he's walking slower. I would immediately look for corns. To be fair though, he might just be a slower paced dog so you will have to adjust accordingly and enjoy his pace.

SQUEEEEEE

Follow up with a cookie is a must! I find it will almost always catch a pill that might be stuck within the throat or in a cheek or something.... Good job!