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DIARY OF ONE SUFFERER IMMACULATELY DOCUMENTED BY HIS MUM AND DAD. IF THIS CAN HELP ANY OTHER
CHOW THEN ALL THE BETTER.
GRANDSON TO TOWSUSHET GENESIS AT KORINA
UPDATED 02/03/2011 BELOW AS OF 26/12/10
JAMES WELLBELOVED and BUTCHERS TRIPE
05/02/10 - Vet Visit
Jane checked Tao’s Identichip as the site where it has been injected was sore and swollen, said it should settle down on its own but to keep an eye on it.
11/02/10
Bright, sunny but cold morning. I was up first again to see to the pup and although there was a large puddle on his newspapers, he waited until we went into the drive to do his poopies. We gave him his twelve weeks worming tablet today, breaking it up into small pieces and putting it in paste. Gave us some problems later in the day, his poo went loose and whippy, must be the tablet. Feeding him James Wellbeloved with no discernible problems.
25/02/10 - Vet Visit
Tao’s last inoculation at the Vets today, he weighed in at 10.3Kg. Gave him his second vaccination and also some Panacur wormer (we took some Drontal wormer for the older dogs to do them as well). His motions are a bit loose so she gave him some tinned EN food.
13/03/10
Tonight was the upset with Meka's tummy, he came into the bathroom twice at bedtime and I took him to the drive again, where he promptly disappeared around the corner and dropped a pile of very loose crap. All back to bed but then he woke Pingu shortly after one and asked to be let out again, where he dumped for a third time very loose again then threw up in the nearest kennel. We installed him in the doggy PC room for the rest of the night.
15/03/10 - Vet Visit
Tao appears to have caught Meka's nasty tummy bug. Walked Mina on her own and was back rapidly then we chucked Tao into BJ and headed off to the Vets to let Lisa check him over. She said his temperature was fine but gave him an antibiotic jab as a precaution and some Pro Kolin tummy stuff to put on his food, plus three more cans of EN tummy food. Bad luck to get this at only fifteen weeks old.
22/03/10
Tao was a bit subdued today after Zane pinned him yesterday and only livened up when I let him out of the drive to say hello to Jenny's two tiny spaniels. He came back in to chase Mina and eat a full breakfast, so that was encouraging, but I put him back on the EN diet food as his motions were loose again last night. Picked up four more tins from the Vet (Pingu gave him goats milk after the Zane incident, bless her).
07/04/10
Tao back on James Wellbeloved with lots of tuna and progressing well, went to the Pet Warehouse and he stole a dog treat to eat in the car.
08/04/10 - Vet Visit
Afternoon arrived and I decided to bath a fairly grubby Tao for Kendra, although his tummy was gurgling alarmingly. At teatime Tao threw up on the doorstep without eating anything, hence it was undigested lunch he brought up (explains the nasty gurgling noises). When he started shivering at half five we rushed him off to the vets to see Jane and she gave him two jabs, one to stop him throwing and an antibiotic, just in case. Kendra slept on the settee.
09/04/10
Tao bounced around all over the place when we came in and looking much better.
18/04/10
Pingu was waiting for me with Tao on the bottom field. His very slight intermittent limp has not got any worse but we are going to ground him for a couple of days to be safe.
Purina EN DIET and occasional BUTCHERS TRIPE
05/05/10
Tao's ongoing intermittent sloppy poo problem has been a pain for the last week.
06/05/10
Tao had chewed all his sides again and I had to wash him in the shower.
07/05/10 - Vet Visit
VETS with Tao at half ten - he has diahorrea and is itching and scratching at his sides. Jane reckons he either has a tummy parasite or a dietary intolerance, so she has put him on dried EN food to the exclusion of everything else for two or three weeks plus some probiotic capsules. Gave us his next dose of Panacur wormer but we have delayed giving him this until he settles down. Also had to run a stool sample back in for tests.
08/05/10
Tao had problems with his shoulder again, started limping along the bottom field and by the time I put his breakfast out he was whimpering in pain when he stood up to eat. Putting it down to growing pains and the fact that he is a bit of a wuss, sure enough he recovered enough to play with Meka again by lunchtime, the git. He is still SO grounded for a few days though. Guisborough after lunch to collect a second bag of EN dried food from the Vets.
09/05/10
Kendra took Tao to her Mums and Gillians as his social bit and he has passed two almost normal poos today, which is a big step in the right direction. By 11th May he was passing normal stools on the EN food.
12/05/10
Pingu still managed to brush Tao outside albeit with her thick pink jumper on, but disappointingly he had a massive hot spot on his back towards his tail and I had to give her a hand to clip it all out and put some Fuciderm on. Rang Jane with a progress report and she is sending off a claim form for us tomorrow.
19/05/10
Woke at four by the dogs pacing about, they all piled out when I got up and Meka went around the corner for a very big, slightly sloppy dump, poor lad.
21/05/10
Meka's bum is still dodgy and he had his second day on chicken soup and rice to try and bind him up a bit during this mini heatwave. Still doing loose poops on 22nd as well.
26/05/10
Tao had a watery dribble down his bum today when he went for a poo.
28/05/10
Called at the Vets for some Fuciderm gel to treat Tao’s hot spot areas as they arise, it used to work well with Cheung so fingers crossed.
AUTARKEY and EN PURINA with chicken breast and gravy
04/06/10 - Vet Visit
Ran Tao to the Vets to see Jane around five just to make sure that his remaining milk tooth wasn't causing him any problems. She said not to worry unless it is still there at EIGHT months, no charge and sent us on our way, which was nice.
08/06/10
Brought the kids in and brushed the two boys whilst Tao's training chicken breast was cooking in the oven. He is still a bit itchy and scratchy although we have managed to get on top of the sloppy poo problem, have been using Fuciderm on his hot scratchy spots for a week or so now and I have been giving him half an antihistamine tablet each morning and at bedtime to try and control his scratching, this seems to be helping.
11/06/10
Tao chewed his right flank to absolute pieces whilst we were out, the swollen mess was almost four inches long and two deep so I had to Malaseb him thoroughly and spend twenty minutes rinsing him off in the shower. Dare not leave Tao to his own devices or he will chew his fur off.
14/06/10 - Vet Visit
TAO took a bit of a dive today, he chewed his coat yesterday and has given himself a nasty three inch hot spot infection on his right flank. Cleaned it up before I took Meka and Mina out but as I got home and let the pup out I saw a flash of red and realised that he had chewed ALL the fur off his LEFT flank too whilst I was out. Lost my rag with him somewhat and bundled him into the shower, shampooed and rinsed his sides thoroughly then dragged the doggy lampshade down from the loft and stuck it on him for a couple of hours to try and stop his horrible self mutilation fixation. Still thinking about it late morning and rang the Vets to try and see Jane again, but she was on holiday so I arranged to see Mark at half five this evening. Mark gave Tao two shots to provide an antibiotic and a skin calming agent, plus a full course of Cephalexin 500mg antibiotics, some more Malaseb and Viacutan as an additive for his food to develop a healthy coat. He also said he would look at Tao's dodgy tooth in a week to ten days time and take it out for him if it was still causing him problems.
Weighed at Vets 24.6Kg today.
15/06/10
Had to bath Tao again cos his side was sticky.
16/06/10
Pingu slept all night on the settee to prevent Tao from any further self mutilation and he seemed a little better this morning, but as I put the hoover round the little sod started chewing his side again, so I had to bring him in and bath him with Hibiscrub and Malaseb again.
18/06/10 - Vet Visit
Tao right off his food, remembered that Cheung used to struggle with his tummy when on a certain antibiotic, and I was sure it was Cephalexin. Rang the Vets to see if they would exchange the tablets and Mark swapped the pills for a more gentle variety Noroclav 250mg, which I will start the pup on tomorrow morning. Tao had only slightly chewed his side by bedtime, sigh.
19/06/10
Woke at seven twenty when Tao padded into the bedroom, let him and Mina out for a pee then had our morning spoilt somewhat when he chewed his side again in the ten minutes he was out of our sight. Malaseb'd the pup before showering him and myself thoroughly. Tao to eat a full breakfast this morning, albeit with the copious use of chicken breast and gravy..!
22/06/10
Gave Tao another scab removing Malaseb bath and he is looking much better now, touch wood.
28/06/10 - Vet Visit
TAO goes to the Vets this morning to have his baby canine removed.
30/06/10
Tao was a bit itchy and scratchy at bedtime, first time this week really so I got back up and sprayed his coat with anti nibble spray.
05/07/10
Tao has begun to chew his left side again and I had to Malaseb and shower the little git, sooner he grows out of this habit the better..! Called at the Vets for more Fuciderm.
06/07/10
Made the kids a chicken dinner, which they all enjoyed. Tao's poopy was sloppy for the first time in a few weeks tonight, will have to keep an eye on his 'produce' tomorrow when we take him for a walk. He had his second bad dog day today when he chewed his left side until it was red and sore, Kendra showered him this time and I am not going to let him out of my sight tomorrow.
07/07/10
Tao would not even touch his breakfast for some reason, tuna and biscuits snubbed completely so took it back up and will try him with some chicken at teatime. At least his poo was firm enough to pick up again.
09/07/10
Took Tao into the shower when I got back as he has begun nibbling his legs again.
12/07/10
Tao has begun producing extremely sloppy poo again and is very quiet, his tummy must have been knocked off with a combination of heat and the meal variety I have used to get him to eat during the heatwave. Felt a bit pissed, seems like we just get on top of his tummy and he gets raging hotspots, we get his last baby tooth removed and on top of the raging hotspots and his tummy goes again .. feels like one step forward, three back. Managed to coax the boys to eat some chicken and rice. Mina had her normal brekky and Meka would have done too but I decided that he can diet for the morning seeing at Tao is off colour again..!
13/07/10
Pingu was up for an hour when she thought she heard Tao scratching himself - by the amount of hair on the rugs this morning she was right - Breakfast was a bit better this morning, Tao ate tuna and biscuits without too much fuss. I showered with Tao as he was starting to give himself itchy spots again.
21/07/10
Gave Tao an antihistamine and he was slow to eat his brekky, it clicked that they are knocking his appetite back, had not given him any for the last few days and as soon as I did, he stopped eating - one to remember.
23/07/10
Pingu checked Tao this morning and he had nibbled his side a bit, so a poor start to the day, gave him another bath.
27/07/10
Tao was taking a long time to have a poo on the top garden shortly before nine tonight and when I checked it out it was pure diahorrea, dammit. Only 48hrs to go till we set off for Devon and his ruddy tummy has gone on the fritz again, not as though we have had it perfect anyway for the last month and I am fairly convinced that the switch to Summer Autarkey has not been a success.
28/07/10 - Vet Visit
BAD morning, Tao was restless and rumbly then he puked some bile up on the living room sheets. Alec landed at half nine and helped me get Tao to the Vets whilst Pingu tidied the house. The new lass Claire gave him a thorough going over and lots of meds then we brought him home to settle in the front room.
Afternoon and we took BJ into Redcar to get Tao some different hypo-allergenic food from Breed Above, a chicken version of something called Barking Heads. Tao picked himself a bone from the counter, so he must be feeling better..!
29/07/10
Tao bright as a button and eager for his walk, during which he disappeared into the distance on the bottom field..! Kendra did well not to panic (show off..!) and recaptured him as he played with the two spaniels from Sandmoor. Tao's poo was much improved.
ROYAL CANIN and BARKING HEADS Chicken
Spent a week at Paignton and fed him almost exclusively on Royal Canin Sensitive
02/08/10
We are now feeding Towser Royal Canin with only a few bits of EN food in it. He skipped his breakfast this morning but was starving by teatime and ate every scrap, so hopefully we are making progress.
10/08/10
Four days back from Paignton and Tao still eating well and his poo was BRILLIANT this morning, really firm and easy to pick up plus there is a lot less of it than we had with the Autarkey.
12/08/10
Slept till 06:45hrs then Kendra got up when she heard Tao scratching and nibbling again. He has resumed this habit since we arrived home and Pingu is threatening to lock him in the bedroom with us overnight so she can keep an eye on the little git.
13/08/10
Kendra kept Tao in the bedroom with us last night to avoid him nibbling himself, and it worked well too, no problems overnight and he only woke her once during a scratching session.
19/08/10
Meka seems to be getting a bit loose, squatted three times this morning and woke us to go out the back at seven.
21/08/10
Meka's tummy seems to be getting better, he has had the runs since he began pooing frequently on Thursday morning. Tao began scratching again in the early hours though.
24/08/10
Tao woke me at two this morning, nudged my arm twice to let me know he needed to go out, turned out to have the runs.
25/08/10
No poopies from Tao Shen, we appear to have bunged him up very well with last night's rice and chicken soup, so he is back to his normal food this morning.
29/08/10
Started Tao on a month’s ‘Bionic Biotic’ from Pets At Home.
01/09/10
Ugh - Tao woke us at two 'cos he needed a fairly loose crap, Mina threw up some bile and Meka's third poo was also loose, so I made them a late breakfast of rice and chicken soup with the plan being to feed them early before we go out for our walk tonight.
06/09/10
Meka's poo is STILL loose so have booked him into the Vets for 17:00hrs tonight, made the appointment for the evening so that Pingu could give me a hand getting him in and out of the car. John the Vet agreed with my diagnosis and gave him an anti-inflammatory shot plus two lots of antibiotics to clear the infection in his tummy. At least he hasn’t given it to Tao.
08/09/10
Brushing the dogs revealed a new hotspot on Tao's back leg, his first 'mistake' in ages coinciding with the last of the warm weather. Took time out to Malaseb and rinse him off in the shower. Meka’s bum getting better.
09/09/10
Tao has two incipient hot spots to watch but apart from that is doing well.
10/09/10
Red hot spot on Tao's left shoulder that Pingu found when brushing him out this evening, had to Malaseb him again and it is a real downer to be struggling so hard with his skin.
13/09/10 - Vet Visit
Found some black stuff on ALL of Tao's dewlap follicles. Fearing the worst I took him to the Vets with Pingu when she got in from work but Jane diagnosed a recurrence of his doggy teenage acne rather than any infestation..! Gave him Canaural ear stuff, shampoo and some Noroclav antibiotics which came to a staggering £94 and knocked me a bit sick, but as Pingu puts it 'he gets what he needs, bless him'.
16/09/10
Brushed Tao but he is starting to scratch and nibble at himself again and has to be watched closely all the time, and I have even started putting his Elizabethan collar on him when he is not directly in my line of sight..!
20/09/10
Tao is still nibbling at his sides when not watched and was really awkward and growled moodily when Pingu tried to brush him. For the next two days he was in a funny mood and off his grub then he picked up again on the evening of Wed 22nd.
23/09/10 - Vet Visit
Spoke too soon - Tao woke us before seven pacing about the bedroom. Pingu got up to let him out and bugger, he had diahorrea again. His poo has been going 'off the boil' all week and I took him to see Jane for 10:20hrs. She diagnosed his sensitive tummy as being the cause, saying the week of antibiotics for his skin will have killed off his stomach flora, and the meat paste with his tablets (and half an inch of pork fat from the gammon steak last night) will do the rest. Have to starve him today and start him back on EN food for a couple of days from Friday morning, hopefully he will be OK for the weekend and she gave him a cortizone anti-inflammatory to help settle him down again.
26/09/10
Dogs all slept through the night (Tao with the aid of antihistamine and his plastic collar) and we woke with a start when he caught it on the end of the bed at seven this morning. Tao chewed his flank again for the first time in weeks when our backs were turned and I had to Malaseb and shower him twice before bedtime..!
27/09/10 - Vet Visit
Meka and Tao's poo is still loose. Took the bags home instead of binning it so I can get it to the Vets for testing later today. Was gobsmacked to be charged a whopping £115 for the privilege...! Evening and had to bath Tao again 'cos he chewed his flanks whilst we were busy on the PC, the little sod.
28/09/10
Tao and Meka’s poo is slightly improved today but still far from perfect.
04/10/10
Took the dogs out along the bottom field and the boys poo was back to normal, which tied in nicely when I rang the Vets pm to be told the stool samples for both Meka and Tao were clear of any infections.
12/10/10
We bathed Tao again, two weeks yesterday since his last Malaseb scrub but necessary 'cos he had sore bits on his shoulder and neck, plus a small hot spot on his foot.
14/10/10
YAWN again .. up at three with Tao, he went to the back door the first time then 20mins later whined and I took him to the door again, this time he went out and had a fairly loose poo, up for a third time just after half six and at least it was not raining, left him out and went back to bed and Pingu saw to him when she got up at seven.
18/10/10
Ordered Royal Canin for Meka and Mina tonight, Pingu is planning to put Tao onto the Maxi as well to fill him better, if he eats too much of the Medium Sensible he goes a bit loose.
19/10/10
Tao nibbled his ruddy side as I went to get ready for the morning walk, so his lampshade is on and he will need a bath today. Scrubbed him up with the Evening Primrose shampoo and he made it to training class OK tonight, but his back was so itchy and red in places as I blow dried him and I felt so sorry for him, must keep trying to get to the bottom of this and Kendra is looking carefully at his feeding routines again - possible we may come off the Royal Canin. If he is not OK by his birthday on 03rd December he will go onto Barking Heads or similar, as we will have given the Royal Canin four month trial by then, he started eating it at the very beginning of August when we were down in Devon.
20/10/10
Bit happier with Tao today, his skin has calmed down remarkably since the shower and the Evening Primrose shampoo has not dried his coat out as much as the Malaseb does. He was really good at his training class last night and everyone's poo has been steady for a few days now, so onwards and upwards..!
22/10/10
Pingu had a tearful session over Tao, his skin is getting worse all the time and we came to the conclusion that the Royal Canin must be the wrong route, there has been no improvement over the last almost three months and we have decided to switch his diet again, and try the Barking Heads food for a few weeks. So sad for the wee boy and we gave him an antihistamine tonight to try and let him get some uninterrupted sleep.
24/10/10
We had only been back from the walk an hour when Tao chewed his side again. Had to Malaseb and bath him, and the day kinda went downhill from there. Kendra was in tears at the state of his skin when she blow dried him.
25/10/10 - Vet Visit
Brushing Tao mid afternoon was awful, he whimpered as I started to do his back and loads of flaky hair came off him, so I rang the Vets and went to see Mark. He took a skin scraping and tested it for mites, all clear then suggested we speak to PetPlan and see if they will cover a York Allergy Test and a few weeks on an expensive drug called Atopica to settle him down. Will ring them tonight but I am still banking my hopes on it being a food allergy that we can eventually control ourselves.
26/10/10 - Vet Visit
VETS again at 10:40hrs (Mark) armed with the comments from PetPlan that they would recognise the York Tests as a legitimate treatment for Tao. Mark was pleased we had decided to go ahead with this and took an extraordinary amount of blood from poor Tao's neck to carry out the ten tests for allergens, he then gave him an anti-inflammatory jab and the first fifteen of his mega expensive 'Atopica' allergy control capsules to begin taking tomorrow morning. Alec landed as I got back home at eleven twenty and we nipped into Redcar in Xsara to pick up the Barking Heads dog food that we are now switching Towie on to fully.
02/11/10
The dogs poo was so-so with Tao's first offering really good but his second was soft, as was Meka's to some degree, but nothing to fret about. Tao’s obedience class spoilt by the state of his skin and don’t know who is finding it harder to concentrate, me or him.
05/11/10 - Vet Test Results
Our reservations about Tao and his appetite yesterday were correct, he refused to take his Atopica tablet this morning with either paste OR cheese, we had to chuck it into his mouth and keep it closed till he swallowed it. Rang the Vets to speak to Mark but he is off till Monday, spoke to John and he had the allergy test results back last night - all clear, apart from minor hits for beef, pork, cows milk and meadow grass. With an increasing desperation I asked him about this BARF diet that is doing the rounds and told me of one case where it had worked, so we have decided to give raw, unprocessed food a go and see where that gets us. Over to Stokesley and bought some frozen meats from the pet warehouse there, calling at Guisborough on the way back to get frozen veg to go with it. Will try him on this over the weekend and also reduce the Atopica capsules from three to two in an attempt to settle his tummy and appetite.
BARF raw meat and vegetables, absolutely nothing else
06/11/10
Tao's breakfast was his second BARF raw meat and vegetables meal and he is devouring the stuff, hanging around the kitchen as I prepare it and licking his plate clean. Still putting half a cup or so of Barking Heads in but his poo today was fine and a definite improvement on the loose piles of the last few days. Reducing the tablets will have helped but the new food seems to agree with him as well.
07/11/10
More research on the BARF diet for Tao, he continues to devour his raw meat and vegetables and we are reducing the Barking Heads to a third of a cup from this morning.
08/11/10
Marshalled the dogs for their walk whilst it was still dry but then noticed that Tao had chewed his side for the first time in nearly two weeks. Coated the red area in Malaseb and showered it after the walk, but I have stopped feeding him the Barking Heads from today after reducing it steadily since Friday, so we will see how he goes on now that he is on the BARF diet full time.
09/11/10
Left the dog walking until after lunch as we were expecting the first delivery of Tao's frozen meat and veg today, Tao still swinging round to nip at his tail area a couple of times this morning so watching him like a hawk, no Barking Heads since Sunday night now.
10/11/10
Brushed Tao including hoovering his back to get some of the flakes off him, poor lad is still very itchy and I have arranged to take him to see Mark again on Friday. Day Three of his new meat and veg diet, still loving it and hopefully the crap is now clearing his system.
11/11/10
Tried feeding them liver tonight but we overdid it, Meka kept his down but Tao threw most of his back up and we had to do him some more chicken and vegetables instead. His coat is very sparse and itchy along his back although his motions and appetite are brilliant, have made an appointment to see Mark tomorrow for a progress report. We may have to put him back up to three Atopica per day now that his appetite has come back on line.
12/11/10 - Vet Visit
Stuart was looking at poor Tao, who had scratched his neck red raw whilst I was out, despite the collar and making suggestions that he thought were helpful but that we have tried already. Took him back to see Mark tonight and he was not enthusiastic about his progress, gave him an anti-inflammatory shot and we have put him back up to three ATOPICA capsules again from lunchtime today. Prescribed a new shampoo called Douxo to replace the Malaseb.
13/11/10
Tao woke us at three needing a pee and he took a perfect dump whilst he was at it, bless him. Took Tao into the shower with me and thoroughly bathed his poor red and itchy skin, hopefully that will give him some relief. At least his poo is brilliant and Mark says that is a good sign, plus his appetite on the new food is absolutely incredible.
14/11/10
Tao's skin is much calmer since his bath yesterday and he has been in a much better mood, in fact he has been a pest all day..!
16/11/10
The morning dogwalk was disrupted when Kendra noticed Tao’s side was chewed red again first thing, suspect he did it as soon as he got up and went into the front room. Marvellous start to the day, had to wash him with the new shampoo (Douxo).
17/11/10
Aaaargh .. another red chewed area on Tao first thing and he has made the same area bleed this time. Coated it in Malaseb and got them out for a walk. Pingu decided to sleep on the sofa tonight to see if keeping Tao out of the bedroom has any effect on his skin problems. The thought was that it could be dust mite allergy, yet we can't just leave him to his own devices in the front room or there will be some serious Tao chewing done by morning, sigh.
18/11/10
Restless night without Pingu and Tao in the room, she appeared to sleep OK though apart from waking at three when she thought he was starting to swing his head round to his tail area. Tao's first salon bath today and a bit embarrassing taking him there with his bald back and patchy neck but hopefully a thorough wash at Nics will do him the world of good.
20/11/10
Tao's skin is much calmer today and there are no red bits, so we are doing something right, be it keeping him out of the bedroom or the new diet, or both.
22/11/10 - Vet Visit
Took Tao to the Vets just before ten to give Mark an update and hand a claim form continuation into reception - very disappointing to see flakes and scurf forming along his back again today and he seems a bit 'itchy' again. Had planned to bath him again when I saw all the flakes on his back but instead I set about him with the coat rake and Dyson hoover..! This combination lifted just about all of the scurf from his skin and despite the flaky bits I am left with the impression that he is actually improving a bit, rather than getting worse.
23/11/10
I wangled a lift to Netto with Tao - dare not let him out of my sight as he is very itchy again today, caught him scratching at his neck and when I came back from walking Meka there was Tao hair all over the ruddy kitchen.
24/11/10
Tao upset me when I returned from walking Meka, he had chewed his ruddy side again and I really yelled at him this time. Stress. Coated it with Malaseb and showered him an hour later when my mood had improved - the small upside of this incident is that my impression of him improving, rather than getting worse, is stronger again today after blow drying him.
26/11/10
Tao back at Nicolas again today for another bath, the last one seemed to settle him as they can get him a lot drier and cleaner than we can, even gets all the black stuff off the roots of his neck hair. Pingu on the settee still with Tao at bedtime but it seems to be helping, no sore patches to deal with again today so still heading in the right direction.
28/11/10
Tao’s skin has been OK today and apart from some discreet leg nibbling he seems to be 'settled' at present.
29/11/10
Aaargh..! Tao had chewed a massive eight inch circle on his left flank and made it bleed. Yelled at him and actually smacked him too, which is shameful ‘cos this is not his bloody fault. Covered it in Malaseb then spent the rest of the morning showering him off and using Kendra's hair drier in the doggy room.
30/11/10
Sent Rob an email detailing Tao's progress on the BARF diet. Can't do much else as I cannot take my eyes of the pup for more than thirty seconds at a time.
05/12/10
Things are quiet. Tao's skin continues to improve, the black patches are fading and apart from the hair loss and flaking he is looking so much better now.
07/12/10
Tao's sides just in front of his haunches were red on both sides this morning and I thought he was regressing. Bathed and dried him and the penny only dropped when I put his coat on later in the day - the elastic on his coat that goes over his back legs is rubbing his skin there.. Phew.. Hope this is the cause. !Spent the evening at doggy obedience Christmas party, where Tao got third for his 'Santa's Little Helper' outfit and he did very well at all the games too, although it still pains me to see his skin somewhat flaky and his coat all but gone on his neck. Still, onwards and upwards as we start Week Four of his BARF diet and the improvement continues. He is at Nicola’s again for another bath on Friday.
13/12/10
Aaaargh .. when we let Tao out for a pee he chewed his ruddy side and made a right mess whilst we were having a coffee. Bollocks, that is the first time he has done that in almost two weeks, I think. Put some calamine style cream on it and rang the Vets to try and get Tao in. Mark said to bring him straight down and he gave him an anti-inflammatory shot (these turn out to be steroidal, didn't know that until today) plus some more Viacutan and a steriodal spray to put directly onto his skin if he has a flare up like this. He also issued some prednisolone but I will be keeping those buggers for absolute emergencies only.
14/12/10
Tao's side looks better this morning, the red is fading and we used the steriodal spray to keep it heading the right way.
15/12/10
Dyson on Tao’s back again today, but there seemed to be less flakes on his skin, the sores from Monday are nearly gone and there is definite hair growth on his neck, so onwards and upwards.
17/12/10
Tao’s coat is still improving and the mess from Monday has completely cleared away with lots of new hair growth on the front of his neck. I even think the hair loss has slowed now...
20/12/10
TAO SIX WEEKS TODAY on the BARF Diet and making very good progress, his skin is white and clean and apart from last Monday's setback he has had a good week.
26/12/10
Tao is still chomping down his BARF diet with unbelievable enthusiasm as we approach the end of Week Six. Kendra brushed him today and was able to see a real improvement, his coat is growing back and is strong and shiny again instead of falling out to the touch. He had two or three small red lumpy spots under his skin on his left flank so we sprayed them with the steroidal spray as a precaution, but he continues to improve almost daily.
26/12/10
Tao is still chomping down his BARF diet with unbelievable enthusiasm as we approach the end of Week Six. Kendra brushed him today and was able to see a real improvement, his coat is growing back and is strong and shiny again instead of falling out to the touch. He had two or three small red lumpy spots under his skin on his left flank so we sprayed them with the steroidal spray as a precaution, but he continues to improve almost daily.
27/12/10
Shopping for dog food at Skippers Lane today, Tao got lots of attention and to an outsider he looks reasonably OK now. His neck is nearly bald in places but the rest of his ruff does a fair job of hiding it, the coat along his back looks pretty good but there is always one who decides to dig their fingers in and say 'Oh look, he's ticklish'. At least this does not produce the massive amounts of skin flakes it did a few short weeks ago.
02/01/11
Tao's skin is lovely apart from his neck, which still has two large black patches on the centre skin fold, either side. They are flaking a bit and taking a long time to clear, but he still continues to look good on the BARF food.
06/01/11
Tao had behaved himself while I was forced to leave him alone for almost an hour this morning which is a real step forward for us, no soggy chewed bits on his coat. The afternoon brushing was another good note, Tao's skin continues to improve and his coat is beginning to thicken up. The skin flakes are subsiding too, had the Dyson standing by to hoover up the flakes but there were only a few and not enough to worry about, definite progress. His appetite is still impressive and he sits by your feet whining for his raw meat and vegetables.
09/01/11
Kendra brushed Tao and reports that his skin is still clearing nicely, but that his back is flakey again. When I walked him his second poo was a bit soft and yellow, which is probably down to the mince and potato he ate at his nanas yesterday..! He will have been on his new diet nine weeks tomorrow and he continues to improve, although he has been trying to nibble his tail a few times over this weekend and I caught him with it in his mouth yesterday...!
10/01/11
TAO now NINE weeks on the BARF diet plan, his poo was back to normal today after the 'Nana dinner' effect yesterday. Brushed him this afternoon and no flakes from his back plus his coat continues to thicken up, the reason he has been swinging his head around to nip his tail over the weekend is that one of the others has bitten him during their many play fights and he has a raspberry sized scab on it, which is irritating him.
14/01/11
Tao’s skin continues to be cool and pale, absolutely no yeasty smell anywhere on him at all for some time now and apart from a small scab and scratch on his chest he was in good shape - and he almost certainly got those from trying to dominate Meka..!
21/01/11
Tao chewed his rear right 'knee' while sitting at the drive gates, spotted him out of the window as I went to wash up. Brought the little sod in and looked at the leg, there was nothing to see as regards a cause and can only put it down to him going through a moult with the other two dogs. Clipped and sprayed the area which was about an inch across and gave him a prednisolone tablet, half immediately and half with his tea. Was gutted to see any recurrence of his chewy ways and although it is probably nothing it put me in a bad mood for the rest of the evening.
23/01/11
Pingu brushed Tao this afternoon, his right rear 'knee' area was inspected and was so clear we had to check twice to make sure it was the correct leg - absolutely nothing to see so can only put Friday's mini-chew down to mischief.
31/01/11
TAO now TWELVE weeks on the BARF diet plan and remaining stable. Kendra brushed him yesterday and there were no red marks on his skin barring two small ones near his willie, very few skin flakes and then only from the remaining darker areas on his neck. His coat continues to grow and thicken and is very healthy looking now, although he looks a bit shaggy due to the different lengths..!
15/02/11
Afternoon was spent brushing the the dogs, Tao's skin continues to improve and the flaking has stopped almost completely, only found a couple of very small flakes on his left side and that was where the darker skin is fading back to white in small areas at a time. Coat is thickening up and developing a nice shine too.
22/02/11
Tao’s obedience class tonight and he took his Kennel Club ‘Good Citizen’ bronze award, passing this with three other dogs whilst another three dogs failed it, one of them a Border Collie at that. Made especially sweet when I realised that we had him in the class and had never thought once about his coat or skin other than to think how good he looked.
28/02/11
SIXTEEN Weeks for Tao on his 'Raw Food Only' diet and the difference is almost indescribable. Kim saw him last week for the first time in ages and said he looks like a different dog, which is pretty accurate. His coat is growing back beautifully and his body is so hard and firm you would think you were petting a hairy Staffie if you were blindfolded..! This dog is positively glowing and we have only his diet to thank for this. Makes me wonder how many dogs are labelled 'ill' when their problem is really an inability to process what we are feeding them..? We caught his appetite up at last towards the end of last week and he actually finished his rather large breakfast off only because Meka was hovering at his shoulder like a Chow-shaped vulture. Backed off the vegetables and took three meat nuggets out of the usual fare and he is back to clearing every bite in times that would impress Jeremy Clarkson. This transformation from red, itchy and distressed to glowing, vigorous and invariably naughty is a gift from God and we are eternally grateful for it.
REMEMBER -
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
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