[Harpers Mom]

Ysabella,

I can understand your frustration. I work at a Doggy Spa and Boutique and I take Harper, my English bull terrier/ border collie mix, with me to work very often. We have a cookie jar that sits on the counter full of assorted treats- mostly homemade. Harper is allergic to grains and chicken so I have to be very careful of what she gets, even treats. So many people would just toss her a treat if she was out roaming in the boutique, I got to the point where I put a sign on the cookie jar saying to ask before treating, and overall it has worked, if people want to give Harper a treat we have a little stash that are just for her, we use orijen dehydrated treats and she loves them and you can’t get much better than that.

So I would she tell everyone that she does have food allergies, and just put a sign on the jar stating that one of the dogs has allergies and to ask before treating.

Hope this helps, I know it can be hard to deal with eliminating all allergines.

~ Harper’s Mom

[Harpers Mom]

Bobby Dog,
Thank you! And we use a mix of lemongrass, citronella, lavender and witch hazel, about 10-12 drops of each oil and 14oz of witch hazel mixed into a spray bottle. It was recommended to me by my Great Aunt and has worked wonders!

[Harpers Mom]

I figured I would update everyone!

Harper has been on heartgaurd as her HWP, Springtime Bug Off Garlic and an essential oil spay for about a month now and I couldn’t be any happier! We have had no issues with any sort of bugs and she even seems to be itching a little less.

We have also introduced a new member into the house! We now have a 14 week old German Shorthaired Pointer, his name is Heath. He seems to be adjusting well to our crazy life so far.

[Harpers Mom]

Can DE be used in the yard? My mother in law has tried just about everything to rid the fleas in her yard and house and on their poor dog. She is absolutely miserable.

[Harpers Mom]

I’ve got horses who need multiple supplements, and although buying in bulk is cheaper, smartpak a are more convient way for them to get them as I am not the only one to feed them.

I personally wouldn’t recommend their dog food.

[Harpers Mom]

Thank you BC!
Harper received her trifexis last on June 28th if I were to dose her with ivermectin (heartgaurd) tomorrow would that be effective? Or do you think we should wait for this months dose to switch?

What natural oils do you use? I have a relative to is very big into natural oils and holistic methods for herself so I might be able to get advise from her.

Last thing, when you feed half raw, do you use it as a topper or do you feed one meal raw and one kibble? I’ve heard that combining the two in a single meal can lead to digestive issues later on?

[Harpers Mom]

Thank you everyone for the replies!

I will definitely try the Bug-off garlic! I like the reviews on it and the articles they back it up with. When I previously tried garlic it was just a clove 3 times a week and not everyone feeding the dogs would remember it. So that would most likely be why it didn’t work.

Also, trifexis is milbemycin oxime for heartworm prevention, would it be okay to switch to ivermectin in the middle of mosquito season?

[Harpers Mom]

Merrick is a rich food so it is common for dogs to have runny poos if they aren’t used to something like that. I would look for a food maybe slightly lower protein, but definitely get off Science diet, not a good food. I’m not too familiar with weurva, but others on here are. Why type of skin problems do they have (allergies, dander, etc)?

[Harpers Mom]

I’m not a fan of retractable leashes. I’ve had too many people with their dog on a retractable leash just run up to me and Harper on a walk and just think it’s perfectly okay. Harper isn’t a fan of dogs she doesn’t know in her face. But if you can comfortably walk your dog on a retractor go for it. To train a dog to loosely walk on a leash I would never use a retractable leash.

Harper walks In a martingale or prong collar (depending on if she feels like behaving) and a 6ft leather leash- just because I feel a good leather leash is much not comfortable to hold than a nylon. But that’s just my preference.

[Harpers Mom]

I’m normally not a coupon user or very big into hunting down sales, but today we went to our local hardware/feed store to get harpers food, right now she is on Fromm 4 start grain free. Typically we buy the 24lb bag of food, which is about $53, today they had a little special going on, buy a 12lb bag of dog food get 50% off another 12lb bag and Fromm had factory coupons for a free 4lb bag with purchase of a 12lb pound bag, so we go 2 of those. So all in all we got two twelve lb bags and two 4 lb bags totaling 32 lbs of food for $39.99 which is awesome for Fromm!

[Harpers Mom]

Harpers martingale collar is adjusted to when it is loose, and there is slack in the collar it does slip down her neck a tiny bit, but when she pulls and martingale is engaged the collar is right behind her ears. She will try to choke herself if it slides down so we have to keep it snug and in the proper place.

In all honesty I wouldn’t have known that the collar up high on the neck was such a big deal except we did do obedience class and learned proper placement.

It drives me crazy to see people Mis use collars and just pull more when their dogs start to choke, I feel so bad for the dogs! Before obedience class and the martingale collar we used a harness because she would pull against us and choke.

[Harpers Mom]

I’m trying to figure out a collar solution for Harper. To walk her we use a martingale collar as she is prone to slipping out of flat buckle collars and pulls horribly on harnesses. A martingale collar is an obvious safety hazard left unattended and even when supervised she plays so rough with the other dogs we take it off. But at the same time I am terrified to leave her without tags on because she has bolted out the front door numerous times with the kids going in and out, and she is also a very determined digger.

I have looked around for different break away collar and I found one made by Long Dog Leather, it’s called a tag necklace. Does anyone have experience with these or other leather breakaway collars. I’ve also heard of clasping 2 cat collars together and doing that. Ideas? She is microchipped but I want another first line of identification.

Here is the link to the LDL collars
http://www.longdogleather.com/index.cfm?content=67&Menu=31

[Harpers Mom]

Florida, we have 2 horse, 4 dogs (one English bull terrier, one Bichon, one corgi mix and a sheltie mix) 1 cat and 1 gerbil.

Patty, I thought I had a zoo!

[Harpers Mom]

Patty, I know you said you live in Florida. As do I, what region are you in? I don’t think I’ve heard any cases in my area, Vaccinated or unvaccinated.

[Harpers Mom]

Patty, I have a question for you. I remember you say you give your allergy dogs bee pollen. Multiple friends recommended I do the same for Harper. Today I happened to run across a local honey stand that had bee pollen so I picked some up. But I am unsure of the dosing. Harper is currently about 55lbs and had moderate allergies but they always get worse as spring gets worse.

[Harpers Mom]

Thank you for the replies everyone! The grass eating has decreased. Wednesday she ate it obsessively until the point of vomiting, but hasn’t since. Now she will just get a few bites and continue on her way. I’m not going to change the food quite yet, I want to see if the grass eating stops or not. Knowing Harper she could have gotten ahold of something. She tries to eat anything that isn’t firmly attached to the ground, and then she might still try! Lol. But I think I will try a super green mix just because they do offer so many benefits!

[Harpers Mom]

We thought about rehoming after the December incident, talked to a corgi rescue who said they couldn’t help us, they even told us to put her down then. We have been doing the rotation of crate time and family time. Just very difficult because we have four dogs and she shows aggression toward all of them. At 13 we can’t find anyone who wants to take her. The whole situation is heart breaking and I feel so overwhelmed trying to make this decision.

[Harpers Mom]

Thank you everyone for the input! This morning we went and bought Harper a bag of victor ocean. We have to be careful with protein sources because she is allergic to chicken, turkey pork and now I am adding duck to that list. Also most grain. After the victor I am going to try to see how she handles lamb. As of now the only protein sources she can have is beef and venison. I never realized how complicated all this was!

I suspect she may have a white potato sensitivity. She has done well on one some food with it, but others not so much. For now we will just continue trial and error till we find foods to work In her rotation.

[Harpers Mom]

And she is a rescue! We got her at 14 weeks old from the shelter! Her and her momma and litter mates were an owner surrender.

[Harpers Mom]

I have an English bull terrier and she is the sweetest dog I have ever had. Yes she is extremely stubborn, so if you don’t have the time and patience I wouldn’t reccomend it. But she is now 14 months old, well trained although it did take some time and obedience classes. They are very curious dog so I personally never leave her in the house by herself. Crate training is a must. But i think they are great dogs. Good luck with what you choose! Definitely do your research and make sure you have the time for him/her if you do decide!

[Harpers Mom]

I haven’t tried the wellness, but It is on my list to try. My girl has a grain, chicken, turkey allergy. The only reason we haven’t tried the wild game is because it has chicken fat as the fourth ingredient I believe. I’m hesitant that it might flare up her chicken allergy. But I have had my lab mix on it and he did fine, but then again he could eat a house and still be perfectly fine. I swear he has a lead stomach, before we got him he was on beneful and did fine. But I refuse to feed him something so low quality. He once at a cake and was perfectly fine. Sorry for the ramble! Long story short, the wellness is great, but if your boy has a chicken allergy is might bother him, but it might not. I agree with patty though, I would go evo then innova. I thought about innova but haven’t gotten around to it. But I like the ingredients of evo better. I also live in Florida and the SC diamond plant is too close for comfort. TOTW is tempting, but I can’t bring myself to try it. But who knows, the plant hasn’t had a recall in about a year, so they may have finally done something about it.

[Harpers Mom]

Also I am very interested in using innova prime beef and lamb formula. The only down side is not all the ingredients are sourced in the US. Most are US, Canada, and Australia. But some of the minerals and such come from France, Germany, Japan, Slovenia, and other European countries. None are sourced from China. Opinions on this? Innova also has a new line out called nature’s table. Does anyone have experience with this. I have done a good deal of researching. Now just looking for opinions and personal experience.

[Harpers Mom]

Just an update and some advise, We found a food Harper is doing excellent on, Merrick grain free- beef and sweet potato. I still want to have a rotational diet for her so does anyone know of a kibble with similar ingredients to the Merrick? She also does well on the duck formula. The ingredients of each are posted below.

Merrick Grain free- Real Duck and Sweet Potato
Deboned Duck, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal (source of Omega 3 fatty acids), Sweet Potato, Peas, Lamb Meal, Potato, Duck Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Apples, Blueberries, Organic Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Salt, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Rosemary Extract.

Merrick Grain Free- real Texas beef and sweet potato
Deboned Beef, Beef Liver, Lamb Meal, Sweet Potato, Peas, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract), Natural Flavors, Potato Protein, Potato, Deboned Buffalo, Deboned Lamb, Flaxseed, Whey Protein Concentrate, Apples, Salmon Oil, Blueberries, Organic Alfalfa, Minerals (Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product.

[Harpers Mom]

Okay so for the garlic it would be a clove in the morning and a clove at night for 3 days then 4 days off correct? Sorry for all the questions.

[Harpers Mom]

We are planning to get stuff to do the yard and flea bomb the house on Monday, I will try the virbac! Pattyvaugh, how much vinegar and garlic do you add to the food? Harper is about 60lbs. I would love to feed raw, but the therapy dog organization that Harper is through does not allow feeding raw to the active volunteers. So we use Merrick and earth born holistics and rotate canned toppers.

[Harpers Mom]

I know supplementing is necessary for a raw food diet, but can probiotics be a benefit to dogs on kibble? i am in the processes of starting my dog on a rotational diet and was considering adding a probiotic just to give her digestive system a boost.

What are some good probiotics?

[Harpers Mom]

Also what are opinions on Innova Prime, and Taste of the Wild. I know TOTW is manufactured by diamond food company which is a nightmare. But does anyone have experiences with it?

[Harpers Mom]

I’ve been doing research and going through ingredients on the Best grain free dry dog foods and came across Best Breed grain free, in the ingredients it it lists natural chicken flavor, would this be a concern to my Bully’s chicken allergy? or does the flavor itself not contain the chicken protein?

We are looking to try Earthborn next to see how she handles it.

Since we will be switching foods, would probiotics be recommended just to boost her digestive system?

[Harpers Mom]

I have never known anyone who feeds raw. What are the benefits? What all does it entail? Looking for more information and options on it!

-Haper’s Mom

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