[kblinkgirlie182]

I don't know what to do with this guy anymore.. last week we noticed that the one side of his butt appeared to be shaved down almost to his skin. Neither myself or Jon cut Buddy's butt hair as it was just starting to grow in nicely and look like a normal golden butt..

Now his tail is trimmed shorter after we came home from being out for a few hours.

Do you think he is doing it out of boredom? He doesn't seem to have skin problems as he is never itching, scratching or licking himself when we are around..

Any ideas? His tail looks terrible now and I know it will grow back (if he will leave it alone), but it just makes me sad because now he looks kind of ugly..

 

[Oaklys Dad]

It could be a food allergy that is causing it. You might try switching to a grain free food to see if that helps.

 

[kblinkgirlie182]

Wouldn't he seem itchy though? I've had dogs with allergies that have scratched their hair off.. We know he's eating it since we haven't actually found any hair in or around his crate.

 

[BeauShel]

It could have started out as an itch and now has turned into a habit. My Daisy (foster) was like that when she came to us. It was a habit that she was licking her legs. And I had to put some vicks on her legs to keep her from licking it.

 

[kblinkgirlie182]

We went out for a little while earlier and came back and his tail was soaked, so he was getting to his tail while we were gone. It's very weird though since he is not interested in eating himself while we're home. He is usually playing or chilling out with us. I'm not sure if he's hungry or bored or what.. but he hasn't been eating his new food since we stopped mixing it with the old food (which he also stopped eating), so now we are trying a different food, which I know messes with his poor little stomach but he has to eat.

I also can't figure out why he didn't chew the hair off his butt on the other side and just the one.. he used to show interest in his tail when he was a little younger, but he never actually ATE the hair off of it. He just used to taste it and we would make him spit it out.

 

[BeauShel]

It sounds like it might be some seperation anxiety. When you leave maybe you can give him something to do like with a kong filled with stuff or busy ball filled with food. Keep him occupied. Here are some articles on seperation anxiety.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2085&aid=2266
http://www.metpet.com/Reference/Dogs/Training/separation_anxiety_in_dogs.htm

 

[2Retrievers222]

you said he started doing this after being out a couple of hours

did he have burs in his coat

did you walk him on a golf coarse(pesticide)

 

[The_Artful_Dodger]

Dodger has pulled out hair off the backs of his legs and tail (not excessively) but he is a tail chaser. I think he is just amused by the longer hair (his full coat hasn't grown out yet). He will chew at his tail if he has burs stuck in it and I swear the burs must jump from the bushes to attach themselves to him.

You could try putting bitter apple spray on his tail/bum to deter him from chewing on the hair when you are not there. I also agree with making sure he has something else he can chew on to keep him occupied.

Did he suddenly stop eating or was he also a picky eater? If the fur chewing is persistent or if he isn't eating properly you may want to talk with your vet.

 

[kblinkgirlie182]

Buddy was a really good eater when we first got him and he was eating Iams smart puppy for a while and then we moved and around that same time he stopped eating all of his food that we put in his bowl... we just chalked it up to him growing up and not needing to eat so much...
We eventually did a gradual switch to purina pro plan selects and he was eating that for about a week or so without issue.. It made him poop green which I think has to do with the coloring of the food it is a yellowish-greenish tinted food.. much yellower looking than the Iams food he was eating.
We have now started mixing in Iams Naturals food with the purina to see if he would like to eat Iams again but a different variety of it.

We noticed that he was eating his hair off probably around the same time he was switched to the Purina food.

He has always been well behaved in his crate and we always leave him with safe toys while we go and give him a milk bone also. He's never forced into his crate, he usually runs up to where it is when I grab a bone.. it's like he knows what time it is.

When we came home a few minutes ago I found him dead asleep in there and after I left him out I noticed that he started chewing the hair off his hind leg.. he has only seemed to bother with his left side and not with the right at all.. with the exception of his tail which is in the middle of his body.

I don't know what to do with him. We thought maybe he was hungry since he wasn't enjoying his new food.

Is bitter apple safe to spray on his body? I don't want him to be itchy or something.

Also, what makes me think it's not a food allergy is the fact that he doesn't seemed to be itchy or bothered when we are home, he just eats all his hair off while we are away. We're never usually gone more than 4 hours either, which is not a whole lot for a 9 month old puppy. He has been alone for longer than that before..

 

[2Retrievers222]

get rid of milk bones first or second ingredient is wheat

 

[2Retrievers222]

this is cut and paste

NO. Anything made by Purina is COMPLETE AND TOTAL GARBAGE AND STAY AWAY FROM IT.

Look at the label, don't buy any food that has these on the label: CORN, WHEAT, SOY, GLUTEN, CEREALS, DYE's, and BY-PRODUCTS of any kind.

These are the ingredients in Purina Pro Plan Selects - Chicken, brown rice, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, pearled barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), dried egg product, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), oat meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine)

And here is Regular Purina Pro Plan- Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn bran,

Dogs CANNOT digest corn, wheat, cereals, soy or gluten they have no nutritional value and are used as fillers. (Not to mention it says on their website formulated without CORN, which is obviously a lie.)

Animals Fat is listed there in both, in case you are unaware animal fat is made by taking euthanized shelter animals (that were killed with euthanicide), road kill and leftovers scraped off of slaughter house floors and boiling them, they then scrape the layer of fat of the top and send it to pet food companies who use it to flavour their pet food.

By-Products: Are feet, beaks, fur, feathers, ears and entrails scraped off of slaughter house floors. Also remember the animals boiled to make animal fat they also take the boiled carcasses dry them and grind them up and sell them to pet food companies who them call them by-products. (they don't even know what animals the by-products come from, it just says ANIMALS on the bag, that is revoltingly disgusting and I wouldn't even feed those kinds of food to a pet rock let alone my cats and dog.)

Those ingredients are linked to Kidney and bladder stones, Kidney and Liver failure, urinary tract infections and blockages, Irritable bowel disorder, obesity, diabetes, cancer and shortened lifespan. (It would be like a human eating hot dogs every day, sure they are tasty but they are horrible for your nutrition)

Here are some brands of food that are much better for your dogs:

Innova
Evo
Orijen
Wellness Core
Wellness
Canidae
California Naturals
Eagle Pack
Solid Gold
Natures variety wet food and kibble
I use kirkland from costco $29can

Here are the first five ingredients from wellness core: Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Potatoes, Salmon Meal.

EVEN BETTER THOUGH is a raw diet:

The Barf diet
The Raw Meaty bones diet
Natures variety raw (a premade raw diet)

Go to these websites they will explain why a)Dogs are not omnivores but are infact carnivores
b) how to create and provide these diets.

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html

Hope this helps
Good luck and blessings

ADD: WELLNESS CORE IS NOT MADE BY PURINA (nor does it have Pro Plan anywhere in its name). IT IS MADE BY OLD MOTHER HUBBARD AND IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT FOOD

ADD: SCIENCE DIET is total garbage as is Hills prescription diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutrience, Nutro, Pedigree, Whiskas, Friskies and about 100 more.

 

[2Retrievers222]

Iams Naturals food no good corn meal in it


Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewer's Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flax Meal, Apple Pomace, Dried Carrots, Dried Peas, Choline Chloride, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomato, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extra


here is costco ingredients

Kirkland Signature Range Chicken Full Ingredients List:

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearl barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and vitamin E), egg product, beet pulp, potatoes, fish meal, flaxseed, natural flavor, brewers dried yeast, millet, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, carrots, peas, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid

 

[The_Artful_Dodger]

By-Products: Are feet, beaks, fur, feathers, ears and entrails scraped off of slaughter house floors. Also remember the animals boiled to make animal fat they also take the boiled carcasses dry them and grind them up and sell them to pet food companies who them call them by-products. (they don't even know what animals the by-products come from, it just says ANIMALS on the bag, that is revoltingly disgusting and I wouldn't even feed those kinds of food to a pet rock let alone my cats and dog.)

I don't want to start an argument or anything, but it just bothers me to hear this over and over. Just because a label says by-products does not mean it contains feet, beaks, fur feathers, etc. And I definatly do not believe that companies like Purina or Hills would be using euthanized animals and scrapings from slaughter house floors in thier foods. And there is, at the very least, mixed opinions on the digestibility of corn. Ok, I'm done.


I'm not an expert but I would think with food alergies he would be itchy or licking his paws. The bitter apple spray that I have is meant to be sprayed on the dog. It may help to break the habit, but if it is persistent and excessive I would ask a vet.

 

[2Retrievers222]

ya I read that to about Iams and purnia didnt want to post it

kirkland doesnt have it

 

[kblinkgirlie182]

get rid of milk bones first or second ingredient is wheat

He has been eating them since we got him 6 months ago as well as Iams food. I don't think that this is the problem. I am thinking that maybe the Turkey isn't working well with him which is the meat ingredient in pro plan..

 

[Swampcollie]

I don't know what to do with this guy anymore.. last week we noticed that the one side of his butt appeared to be shaved down almost to his skin. Neither myself or Jon cut Buddy's butt hair as it was just starting to grow in nicely and look like a normal golden butt..

Now his tail is trimmed shorter after we came home from being out for a few hours.

Do you think he is doing it out of boredom? He doesn't seem to have skin problems as he is never itching, scratching or licking himself when we are around..

Any ideas? His tail looks terrible now and I know it will grow back (if he will leave it alone), but it just makes me sad because now he looks kind of ugly..

You are probably correct. The pup is most likely bored or chewing his fur out of frustration because he was left home rather than going along with you. (His personal version of a temper tantrum.)

Take care to exercise the pup prior to leaving so he's ready for a nap.

 

[2Retrievers222]

allergies can grow over time

I would take him off the two foods you mention and put him on food free of wheat,corn,fillers

 

[Swampcollie]

Whoa, hold on there.

Dogs CANNOT digest corn, wheat, cereals, soy or gluten they have no nutritional value and are used as fillers.

I don't know where you got this from but it is at best very misleading. The fact of the matter is that statement is wrong. A factually correct statement is Dogs can't digest "Un-processed" corn, wheat, or cereal grains. (but then again, neither can humans.) Once a cereal grain is milled, cracked or ground into flour and cooked, the carbohydrates and proteins are digestable by the dog. So your statement that grains "Have no nutritional value and are used as fillers" is incorrect.

Animals Fat is listed there in both, in case you are unaware animal fat is made by taking euthanized shelter animals (that were killed with euthanicide), road kill and leftovers scraped off of slaughter house floors and boiling them, they then scrape the layer of fat of the top and send it to pet food companies who use it to flavour their pet food.

This is another Myth, started by an author whose work is popular in RAW diet circles. To date the claims made about using euthanized shelter animals and roadkill in pet food are un-substantiated. This is another one of those "things that could happen" became "things that did happen", because it made for better reading.

By-Products: Are feet, beaks, fur, feathers, ears and entrails scraped off of slaughter house floors. Also remember the animals boiled to make animal fat they also take the boiled carcasses dry them and grind them up and sell them to pet food companies who them call them by-products. (they don't even know what animals the by-products come from, it just says ANIMALS on the bag, that is revoltingly disgusting and I wouldn't even feed those kinds of food to a pet rock let alone my cats and dog.)

Again, the description is factually inaccurate and very misleading to those who really want to deal with facts on the subject.

If you're going to present an "Opinion" on a subject, please state it as such. Don't represent an opinion based upon half truths and inaccuracies as "fact" when the science isn't there to back it up.

 

[2Retrievers222]

it was a cut and paste as I stated from start if you think wheat and corn are good for goldens keep feeding it

Symptoms of a wheat allergy:

* Itchy skin
* Shaking of the head
* Ear inflammation
* Licking front paws
* Rubbing face on carpet
* Vomiting
* Diarrhoea
* Flatulence
* Sneezing
* Asthma like symptoms
* Anal itching
* Behavioural changes
* Seizures

Many dog owners never suspect that a wheat allergy could be the cause of their dog's health problems, usually because the dog has been fed the same food all its life and the symptoms have only recently appeared. But dogs are no different from humans in the respect that food allergies can develop over a period of time.

Of course it's not just wheat that dogs can become allergic to, some of the other most common foods resulting in food allergies in dogs are corn, soya, preservatives

• http://answers.yahoo.com/answer/rep...5u29wFPUd4GoM6c2z9GgyG.AE&.crumb=.Xg2VhewOlaR

 

[msdogs1976]

it was a cut and paste as I stated from start if you think wheat and corn are good for goldens keep feeding it

Cut and paste from what?