|
I have a Shar Pei mix. This thread has definitely helped me understand her a lot better. She definitely has the stubborn "gently caress you no" attitude from the primative breed in her. She also has... special qualities. I'm not too sure what she's mixed with but I think it might be a deer. She... leaps. Have you ever seen a deer run through a field over fences? Ya she runs like that.  Also she eats bark and sticks like deer. She literally picks up sticks off the ground (or rips branches off trees) and eats them.  I hate her coat. I always thought maybe she was part lab because of all the shedding. No, the explosions in the spring and fall all make sense now. Her winter coat she looks like a completely different dog. I can also build more dogs out of her winter coat when it blows out D:  Sophie is a beautiful, dignified, classy dog. She is definitely a Shar Pei, guardian of chinese royalty.  On a serious note though, one thing that shar peis are prone to are skin problems and allergies. Unfortunately she does suffer from this, especially around her mouth and ears where her skin is quite loose. We've tried figuring out what she is allergic to by switching her food a few times and we know for sure grains and corn are the biggest culprit. I suspect something else though, but we can't figure out what. Her vets suspect an additive they put in dog food. Tea tree oil baths help a lot, and food with a fish base keeps the shedding and itchiness down. Unfortunately she's not the biggest fan of fish  Right now she is eating Orijen poultry + fish blend, and a fish blend wet food in gravy a couple times a week.Does anyone have any other tips for helping out her discomfort? I hate seeing my puppy scratch at her ears and mouth so much it makes me sad. So far the vet has just suggested benadryl but I don't want to dope her up all the time. Maybe someone knows an ancient chinese secret for helping dogs with chronic eczema?
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2010 20:42
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Jun 2, 2024 05:46 |
|
|
paisleyfox posted:I do know that a lot of primitive dogs tend to be allergic to chicken. Koji is, as well as turkey, but duck seems to be okay, as well as raw so far as we can tell (some dogs are allergic to both cooked and raw.) We originally thought it was a poultry allergy but after removing that from her diet for a couple months we decided it's probably not chicken or turkey. paisleyfox posted:You said she doesn't really like the fish? Have you tried a red meat diet? I think Orijen makes a Regional Red (or is that Evo? I can't remember) or you might just try seeing if she'll tough it out with just the fish flavor. Koji likes lamb diets, but seems to love fish the best, so that's what we have him on, probably because it stinks. Though YMMV with the red meat diet, since I've also heard sometimes prims don't do well with whatever dye or something they put into the red meat diet foods. Again, this is all speculation as I've only heard through the grapevine and my dog loves fish. Red meat actually made it a million times worse. Also the shedding OH GOD THE FUR EVERYWHERE. She wasn't a big fan of the red meat Orijen blend anyways. We did try just toughing it out with the fish blend of Orijen but I felt bad for her... I wouldn't want to eat something I don't like every meal of my life, why should I make her? She would eat it, but reluctantly and it would sit in her bowl for an entire day before she would touch it. So I just supplement her kibble with fish blend canned food. It helps the shedding, but the itching continues. paisleyfox posted:Also, when did the itching start up again? Was it with a recent food or weather change? With the mouth scratching, I'm prone to think it's definitely a food rather than an environmental allergy (it's what Koji does.) She has pretty much always itched. I can't think of a time she didn't scratch at her mouth. It's not getting worse or anything, it's just that I notice it more because I realize it's an issue. Both her vets and myself believe it's a food allergy since she doesn't do it any more or less with the season or after we move, and it's around the mouth. I tried a couple other brands of food in the past as well, such as Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Kirkland, and she was even on Kibbles and Bits while she lived with my grandparents last fall. I noticed the scratching LESS on the cheaper food, but her shedding was out of control and her coat felt greasy. Plus she got fat. Maybe I noticed it less because she was more active (outside on the farm) and wasn't laying around the living room with me all day. Maybe it's just because she's a shar pei and she has all that gross loose skin around her face. She doesn't smell though so I don't think it's a skin infection. Inside her ears it gets kind of dry but I think it's just from scratching all the time. Slight redness around her bottom jaw, but no sores or bald spots, and no tenderness when I touch it. She loves it when I scratch her jaw and ears. A couple benadryl does help her out, she NEVER scratches after I dose her. But she's so sleepy and dopey and I would hate to have to pump her full of drugs all day every day she's boring when she's on the 'Dryl, I like my retarded spaz better. But at the same time I don't want her to be uncomfortable all the time.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2010 21:54
|
|
|
Sophie is a shar pei mix!! She definitely has some of the traits described in the breed post. She is stubborn as gently caress, circles new people, barks at strange events (neighbours upstairs fighting, kids vandalizing things outside), and comes up with her own ideas on how to do things. She was easy to teach tricks to, but she's figured out that if she does certain things she gets free food so she'll do the trick before I give the command! She's also allergic to everything except fish and rice, augh. She's also very cute   The day I got her from the SPCA. Cherry eye oh no!! She was going to get euth'ed because no one wanted an ugly dog.  So she had surgery! Cost like $60 ontop of her spay so no big deal. I couldn't believe they were going to euth her over such a little thing! Yeesh. Click here for the full 540x720 image.  She's very wrinkly around the face and I can pinch a lot more than an inch everywhere else on her. She has a dark strip of hair down her back and tail, it's quite course and itches me a lot when it gets in my clothes or in my bedding. When I first got her it even gave me a bit of a rash!  She's pretty lean unlike western shar pei but she has the shorter legs. She's in great shape though. Some people complain to me that she's too skinny but myself and her vets think she's perfect.   Sometimes she doesn't look shar pei at all but that's ok I still love her  She doesn't really... play. That's the only thing that really gets me. She has a skunk toy that she carries around, but she won't play tug with it. She'll fetch it but it's not a huge deal to get it. She just slowly trots over to it, picks it up, and brings it back to me. She also cleans the house. Socks, dryer sheets, pieces of paper that are on the floor, she picks them up and brings them to me. If I'm not home she piles them up in the kitchen by the garbage can. One of my neighbours has a pure bred western and he is gorgeous. The calmest dog I've ever met, he just sits and watches everything. Once I met him I knew I loved the breed so I'm hoping in a few years when my son is a bit older, I want to get a pure bred rescue. They are the best dogs.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 17, 2010 19:23
|
|
|
Wheats posted:The gathering thing is something I've also noticed with Beck. There's always various toys and bones lying around for my dogs, and every so often Beck will walk around and pick them all up and pile them in a corner somewhere. Sometimes she'll sit on the pile when she's done. These dogs are loving nuts. Yes!!! Sophie has all of her toys piled up either in her crate or on her bed at all times. It's like she's an OCD neat freak. Right now her bed has her curled in a ball, her leash, her ball treat puzzle thing, a couple of my boyfriend's socks, her skunk, a bone, and a tennis ball. This morning when we woke up she brought us 2 dryer sheets, a couple more socks, a chocolate bar wrapper, a piece of tin foil, and a tea towel. I wish you could train every dog to do this. Weirdo. She also lays outside our bedroom door when we are sleeping, or outside the bathroom when we're in the shower. I think it's a guarding thing?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2010 16:24
|
|