Allergies

What symptoms should you be looking for to check if your dog has a wheat allergy:

I have indicated what symptoms Mya has had.

Itchy skin (yes)
Shaking of the head (yes)
Ear inflammation (yes)
Licking front paws (yes)
Rubbing face on carpet (no)
Vomiting (yes, bile sometimes)
Diarrhoea (no)
Flatulence (yes)
Sneezing (yes)
Asthma like symptoms (no)
Anal itching (no)
Behavioural changes (no)
Seizures (no)

I know this isn't scientific but I had to figure out what Mya was reacting to. First I took out chicken from her diet, no big change noticed. Then I removed wheat from her diet, within weeks, she was doing so much better. No more green guck coming from her eyes, ear infection gone, no more yeast infection or discharge and the itching stopped, well, until she got fleas.

So, after going through so many different foods, I found that Solid Gold lamb and rice works well. In between that I tried Salmon food, beef etc, but those didn't work well. Also, you have to watch out that the food doesn't contain chicken fat or chicken liver. Right now, I'm trying Holistic Blend, lamb and rice. It's only been a week so I can't really notice a big change yet, but I'll let you know. It's a little cheaper than some of the other holistic blends, so I thought I would give it a try.

Schnauzer Slam

These are some people on a trail with Mya and Bullet
Mya and Bullet and Tracy and a bit of Kevin
There is a cute short haired pointer hiding in there somewhere
Mya and Bullet. They got along great.
Tracy meeting another dog. No, you can't take him home too.
Lee, his son, Tracy and the Giants
Can't tell which Giants these are.
Tracy, Kevin and Bullet
Lee and his family, with Nitro and Mya.

Those Squirels

Mya's first duty when she goes outside is to make sure that there are no squirels in her yard. This picture was taken in the summer, but she checks Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
The other day she was outside and I decided to check on her. She was sitting pretty under a tree while a squirel screamed at her. Yes, screamed. I thought it was going to attack Mya. Maybe Mya was too close to it's nest or something. But Mya just sat there, looking like she hoped this thing would come and play with her. The squirel ran away when I went outside to take a picture.

Wow did she grow!

I forgot how small Mya was when we brought her home! That's her in the leaves in Oct 2004. The bigger Mya was taken when she was about 1 year old.

To Crop or Not to Crop?

When I picked up Mya, her tail was already docked and her ears were cropped. I brought her home and her ears were perfect...for about a week. Then came ear taping hell! What an experience for someone who had no idea how to tape properly. A visit to the vet and a lot of help from people on the Giant Yahoo site helped, and thankfully, her ears are perfectly straight!!!!

(But they weren't always that way!!!!)