Chris B

When she is walking around she doesn't lift it off the ground but you see her hind drop down when she is on the bad foot. When she stands still she lifts it right up in the air and tucks it away. She looks like a flamingo.

Thanks all for the responses. I will bear everything in mind and raise some questions when we take her in.

About 4 weeks ago we noticed after a good tear around at the dog park later that night she would limp and when standing still would hold her foot in the air (back right). Now the odd thing is that this was not at the door park or anytime soon after. This was after she had had a nap for an hour rolled up into a ball then got up for a walk about. Now we all ache a little after getting up from not moving but this was worse than that. She would hop around for about a minute then return to walking normal. We took her to the vet the next day, and by this time everything was back to normal, and he found nothing wrong. Although he didn't do an xray. So we thought everything was fine and went to the dog park next Saturday and then Saturday night, the same thing...... She runs in the yard everyday but Saturday her and her older sister do a lot more running. I think of going back to the vets and asking for an xray. Any ideas what this could be? The fact it is after lying down and not moving, could it be arthritis? It also goes away after a minute or two When I look close I think it is her foot that is hurting her. She gets a bit upset when I touch it but she does that for all her feet and always has. She hates me touching them.

Sorry about missing the graphic warning. I've added something in the text. Actually I tried to go back and add something and correct my spelling in the topic, but I couldn't find a way to edit the title details

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Thanks everyone for your replies. I now feel Zoe isn't the only 'odd' BC....! PSmitty, we thought it was allergies too. She is on Innova adult. We swapped her (and our other BC)to the no grain version but neither of their tummy's liked it. Besides that she doesn't itch and her skin is smooth

Hi, some of you may remember that I posted some photographs a few months ago showing hair loss on the side and back legs of our youngest (10 months) Zoe. Well we took her to the vets and the vet said she was fine and it was just some unusual puppy hair shedding thing. Anyway about a week ago we found out the really reason. She's pulling out her own hair !!! First we started to find hair in her 'number 2s' and then my wife caught her in the middle of the night pulling at her hair, and her side was all wet. There is not that much information about it online except that it could be caused by boredom. We do a lot of activity with both of them, but we're increasing it further. It could also just be a stage she's going through. Anyway, i'm wondering if anyone else has experienced / heard of this, and i'm also thinking of how I can put her off doing it. I thought I was crazy thinking that bitter apple could be used, but i've seen that it can be used to prevent dogs licking wounds. Any thoughts on this?

Great news that Ouzo is ok !

My condolences on the passing of your father. I lost my dad a few years ago and I know how tough it is. You are in our thoughts

It's more of a belly flop....

Prosperia, Best of luck with Buddy. I hope everything works out for him. If you don't mind i'd like to ask you a question... You may have seen my previous post about Zoe's hairloss, but recently it's been getting worse. She's due at the vets on Friday (I've been trying to bring forward the appointment but they are really busy). Her hair loss started a few months ago but has got worse recently. She started loosing hair on the side of her body in the past few weeks. Her skin is smooth and she doesn't itch which made me think it isn't demodex, but you mentioned that Buddy's itching was from something else, so that has got me thinking again.... A few friends have mentioned it could be an allergy and based on that we swapped her yesterday onto Innova EVO (the grain free version) from the regular version. We very worried and anxious to get to the vets, and i'm just wondering if this looks familar to you with what has happened with Buddy. Our previous post Her latest hair loss....

Thanks for the comments. It makes me feel a bit better!

Zoe is now 8 months old. About 2 weeks ago she started to get patchy hair spots on the back of her legs (see photos). I'm not sure if it's getting any bigger, but we're still worried. We've got her booked into the vets in a few days. Hopefully it's just a coat change thing, but if anyone has seen this before, I'd appreciate some feedback And just to show that she is still cute...

Wow, i've learnt something new today! Thanks very much for the information. The only thing it doesn't account for is the much larger (sometimes smaller!) BC brain Thanks

Well we went to the vet, and he says everything is fine. He said is part of the structure of her head, and nothing to worry about. Thanks for your comments. I felt a bit silly, but it was worth the trip to get the all clear!

I do hope you are all right. I wouldn't be bothered but the fact it came up from no where over the last 2 weeks scares me. I know she is a young dog, and I hope it's just her growing up.... I'll keep you informed

Thanks Sue, your calming me down a bit..... I'll reply to this to let you know what the vet comes back with.

Bella is 11 months old. Over the last couple of weeks a lump has appeared on the back of Bella's skull. It's right in the middle looking from the front and it's just where the back of her head starts to go down to her neck looking from the side. It sticks out about 1/3 inch, and you can see it as well as feel it. It feels hard to the touch, but bella is not bothered in any way when we touch it. We thought she had just banged her head, but after reading an old post on here about a lump being cancer we have booked her into the vets office tomorrow. Does anyone have any insight into a raised bump on the head. Worried Chris

Hector, you bring up an interesting point about liability and owner responsiblity. After I had calmed down from the initial shock and the concern for both the little boy and Bella, I started to think what would have happened to me and my wife if Bella had bit the child's face. I have no idea of the level of coverage I have for this type of event, but I will be investigating. A big concern for me is that I am currently going through a residence status change (I'm English, but have been living in Chicago for 3 years with my American wife) and Bella's behavior could get me a criminal record (this would cause big problems). I'm not over familar with US law. Is it possible that I can get a record from this type of event? I'm going to do everything possible to remove Bella from situations and I am going to get professional help so I feel I am making the effort to work with the problem, but as you say, if something did happen in the future and it is proved that I was aware that it could happen... What then? Maybe local law enforcement views that any dog that may bite should be put down.... I hope not.

Thank you all for taking the time to share your experiences and suggestions. I have read them all very carefully and found them to be informative and inspirational. I'm already more relaxed about the situation and i'm ready to tell people "Don't pet the dog!" It sounds like most people feel a behaviorist is a good idea, and I have mailed Patricia McConnell at Dog's Best Friend. I'll keep you informed on how it goes.

Thank you all for your comments on your experiences and your suggestions to improve the situation. It sounds like a animal behaviorist is a good investment and worth trying out. Thank you for the lists SoloRiver. It doesn't appear that a behaviorist is listed in the chicago area, but I will ask for suggestions from Bella's vet. As Vicki said, we have now had our warning what may happen. It's not nice telling people not to pet your dog, but now I have no choice. Yesterday was such a shock for everyone involved. We had gone from recent thoughts of moving to a bigger house, getting a bigger car and getting another dog in the future all for Bella, to thinking that we may have a 'dangerous dog' on our hands that may one day injure someone and have to be put down.... made us feel sick to our stomach. Once again, thanks for your comments.

We have just got back from the dog park where Bella leapt at a childs (about 10 years old) face. Luckly she didn't connect and the parents were understanding, but it could have been much worse. This is what happened > She had just finished exercise and was flat out on the field having a rest. A couple with a child, and another BC were walking past and decided to talk to us. The mother bent down to pet Bella, Bella didn't look nervous and everything look fine. The child slowly put his hand towards Bella and she lept for his face missing by an inch. The child was shocked but thankfully unhurt. Bella is nearly 9 months old, and she has allways had a fear of unknown people. Until now the only place she was fully relaxed was off leash at the dog park. Walking round the sub division, she is stressed whenever a stranger passes especially a child. We do not have children, or know many people with them so her exposure to them is very small (maybe half of the problem) We have tried the treat method to distract her and it works to an extent, but sometimes things happen too quick to stop. After this we now know to tell people to not touch her. It's not worth the risk of seeing what happens. Some people have told me she will grow out of her fear of strangers. Is this true or will it get much worse? We want to get this nipped in the bud straight away. We don't want to constantly be worried about what our dog could do to someone. Does anyone have experience of taking their dog to a 'dog shrink' for treatment of fear agression? She's the sweetest thing once you know her, but if you don't, she's high risk..... Any comment, suggestion, or criticism is welcome

Nancy, that is exactly what Frontline US told me. "Unless you buy it from a US source, then Frontline may contain something not considered safe for the US market"

Thanks, i'll check those links out. I called Frontline US, and they refused to comment on the differences (if any) between the two. Petshed customer support told me that there is no difference, but as they sold it me, they would! Thanks

I just ordered Frontline from Petshed. I didn't realize, but they ship out of Australia. Can anyone confirm if frontline plus US is the same formula? I'm just wondering if it is made different to suit the different regions. The frontline package mentions that it only controls paralysis ticks for 2 weeks and that it should be applied every 2 weeks for this. Is this tick only found in Australia? Chris