Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on July 20, 2008 at 2:50pm

I dont have any advice for you, but I would be interested to see what others know about this.

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 20, 2008 at 3:02pm

She just has the strangest habits. Instinct tells me that it's gum irritation and that we should probably make her food squishier for her. She has yet to eat today--she's in heat (went into heat the night before she was scheduled to be spayed-4 months after her last cycle. Very frustrating...) and her appetite is way off. She'll only eat at night, after we've gone to bed, in the dark.

Who knows what's going on in their minds, right?

Permalink Reply by Charlie on July 20, 2008 at 3:16pm

My guess is that she is grooming. Dogs only have 42 teeth normally, so having only 22 teeth left may be causing food to get caught in the gaps or even get bits of food in the fur under her muzzle and chin. I expect she is rubbing to clean herself.

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 20, 2008 at 3:45pm

I never thought of that--makes sense.

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 20, 2008 at 4:23pm

I agree. I think that we should try another food and see if it works. We feed her Science Diet Lamb meal and rice (small bites). I don't think she's to jazzed about it, to be honest. Does Dash's nose leave a lot of little puddles? That's what happens to Camber sometimes. I usually notice a lot of clear liquid dripping from her nose when she's at the dog park (excitement??), but her nose tends to leave little puddles when she's resting.

Can you tell she's my first dog?

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 20, 2008 at 5:07pm

With her previious owner, I doubt we would have gotten any info on allergies-she was crazy. But, knowing that there's someone on this site that is knowledgeable about food is a great thing to know.

By the way, your little ones are adorable. I've only seen one other tan/white corgi in my neighborhood and Camber is the only tri I've seen yet in Boston. Thanks for the advice.

Permalink Reply by Nicole on July 21, 2008 at 10:06pm

All three of mine have seasonal allergies to some extent, and all have been on prescription medication for it at one time or another. Ein, our corgi, has been on Temeril-P several times, due to chewing his feet raw (to the point where they'd be red and enflammed). We can tell his allergies are acting up because he'll chew his feet and his rear end, his eyes get red. He does have a drippy nose, but that's year-round and doesn't seem to be allergy related. Tucker has also been on Temeril-P. During allergy season, he'll chew his feet until they bleed if you let him. Colleen is currently on some type of doggy antihistimine. I took her in for a skin scrape (she has a history of mange and dry skin) because she was getting some hair loss from scratching so much. Turned out to be a skin infection caused by allergies. Vet could tell it was allergies because of how red her skin was. She also has malformed tear ducts, so her eyes get very drippy - especially during allergy season. Usually we know her allergies are acting up when her eyes are extra drippy and when she scratches/chews excessively. All three of the dogs have taken benadryl, as well as the prescription medications. Ein is the only one that we have had since a puppy. His allergies first showed up when he was just over a year old. When I asked the vet about it, he said that was a fairly common age. Apparently, many dogs don't react the first time they're exposed to something, because *everything* is new the first time they're exposed to it.

None of our dogs have food allergies (though we do feed Pro Plan Sensitve Stomach and Skin, which is salmon and rice - Tucker has a sensitive tummy and brittle nails. Colleen has severe dry skin and takes a daily fish oil supplement in addition to her fish food), so I can't say for sure - but like CorgiCapers, I think you'd see more symptoms if it was an allergy.

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 22, 2008 at 7:50am

Thanks for the advice. Of course, since posting my question, Camber hasn't rubbed her muzzle anywhere. Murphy's law, right? We have noticed a bit of dandruff (dry skin??), so we gave her a bath and have been adding liquid flax seed oil to her food.

Permalink Reply by JollieEllie on July 22, 2008 at 2:26am

My two corgis are doing that from time to time. Usually after a very tasty snack, they would rub their muzzles with the front paws. Truffle would also rub her muzzle on her favourite rug, where she always eats her snacks on. I thought they were just trying to 'get to' the lingering smells. Both don't have food allergies.

Permalink Reply by Elys on July 22, 2008 at 7:57am

Well, I'm sure that overall, she's fine. I feel better after reading all the replies--thank you all so much!! I'm sure that more questions will come up. As for now, I think that I'm going to close this discussion.

Give all your fur babies a hug from me and Camber and have a great day!!