First let me introduce you to Moe, my Basset Hound. You can see a photo of him on the website. We got Moe as a puppy a cute six week old floppy eared precious puppy. We wanted a little less active dog because we are busy people, so we choose the Basset because it isn’t exactly a speed demon of a dog. I had no idea what I was in store for. Moe is the most stubborn dog I know. I swear he thought his name was No Moe, Get out of there Moe, What do you have in you mouth Moe, Come here you little #!^&(%^&$ …… That was the first three years, two cell phone, $150 in steaks and hot dogs, two picture frames, I don’t even know how many socks, and one set of purple sheets later (this is the short list we don’t have time to name it all.) Today we have a fairly well behaved but vocal 5 year old basset who really does run the house, don’t tell Cesar the dog whisperer. Moe has a couple of high maintenance little quirk you will here about over time but today I will tell you about the Skin problem. Moe is allergic to everything. Plastic, who has ever heard of a dog allergic to plastic, metal, and whatever else is in the yard like grass. We have come across some things that have help us keep the $250.00 a pop vet bills down. He is prescribed an antihistamine (benadryl) that does help keep him comfortable. Consult your vet before giving your pet anything. We have switched him to glass bowls. If you notice that your dog has little pimple type bumps around his mouth or if you have a collar that makes him beat red you might have a dog allergic to plastic. I think all dogs should have a collar on at all times. You never know when they are going to try to make a run for it and we all want our pooches brought back to us safe and sound. A collar is the cheapest and fastest way to say I belong to….. If you have a dog that is allergic to everything one you can still keep a collar on him. Moe is allergic to metal so he usually can stand the buckle but not the tags, I have come up with a little knitted pouch that I slip over his tags and just tie off so that we don’t have a dog bleeding at the chest. It is washable and easy to make. If you are interested in one let me know and I will whip you up one …. for a fee of course. It also allows Moe’s tags not to make noiseand therefore easier for him to get into the trash for a tasty treat without us knowing. There are several shampoos out on the market that help with the allergies, non of them help Moe because that would just be to easy so we are prescribed a shampoo that we wash him with and then have to keep him in the bathtub for 5 minutes to sit on his skin. This is a hard thing to do when you have a cold and not so happy 55 pound Basset hound that just wants to curl up all wet in your bed and take a little nap. This seems to help as well. Allergy’s can also effect the ears so if you have a dog with ear problems keep up with the cleanings and keep a good eye on them. If they are shaking there head a lot or rubbing there ears on your carpet they might have an ear infection, then you do have to take them into the vet because what is worse than a mischievous Basset is a deaf mischievous Basset. If you can catch the allergy’s quickly they are much easier to handle. So keep an eye on your pups. We will talk about Maggie my chewing mutt next time.

I hope my first blog has not been to boring. If you have any funny dog stories or DOG poop stories, yes I really have to tell people that, let me know. We always love a cute dog story. We will be starting a Pooper of the month. It is a very prestigious title that comes with really nothing, sorry.

Till next time,

Kate