My big girl will be 9 years old next month. For her breed (Briard) she is getting on in years.

She has had "allergy" issues for the last 2 or 3 years which has resulted in hot, red, itchy skin and hot spots. We have used steroids, antibiotics when there has been a suspicion of infection and also alternative remedies. I have had a hair test done on her by a homeopathist and they have pin pointed certain meats in her diet, e.g chicken & duck, kerosene (we have heating oil) and several other things. She is currently on a remedy for this. How accurate this is, I don't know but I am grasping at straws and having tried a large range of treatments, nothing is seems to be helping her.

For the last few months she has had problems relieving her bowels. She has never suffered with this before and we have made many adjustments to her diet in order to get her to evacuate more often. When she does go, it is normal consistency and colour and she doesn't strain. I have been feeding raw for many years, she is my fourth raw fed dog and has been on this diet since she was 7 weeks old. I have cut back on rmb's and added more fibre to her diet alongside veg. I also feed her a probiotic capsule daily, she is on omega 3 fish oils for her joints and skin, and apple cider vinegar in her water for overall health.

As a result of all of the above, she has been very depressed, unsurprisingly, and we were at the vet again yesterday. Her temperature was high although forgot to ask what it was. He has given her some liquid paraffin and some antibiotics (again) as when he examined her internally, he said that the smell and colour of her faeces was not right and he felt that there must be a bacterial overload. Unsurprising considering that she only empties herself twice a week. She has lost 2 kilos in weight since the Summer but we haven't cut back her food or increased her exercise. She is spayed.

Her behaviour is now worrying me as she will often stand and stare into space. She has barking fits that go on for 10 minutes, seemingly at nothing. Her paw licking and chewing is becoming compulsive. Somebody mentioned to me that this could be a sign of dementia?? I bathe her feet every day and use aloe vera gel, rub a herbal spray into her skin to help ease the itching, this seems to be helping the rest of her body. I have also had her coat cut short to help make her feel a bit better. She sleeps constantly. She was always very active but in the last few months she has changed personality. We lost our big boy back in May and ever since then she just hasn't been herself and although I know that she missed him dreadfully, she is still not herself 6 months later.

She is due back at the vet  tomorrow if there has been no improvement in her bowel habits as the next stage is bloods. They will be looking at her white cell count.

We also have a 6 month old boy who I keep away from her as she is understandably grumpy. I don't let him annoy her and his access to her is restricted. He is very full on and my poor girl really can't be bothered with him.

I am at a loss as to what to do next for her.

With the skin issues, unexplained weight loss, and lethargy, has she been tested for diabetes?

She had some bloods done at the beginning of the Summer and I am sure that one of the tests was for diabetes but thank you, I will mention this to the vet as even if it was tested, that was a while ago.

> Her behaviour is now worrying me as she will often stand and stare into space. She has barking fits that go on for 10 minutes, seemingly at nothing. Her paw licking and chewing is becoming compulsive. Somebody mentioned to me that this could be a sign of dementia??

Get her B12 (cobalamin) tested.  After a lot of gut trouble, she may now be struggling to absorb it properly from her food and when it drops, it can very closely mimic dementia.  My old lad has shown similar symptoms to the above, I thought he was heading into dementia but knowing about B12 deficiency already I tried him on supplements and he improved literally overnight.  Months on and I know when it's dropping again as he becomes less responsive to me and starts to stand and stare - I've seen this both when we've run out of supplements (I take it too), and recently when I bought the wrong type in error and then a cr@p one, and we've both dropped.

In Remy's case it was brought on after his first 3 years being spent with near-constant gut problems, and then years of untreated hypothyroidism which also depletes B12 (and can be triggered by low B12 also so might be worth looking at, as low thyroid will also make it harder for her system to cope with other problems).

A silly question I'm sure but have you eliminated the identified triggers from her diet?

We've recently started taking B12, it was recommended in The Times of all places, as being a useful supplement to help stave off dementia. Is there a maker you would recommend. Aware of differences in quality as we also take Glucosomine and that varies between manufacturers.

It is so strange that you should say this Nikita as that was going to be my next route with her. I have B12 deficiency (Pernicious Anaemia) and my old boy who I lost this year suffered with heart problems and iron deficiency and he also couldn't digest his food properly, so with my vets agreement, I injected him with B12, (I self inject and vet showed me where to inject on him) it definitely made a difference to his energy levels, I couldn't give supplements because he had absorption problems the same as I do.

Yes, I have eliminated chicken and duck from her diet now but this doesn't seem to have made any difference to her. Poor big girl is now limping along as her paws are so, so sore where she has been licking them. She is so lacking in life and energy, it is very sad to see her like this and I feel that I am banging my head against a brick wall. Will definitely get her thyroid tested as I have also been down that route. It would make sense as these are auto immune problems and her skin allergies are a sign that her immune system is not coping well as I have thought for a while, sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees, thank you so much for switching the light bulb on in my head! :-)

I'd recommend the Natural Factors sunlingual methylcobalamin.  The methyl form is the best, and I can confirm personally that the other forms are nowhere near as effective - we had a different type (by mistake) recently and we've both dropped while on it, and currently we're on Superior Source methyl form and it's doing next to zip.  But the NF was very good, I'm just going to order some more.

Thank you.

You can also look at the Jarrow sublingual B12 lozenges. This is what I was taking alongside my B12 injections when I wasn't managing to get my levels up high enough as I was shockingly low. These particular ones are recommended by nutritionists and the Pernicious Anaemia society. Also for an optimised multi B vitamin, Jarrow again, these also have methylcobalamin in which is the more absorbable form of B12. Another thing to consider is that you need a good supply of folic acid (folate) in order to be able to fully utilise B12, they work in synergy with each other.

Yes, those are good too - I forgot about them with mine being low atm :-P

I didn't get on with them myself, I found them far too large but the taste is the best I've tried so far!

Just an update on Callia today.

Despite being on fibre gel and liquid paraffin as recommended by the vet, she still hasn't been to the toilet :-( Also the antibiotics normally go through my dogs like a dose of salts but these haven't had any effect on her.

She is limping so badly I can't walk her at the moment, her pads are split where she has been constantly licking them. I feel that this is not only a reaction to her itchiness but is also signifying pain elsewhere. Having had a good think about her last night, I remember when my old boy was in pain, about 2 months before we lost him back in May, his paw licking was out of control and he never suffered with any allergies or skin problems or displayed this licking behaviour in all the years that I had him until the last knockings.

She is off to the Vet tomorrow for her bloods but I don't have a good feeling about this :-(

No advice hairypooch, but wishing you the best of luck for tomorrow x

Evening primrose oil/starflower oil are both good for allergies. EPO is a natural antihistamine

I've just googled these and are they the 60 nugget ones from America

Hope you get some answers as it must be such a worry not knowing what is wrong.

Have they done X-rays/ scans to see if there is a blockage ?

When Betty had a corn cob study in her gut ( pinched for a bin bag) she went down hill over a period of a few weeks as her system went into shut down as the normal food to poo function was severely disrupted .

She showed no signs of pain but did start to react in a peculiar way. For her I didn't I didn't notice straight away about the increase in that behaviour as she is quite a high maintenance girl. She also gradually lost weight, slowed her eating down and stopped pooing as much as she normally did. Her overall condition went down gradually and it wasn't until she developed a raging temperature because she developed an infection that I realised something was seriously wrong.

One emergency operation plus IV antibiotics and a huge vets bill we got her home.

Just to add a physical examination didn't show that she had a blockage. It was only after we agreed to put her under a GA and a scan that they found it. 

Thanks for the good wishes :-)

I am pleased that you found the problem with Betty, dogs are wonderful companions in our lives but they can be such a worry.

She was anally examined but as you say, this wouldn't necessarily highlight a blockage.

When we get the bloods done today, I will ask them to test for thyroid, B12 and diabetes as I feel that we need to rule things out, as well as find the cause. She is just not herself as I have said. She was always up for a big game with the pup but now, she lays on her bed all day, growling at him if he so much as looks at her. So, so unlike her. She is very stiff and weak and is having trouble walking, this has been a recent, very worrying symptom.

My usual vet who owns the practice has been away this week but he is back on Monday and I am seeing him with one of my other animals on Monday, so I will discuss her with him as I have great respect for him and trust him implicitly. He has seen us through an awful lot and saved several of my animals lives over the past 5 years. I will be seeing his senior vet again today to get the bloods and investigations underway but will feel much better once I am back with my vet.

Must say that her appetite is still very good which is a bit strange.

I will update when there is something to say. Thanks again everyone.

Callia had her bloods done today. The initial blood panel that they did in house indicated that apart from a highish white cell count, everything, including glucose was normal. This rules out diabetes as she doesn't have any typical symptoms. The rest of the bloods are to be sent off as they cannot test for thyroid, B12, T4, folate in house. She is also not anaemic which is a good sign. The white cells being high, I think could be down to her inflamed skin and paws.

The vet thinks that she may have gastric ulcers. He has given us Zantac and another medication, sorry can't get the name of it at the moment as its in another room, to move her bowels and has asked to see her again next week.

I am not sure what to think right now as I cannot see how gastric ulcers would affect her change in bowel movements. Would this make her sore all over, stiff joints, limping through licking her paws and depressed? She often lays there whining which is so unlike her as she is normally so stoical. So it must be really sore for her to whine.

Can't really get my head around this but feel that he is barking up the wrong tree, sorry for the pun ;-)

Any ideas?