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Health
Information
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For information on looking after setters click HERE
Skin Problems
As an
introduction to the breed I feel complied to hopefully enlighten
everyone new or not so new to our delightful breed regarding skin
problems that is a problem with in the whole breed generally..
It has become
so evident to myself that it is more widespread than one would
imagine ...
the amount of
enquiries I have from setter owners who have experience of
skin problems..is amazing...they are usually drawn to myself for
advice on holistic forms of help and treatments where
conventional medicines are failing their beautiful dogs....
I have taken
the time and effort too in some cases where able look at
pedigrees, from such effected dogs and it is evident that these
dogs all come from various lines & kennels and also from stock
clear... including litter mates where only 1 dog has been
effected.. occasionally a dog/s has/have appeared a few times in
the pedigrees of effected dogs but again the same dogs have
appeared in non effected dogs pedigrees... I believe no caring
breeder would deliberately breed any seriously effected animal...
this shows
that when one goes looking for a blame or cause one should not
blame...something vets and consultants are always trying to do
when they come up with an effected dog...is to blame the
breeder/relations to the dogs ,I have a lovely lady who came to
me wanting help with alternative advice for her youngish dog ..in
tears as the vets had told her it was the breeders fault breeding
from effected dogs....I looked at this dogs pedigree and could
evidently see the breeder was a very good Breeder , and I am
sure did not do this at all..... .this is very unfair....as
setters are predisposed to this problem and this problem with in
them can and does pop up quite out the blue...
dogs who are
seriously effected should not obviously be used for breeding...but
again I have with the help of other setter owners seen just how
an itch can develop on a much older dog also with again no family
history of this disease whom has been clear most of its
life...this dog may or may have also been used for breeding early
in life...where there was no problem evident......
Again this
suggest to me that each and everyone of our darling setters can
develop such "itch" at anytime in life....regardless of lines and
where bred..
environmental
influence is also a great trigger...as once again dogs living in
various parts of the country coming into contact with different
possible allergens could cause a dog from the same family to react
where others do not..
Atopy comes
in various degrees and the word is yes scary if suggested..by a
vet but it is similar to that in humans whom have hay
fever/Asthma/eczema/ a family link is often seen here but not
always this can just appear from no where...My husbands family
have a strong link with Asthma and eczema ..luckily my children
got away with this ..but who knows possibly their children may
not..
again all this
is so similar with our setters..
Until everyone
is out coming and admitting that the problem is more widespread
than it is made out to be and breeders to educate their puppy dog
buyers on the subject ..people will not feel so isolated with
their pets if this happens to their dog and again due to ignorance
of the breed cause the poor dog undue suffering with a multitude
of tests and treatments which wont "cure" the dog and the problem
continues.....
so what do we
do...be honest some setters just like to nibble their feet and
that's it at certain times of the year..this is not a
terrible thing for anyone who has numerous setter to admit...they
do it...most don't but most do......!!!!!!
being a
multiple setter owner myself with many different breeding lines of
setter running through their blood i can say honestly a couple
of mine do have a foot nibble from time to time thankfully
nothing worse...but i have had allergy tested one foot nibbler
whose test results showed no allergies apparent...so what does
this suggest..i think again its just a setter thing........and in
such a case if really mild and not causing the dog any undue
problems or discomfort except it. & you try and help your
dog.. the alternative is for steroids far to strong unless a dog
was very seriously effected...looking for a cause can also make a
minor problem to Start with turn into a major problem i have heard
off this happening more than once..........
I also think
if anyone is new to the breed they should consider all these
possibilities....and listen to their breeders advice regarding
health matters as sometimes the breeders know a lot more about the
breed of dog than do the vets
first do no
harm.............!!!!!!!!!
.
of course
vets do not intend to but along the way in looking for an
impossible cure can and do cause the poor dog a multitude of other
health problems with all the drugs etc etc used in a vain
hope....I am not a vet but i have studied natural health medicines
and veterinary homoeopathic ...also genetics is a a great
interest so i do have a lot of knowledge of what i am saying....
I just wish
everyone who owns a dog and in our case a beautiful setter took
the trouble to educate themselves about their chosen breed this
way they can enlighten themselves and make choices knowledgeably
rather than turning to their vets in the hope he can cure every
thing....i am afraid this is far to great an expectation any one
can have on one person..
if a dog is
continuously nibbling and breaks the skin this is were your
problems can escalate as yeasts and infection thrive on moist
skin....so you must keep the skin scrupulously clean and dry to
prevent this.....
some dogs
nibble after walks in which case wash feet and pat dry upon
returning from walks....to help to cool down and rid feet of any
contact allergens....
use your
common sense and try not to over react....antihistamines work with
some dogs generally when combined with fish oil (essential fatty
acids)sometimes a cycle needs to be broken as a habit can develop
.....sometimes a dog nibbles their feet because they actually like
it it produces feel good endorphins that actually makes the dog
feel high...!!!!this is why it can be difficult to stop in such a
case..perhaps we could set up FOOT LICKING ANONYMOUS.....!!!!!!!
pain killing
endorphins are also realised during nibbling it has been noted
some bitches nibble their feet during whelping to realise natural
painkillers....
not all
setters lick their own feet ..I have one Rupert who loves to lick
human feet he searches out for any member of the family who have
their socks off and he loves it....!!!!!!foot fetish i
think...!!!!.
Again although
a much more controversial subject which i shall not go into great
detail as it warrants far greater indeph & understanding..
is
vaccination again a subject i have intensely researched for 8
years and it is evident that in dogs predisposed to skin problems
vaccination can be all that is needed to trigger off a
problem..... and it has been noted that dogs with skin problems
generally have a flare up after a booster or jab....i would
seriously advice anyone with a dog with any skin problems to
seriously consider an alternative like homoeopathy and make an
appointment with a holistic vet to discuss their options......
and to get
their dog on a natural pure diet ..RAW....as soon as
possible....as a breeder I am taking every possible precaution i
can to hopefully produce sound healthy puppies that is why
holistic rearing is very important to me.....and i know what our
beloved breed is prone too and i hope such rearing can only help
at least try to irradiate this and other problems...associated
with dogs and setters in general.
again as a
caring breeder for which there are many like myself..we can only
do our best in producing happy healthy puppies from happy healthy
dogs.. the rest is then in the caring hands of the hopefully
enlightened and dedicated new owners whom will continue to go on
and build upon this...."hopefully"
Hope this has
helped you in understanding a little more about the complexity of
skin problems...
it in know
way suggests that every English setter has this problem many never
experience any problems the breed on a whole are very healthy
animals and lovely gentle kind dogs
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