Our son's dog, Kate B. left us in her 12th year. She slept at my feet on the corner of the bed for so long that I automatically bent my right leg to make room for her even after she was gone. I told my DH that we had to find another friend. He said we could not replace her. I told him that was true but a new little friend would help to fill the void she had left (I boohoo'd for what seemed like weeks...my son could not believe I took it so hard). Six weeks later Tess came into our lives, all 1 3/4 lbs of her and she has been the best dog of our 42 year marriage. She loves us both, loves to talk to our grown son on the phone...hates his 4 huge cats! We just took in 2 black feral kittens we found under our house. I thought Tess was going to disown us. LOL She loves to tattle on what they are up to and with those two they are ALWAYS up to something (what was I thinking!). The good Lord shared a wonderful friend like Tweed and surely HE will send you another that will help you during the trying times you are dealing with. Much love from Tess, YoYo, YaYa, DH and me (((hug))) Peggy

I bought this one over the summer because our dog gets some kind of reaction to being on freshly mowed grass. I'm not a huge Martha fan but have to say I will buy this again - a soft, pleasant scent (dislike strong scents immensely) and it did seem to help with his itching. I try to bathe him every 4 - 6 weeks or so. There are other formulations also. Here is a link that might be useful: Martha Stewart Dog Shampoo

I looked at the Innova, Ziwi, and Pitcairn(sp) information. Since I do not have cats, I did not look there. the two websites simply say what every other dog food manufacturer says---we do it better, use better ingredients and are safer than any other manufacturer. (They both use grains, BTW) There is nothing abou poisoning by products or any other threat. the Pitcairns web site is best summed up by this paragraph---- "ANHC was founded by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, in 1986 as a clinical and teaching center for the understanding and use of homeopathic medicine in the treatment of disease. We also emphasize the use of excellent nutrition using home-prepared & raw foods." No telling what stories they tell to convince people of the horrors of using pmanufactured foods.

Sammy- I have always had only tile or similar flooring since I was allergy tested and found that I was allergic to dust,animal dander, and many other things. At the time I had a dog and loved her so that I refused to get rid of her. I have the extra air purifier machine and change the air filter religiously on the furnace/air conditioner. After my dog died I never got another. 11 years later my 14 year old step-son begged so hard for a beagle that my heart couldn't say no. She is not allowed in my room but I am still exposed to her as I just retired and am home all of the time. She seems to radiate straight to me when I enter any room she is in and wants to get in my lap. (Of course I can't ALWAYS ignore her because of those pitiful, sweet, begging eyes!!!!!) The anti-dander shampoo and conditioner worked wonderfully with my other dog, but it has been so many years that I can't remember what the brand name was. I was hoping that someone here may have experience with a good brand and could give me a heads up on it. Thanks for all of your suggestions though. Lisa- thanks for the info on Allerpet-D. I may try that first before going the shampoo-conditioner route. Betty