Oh, please don't give your Rottie two Benadryl caps/tabs, you will surely kill her. That is way, way too much, it will shut down her kidneys and/or liver. Based on the breed standard, I am guessing that your Rottie is anywhere between 80-100 lbs, if you want to go the Benadryl route, I would start her off with 1/2 a tab a day for a week and see how that works. Benadryl is made for Humans, trust me, my 250lb husband can be knocked on his behind by just taking one of them, so could you imagine what could happen to your dog? Give her a 1/2 tab in a little bit of Peanut Butter and she will most likely be much better. I went through this same exact scenario. I took the dogs for a walk and sure enough the next day, one dog is scratching like mad and I have PI. Well I went to the drugstore for myself and took the dog to the Vet. The Vet told me that the dog did not have PI because dogs do not have the same allergic reaction to the oils from PI as Humans do, they carry it on their coat and when the owner pats the nice doggy (or in your case rubs againest a person) that person now has the oil on them and we react to it. What my dog has is season allergies, and since it occurs at the same time as PI, people think dogs have PI. Husband has the same allergies as the dog (it's kind of funny, mind you, not to him but it is to me, LOL), in their case it's ragweed and pine pollen--if one of them is sneezing or scratching I know the other one is going to be soon. In dogs the symptons are scratching, sneezing and licking, especially their pads on their paws. Vet told me to give him 1/3 of a tablet of Benadryl based on his weight (he is about 45 lbs, Dalmation/Beagle mix, not a 'Designer Dog', he is a MUTT), he said to start him off there and see how that is for a week and sure enough three years later it is still working wonders. As for you, well that is a whole different case. When I take the dogs out for a stroll somewhere where I know there most likely will be PI somewhere, I bring along a bottle of Technu made by a company called Oak'N'Ivy, you will find it almost everywhere, it is made for treatment immediately after contact with PI, it removes the oil that causes the reaction. If you do not get it in time they also make something called Ivy Dry. Good luck!

Hi, I am new to this particular forum but not to Gardenweb. One thing I noticed was that a lot of you talked about your dogs having hot spots - I wanted to make sure to suggest comfrey salve to you to heal those VERY quickly. I grow my own comfrey and make my own salve in quantity for my use and my 6 dogs, but you can also find it in your local natural foods store more than likely. Make sure if you put it on them you cover it so the dog can't lick it as comfrey can cause liver damage when taken internally. But the stuff is amazing. On the topic of feeding home-cooked, I have had great luck with the following when I have had a furkid with pancreatitis, or a puppy sick from tummy surgery, etc. In a large bowl I mix: 2 cups cooked brown rice 1 large jar baby food in a vegetable/meat combination any leftover plain cooked meat I have, chopped small (or baby food meat sticks if I don't have leftovers) 1 hard boiled egg, chopped 1 banana, mashed into mixture Mix and serve!

Well, they are tidier anyway. So many of the spring flowers had turned brown in this heat and looked just awful! Upon cleaning them out, I also removed the hiding places for insects, so was a double bonus for my efforts. :) I had the prettiest white Baby's Breath this spring. With the deep blue Larkspurs, and the pink and orange roses, I had bouquets growing right in the flower beds. That lasted through May and into early June and then this heat hit all at once, and they croaked! (Sigh) I'm still revamping things. Last night, I dug up my big Needlepoint Holly and moved it down into the back of the daylily bed. Everything that was or is growing up on the hill is getting moved down closer to the house where the soil is deeper and the yard is cooler. I am tired of trying to make that old dry hill bloom! There is a Fairy Rose, the Variegated Willow, some Sweet William, Mums, and other things up there yet to remove. I have moved about half of the flowers and plants already. All are doing really well since I moved them. There is a small Liquidambar styraciflua 'Sweet Gum' tree to be dug up today and potted until I can figure out where to plant her. She looks so pitiful right now. Gotta move her before she dies! She needs a lot more moisture and that was just such a fool's errand to think that I could make it work up there. You live and learn. I lost the clump of Tennessee River Birch and two of the South Carolina Red Maples that I ordered several years ago. They were so pretty and growing really well. The River Birches died last winter and the dad gum drought and heat got two of the Red Maples. ~Annie

Your vet may not have the unflavored HW preventative in stock. You may want to call ahead to give them time to order it or write you a script to get it online. You shouldn't feel bad at all about not wanting to do the allergy testing. It is really only useful if you are going to put your dog on allergy shots. The tests are not reliable for testing for food allergies (by the labs' own admission), so they would likely only tell you which varieties of trees and grasses your dog is allergic to. I do suggest that you consider a thyroid test though. Hypothyroidism can trigger allergies. Trying to solve allergies without treating an underlying thyroid problem will be like beating your head against the wall. The testing can cost ~ $100, but the treatment is easy, cheap and might just cure his itching, ear problems, and low energy. I disagree with joepyeweed about cutting down on baths to avoid soaps. Baths are a great tool to decrease the amount of pollen on your dogs fur. The best shampoo to use would one provided by your vet that is designed to help with allergy symptoms. You just want to make sure to rinse well and get him well dried afterwards.