Parenting Chat Thread #3 (blogs, CA, costumes, sport)
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We do that with Macie about once a week. The past couple of months have been really bad. I don't know if she's "blowing coat" or if it's just because it's been so extremely dry (plus our whole house humidifier is not working now - well, it's working but something is leaking so we've turned it off until we can take some time to see where it's leaking and fix it) or whether she has developed some kind of allergy or thyroid issue. It's bad enough that I had her at the vet yesterday. They gave her a shot of steroids which has helped the constrant scratching at least....really hoping it is just a thyroid thing - that is a cheap and easy fix. Allergies? Not so much.
We do that with Macie about once a week. The past couple of months have been really bad. I don't know if she's "blowing coat" or if it's just because it's been so extremely dry (plus our whole house humidifier is not working now - well, it's working but something is leaking so we've turned it off until we can take some time to see where it's leaking and fix it) or whether she has developed some kind of allergy or thyroid issue. It's bad enough that I had her at the vet yesterday. They gave her a shot of steroids which has helped the constrant scratching at least....really hoping it is just a thyroid thing - that is a cheap and easy fix. Allergies? Not so much.
I've heard that constant changes in temperature can extend shedding time. That's why indoor dogs shed throughout the winter---they are constantly going from the warm interior of the house to the cold outdoor temperatures. Spring makes it worse because the outdoor temperatures constantly fluctuate from warm to cold.
My dogs have allergies. My labrador has food allergy and my basset has food and environmental allergies. Changing their food helped both dogs. Now the basset only has severe problems during ragweed season. Sometimes he needs to take allergy medicine (benydril). He usually needs one steroid shot each season because his skin is just so uncomfortable. We have to try to keep his outdoor time limited during ragweed season because the pollen gets in his fur.
You don't need to pay for expensive allergy tests. Simply watching the pollen and spore counts can tell you fairly quickly identify the allergen---especially if this happens at a certain time each year. If this is your first year with it, it might take a year or two to identify the allergen. But changing food can help minimize environmental allergies because most dogs have food allergies. Eliminating just one allergen can make a huge difference in severity of symptoms.
Actually we've been working on this quite some time - we've been through Benadryl, Zyrtec, olive oil, fish oil and grain free food .. The vet just now called and said all her bloodwork was good. I'll start her on the prednisone tablets and they'll check her skin again in a few weeks. Meanwhile, DH will have to look at that humidifier when he gets home tomorrow. The vet said they are actually seeing a lot more itchiness this year - assuming because it's been so extremely dry.
Decided against the vacuum cleaner store today. I took the vacuum apart, cleaned some dog hair out of the beater brush. Hopefully that will help that.
I need to do that too. I try to do that when DH is gone - he has only two methods - throw everything away or shove everything somewhere it fits and is out of the way. I live in fear he'll attempt this without me and throw things out that are important because he doesn't know what they are. He's done that before. I rescued a box of photos from the dumpster because he didn't open the box to see what was inside - just threw it out. If I clean the garage I like to take everything out, sweep, vacuum, hose then put back in only the things we want to keep - and put them in a place that makes sense....then decide on the rest, whether it is trash or donation....It's a bigger process than DH is interested in doing. I usually do it on one of my days off.
You are lucky - we have no attic or shed. Just the basement and the garage. And the garage is small enough that you can barely get two cars in along with the trashcan, lawnmower, garden tools and extra fridge. Even a bit of clutter impacts the functionality of the garage. Not to mention, DS and his friends often use that entrance - and that fridge - so it is a high traffic area.
That's one of the few bonuses to owning a 100 year old home. Our detached garage even has an attic.
My basement is too damp to store anything for long periods of time. It goes with the territory of living in Pittsburgh. We get lots of rain here.
I don't know where I would store things without an attic. Then again, maybe I wouldnt' hold on to so much crap. My attic is packed.
We have to clean it out to make room for the young adult who is moving in this week. It's going to take a month to get the rooms switched around to make room for him.
(snip) And the garage is small enough that you can barely get two cars in along with the trashcan, lawnmower, garden tools and extra fridge. (snip)
You mean the garage is BIG enough you can ACTUALLY fit all that in it, right?
Growing up in the burbs, we had a 1-car detached garage. Through some miraculous optical illusion Houdini magick, my mom figured out how to put who the heck knows what kind of crap in there, in addition to the lawnmower, garden tools, and her Bonneville.
Currently, hubby and I have a 1-car detached garage, which we've never actually put a car in. Our bicycles, the lawn tractor, the regular lawn mower, a walking leaf-blower -and- a hand-held leaf-blower, the gas-powered snow-thingie (it's not a hand-held snow blower, it's a big heavy thing on wheels that you push..are those also called snow blowers? They don't blow snow. They plow it), garden tools, the pool off-season (it's vinyl and folds up), a rack with random "outdoor" woodworking supplies and workbench/saw horses for hubby's projects, etc. etc.
In short, we treat our garage like a shed, and we keep our cars in the driveway.
Nope - I want my cars in the garage. I don't want to scrape all winter. I hate keeping cars in the driveway. We've had to do it from time to time over the years and I dislike it immensely. Another thing to consider out here in the aridity and altitude, the sun can do a lot more damage to things. The interior of the car is more susceptible to fading/cracking if kept out in the sun....We also keep all of our patio furniture covered when not in use - the fabric part anyway. The sun deteriorates that fabric very quickly.
Last edited by maciesmom; 03-26-2011 at 03:05 PM..
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.. The vet just now called and said all her bloodwork was good. I'll start her on the prednisone tablets and they'll check her skin again in a few weeks. Meanwhile, DH will have to look at that humidifier when he gets home tomorrow. The vet said they are actually seeing a lot more itchiness this year - assuming because it's been so extremely dry. 
