I got a new attitude…….

10/7/2014  Blog Post #7

Fast dates: September 14^th through October 13^th

Runnin’ hot, runnin’ cold I was runnin’ into overload, it was extreme I took it so high, so low So low, there was nowhere to go like a bad dream

Somehow the wires uncrossed, my tables were turned Never knew I had such a lesson to learn

I’m feelin’ good from my head to my shoes Know where I’m goin’ and I know what to do

I tidied it up my point of view, I got a new attitude!

I’m in control, my worries are few ‘Cause I’ve got Fermented Goat’s Milk building up my immune system

Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo I got a new attitude!

No one really understands what it is like to be a parent to a dog with allergies except other parents in the same position. I can remember when Levi was a puppy complaining to my vet about how much he sheds. I know some of you are thinking: “hey lady, dogs shed! Get real!” Well of course I know that. But even as a puppy Levi seemed to shed way more than any dog I had ever been a mom to or fostered. My vet told me that is what I get for buying a bulldog with a flat shiny coat because they shed more. I knew then he had no idea what I was dealing with. And well, how could he? He did not live with me and see what I dealt with every day. Dogs are known to get stressed and shed more when they go to the vet. This was Levi all the time though, not just vet visits. It was not long before I was brushing him daily until I was tired instead of until all the excess hair was removed. After I would wash his blankets it would only take an hour for them to look the same as before they went into wash albeit they did smell better. I would get sneezing fits when he would stand up on the couch and shake while standing on me and see a thousand hairs fall off of him. I know that suffering from allergies has been a horrible experience for him. It also has been horrible for his mom. I cannot tell you how many times I have been embarrassed when people would meet him and try to wipe all the excess hairs off him with their hands. I knew they were thinking “why doesn’t this lady brush her dog?” Yes, no one knew what life was really like for Levi and me. I tried hard to not imagine the judgmental thoughts that so many people had to have had over the years. I reminded myself I was trying everything I could to make things better for him.

Sunday was day 22 of this whole experiment and I decided I was going to give him his first bath since it started. Now before you ask why I would go 22 days without giving him a bath please know this was a planned part of all of this. Levi gets a bath in a prescription shampoo from the vet. It has all kind of goodies (well medication) in it to help sooth and calm skin suffering from allergies. At the height of his allergy symptoms, before we started allergy shots, he was getting bathed daily in this product to prevent him from scratching himself bloody and trust me it was a blessing as far as giving immediate relief. I wanted the results of this to not be skewed by this shampoo so I have avoided bathing him in it- until Sunday. What I immediately noticed, I did not have to fill my drain with Drano after, even though I had my dog paw cover on the drain. I was like “well, this is a first!” After I dried him off, well the most amazing thing happened. I rubbed his coat and for the first time in his 5 years of life his coat felt like my other bulldog Esther. I literally almost fell on the floor. Excessive shedding had just become something I accepted as being his mom. I cannot express fully how much I love this dog and honestly he could be a secret serial killer and I would be that mom that would do anything to prevent him from being detected by the law. So shedding hey, well it could be worse. I can now sweep one time a day. (I still have another excessive shedder in the house I am fostering but he is another story.) We all place a different value on things, but this is like a life changing event for me. Yes, he still sheds but it seems to be like a normal bullie. Praise Jesus!

Someone commented on my last blog post that they were also doing this fast with their baby but were not seeing the same results as fast as me. To this person and anyone else I say “be patient.” I assumed going into this Levi would be “behind the eight ball” because the severity of his allergies. Now, however, I think we saw results so fast because he has already been on a raw diet for 2 years and had almost the same amount of time on allergy shots. Now allergy shots had no positive benefit for my female bullie and she actually ended up with horrible pneumonia which I will attribute to those shots forever. Levi did see some benefit from immunotherapy. And when his allergies started flaring up again before this fast, the symptoms were different than years before. I do think immunotherapy had some benefit for him. I am sure the specialist who treated him would have said, had I asked, it was time to have him re-tested and adjust his allergy serum. Sure, let’s spend another $1,500 doing that. Instead, I chose to try this fast. We stopped the shots and I have been so pleased. With all that said, do not give up, this helps. Levi is living, breathing, snoring, and humping proof!

Stay tuned for the next blog post. Jacqueline Hill, from Answer’s Pet Food is working on writing a summary of the presentation she gave at Carolina Pet Pantry that got all this started. As a reminder, if you click the button at the bottom of the page that says “follow” you will receive an email each time I make a new post. Word press will send you an email with a link you will have to click on to confirm you want to follow