#121
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UPDATE: Roxy has been on the Acana Wild Prairie for 3 full months now. I was hoping she would tolerate the diet over time, but nothing is improving. She continues to have anal gland troubles. She scoots a few times a day, and often smells like gland "juice". :barf: Roxy also still has irritation between her toes and has some hair loss on her feet and belly. Her rash/irritation sometimes spreads under her armpits and near her vulva which I will spray with apple cider vinegar (diluted 50/50 with water) once which will make the rash retreat. The spray doesn't remedy the irritation between her toes.
At Easter I bought 3 turkeys on sale for $0.99/lb. I took them to the butcher and had them ground bone-in (minus the drumsticks which were too big to put through the grinder) for another $0.99\lb. So I have 40 lbs of ground turkey for about $80. I measured this out to 6 ounce portions and froze them. I bought a bag of green lentils for $0.59\lb, and a bag of frozen peas & carrots for $1.25/lb. Last Tuesday (today is 10th day since) Roxy got her first meal with some green lentils and peas & carrots. Over the week I worked up to about 50/50 mix kibble and new stuff by volume. Lastnight Roxy got her first meal of raw, ground turkey lastnight...about 1 ounce. The plan is to get to 50% turkey, 40% lentils, 10% peas & carrots. Since Roxy doesn't seem to tolerate fish (still questioning this), she is also getting flax-based Platinum Performance Canine. For those unfamiliar, here is some information about Platinum Performance Canine... Components: Omega-3 and -6 Fatty Acids Glucosamine Trace Minerals Antioxidants Amino Acids Mucilage Vitamins Ingredients: Flax Seed, Flax Oil, Rice Bran, Lactose-Free Whey Protein Concentrate, Sunflower Seed, Non-GMO Soy Flour, Cane Molasses, Performance Minerals™, Bio-SpongeŽ, Vitamin E (dl-Alpha-Tocopherol Acetate), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Glucosamine Sulfate, Natural Vitamin E (d-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Chromium Yeast, Selenium Yeast, Pine Bark Extract, Uncaria Tomentosa, Aloe Vera, Algal Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, L-Carnitine Tartrate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Choline Bitartrate, Niancinaminde (B3), Vitamin K1, Calcium Pantothenate (B5), Riboflavin (B2), Cyanocobalamin (B12), Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (B6), Vitamin D3, Folic Acid, Biotin. There is also product analysis: http://www.platinumperformance.com/P...ctinfo/CPLAG1/
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#122
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That performance product has both soy and yeast in it, which might be a trigger? Weird that it has both synthetic and natural E in it.
I've always been a big fan of flax, though I know some dogs are allergic. Thankfully, none of mine have been. |
#123
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Hello there, there is a post here somewhere about "Saliva Testing" I was going to look into it. Did u see it?
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#124
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MLisa, Roxy was on the Platinum Performance for 45 days with no increase of irritation. I was skeptical because of the ingredients you mention, and also the "Bio Sponge" is a beef product. I called them and they sent me the 45 day supply for a free trial. I have been out of the PP now for 3 weeks (with no noticed decrease in irritation), and should be getting a new bucket next week. The product definitely helped Roxy's coat which is very dry and flaky (although still shiny) when not on the product. I want a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral product for her, and also omega supplement (with no fish), so I figured I would give this stuff a try.
Hi Marty, I haven't seen the post you're referring to.
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
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I couldn't find the post either, but it's by Jean Dobbs and my dog had a check up today and I gave the info to my vet and she is contacting Guelph and looking into it.
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#126
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This sounds like her new food sensitivity test. I did the serum test through Spectrum Labs instead, since most of the foods on the Dodds test I don't feed anyway, and it's not very extensive.
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#127
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Quote:
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#128
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Ugh, I don't think turkey is the answer. Roxy was doing fine with the lentils and peas & carrots, but now she's getting ground turkey she's getting quite a rash going. Argh...that doesn't leave any reasonably priced meats on the menu.
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
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Hmmm...maybe she ate something in the yard a few days ago because she seems to be improving now. She may have eaten a 2" fish that jumped out of the saltwater fish tank (on Sunday?). When on the kibble she had quite a rash between her vulva and her belly, on the underside of her tail, as well as a swollen and pink anus, and redness between her toes before switching her onto the homemade recipe. Her tail is better now, just scaly (healing?) skin. Her anus looks normal now, her toes are similar to her tail. The rash near her vulva is still persisting though. I am spraying it with apple cider vinegar solution when I remember (every 2nd day?). Roxy isn't getting sprayed with apple cider vinegar regularly for the last month at least. Tomorrow will be her first meal of no kibble. Fingers crossed we are onto something...
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#130
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Bah, rash continues...! Next step is to remove the peas and carrots so she will only be getting turkey and lentils (and the Platinum Performance).
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#131
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I'd take one out at a time & wait a bit to see if there is change per ingredient
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Avoid biting when a simple growl will do The Spirit Lives As Long As Someone Who Lives Remembers You - Navaho Saying |
#132
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You're kinda doing things backwards. Taking things out one at a time, rather than starting with one or two ingredients and adding in.
When the body is in an allergy state, it is prone to develop more allergies, so you don't want to be feeding an allergen with things that aren't if you can help it. I haven't been following closely, but likely this needs a combination of things - taking out offending foods, adding supportive nutrients, and fighting the rash with whatever it needs (abx, acv, shampoos, etc.). |
#133
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Lisa, the supporting nutrients is the Platinum Performance, and I do spray the rash with ACV solution when it flares. The ACV makes a big difference. I am attempting to take out the offending foods, but I don't know what they are. There is no improvement going from Acana Wild Prairie to homemade turkey, lentils, peas, carrots. I've given Roxy carrots before and she didn't seem to have any reaction, so I thought that was safe. Starting tomorrow Roxy will only get turkey and lentils.
Thanks Growler, that's the plan! If there is still a reaction to the turkey and lentils I will swap out the turkey. Sensitivity to lentils seems more unlikely than turkey. Honestly, I think it is the turkey although Roxy has had reactions to kibbles based on lamb, fish, and chicken. So is it the protein source or something else? In the past fish seemed like an "obvious" issue when I added Fish Oil to her food. I've changed kibbles to ingredients that were completely different from eachother, and gained nothing. It's quite possible there are many ingredients she has an issue with. The home I adopted her from (through a rescue) fed her Iams, and she seemed to be fine then. I've switched her back to Iams with definite improvement, but not 100%. Leads me to think that it is the chicken (and possibly turkey too since they are close) since Iams likely has little chicken, but still has some. Makes sense to me...???
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#134
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I realize she's a big dog so it needs to be cost effective as well, but I wonder if scrapping all of it and going with something there's no way she's ever had before like Ostrich meat, just meat & ground bone nothing else, might be the way to go.
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Avoid biting when a simple growl will do The Spirit Lives As Long As Someone Who Lives Remembers You - Navaho Saying |
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Just did a quick scan of this thread again & I didn't see mention of trying her on beef based food just chicken/fish, has she had issues w beef before?
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Avoid biting when a simple growl will do The Spirit Lives As Long As Someone Who Lives Remembers You - Navaho Saying |
#136
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Growler, I understand the reasoning behind trying something obscure, but in the long run that doesn't help me because there is no way I'm spending $300/month on food long-term, so I need to find something that she can eat long-term. Ideally, with allergens recognized I can get her back onto a kibble.
I haven't tried beef yet simply because I've never had a dog that could tolerate the richness of beef (stinky gas), but I think it will be the next meat I try. How can I get enough bone into her though if I'm feeding beef? Can I buy "ground beef bone" somewhere that I could sprinkle on top or something? EDIT: I see Missing Link carries a ground beef bone.
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#137
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I know that you are in Canada and things are higher, but I was feeding my 85 lb GSD beef exclusivley (with rotating veggies), for about $200 per month. I found a grocery store that had frequent sales and an additional discount for buying so many packages at once. I think going non-chicken is important, even non-poultry, including no chicken or poultry fat, etc.
For calcium I did use a mix of Calacium Carbonate (Now powder), and the supplement Nutramin). I know there are beef based kibbles out there, but I would go with the single protein home-prepared first to see if it's tolerated. I have a young small dog here, BIG difference between feeding primal preground raw (beef) and the Stella & Chewy's version, very difficult to keep track of all those extra ingredients when you have an issue dog. (In our case, I believe the culprit was the sweet potatoes). BTW, corn in dog food can be GMO corn, which is an allergy promoter, so I would be careful with foods like Iams, particularly if you are feeding with something you eventually want to be safe. |
#138
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Sorry, but $200/month to feed the dog is absolutely unacceptable. I draw the line around $100/month which I still think is totally unreasonable, but I will do this until I get to the bottom of these allergies. I used to think I spent too much on Orijen kibble, but now Orijen looks cheap!
The only reason I fed the Iams briefly was to see if the allergies would go away since that is what she ate for years before coming to my home. You commented on that pages ago, and I explained then. That's the first time I've bought a bag of Iams since the early 90s when I didn't know any better.
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#139
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You mentioned Iams yesterday, I guess it wasn't clear to me. Sorry.
The problem with this stuff, is that you can do a little bit here, and a little bit there, but sometimes, unless it's all done at once, you will never get it resolved. Hope this next change brings clarity. |
#140
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Oh no worries...this darn thread has been going on for way too long! Ugh..
There is a small part of me that still doesn't believe it is the food. All this time, all these changes (albeit slow changes) and the reactions don't seem to correlate accurately. It just doesn't make sense. I'll try something, get a reaction, wait, try again, no reaction. And why would she be fine on Iams for years and then suddenly now she can't eat it? And this all happens at the same time she moves to a new home. Too many coincidences I think. I've tried to remove all environmental allergens. There has been no change from summer to fall to winter to now spring. I changed beds, and bed materials. I changed soaps to just plain washing soda and baking soda. I tried shampooing the carpet. I tried three different dog shampoos. None of these changes made any difference that I could definitely pinpoint. Really, the only thing I can really pinpoint as making a difference would be the topical apple cider vinegar applications which made a huge, huge difference. Bah...I don't know what to do...
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie Last edited by Myka; May 27th, 2012 at 03:27 PM. |
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Another thing that makes me wonder if it is not the food is that Peewee has developed a rash in the last month. He has been licking his belly and his armpits raw. What the heck?
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#142
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Very likely a combination of things
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UPDATE: So, interestingly I mentioned these skin troubles with the dogs to some friends. One says that her friend in my city who is part of the agility club told her that a bunch of the dogs in the agility club were having all sorts of skin issues and after changing to bottled water for the dogs the symptoms in most of the dogs went away. How interesting.
So I changed Roxy and Peewee to bottled spring water and put Roxy back on the Acana Wild Prairie kibble for 10 days. It was then very obvious that the Acana Wild Prairie is a problem with Roxy. So I switched to Canidae pureLAND kibble which is the grain-free Bison and Lamb recipe. This recipe has no chicken, no turkey, no fish, no grains. So this kibble is completely different than anything she has had so far. Sticking to the bottled spring water for now. Peewee is still having issues with his skin on his belly and armpits where he licks and licks and licks. I'm not sure which came first - the licking or the rash. He goes through waves of raw skin, then dry peeled skin as it heals, then looks ok for awhile, then raw again. So I'm going to switch him back to Orijen Adult after he is done the bag of Acana Wild Prairie as Peewee has done well on the Orijen in the past (just stinky breath from high protein).
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
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Quote:
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#145
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I carry Benadryl for me, so that's not a problem. Thanks!
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#146
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I had a dog that got stung by a bee and she could had dies if I had not gotten her to vet in time. this happen right on my daughter's birthday too.
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#147
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I would not like to jinx myself, but the change to Canidae pureLAND may be the answer.
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie |
#148
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That is great news!!
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#149
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UPDATE:
So the Canidae wasn't the answer. I took a look back on my notes and records of all the different things I have tried with Roxy and realized I could not correlate her reactions to food changes, environmental changes, shampoos, anything. It seems like the symptoms ebb and flow on their own schedule. So I decided to take Roxy to a different vet. I found out about a vet here that practices holistic veterinary medicine in addition to traditional veterinary medicine. She believes Roxy suffers from Atopic Dermatitis which is similar to human eczema. It is a stand alone disease, and could be inflamed by food or environmental allergies, but not necessarily caused by allergies. The vet said Roxy may or may not have any specific food allergies as it is hard to tell while Roxy is on a kibble diet. She says there is no real cure for the disease, but it can often be controlled or improved by feeding unprocessed foods, improving whole body health, and treating symptoms as they occur. So the vet told me to start by getting Roxy onto an unprocessed diet with a good vitamin/mineral/omega supplement and then revisit Roxy's condition in 6-8 weeks. She says Roxy's condition is on the mild side of moderate (at this moment) and believes we can improve Roxy's condition without medications at this point. This is good to hear. She sent me home with some McKillip's Ear Cleaner and Nizoral anti-dandruff/fungus shampoo to use when needed to treat seborrhea/rash. http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/dog-...is_in_dogs.htm
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Ella - Jun '20 - Reg AmStaff Squeak - '15/16? - Tabby cat (adopted Nov '18) Streak - '18 - Black cat (adopted Nov '18) Peewee - Jan '06 - 6.5 lb Chi (adopted May '09) -------------------- Roxy - Feb '05 to May '20 AmStaff (adopted Jul '11) Myka - Nov '98 to Jan '10 - APBT X Lacy - Sep '92 to Jul '03 - Sheltie Last edited by Myka; September 1st, 2012 at 07:22 PM. |
#150
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I am glad that you found a vet that can help you with this, it sounds very encouraging. I also hold out hope not using a processed diet.
I have a new small breed pup here (10 1/2 months old) that was having some real "itch" issues, so I ran a few tests that have been very helpful here. If you're interested, here are what the results look like: http://germanshepherdhome.net/forum/..._in#Post249972 Through the Spectrum Labs test on my last dog, I found out he was allergic to cotton of all things - I would have mever suspected. Good luck with this new phase, I am hopeful for you! |
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