Friday, March 27, 2015

Dealing with Metal Allergies in Dogs

One of the posts I get the most google search hits for as well as comments on is the one I wrote two years ago about metal allergies in dogs. Because I keep getting hits on that post, I wanted to give a bit of an update, with some things I've learned to do to help Koira stay comfortable.

The biggest thing when you are dealing with a dog with a metal allergy is actually to even figure out that the allergy exists in the first place. Once you do that, you have to figure out how to deal with it, and how to prevent your dog from coming into contact with metal wherever possible.  For years, I hand made collars for Koira to wear that had hard nylon hardware instead of metal, since it was almost impossible to find any collars that were totally metal free.

I'm happy to say, about 9 months ago I found a really nice quality leather collar that Koira can wear. The hardware on it is nickel, but it has black powder coating over it that prevents the metal from coming in contact with her skin. The collar is made by Tasman's. I found it at my locally owned pet supply store in my town, called Animal Crackers. They don't have a huge selection, and only a couple of their collars have the powder coating. But it works, and that is enough for me.

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Koira wearing her leather collar from Tasman. She has been wearing it 24/7 for nine months, at the beach, at home, everywhere. 

The powder coating is chipping a little bit where the D-ring hits the buckle. I called the company before purchasing the collar, and they were very honest with me and told me that the chipping was likely to happen, but that they didn't know how bad it would be or how long it would take. I'm lucky so far that the chipping has been pretty minor and doesn't seem to cause Koira any problems. The person I spoke to at Tasman's mentioned that they are hoping to develop a collar in the future that uses powder coated solid brass hardware, which I would absolutely purchase if it becomes available, since the chipped areas would be less likely to irritate. I didn't try it, but adding a coating of clear nail polish or other hard finish might help prevent the chipping. I would not attach tags to the D-ring, though, as I am sure that the ring used for the tags would cause the chipping to start sooner and be much more severe.

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You can see the chipping I mentioned in the powder coating here. It is minor and, for Koira, doesn't seem to be causing any problems. 

Remember, though, that metal allergies can be cummulative. A small amount of metal contact may not cause a problem, but a small amount consistently might add up to be enough to cause a serious issue for your dog. It is something you have to monitor and keep on top of. Koira comes into very little contact with metal. Besides having a leather collar with powder coated hardware, she eats out of a ceramic bowl, doesn't eat canned food except in rare cases (for those with severe metal allergies, the metal in canned foods can cause reactions due to the cummulative nature of the allergy), our water dishes are all either ceramic or plastic, her crate is powder coated steel, and she does not wear tags on her collar. Outside of the clip on her leash and getting shots at the vet, she encounters almost no metal at all. So the small amount of contact from her leash or the chipped places on her collar hardware are not enough to set off an allergic reaction in her (though when she is on leash for abnormally long times, such as at a conference where she is leashed all day, she can have some allergy issues from the metal).

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These are the bowls my dogs eat out of on a daily basis. 

These are the bowls I use for the dogs. I like ceramic bowls for being metal free, not clear glass (which looks grimy so fast when used around animals), and I like these ones specifically just because they are unique and custom for my dogs. I got them on Etsy here. That said, it is much easier to find metal-free bowls to use than collars.

The crate I use for Koira is massive, and extremely heavy duty. Standard powder coated metal folding crates work fine for most dogs with a metal allergy. For Koira, though, she has chewed on the bars of that style of crate, and learned how to break out of them. So for her, I use a ProSelect Empire Cage, powder coated in pink. The heavy construction is perfect, since she not only can't get out of it, she seems to know and doesn't even try. We do still use the lighter-weight metal folding crates while traveling, though.

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Koira, wearing the Original Fleece Lined Harness, in black.

When I use a harness on Koira, I use one of two kinds. Julius K-9 makes a harness that has some small amounts of metal, but in places that the metal doesn't touch the dog. The other harness I use is an x-back style, called the Original Fleece Lined Harness. It has a metal D-ring, but it is situated in a way that it doesn't touch Koira when the harness is in use.

I think those are all the products that I have found and loved that help with successfully dealing with metal allergies in dogs. The links in the post don't benefit me in any way, by the way, they are simply examples of the products so that you can find them to purchase as easily as possible if you decide you want them or want more information.

I just wanted to share some things of what we have found that work for us. Hopefully it helps some other people dealing with the same thing as well.

Update: I have now added a biothane collar with black hardware to Koira's collar collection. Biothane is waterproof and doesn't get damaged by water the way leather can, making it a great choice for summer when we spend a lot of time swimming, or for super wet rainy days. I also picked up a biothane leash, and I really, really love it. It has brass hardware, and is super soft in my hands. And, like the collar, it is totally waterproof. I got the 6 foot long, 3/8ths inch wide leash, and I love it. The links are just to show you what we're using and give you a chance to take a look at them or buy them if you want. I get no compensation for sharing them, even if you make a purchase, and I paid full price for the collar and leash. I just love them and since it is so hard to find collars for dogs with metal allergies, I wanted to share.

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You can see the new collar here. I chose the black with black hardware, and I think it looks pretty sharp.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Tasty Tuesday: Blue Wilderness Treats

This month, Chewy.com sent us a bag of Blue Wilderness  Training Treats to review for them. Chewy.com is a company that offers dog and cat foods and treats delivered to your door with fast shipping.


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It seemed fitting to photograph these treats out at the beach, since they are labeled as "trail treats"

The treats we are reviewing this month are made by Blue and are called Wilderness Trail Treats. We tried the duck flavor training treats.

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Koira and the bag of treats (4 oz) posing together on the rocks

Pallo's leg got hurt this past week, so while he came to the beach with us and played some, I did put him back in the car to rest for part of the time. Koira ended up getting to review the treats while Pallo took a nap.

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You can see the treat in the air in this picture. Koira is doing a "sit pretty" to earn the treat.

These Wilderness treats are a really nice texture. They are soft without being crumbly or leaving goop on your hands. With Koira's tooth removal earlier this month, she has to eat only soft foods that don't require much chewing. These treats are soft enough that she can eat them, which I like. And which she appreciated.

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Obligatory treat-on-nose shot

Though she is never a big fan of balancing things on her nose, I feel like it gives the best size reference when we do a treat review. Even if you don't know how big my dog is (40 lbs, which is smaller than most people think), it gives some good perspective.

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Koira really likes these treats. And also doesn't want to fall off of the rock.

And don't worry, she gets to eat every treat she has to balance!

Overall, we really liked this product, and would be likely to use it again in the future. The price right now on Chewy.com is $5.52 for a 4 oz bag. If you want the soft treats described, make sure you get the Training Treats, rather than the Biscuits they have in their Wilderness treat line. In addition to being popular with the dogs and being soft enough but not too soft, these treats have a great list of ingredients and are grain free.

Monday, March 23, 2015

International Puppy Day!

I adopted Pallo as an adult, or near enough, since he was about 10 months old when I brought him home. So I don't have any puppy pictures of him.

But Koira, I got at 8 weeks old. And she was one of the cutest puppies I have ever seen.


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This picture was taken before I even knew this sweet little girl. 

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I think Koira was about 5 months old in this picture. She went through some awkward growing stages for sure. 

I hope everyone has a great day, and gets a chance to enjoy some puppies, be they present or past puppies. 

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Spring Beach Trip

Yesterday, on the first day of spring, me and the dogs got up early and met my mom to go to the beach. The weather was cloudy, but dry, and the wind was mild for the Oregon coast.

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The beach we went to has some really interesting rock formations as well as big, open, sandy areas. Both of my dogs know a "feet up" command, which comes in useful for this type of picture.

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You can see how big this rock formation is here, with the scale of the dogs with their feet on two of the smaller bumps up above. The green is some kind of sea moss or something, I think.

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This is down at the end of the beach near a river that stops you from walking any farther north. It is mostly a big, open expanse of sand at low tide, but has a few patches with rocks.

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Here is Pallo in that sandy area, this time closer to the incoming water. He stopped to look around, and when I said his name, he just looked at me and posed. He's good like that.

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This is a close up of some kind of anemone that we found under a big rock, partially in the water. They really were this pinkish/purple color in person, which was cool. You can kind of see how when they are underwater, they have all these purple fronds sticking out, while above water they are closed.

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And one of Koira as well. I asked her to down on this rock. She thought it was too wet and cold to actually put her chest on the ground.

And the shaved area on her leg is from a vet visit two weeks ago. Years ago, she broke the tip off her canine. Over the years, more chips have come off here and there, and recently, one chip went down below the gum line. So Koira went in and had a full dental cleaning and got that canine removed all at the same time. The shaved part on her leg is where they gave her fluids during and after the procedure. She is recovering well, though still not allowed to chew on things, play tug, or play with toys like balls. We're trying to do fun things that don't involve food or toys.