About the Scottie News

Douxo medicated pads can help itchy dogs

More than 90 amazon reviewers give these pads a rating between four and five stars

If you have a dog who suffers from itchiness, you know that it’s not just excruciating for the dog but for you as well. That’s why I took note when a reader made a long comment a month ago that recommended Douxo products. I’m reproducing it here and I’ve added links to the Amazon products mentioned by Laurie. Otherwise it’s exactly how she wrote it.

Douxo products were a godsend for our Scottie Duncan, who came into rescue with terrible, untreated skin issues that had progressed to blackened elephant skin on his legs. He was miserable–always biting at himself, open sores: the worst case of untreated allergies his veterinary allergist said she had ever seen.

She began Duncan on allergen shots after a Rast (skin prick) test: don’t let anyone talk you into the blood test, which does not work for most (any?) dogs. The injections definitely did help Duncan; eventually he had one shot a month.

The Douxo products in conjunction with the shots, though, pushed his healing to a new level. We used the pads (available at Amazon.com: Douxo Chlorhexidine 3% PS Pads) for small areas and ears, and also the DOUXO Seborrhea Spot-on (available in a large and pricey box at Amazon, but in a smaller, more affordable box of 5 at 4petsusa.com), in combination with various medicated shampoos.

I did not think the other Douxo products (shampoo, spray, etc.) worked well for Duncan. These two products we used help the skin rebuild its protective layer, which makes the skin less susceptible to bacteria, yeast, and fungus. Duncan also eventually got cold laser treatments once his allergies were under control, to help heal his terribly damaged skin. It eventually became totally smooth (no more huge wrinkles), white, and in most places most of his hair grew back, too.

The best thing: he no longer scratched and bit at himself, and we didn’t have to use either prednisone or Atopica/cyclosporine, both of which carry significant health risks (prednisone can lead to Cushing’s, which is not unusual in Scotties anyway; Atopica/cyclosporine is an immune suppressant, which is how it works to stop allergies, but this also can leave your Scottie more susceptible to many cancers).

I hope this helps someone! I’ve had four different Scots with allergies. We do use a holistic vet for light allergy problems–currently one of our Scots has mild seasonal allergies, and she gets a glycerite elixir of Passion Flower, Linden, and Nettles. Dried Nettle Leaf (NOT root, which is for a whole different condition!) in powder form (the “cut and sifted” is not fine enough–get the powder) really helps for itchies (works better in my estimation than antihistamines and with no bad side effects). Nettles are also generally very nutritional and our Scots happily eat the powder sprinkled on/mixed into their food. Buy organic in bulk for best product at the best price: you can usually find Frontier Nettle Leaf Powder Organic on Amazon.com; you can also get it on Frontier Herb’s own website. An eighth to a quarter teaspoon twice a day should help with itchies. I’ve used it for years (have had 8 Scotties in my life) with no ill effects.

Hope this info helps someone–Scotties are the best!

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No, this is not an April Fool’s joke. The Scottish Terrier and Dog Newscampaign to raise money for a book failed.

I’m not sure if the funding goal was too ambitious or if I didn’t market it enough, which I definitely didn’t, or if it was all of the above and more. In any case, that’s it for now although I may try again at another time.

If you bought an advance copy of the book, many, many thanks for your support. I do not have the list of who you are so I can’t thank you personally or I would.

Tou also should have been refunded by now, but if anything went wrong with the indiegogo operations, just let me know at scottishterriernews@gmail.com.

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Scottie News book project

Scottie News has a spring deadline for raising book funds. Plant the seed now and have your book by summer. Click photo for details.

If you’ve been reading our newsletters lately, you’ll know that Scottie News has a funding campaign under way to write a book all about Scottish Terriers.

CLICK HERE TO SEE CAMPAIGN AND ORDER YOUR BOOK

One of the options we’re offering readers is to pre-order the book and have your dog be a muse. So far, we have two muses, which is fantastic because at this time last week, we had zero muses despite the total muse-worthiness of Scottish Terriers.

The first muse is Tim’s 9 year old rescue, Scotty MacBones, whose owner passed away but left no provision for Scotty who was left alone for two weeks. He was walked and fed by the woman’s dog walker, who was the one who saved him and got him to the New York Scottish Terrier rescue who found him a home with Tim and Gina. “He’s got some issues, mainly fear based. But he’s made great progress and has wedged his furry self firmly in our hearts :) ,” they say.

Comment detectives and long-time readers may remember Tim’s late dog, Bucca, whose tribute can be read here.

Our second muse hails from Australia and that’s all we know for now.

We’ll get both muses’ photos up as soon as we receive them.

You can make your dog a muse and get a great Scottie book by joining our indiegogo campaign. In fact, if you want your Scottie can even be on the cover.

The deadline is the first day of spring. If we get the funds, it’s full speed ahead with the book. If we don’t, all money is automatically returned and you haven’t spent a cent.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR BOOK AND MAKE YOUR SCOTTIE A MUSE

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Both of these are clone videos:

As you can see Edgar the Scottish Terrier, who often appears in the AlexInLife videos, doesn’t do any shaking. He’s just an observer.

The terrier clones below, however, get into the groove:

Two weeks back, reader Laura — also known as CBMum — sent this email:

Hi,

Not Scotties, but I found this today & now I would love to do a Scottie edition of this!!

What if we asked readers to send short videos of their Scotties going crazy to the camera & I could edit them together…? :D

I love it.

RIP Gangnam Style as they say …you will not be missed!

Will pledge for the book, by the way. :)
Best,
Laura

Ah yes, the book.

I am sad to report we have so far raised a measly $20.

Now that is probably mostly my fault since I have not been promoting the project as much as I should, so be warned, we will now be hearing about this book a lot given that there are only 18 more fundraising days left.

Let me start by giving you a concrete example of the type of information the book will provide. Consider please that the Scottie News gets a lot of visitors who arrive at the site after seeking out articles on terrier skin allergies. We have several valuable posts on this topic, but you do have to hop around from one to the other and read multiple sets of comments to get all the info.

Also, there’s a post on an itchy Westie veterinary seminar, but the promised slides from it never arrived. This is because I never followed it up due to lack of time and need to earn a living. If the book project goes ahead, the funding will enable me to take the time to seek out this information and bring it all together in one convenient format.

So please  CLICK HERE and pre-order your book. Remember if we don’t meet our goal, your pledge is returned in full so there are absolutely no strings attached.

And if you want to contribute to a Scottie Harlem Shake video, please leave a comment for Laura here.

ORDER YOUR SCOTTIE NEWS BOOK

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We’ve got a campaign up and running at indiegogo.

The goal is to raise the money to publish a book: The Best of the Scottish Terrier News.

The deadline for the fund raising is the first day of spring, March 20, 2013. And if we’re successful, the book should be ready by the first day of summer.

The beauty of using indiegogo crowd funding is that you get to see if there’s demand for your project before you do all the work. The book won’t go ahead unless enough people want it to.

Please check out the Scottie News campaign and order a book. There are a number of options and you can choose the one that’s right for you.

Among other things, you can even buy your dog the opportunity to grace the cover. Just one condition, said dog must be a Scottie.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at scottishterriernews@gmail.com.

CLICK HERE FOR BOOK OPTIONS

 

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Brrr. Brrr. Brrr.

In response to the cold weather this week, the Scottie News is featuring some of our favourite snowy posts on the front page this week. Hop on over to www.scottishterriernews.com to check them out — or if you’re already here, scroll on down.

And, what else? January 25th. Tomorrow. Och! Robbie Burns Day. Get out your kilt and your dog’s kilt, and consult the Scottish Terrier and Dog News for all your  fashion dos don’ts on this important day.

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Bridget of the Scottie News in the snow, originally uploaded by scottishterriernews.

Bridget does not wear either a coat or boots in winter. She doesn’t appear to need a coat and while she is sometimes bothered by salty Canadian streets, the only time she has ever gotten really mad at me is when I tried to put some boots on her at a pet store.

Once was more than enough. I gave up and started using paste, which works well but can be a bit messy. I’ve since switched to  Pawstick, which does the trick for Bridget.

If I did use a coat, I’d opt for one that does up the back like the velcro-back model by Fido Fleece shown on the left. Bridget’s pet sitter uses them on his Westies and says they’re the best both for ease of use and warmth. In cold weather you need something to protect the stomach and with Fido Fleece, you don’t have to sacrifice style to comfort. They have  a number of cute designs.

 

As for boots, balloon models are very popular in my neck of the woods although it must be said that a lot of people hate them because they come off and then other dogs eat them, which can cause severe problems and big vet bills. The alternative is Ultra Paws Durable Dog Boots, which pre-date the balloon boots and are highly recommended on Amazon as well as by Canadian dog peeps.

Oh yeah, this is what I wear on my body and feet. My boots were an investment, but they’re as old as Bridget — six and a half — and still going strong. I trade in my down coats every five years or so because I get tired of wearing the same thing day-in, day-out for several months in a row.

Anyway, that’s how we do it here in Canada. Please let me know your tricks for coping with cold weather dog walks. But before I go, one last trick for when it gets icy. This secret weapon changed my life.

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Scottish Terrier in snow

Maggie squirrel watches in Toronto

The Scottish Terrier and Dog News would like to wish everyone a somewhat belated happy new year.

We hope to be posting once a week going forward. Things kicked off with our Golden Globes post last weekend.

All former premium subscribers should have received their refunds last year. According to my records, everything is now squared away. If this is not the case, please contact me at scottishterriernews@gmail.com.

Yeah, January!

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Before buying Andis dog clippers, read these reviews

Welcome to the Scottish Terrier and Dog News, a site I founded in 2007 to bring you high-quality dog news, reviews and information (and other Scottie stuff that’s just plain fun.)

If you’re trying to decide which model  Andis dog clippers you need, the Scottie News can help. I put together these clipper reviews because when I searched for dog clipper info on the web all I found was sketchy, spammy stuff. I know how frustrating that can be and I wanted to help other dog lovers avoid the big time-suck and, instead, quickly and efficiently find the dog clippers that work best for their breed.

Andis Dog Clippers Reviews

Andis: Why professional and home dog groomers love Andis

I was advised to buy Andis Clippers after a friend and fellow dog lover made the mistake of buying a cheap pair and driving both herself and her dog crazy. Once she invested in the right equipment it was smooth sailing and she made it her mission to tell everyone else including me. The right clippers, she said, will change your life — just good set of kitchen knives.

My friend does a major grooming four to eight times a year and her 12-year-old clippers are still going strong. After just two groomings, she had already saved enough money to cover the cost of the clippers. (It cost her $60 a session to get her dog groomed.)

While it did take her a while to learn some of the tricks of the trade — and she admits her dog had a few bad hair days at first — that can, as most of us know, happen with professional groomers too. And I’ve even had professional groomers cut my dog, something my friend says she has never done.

If you decide to start grooming your dog at home, good clippers will help you work safer and faster so consider it an investment. Andis has served many pro and home groomers well. They’ve earned their reputation for customer service and high-quality products.

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Andis 22340 AGC 2-Speed Detachable-Blade Small-Animal Clipper

Andis AGC 2-Speed Clipper Review:

Advantages

  • Break-resistant housing
  • Shhh! A quieter clipper for skittish dogs
  • 2,700 strokes per minute (spm) and 3,400 spm professional blade speed
  • Blade locking mechanism
  • Almost maintenance free

Bottom Line: The AGC 2 is the clipper you need for smaller dogs including Yorkshire Terriers, West Highland Terriers, Scottish Terriers, Dachshunds, Schnauzers, Corgis,. Don’t underestimate the importance of the quiet(er) feature.

Amazon Price: $137.95 reduced from $179.99 BUY NOW

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Andis 63970 PowerGroom Detachable-Blade Small-Animal Clipper

Andis 63970 PowerGroom Clipper Review

Advantages

  • Power, power and more power. 4,500 strokes per minute (spm). Holy power clippers!
  • Light weight to make grooming easier
  • Comes with size 10 CeramicEdge blade and extra blade drive

Bottom Line: Va-va-va groom. Seriously, if you do a lot of small dog clipping or if your dog has a thick coat, these are the Andis clippers for you.

Amazon Price: $157.38 reduced from $182.99 BUY NOW

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Andis 22215 2-Speed Detachable Plus Pet Clipper

Andis AG 2-Speed Detachable Clipper Review:

Advantages

  • Shatter-proof housing
  • Compatible with UltraEdge and CeramicEdge blades
  • 2,700 strokes per minute (spm) and 3,400 spm professional blade speed
  • 3 metre (14 foot) cord and comes with #10 blade
  • Blades are easily detachable
  • Extremely quiet clippers

Bottom line: These are heavy duty dog clippers that will work really well on larger breeds like poodles, giant schnauzers, collies, Australian shepherds, St. Bernards.

Amazon Price: $109.19 reduced from $165.99 BUY NOW

Why buy dog clippers on Amazon?

If you’ve shopped at Amazon, you likely already know they have the best customer service imaginable. For once, the customer is always right.

Their prices are often the lowest and, when they aren’t ask yourself if it’s really worth it to save a dollar or two by going with a seller you don’t know. I can recommend Amazon without hesitation and their dog clipper reviews will help you decided which model of clippers are right for you.

Please leave a comment about your grooming experiences

It’s always helpful to know how things have worked out for others so scroll on down and tell us your thoughts.

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After mulling it over for a long time, I have decided to stop publishing the premium version of the Scottie News. There are a lot of reasons that I won’t bore you with, but mostly it’s because it’s time for me to do other things.

I still plan to publish occasional Scottie News updates, which will be free. And maybe I’ll return to more regular publishing at some point in the future. But as of now, nothing is planned, which feels really good.
`Hide-and-Seek

I’ll be issuing full refunds over the next week. Should you not receive yours or have any other problems, contact me at scottishterriernews@gmail.com.

And if by any chance, you want to buy the Scottish Terrier and Dog News, we can talk about that too.

It’s been a pleasure bringing you the Scottie News and getting to know you all, the best part of the job really.

Here’s to you and your Scotties.

AnnB

Publisher and Editor

Photo credit: Hide-and-Seek by favoriteblue1224

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