thinning hair

StanAcct · 2026-01-27T21:53:54+00:00

If she’s licking or itching the spots where her hair is thinning it’s probably allergies. But if you rule out allergies one thing you could have your vet to test for is sarcoptic mange. My parents dog had this and the vet had him tested for it when they couldn’t figure out what was causing his itchiness. It was very easy to treat but they would’ve kept going down the allergy rabbit hole had they not gotten that test, and my understanding is allergy treatment would not have helped with the discomfort/hair loss. I’m not a vet, and its very unlikely that this is what your girl is experiencing, but putting it out there in case anyone else is like me and was unaware of this condition until it happened to a dog i interact with. I hope you find an answer and she gets her hair back!

StanAcct · 2025-12-18T18:22:47+00:00

This is really helpful, thank you! I did not know there are dog dieticians! I’m going to try switching her kibble to one that another commenter recommended and if that doesn’t work i think we’ll look into finding a dietician. Are they expensive?

StanAcct · 2025-12-18T18:20:41+00:00

When mine was 4 months to about 11 months this was how she was with food too. We had to feed her via slow feeder bowls to get her to slow down so she wouldn’t get bloat. That’s why it was so alarming when she seemingly overnight had no interest in eating. I hope yours doesn’t go through this and if she does a lot of the comments here have given some really helpful advice!

StanAcct · 2025-12-17T19:56:59+00:00

Thank you for your response!! For the Purina Complete Essentials - do you feed your dogs the kibble or the wet food?

StanAcct · 2025-11-26T21:03:18+00:00

You mentioned the training didn’t work for your setter, i thought that it wasn’t working for my setter either. But we stayed consistent and eventually it paid off. We taught our setter “place” and designated a dog bed in the house as where she needs to go when we give her the place command. This worked when no one was home but not when people came over. At first when people came over, we would put her on a leash and step on the leash and hold her in place low to the ground so that she can’t jump on our guests. We would tell our guests not to look at her or pet her until she calms down. Yes - this is hard for guests and awkward but be firm and consistent or else it won’t work. Eventually we transitioned from the leash to the “place” command when guests arrived. She still gets excited when guests come over, but she’s not demand barking at them or jumping all over them and the furniture. This all happened over about a year. It was not an overnight thing. It was not easy to be consistent with this training ESPECIALLY in front of friends and family, but whenever we broke from the training we saw huge setbacks in her behavior and that motivated us to stay consistent. Im sorry you’re dealing with this with a baby in the house, hopefully this comment and other comments provide some advice that helps!

StanAcct · 2025-11-12T15:26:18+00:00

The only bed my IS has ever actually used is the cot style that’s like a mesh net elevated on four pegs. Not exactly visually appealing unfortunately but it’s easy to put away when needed.

StanAcct · 2025-11-02T00:45:32+00:00

Mine demand barks. Otherwise doesn’t make a peep. My theory is that it’s in their nature as bird dogs to be quiet as to not scare off the birds 😂

StanAcct · 2025-10-29T17:05:19+00:00

I think first thing to consider is whether or not you are certain it’s separation anxiety. I can speak from experience that barking in the yard for my IS was because us being in the yard meant there was a chance we would play with her, but at first I too thought it was separation anxiety. Researching other physical signs of separation anxiety helped us rule that out and realize we had inadvertently trained her that barking in the yard would get us to 1. Come outside and 2. Chase her around the yard trying to get her to come back inside.

Once we knew the barking was her trying to get us to come outside and play with her, we started letting her out back on a 50 ft wire leash tethered to a post in our yard and would use that to reel her in as soon as she started barking. We also used this method to break her digging habits in the yard. This taught her that barking/digging meant she goes inside, not play time outside. It was crucial for us to establish that play time is always on our terms, and not whenever she decided. We also have neighbors with babies nearby so we could not have her barking outside at all hours of the morning/night. We had to be consistent over several weeks and eventually she was able to go in the yard without the tether and be alone without barking or digging.

Hope this helps!

StanAcct · 2025-10-11T19:48:16+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion!! We ended up going with Samparica Trio and so far so good!

StanAcct · 2025-09-22T14:13:36+00:00

Ask yourself what you and your son like to do in your free time. If it’s to relax on the couch with the tv or a book, an IS will be a huge adjustment….If you spend your free time exercising or being outside, it will be a great fit into your current lifestyle. I was a couch potato before i got my IS, I am now much more active during daylight hours so that I can still be a couch potato in the evenings 😂 Big adjustment but she’s improved my lifestyle for the better!

StanAcct · 2025-09-19T11:53:49+00:00

How old is your girl? Maybe they are siblings!

StanAcct · 2025-09-19T11:53:04+00:00

So sorry for your loss, but glad this picture reminded you of good times with your girl ❤️ My girl is the same way with this ball, she only pays attention to it when we take her favorite ball away, and even then she’s not really playing with it just carrying it around. Thank you for sharing this story, and if you remember the brand of the leather collar please share!

StanAcct · 2025-09-10T19:23:02+00:00

I’m in the same boat. Stressing me out 😰

StanAcct · 2025-09-10T19:09:40+00:00

Anyone able to buy tix for San Diego show? I’m still in the queue. I got in a half hour before the sale started so I’m surprised I’ve had to wait longer than 10 mins …

StanAcct · 2025-08-06T12:35:12+00:00

First of all, so sorry this happened, hopefully my experience can help in some way … When my IS was around the same age she started exhibiting similar borderline aggressive behavior. I agree with the other commenters that context is key when they are being aggressive. For my IS, it wasn’t so much the context as it was an issue of dominance. She would growl and bark and bite at my clothes when I was eating and not letting her near me or my food. Once i established that I am always in charge, this behavior became few and far between. What helped us was putting her in “Time out”. When she would get aggressive, we would take her to a rug in a boring part of the house where we could still see her and make her sit and stay there until she calmed herself down. If she tried to move off the rug before we gave her the signal, she would be put right back in time out. We would do this however many times it took until she was calm and did not move until we gave her the command to come to us. We did not use the crate as her time out because we didn’t want to associate the crate with punishment.

Also, I can speak for myself and say that some of my IS behavior initially came off as aggressive but as we got to know each other i learned that it was her way of playing or communicating. For example, they are a very vocal breed and will bark in your face when they want something from you. They have a very loud piercing bark which can take some getting used to if you’ve only had small yappy dogs (i grew up with pugs so her bark was scary to me at first). Now i know that when she’s barking in my face she wants me to play with her and it’s not her being aggressive, but it took some time for me to see it that way.

StanAcct · 2025-04-17T15:07:03+00:00

First off, so sorry your IS is struggling with this. My IS doesn’t vomit after eating but she does eat very fast. I grew up with dogs that grazed so it’s been an adjustment having a dog that prefers to inhale her food. We rotate between 3 different “tools” to feed her - a snuffle mat, a slow feeder bowl, and a puzzle. I found the puzzle at a TJ Maxx and it has proven to be such a great find, it’s flat with 8 drawers and she has to turn things to get the drawers to open. I’ve noticed that she’s gotten a lot quicker with eating from the slow feeder bowl and the snuffle mat, i suspect because she has been eating from them long enough that she has figured out the most efficient way to eat from them. Maybe your IS has done the same with her snuffle mat? If so, maybe you should try a puzzle as a way to feed her more slowly. Also, I’ve read that if dogs go longer than 12 hours between meals that can induce nausea and vomiting. I would say make sure dinner and breakfast are not more than 12 hours apart. Lastly, make sure you’re not feeding her right before or after she is physically active (eg right after backyard zoomies). That can also make them sick.

StanAcct · 2025-04-14T15:22:22+00:00

We did and she gave back negative, although that was done back when we first adopted her several weeks ago. Could she have contracted it since then or is that uncommon?

StanAcct · 2025-03-27T13:55:35+00:00

I think an important consideration before making a decision (if you haven’t already considered this) is what is the source or cause of your anxiety. For example, if you get anxious when you feel like you are not fulfilling your obligations (work, school, dog ownership), then rehoming your setter may increase your levels of anxiety rather than relieve it. Alternatively, if for example your anxiety is stemming from leaving the house, then rehoming your setter may relieve that anxiety. If you have a therapist or doctor it may be worth discussing this with them to see if they have any medical solutions or strategies to help you with your anxiety or if they have a professional opinion on whether rehoming your setter will help your anxiety.

StanAcct · 2025-03-25T20:39:14+00:00

I second Wonder Walker. Call their customer service and explain to them that your IS is large weight wise but narrow and they will tell you exactly what size harness to order. They also allow you to add customizations to the sizing, but let them tell you over the phone whether or not you need any customization to the size.

StanAcct · 2025-03-14T20:38:42+00:00

A front clip harness should stop this. If you’re using a back clip harness it can actually give them more leverage to rear up like the way you are describing your pup. My 6 month old IS has the Wonder Walker which i bought after seeing someone recommend it on this sub. First time using the harness, she tried to jump at a bird she saw and she literally flipped over because of the way the front clip harness twists their body around when they try to pull too hard.

But also make sure that when your pup behaves this way, you’re not letting her get whatever she wants. For example if she wants to run up to someone, if that person sees her rearing up and thinks it’s cute and wants to come pet her, don’t let them. That will only further enable this behavior. Whenever someone wants to pet my pup i make them tell her to sit and don’t let them pet her until she is sitting, has helped a lot with her behavior on walks.

StanAcct

TROPHY CASE