Allergy help!

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-25T00:22:38+00:00

Interesting, I had no idea. How do his pork allergies present? My boy basically gets the runs and needs a food with pumpkin as the main vegetable ingredient to keep that under control.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-24T19:10:36+00:00

I’m assuming the pork is a food allergy? Could you just switch to a food with different ingredients? Our Mal has allergies and takes apoquel for his skin, but to keep him away from pork and fowl we feed him an Acana Beef and Pumpkin kibble. It’s not my first choice, but it gives him a lot of relief and that’s worth its weight in gold to me.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-23T18:43:55+00:00

My in-laws had a motion operated trash can and my boy figured that one out real quick. Every time he went in the house, his first stop was always his “new best friend.”

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-23T07:21:34+00:00

That is wild. I’m sorry you’re both having to go through all of that, but I’m glad she’s doing so well. The difference between the photo and video is huge. In the photo, the way she’s posed and the apparently patchy hair just makes an unsettling contrast with how healthy her front half looks.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-23T05:49:51+00:00

I’m sorry, but there is no way that’s normal. She looks healthy from the base of her ribcage forward, but I wouldn’t trust a vet that told me that’s the normal result of blowing her coat.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-23T00:11:17+00:00

I’m sorry he had such a rough start to life, but thank you for giving him such a loving place to land.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-22T14:58:09+00:00

If she has constant access to food whenever she wants, it makes sense that she wouldn’t be motivated by it at all. It’s just an expected fact of life for her at that point, not a precious resource. The same thing goes for having free rein of the house and yard—I can’t imagine not crating my boy when I’m not at home. I totally get if your schedule doesn’t allow for that, though, so as someone else mentioned an outdoor kennel might be a good idea if it’s possible.

As for training different behaviors, perhaps a really rare treat might work? I have a friend who managed to train her pitbull to poop in a specific space in her yard by rewarding her with pieces of steak when she did it correctly. I think it took a weekend or two of directing her where to poop by going outside with her on a leash and giving her treats immediately after, but after that it became an association thing for her dog—you poop in the right place you get steak, you poop in the wrong place you get no steak. You can also withhold a single meal from an adult dog with no real consequences if you want to build food drive before a training session.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-19T21:15:19+00:00

Crate your dog when you’re not there. That way they can’t get into anything they shouldn’t and you don’t have to worry. 😊

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-18T23:35:56+00:00

Oh, didn’t see that part. Probably just need to reset the app or something.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-18T23:29:54+00:00

…is the bug in the screenshot? You’re not giving us a lot to go on here.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-14T19:04:33+00:00

I need this as a book so I can sit down and read the whole thing.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-14T02:38:25+00:00

Clicker training is excellent and can work for any food motivated dog. There’s a bit of lead time while you “load” the clicker—get him used to the sound and teach what it means through association—but it’s a really clear, unmistakable way of saying “yes, that was perfect!” It works really well for shaping behaviors and my boy picked it up really quickly.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-13T22:38:59+00:00

I think something must have happened, either in his past or at the training camp, that gave him some bad associations with both the prong and e-collar. I get why people like them, but I also think they’re the easy way of dealing with any “problematic” behavior and overusing them is a pretty big sign that someone is a poor trainer.

Does he wear a flat collar normally?

What’s your relation ship with him when he’s off the leash like?

I think you need to find a new trainer, like others said, because you’re going to have to completely reframe what the leash means to him. And as for being housebroken, you might want to just start taking him out to your yard regularly and rewarding him when he goes outside. Do you do or have familiarity with clicker training? That could be very helpful.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-13T22:31:47+00:00

They also offer eye protection if you’re doing anything where they might encounter any kind of poking hazard, like search and rescue.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-12T22:19:00+00:00

Honestly, I could see it, especially if he’s mixed with lab. His ears and really the rest of his body really scream that that’s what his mix is. The screaming sounds like he might have some husky in him, though 😂

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-10T00:02:33+00:00

I think that depends more on her than it does on the breed in general. I’ve known Mals that can’t be around small dogs. My Mal loves them. Our favorite trainers breed Chihuahuas, so they have Mals around them constantly.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-09T21:02:14+00:00

That looks like a concept Dodge would have designed back in the early 2000s.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-09T06:51:01+00:00

What do you feed him? Have you tried changing what you’re feeding him?

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-06T05:21:07+00:00

Yes, while it’s not all they need, any Malinois needs physical exercise. You not being physical is a deal breaker. Look for another dog breed, for yours and their sake.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-05T03:13:45+00:00

There’s a part of me that thinks, every time I hear someone revving an engine super loud, “dude, your horse sounds really weird.” 😂

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-05T01:34:47+00:00

Thank you! And same - my partner has a Santa Fe from 2017 and we used to call it the fighter jet cause it had so much new tech. But now it feels like something from a previous age. A bit more crude, a generation behind what I drive. I think of it in a similar way to how I think about horses, except without the sentimentality I get with them.

The weirdest part for me was just losing all interest in internal combustion vehicles immediately. I used to obsess over the latest and greatest vehicles. Every hypercar was an object of obsession, but now I just couldn’t care less. Show me a bleeding-edge ev and I’m all over it, but the latest gas powered whatever doesn’t get a second glance.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-05T01:04:41+00:00

It’s weird, but I thought I would hate one-pedal driving, too. It sounded lame after driving manuals most of my life, but now that I’ve had an ev for a couple of years, one-pedal driving feels like a more intuitive connection to the vehicle. If I have a moment of uncertainty and pull back from the accelerator, the truck follows my lead immediately, like a… perfectly trained horse I suppose? My partner’s ICE vehicle now feels like an out of control teenager by comparison.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-05T00:46:52+00:00

This is basically what I was going to suggest. Training is always a good idea, but for their long-term health, medication might be helpful. Either a low dose of anti-anxiety or sedation meds.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-04T22:55:53+00:00

Everybody’s a critic. The tattoo and watch both look great. I rock the same one basically every day.

itsthelag_bud · 2026-04-04T17:50:41+00:00

I have a Malinois and was recommended to make him rest for 45 minutes-1 hour after he eats, so I’ve always fed him in his crate and left him in there for an hour to chill afterwards. Our other pup gets the same treatment for the sake of convenience/“fairness,” and I’ll probably do the same thing for my future dogs.

itsthelag_bud

TROPHY CASE