# older with some new problems...



## limsan (Mar 2, 2010)

Hi all, I am new to this site and have read a few of the posts and would just like to introduce myself and my dog,Harmony. She is about 10 or 11 years old I think-not positive as we adopted her from an aquaintance 7 years ago. She had not been well treated always but,we have loved her for a while now and she has become very trusting and has developed into a superb watch dog and coyote chaser. I started to make my own dog food in the last year. She seemed to respond well to it but, in the last week or so she has developed hot spots on several spots: legs,tail,chest,back of legs. I took her to the vet and $224 later I still don't know what is really causing them. It was suggested I give her hypo-allergenic food for now which I am doing despite my reservations about commercial dog food. Harmony also has pretty severe arthritis along her spine and knees as well as an overgrowth of bone growth on one knee. As a result she has extreme difficulty getting up on her bed(which we have lowered) and she doesn't like to go for walks anymore. She used to be on Tramadol but I took her off it as I worried about her becoming addicted to it. Now, this vet sold me Dermaxx which he informed me does have side effects that I should watch out for. Since reading about it online I am extremely reluctant to give her any of it at all. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternative pain relief? I will read some of your food recipes when I get back with some betadine and tea tree oil and a collar for her head(she wont stop worrying these hot spots!)


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Have you changed anything in your homemade diet in the last few days? If so, it could be causing the reaction.

I would NOT switch to the kibble. It is not the solution to the issue, just a cover up of the symptoms.


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