Shark Pups: pupdate

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Pupdate: Anxiety

I mentioned a while ago about Stanlee's allergies and posted this photo of him the day he had his allergy testing. It sparked a lot of interest about the jacket he is wearing and our experience with it, so I thought I would talk about that here.

Stanlee is wearing his thunder shirt in this photo. The thunder shirt is for pups with anxiety as a way to feel more secure. Stanlee has always had anxiety since we adopted him. At first, it was separation anxiety. He followed me around right at my feet the first few months we had him, while at the same time he wouldn't let me pick him up because he was scared and stiff. Stanlee and I worked a lot on building a relationship and now it's amazing to see how far we have come. Not only has he completely opened up to us and shows so much love toward our family, but he has also taught me to never give up on a dog that needed special attention.

Stanlee's anxiety today is more elevated when changes occur. When we moved, he had a little bit of a hard time with all the boxes, the moving and then adjusting to a new place. If we have people over, I try to have his thunder shirt on to help with pacing and hiding under tables. Or, if I notice him feeling extra sensitive for whatever reason, I put his shirt on. Stanlee loves his thunder shirt and I definitely notice a difference when he is wearing it. I think it keeps him warm too which he always loves. (This pup will curl up under any blanket or bury himself in pillows given the chance!)

I'm not sure if Stanlee will ever grow out of his anxiety. Sometimes I look at him and think it is a part of his personality. Stan is very different than our other boston terrier, Miley, who is care free and miss independent. Each year he gets better and better and I feel proud of how far he has come. If your pup is like Stanlee and has an anxious personality type, I recommend trying the Thunder Shirt. You can probably find it at most large pet store chains or online here.

Pupdate: Allergy Testing

Stanlee is my pup that does all the modeling for my shop. He is super sweet, loyal, and knows how to model a bow-tie very well. What you probably don't know about Stanlee is that he actually suffers from two things: anxiety and allergies.

Ever since we adopted Stanlee, we knew he had some type of skin problem. Stanlee gets pretty stinky, even after just having a bath, his skin is usually pink and itchy, he breaks out in hives and is sensitive to just about anything. After having the little guy for 3 years, we decided it was time to get an allergy test to see exactly what it is he's allergic to. We tried e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. and nothing seemed to get his allergies under control, and our vet visits to something less frequent than every 6-8 weeks. So, we did an allergy test a couple weeks ago and we now FINALLY know what it is he is allergic to.

A specific type of mold.

Mold.

That's all.

I honestly thought the vet was going to say he was allergic to grass, pollen, wool and even his own dander!

However, when an allergy test comes back, if the dog's level is over 150, they are considered allergic to that item (and they test for everything). Stanlee came back with a level of 1300+ for this specific mold! Yes you read that correctly, over 1300! Talk about severely allergic to this mold. Our next step is to give him injections every 4-5 days over the next 6 weeks and then he will go to just once a month, hopefully.

Because we have lived in four different apartments in four different cities across Ohio, the vet didn't seem to think it was a problem with our current living conditions since Stanlee has a very long history of skin allergies, and our apartment complex is brand new. Mold can grow anywhere, but the vet explained this mold is common in old homes, basements and very humid walls. We aren't sure exactly how this severe allergy came about. The vet said it could be the product of his last home environment before we adopted him, and his body reacting to being removed from that environment.

Either way, we now know what Stanlee's allergy is, and how to treat it which makes this momma very happy. And, seeing him in his little bandaged paw made me want to cuddle him even more than usual. How pitiful does that little paw and face look.