This is WONDERFUL!❤️

Honestly - I’ve never been allergy tested myself, but I live in the mid-Atlantic and I’ve been on otc allergy meds for half my life. 90% of the time, I’m good, then you hit a few peak weeks and meh.

Dogs - partic some breeds - are the same. My guy’s allergy screen, good lord, we’d have to keep him in a bubble! But it’s manageable.

You need a good primary vet, who will have empathy for your boy first. That vet will help you, not leave you with no answers—my dog is a giant and reactive, and my vet is wonderful with him. It’s so helpful when you have a knowledgeable pro that truly wants to help your puppy on your side, so you don’t feel alone.

On the bright side, if your pup is not expressing signs of discomfort, and if the bumps aren’t open at all - he’ll be okay while you find a new vet. But look for one, pronto. You’ll both feel better:)

ETA: he is beautiful. Absolute stunner!

You 100% need a diff vet. That is baseline-level instruction, do not pass “Go.”

My pittie has horrific allergies, all manifest in skin, all differently. Foot licking, rashes on groin and armpits, bumps/redness on head and neck. My vet and I tried a few diff options - apoquel, cytopoint, plain ol’ Zyrtec - before it was recommended I taken him to an allergist. They did skin testing, like in humans, and it’s a bonkers amount of stuff - grasses, diff trees, wool (hello, carpets), etc. Anyhoo, he went on hydroxizine + weekly medicated baths + immunotherapy (a customized thing we squirt in his mouth) and LOADS of improvement. Like, to the point I was kicking myself for going through the regular vet protocol first. Now for my 2 “howevers”—>

First, assuming you get a new vet - do not pass go, remember - you do need to try the Zyrtec or apoquel or cytopoint paths first. They are highly effective in the majority of allergic dogs.

Second - my doggo, who tried all that and still was a mess - does occasionally STILL get bumps on his face/head like what you’re showing. VERY like what you’re showing (though mine has more fur coverage in the face, that’s what’s under there - similarly, doesn’t seem to bother him). Once a year, roughly. It’s allergies for him—and just exposure to some new allergen (some plant or whatever that he hasn’t been around before) or (more likely) during a really bad time for allergy sufferers. I, too, have seasonal allergies - and there are one or two weeks a year where despite my regular med regimen, I’m crap.

I don’t know your pit, but my pit sticks his head in everything all of the time. Your dog already has a food allergy so you know he’s already got the bio to react to things his system doesn’t like.

New vet, pronto. Apoquel, then maybe Zyrtec, then cytopoint. Those fail…allergist. Allergist for me was not hard to find and while not cheap, was not bananas expensive, and the result was worth it.

LOVE THIS❤️

I can feel that my dog feels shame; I cannot explain this, but I know when he’s had an outburst he’s upset with himself. His body language, the way he looks at me, he needs reassurance that mom still loves him, that he’s still perfect, that I know he’s trying and that’s more than enough. This wasn’t always instinctual, but maybe a year/eighteen months in, something clicked for me; he’s not doing this on purpose. It’s not about me. We go where I take him, the stimulants show up or not - he’s completely a passenger to the whole shebang. And I absolutely know he’s trying.

How can I possibly be upset with that?

I’m much better now at knowing the signals, and at knowing our limits - I will not knowingly put him in positions that are too much for him. But sometimes we can’t avoid everything, and now - in those situations - my focus is keeping him safe and reassured that he’s doing okay. Safe first, for him and all around us, and reassured that I’m there, we’ll get through it, I see him working and he’s doing a great job.

They are adorable—thank you for providing them a home!!!

I love Bert and Ernie; but maybe something to do with luck…Lucky and Chance?

Was just in London a couple weeks ago and enjoyed the vegan tasting at Pied-a-Terre quite a bit - some great wines, too. Owner and somm highly engaging, just a really enjoyable experience.

Yes, I know - just interested in others’ thoughts around the pros/cons, esp in this particular area.

We are coming/going from a slightly different direction; I’m also fairly lucky in that I am mostly remote so can swing going up/back at off times and work from there.

Fully agree though - and something to consider.

We just did this in London at Pied-a-Terre; we mentioned at beginning with som and it was just lovely.

Not in sales, but delivery — emergent/GenAI tech, so hired a few folks recently. Because of the specialization, I got a lot of applicants from startups.

My company is a behemoth - so my questions tended to drill in on how an applicant (used to agility and flexibility among less “layers”) would operate in a multi-level, global, multi-matrixed org. You can’t just “do what works” sometimes - so when saddled with process, or levels of approvals, or high visibility customers with multiple internal and partner stakeholders, what do you do?

Most of the “startup only” applicants have a hard time here. Prep your approach.

And of course, the hiring manager will be looking for ways you make her job easier; if you’re self-sufficient, learn on your own, and ask for help when needed (we WANT you to ask, it beats you doing something that results in escalation or cleanup), it’ll help.

They’re totally allowed!!!

It can get crowded on holidays or super nice weekends - but if you/your dog doesn’t mind, or you go at an off time, it’s beautiful and a nice day without being too too far away.

Does it have to be a lake? Ridley creek state park, green lane and even the John Heinz refuge have loads of splashies and trails and picnic areas.

Peace valley reservoir is also nice!!!

Why does your dog need to play with other dogs? Seems like he/she wants to play with you?!

Flex is adorbs - looks so serious!!!

Fully agree; we do a couple days/week of this stuff (I have these old washcloths that I wind up around treats, then snake into those open balls (kinda cheap, look like they’re made out of k’nex?!) Doesn’t take too long for them to figure out, but they like it!)

Sniffspot is a godsend too. Look for it. We’ve done yards, a yard with a pool, and my current go-to (we go weekly, for 2 hours for 2 dogs it’s $20) is this wooded lot with a creek. It’s only 5 acres but zero people and zero dogs, and they’re tired for 2 days from all the sniffing. That spot alone taught me that it’s not the physical exercise they need, it’s the engagement: plowing through the brush, smelling everything, investigating, getting “lost” then finding our way out - my boy dog, a difficult one to please, is especially in love with the place.

Early mornings are helpful. Do you have a car? Sometimes I’ll go to a quieter neighborhood, just drive and park.

And I’m here to say: it gets better. It really, truly does. My 2 still have bad moments (or bad days)…but so do I. And if they can get up excited to see me and do something with me the next day, I can very easily do the same.

Mine are approaching 4; first 2 years were tough. But we have a rhythm now; mine would react as yours does in those situations to this day. If you can try to avoid the situations (via the great recommendations here), you’ll both feel better.

I am 100% aging myself but:

Muse—knights of cydonia Throwing muses - bright yellow gun Blink 182 — all the small things Alien ant farm - smooth criminal Rob Zombie - Dracula Carmina Burana O Fortuna (trust me on this)

And Paradise City will always, always get me going.

I love tuna with cannellini beans, artichoke hearts, chopped fennel (the veg, not the seed), grape/cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, drizzle of olive oil, generous squeezes of lemon.

I’ve had mine for almost 4 years; he was 4 months when I adopted him.

He has changed—I don’t want to discount that. He has learned so very much. He is silly and sweet and sensitive and so very smart and brave.

But he has changed US, his humans. WE have changed. We’ve realized that not all dogs should be expected to be comfortable everywhere. We’ve learned that some dogs - both of mine, not just the reactive one - really really REALLY are very happy and excited just being with us; that “socialization” and such isn’t really a thing for these two. I’ve learned how to “read” dog, and how I need to keep my dog safe and give him the best chance of success by acting on what I’m “reading” from him. He’s shown me new parks and new trails, his joy fills me with more contentment than anything I can remember. His absolute faith in me, his responsiveness to me, his love for me and my family - I can never repay him for that.

He hasn’t changed a ton, but he has changed us for the better.

Absolutely - no way to really isolate cause with all of that, and poor baby just needs to feel safe for a few weeks and adjust to new surroundings before you can really see what might need treatment. Can take a pup a few months to settle in before they let you see their true personality.

Hang in there, and thank you for caring for her!

I called my vet when I became uncomfortable with the effects, and we talked it out: stopping or reducing. We figured reducing was a good first step, and if he continued showing lethargy and loss of appetite we’d stop completely and regroup.

You’re in charge, my friend - don’t do something that doesn’t feel right, communicate your concerns to the vet, and if the vet doesn’t take you seriously or you feel at all hinky about it, change vets. I don’t think that’s the case here, but with many dogs there is nuance to dosage or even selected pharmaceutical approach, and they can only guide you based on your feedback.

So for mine it was dosage; similar reaction - after 2 weeks I was freaking out, he was losing weight (visibly). We cut the dosage in half, and the next day he was back to normal. We’ve since settled on a dosage that is about 75% of the original. The original dose, btw, was the low-end “starter” dose for his weight (he’s 90lbs, 40 mg was zombie pup, we’re now at 30/day). Hes not cured, but he’s slower to trigger and quicker to recover, and he’s much less worried and enjoys his life more. Its been almost 2 years on 30/day and we’re all doing pretty great, 95% of the time (but most of that is management, understanding/listening to my dog, training and less of that is his meds).

You know your pup best. These are drugs that are (1) not for everyone and (2) not one size fits all. Don’t put your pup through something that feels inherently wrong to you, have realistic expectations - the goal is to reduce stress, not fit some idealism - and if a prescription is the answer, be prepared to move slowly and use your judgment.

Trazadone, btw, works on the brain differently. I use that for my nervous pup for fireworks and vet visits, vs for steady-state anxiety relief.

And descriptive, I’ve found a lot of the stuff Sniffspot makes them enter (can other dogs be seen/heard?) is accurate.

Best of luck - let us know how it goes!

Yep.

Sniffspot tends to be pretty up front about what you can see/encounter. It’s someone’s private property, only you can be there.

I went to a different one once that was not as advertised, emailed sniffspot and got a refund. Another time, in our fave wooded spot, I saw a woman walking in the distance by the creek - thought maybe owner? Kept my dogs distracted, hightailed it out, messaged owner to say I was sorry for being confused on our timing - turns out it was some rando trespassing. She fell all over herself apologizing, thanked me for reporting it (!), and put up more “no trespassing/private entry” signs.

Sniffspot, in general, is a very customer-forward business platform.