Name : Huckleberry
Breed : Rescue Blue Doberman
Age : 2-3 years old
Symptoms : Huckleberry had some behavior issues and very itchy skin, runny stool, dry & coarse coat, fearful and very sensitive to sounds
Location : Arizona, USA
I got Huckleberry a little over 5 months ago on Craigslist. He was purchased from a local animal shelter and after 5 weeks, given up by his adopters. He had some anxiety as well aggression.
Berry is my 10th Doberman and my first blue. I joined a group for blue Dobermans so I could learn a thing or two and that's where I found out about the book that was soon to be released about Gunner's story.
I didn't have a clue what it was about but I felt strongly I needed to start reading again and this seemed like a great place to start. While I was reading the book I realized I had to get Huckleberry's thyroid tested right away. I just had a hunch my problems could be thyroid related.
The blood work came back and my vet said he was a low normal and that I didn't have to treat it unless I felt the symptoms were severe enough. I opted to start on thyroid meds asap. I immediately sent the findings off to doctor Jean Dodds who is a specialist in this area and realized my vets dosage was a bit too high so he corrected this issue and Huckleberry is doing FABULOUS with his training and is now more confident and his stool and coat is perfect. There are no more accidents and no more dealing with aggressive behaviors. We can walk down the street with motorcycles, skate boarders, and dump trucks with much more ease.
I went through 3 months of hell trying to tweak his diet and I feed raw, switching up proteins, adding allergy supplements and other things to his diet. He had to go to the vet 6 times in Dec. and twice, to have a cyst frozen off his side and pustule's drained. I am relieved that his health issues are addressed and we can now focus on training.
I am so grateful I didn't wait on getting to the root of the problem and very optimistic about his training to become a service dog. Just yesterday we started out Good Citizen classes for 5 weeks. Huck was the class role model.Calm and confident he was. Now, if i could just get him to be "ok" with getting his nails done.
Share the story - it could save a life!
Karen Grzenda
Have a story or topic you would like me to cover? Contact me at : klgrzenda@gmail.com
See more of my blog on : https://www.karengrzenda.com/
See Gunner's story here : https://youtu.be/2QPyQDGgEhw
Get your copy of "Heart Dog - Gunner's Story" here : https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Dog-Gunners-Karen-Grzenda/dp/1723804460
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