Testimonial Interview #5: Christie Fehlauer & Lucy
About
Name: Christie Fehlauer
Dog: Lucy, 6.5 years old
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Currently Eating: Carnivora, duck diet
Testimonial
"I came to Tail Blazers just over a year ago upon recommendation from a friend. My dog has horrible seasonal allergies! We had been seeing a specialist and she was on a lot of meds that we were looking to reduce. All the ladies at the store were very knowledgeable, helpful and patient. They always made time for me and answered all of my questions, and there were many! Today, my dog is off of all but one drug, she is looking so much better and has far less symptoms. We are thankful that we found some solutions thanks to Tail Blazers.”
Read below for Lucy's full story:
Interview
1.Tell me about Lucy. What are some of Lucy’s favourite activities?
She is super fun! Lucy loves to chase toys and 'talk' to squirrels. She likes to go for walks and watch TV; the perfect balance of ready for adventure or cuddling on the couch. Quirks: She does little grunts to us. If you ask her a question, she grunts and we'll do it back and forth, but only to 'her people', and not to others.
2.What led to her being diagnosed with allergies?
Her first year was great, then all of a sudden she started getting hives and scratching all the time. Her regular vet wanted to prescribe a lot of different meds but we wanted to avoid that, so he referred us to a specialist. In Dec 2019, she was about 1.5 years old, we started with an allergy test from Glacier Peak which tests food and environmental allergens. We tried to work with those results and so we avoided them, but it was difficult with her being allergic to grass and trees. We then did a regular allergy test through the vet (blood test for food allergens) in Feb 2020 and another in Nov 2020.
3. What was prescribed?
She was prescribed topical medication to help. Throughout this process, there was an insane number of prescriptions, all through the specialist, that were tried [names not recalled]. She was scratching so much that we could hardly sleep as her crate is in our bedroom.
4. When did you visit Tail Blazers Abbotsford?
We were with the specialist for about 3 years (end of Jan 2024 was her last appointment). The list of drugs from there was ridiculous. Nothing seemed to be working, and it was so expensive. A friend told me about Tail Blazers, to ‘check them out they have raw dog food and are very knowledgeable’. It was this week last year I went with all my notes. They were so amazing and super patient - I would step aside when other customers came in and they worked with me through it all.
5. What was recommended by Tail Blazers?
Lucy started with Royal Canin AN Allergenic from the vet, then with the help of Tail Blazers we started with Artisan Raw Hypoallergenic (they helped me get onto raw). Over the course of months, between them [Tail Blazers] and the vet, we worked to get her off medications (Atopica, etc). She's now using healer bar shampoo, no more prescription shampoo. We tried a few different sprays and are currently doing Yeasty Beast Protocol [from Adored Beast]. We’re in the middle of it, I believe it's going well and symptoms are improving. It's been a year that we've been working to get her off everything. She still has to get Cytopoint once a month but she is only now on 1 of 10 different prescription medications she was on in a month (between oral and topical).
6. What medications/supplements is she currently taking?
I'm happy that we found Tail Blazers and more natural alternatives. Now she takes bovine colostrum, in the midst of Yeasty Beast Protocol, and Quercetin which is supposed to be a natural alternative to help support itching. Life is so much better now, she isn't itching as much. She has lots of energy and seems to love her raw dog food.
7. Anything else you want to share?
The ladies at Tail Blazers are super friendly, and so patient with all my questions. They're always curious and checking in how things are going. They are so knowledgeable about all products. I even asked about something I found online, and they advised me as to why it isn't carried in-store.
Send your stories on how we have helped your pet to info@tailblazerspets.com