[nagdu] Stress issues

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Lora.
I'm really sorry you're having all this trouble.
If my dog had bald spots, I'd tend to think it was a medical issue.  I'd
have my vet thoroughly investigate thyroid and allergies, and anything
else she could think of.
Also, a food can be high-quality, but still contain things the dog is
allergic to.  My old gal Echo is dairy-intolerant, so, even if a food has
great ingredients, if one of them is cottage cheese, I can't use it. Your
vet should be able to do allergy tests for your dog, same as doctors do
for humans.
I don't know if it works like this, but maybe he feels like something is
missing from his diet, so he's trying to make it up by eating weird
things, and generally being ravenous.

Don't worry too much if your dog doesn't want to play with you.  My Ben
never has played much.  He'll chase a fetch toy a few times, then that's
enough for him.  Out in the yard, he'd much rather sniff around than play
with me.  It's just how he is.
Good luck with all this.  It would be very distressing to lose a good
guide because of house issues.  Every dog has its faults, and you have to
decide which you can live with, which can be fixed, and which can't be
fixed and you can't live with.  And what you decide you can't live with
might be completely different from what I decide, but, in the end, you're
the one who has to live with the dog, so it's totally your decision.
Hope everything works out.
Tracy