Serious skin issues we need your help. Pictures *

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby LMM » May 6th, 2009, 2:28 pm

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Postby amazincc » May 6th, 2009, 2:28 pm

factoryphoto wrote:He swims in my pool I wonder if the chlorine is bad?I would think it would kill bacteria on him?


Oh, definitely don't let him go in the pool until he's healed. I would imagine that the chlorine is really, really irritating and painful on open sores.

RAW is a kibble-free method of feeding your dog... you can do a search on the forum for more info.
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Postby amazincc » May 6th, 2009, 2:34 pm

You might also want to try a hypo-allergenic laundry detergent for his bedding, like Dreft or Puraderm.
Or pretty much anything gentle enough to launder baby clothes in. Double-rinsing may help as well to get rid off any left-over soap residue.
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Postby factoryphoto » May 6th, 2009, 2:58 pm

u guys AND girls are great ..Thanks for the info im reading up on the RAW thing.
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Postby LMM » May 6th, 2009, 3:19 pm

There is so much you can do here but your best bet is start by eliminating whatever you can that you think might be an irritant. Everyone here has made some excellent suggestions!

I really hope you hit on something because I literally cringed when I saw Mak's skin. Poor sweetie :(
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Postby Malli » May 6th, 2009, 3:23 pm

LMM wrote:Jenn my mom's Molly has had the same regimen with the steriods, antibiotics, creams, and that spray. That evil, evil spray :(



the spray is topagen. The steroids/AB's are delivered in the spray via isopropal alcohal, so it can sting. Some dogs are very sensitive to it, some (like mine) react very positively to it.
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Postby Malli » May 6th, 2009, 3:24 pm

Pit$Bull wrote:You may want to check this out, it's expensive but it worked for us.
http://atopica.com/


2 thumbs up. Atopica is amazing stuff, I've only heard/seen positive stuff.
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Postby Malli » May 6th, 2009, 3:34 pm

My dog has lived for 7 years with Allergic skin disease :)

I have some questions :

Is there a scent in the laundry detergent that you use? I'd second an extra rinse load, in hot water, with as little soap as possible, I use about 1/8 the recommended amount.

How long did you try the new diet? Did you offer any other foods while you were doing this? In order to rule out food allergies you must feed ONLY one type of food with treats of the same ingredient or no treats for AT LEAST 3 months.

I'd also suggest vacuuming your house as much as possible.

For some temporary relief, you could try soaking his feet in epsom salt baths a couple times/day, just make sure that you dry them very well after, as damp skin promotes yeast growth.

Give the Ketaconazole another week or so to start working, it needs some time to work it's way out to the skin. He needs to take it for quite a long time, how long will he be on it for?

Often with dogs with allergies it is simply a game of controlling the symptoms. There NEVER is a cure, but there are many ways to control the body's reaction or soothe the affects of the allergies.

I would do a search on the Internet on Atopy and Food allergies in dogs, any questions on what you find, feel free to ask :)
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Postby Marinepits » May 6th, 2009, 3:36 pm

I totally agree with Malli.

Has your dog had an allergy blood test to see if he's allergic to anything specific?
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Postby katiek0417 » May 6th, 2009, 3:50 pm

There are many on here that can help you...lellis34, as well...I know she has dealt with awful skin allergies on her boy...

I hope he gets better!
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Postby factoryphoto » May 6th, 2009, 5:07 pm

Malli wrote:My dog has lived for 7 years with Allergic skin disease :)

I have some questions :

Is there a scent in the laundry detergent that you use? I'd second an extra rinse load, in hot water, with as little soap as possible, I use about 1/8 the recommended amount.

Yes there is a scent in the detergent I will start using 1/3 of what I was before and hot rinse twice


How long did you try the new diet? Did you offer any other foods while you were doing this? In order to rule out food allergies you must feed ONLY one type of food with treats of the same ingredient or no treats for AT LEAST 3 months.
I had him on Duck and potato for 5 months nothing changed
I'd also suggest vacuuming your house as much as possible.
I vacuum 3 times a week guess I will start everyday now see how that works out.

For some temporary relief, you could try soaking his feet in epsom salt baths a couple times/day, just make sure that you dry them very well after, as damp skin promotes yeast growth.

Give the Ketaconazole another week or so to start working, it needs some time to work it's way out to the skin. He needs to take it for quite a long time, how long will he be on it for?
I had him on it for a few weeks, I have about a weeks worth left over from my last vet visit I just started him, can I buy the stuff online anywhere and how long can he beon it? I have 200mg tabs he takes 1 1/2 a day.
Often with dogs with allergies it is simply a game of controlling the symptoms. There NEVER is a cure, but there are many ways to control the body's reaction or soothe the affects of the allergies.

I would do a search on the Internet on Atopy and Food allergies in dogs, any questions on what you find, feel free to ask :)
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Postby amazincc » May 6th, 2009, 5:18 pm

I really would switch to a completely fragrance-free laundry detergent.

You might be able to get Ketaconazole on-line, but the script will have to be called in by your vet.

A lot of allergy dogs do well on grain-free *fish* kibble... like Orijen. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/products/ORIJEN6fish.aspx
But like Malli pointed out -
In order to rule out food allergies you must feed ONLY one type of food with treats of the same ingredient or no treats for AT LEAST 3 months.
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Postby cheekymunkee » May 6th, 2009, 5:53 pm

Poor baby, he looks so happy despite being miserable. He's got a beautiful coat!
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Postby Marinepits » May 6th, 2009, 7:33 pm

Marinepits wrote:Has your dog had an allergy blood test to see if he's allergic to anything specific?


I ask because, if your dog is seriously allergic to something like dust mites or storage mites, it won't matter HOW much cleaning you do -- you can't get rid of them and may need to give your dog allergy shots.

My dog, Mac, registers off-the-charts when it comes to mites. The ONLY way we've brought it under control is to do a combination of allergy shots, good foods, supplements, and controlling his environment as much as possible. He still has break-outs sometimes (like right now due to the season) but he's a different dog compared to how miserable he used to be.

If he does have flea-allergy dermatitis, he MUST be on some type of anti-flea medication consistently and his environment also needs to be treated. If you have other animals, they need to be treated as well. If he's ultra-sensitive, one flea bite can start the whole brutal allergy process all over again.
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Postby hugapitbull » May 6th, 2009, 9:19 pm

I can certainly feel your pain. We've fought allergies for years with Trouble. All of the things mentioned so far are right on target. With the detergents, use fragrance free, scent free, most of the major brands make one. Trouble was allergic to dust, mites, fleas, tobacco, wool, grass. I suspected she was allergic to the beef flavorings in most of the dog medications and tried to get them without whenever possible. Clear it with your vet, but getting him on a dose of antihistamines can help control the itching.

We did weekly baths with Melesab, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal shampoo and that seemed to help a bit. I will add that although some folks have had great success with oatmeal shampoos, I never did.

Raw is not a bad choice, but do your research, I gave Trouble way too much beef protein and she had one of the worst break-outs ever. Don't get me wrong, I think raw is a great choice, I'm just saying it takes a lot of balance.

Some other items - feed and water out of stainless or glass bowls, some plastics cause breakouts. There has to be something that is triggering the major breakout. Keep a journal. Write down every medication, every bite of food, anything out of the ordinary that happens, and any change in symptoms. Track it for months, maybe years and look for trends.

Something must be triggering the yeast infections. I'm not a vet and don't know where to tell you to start on investigating this one. Maybe diabetes?

The only other comment I can think of at this point - not all vets are equal. Some are better at treating allergies than others. Get another opinion, find a vet who is sympathetic to the problem and is willing to work with you to get it under control. You can tell when you are talking to them how interested they are. If they tell you there isn't much you can do, you are in the wrong office, try another one.

Pit$bull and Mali both talked about Atopica. It did a great job for us for several years. We had to stop using it when Trouble was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. It is contra-indicated in dogs with history of tumors.

Best of luck to both of you. It is a highly frustrating to deal with allergies. Hang in there, you will hit upon the combination that works.
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Postby CinderDee » May 6th, 2009, 9:35 pm

I don't have any additional advice, but just wanted to wish you good luck! He's a beautiful and happy boy and I hope he feels better soon!
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Postby a-bull » May 6th, 2009, 9:58 pm

Yeast.

Although yeast infections can cause secondary infections that require antibiotics and/or steroids, those same medications can often aggravate the original problem and cause bigger problems. This is a common problem, (as I'm discussing in another thread), with blue or merle dogs.

There is a lot of info. about how to treat yeast issues if you google the problem, but damned if I have it completely under control. It just seems to be one of those ongoing issues with these blue guys.

"Zymox Otic" works wonders for the ear issues, which I know can be the most uncomfortable issue for the dog. I first received it from my vet, but discovered you can purchase it on line. Just follow the directions and you will likely get immediate relief.

There is a vet on this board that may be able to shed more light on this issue, which frankly, I wouldn't mind hearing myself.

Your dog is GORGEOUS . . . and I feel your pain, for what it's worth. :neutral:
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Postby Malli » May 7th, 2009, 4:17 am

I'm not quite clear, how many days or weeks in a row has your dog been on Ketoconazole ?

At this point, it may be worth while to go back to the vet and ask about steroids (not the anabolic kind ;) ) to help ease all the itching and inflammation thats going on - he can be tapered off these in a few weeks, depending on the dose regimen your Vet. prefers. At least if he got some steroids or Antihistamines or a combo he could feel some relief in the short term.

I highly suggest Atopica. After the loading period wich requires a larger amount of medication you'd be looking at a few hundred dollars a month, depending on your dog's dose he needs (different animals need more or less), your Veterinarian, and the US exchange (I live in Canada). I think there is a very good (like 99%) chance it could really help him.
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Postby mnp13 » May 7th, 2009, 7:28 am

Get detergent meant for baby clothes. It's very mild. You could also try just running the load with hot water and a hot water rinse - no detergent, or just a small scoop of Oxyclean. If you have a top loading washer, you can also try ivory dish soap. If you try the ivory, start with very very little as it suds a LOT. Why are you washing his bedding so much? Line dry the bedding if possible, the drier sheet stuff can stay in the drier from other loads.

Warm compresses with mild salt water (use natural sea salt) can help relieve itching and discharge. I'll second (third?) the idea of keeping him out of the pool.

A few people here have successfully treated mange with diet, harsh medications for months on end are not required for mange. Your regular vet probably won't go for that route, but it can and does work, it's just not "conventional"
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Postby LMM » May 7th, 2009, 7:34 am

mnp13 wrote:
A few people here have successfully treated mange with diet, harsh medications for months on end are not required for mange. Your regular vet probably won't go for that route, but it can and does work, it's just not "conventional"


I have to +1 this. I successfully treated Otis's mange with diet and a "holistic" wash at home. And his paws and neck were raw and bleeding when I got him.
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