Skin/Food/Seasonal Allergies in Dogs

[mininik]

I definitely agree with the suggestions regarding possible environmental allergens, which is what I posted about earlier, as well. I prefer ceramic dishes over plastic or metal. I find it interesting that Whitestar's clinic has such a high occurance of demodex. Most dogs have demodex mites on them from birth and pups that are affected by them are usually able to fight the mites back to a healthy population once their immune system has matured. Mature dogs that are affected are usually afflicted with some other ailment and you're right, it is hard capture the little buggars on a scraping, though one should be done.

What's amazing to me is that a dog can get enough nutrition from what's in S/D, or Purina, or Iams/Eukanuba products. Just take a look at any of the ingredient lists. To me it's like a person who is allergic to nuts who stops showing a reaction when switched to eating McDonalds meals instead of a diet that includes trail mix. That may do fine (for a while or their lifetime), but it's not a healthy, balanced diet.

Mona - Instead of switching to a common protein and carb. source, I suggest you try a formula with Rabbit, Venison, Duck or Herring with Sweet Potato, etc. No matter what, a better quality diet won't hurt. If the changes you make are going to help, you should expect to see a difference in about two months. It takes time for the body to relieve itself of the allergens and your dog is likely coping with more than one. Just in case, you should also be changing out anything in your dog's environment that you can which may be a contributor (such as regular shampoos/conditioners, detergents, cleaners, carpet and air fresheners, etc.).

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I'll risk jumping in here as well. Dogs just can't process corn well. Corn is the #1 allergin with feeds and dogs and even cats! Fia (schipperke) had exactly what you describe....Science diet was suggested, as was Nutro nut you must read....oftimes corn and wheat are dog sensitive. I use Premium Edge Skin & Coat. It is a salmon based feed with carrots, peas, taters and a bit of rice with glucosamine and other great stuff. Costs about $30/40 lbs and all 3 dogs are gorgeous and no more itching.

 

[Dona]

I can definitely relate to this, and feel for what you are going thru, Mona!

Our Pyr "Panda" has an ongoing battle with skin allergies. Switching to another food without testing....is just spinning your wheels. Panda would get horrible hot spots. It is actually an "oily" sebhorria. His entire back would ooze with a coating of what felt sticky (almost like honey)....and being an outside dog, living with the horses, he of course is always dirty. That sticky stuff on his skin was a breeding ground for dirt & bacteria!

He also has chronic ear infections, which many times goes along with the skin allergies. I was doing everything, special baths & dips, clipped him down & applied antibacterial ointments. He was an absolute mess! Nothing was working. So, I sprung to have him tested for allergies. OMG....you should see the long list of stuff this dog is allergic too!

There are over 50 things on the list....some of which are impossible to keep him away from: grass, pollen, MANY different types of food, etc, etc....

The vet suggested only TWO dog foods that would work for him for the food part of his allergies. Fortunately, one of them is relatively easy to find, and not too expensive. Purina One Beef & Rice. Panda can have beef....but not a lot of other things. Dogs are all different, So....switching to another food without testing, is just spinning your wheels, IMHO.

For all the other allergies, dust, pollen, grass, etc.....he is on monthly shots, which I give myself.

And even after doing all this, it hasn't gotten rid of his hot spots or ear infections entirely. BUT....they are much better & easier to manage....and I'm sure Panda feels better.

Good luck Mona.....

 

[minie812]

We had a GSP that had severe allergies. We have a mite that is in S.W. Kansas that was causing some of the problem (saliva when they bite) it was seasonal (hunting time) had to bath her and have her on steroids part of the time. I did not like using meds all the time so would bath her in Baking Soda. Also was allergic to some of the pesticides used on the yard (no more of that) and stuff used in the carpets to prevent stains (linoluem floors was best for her) For 13 years we dealt with it (would not have had it any other way) She was the BEST dog we ever had! She passed away this summer and we both miss her terribly!

 

[Sonya]

What's amazing to me is that a dog can get enough nutrition from what's in S/D, or Purina, or Iams/Eukanuba products. Just take a look at any of the ingredient lists.

I think every dog is different. My dog is on SD W/D, it is available by prescrip only (not for being overweight though, for sensitive stomach)....with the help of Michigan State University (one of the top vet colleges in the mid-west) this is the ONLY food he can eat without throwing up, diaharrea. Is he healthy? He is a 100lb lab that is 12 years old (has arthritis and has had mast cell cancer twice) but he still runs and plays sometimes like a pup...he gets his teeth cleaned every year and my vet says he has the best teeth of any 12 yr old dog he's seen. So I'd say, yes, he is healthy and it works for him...just like people, what works well for some, does not always work well for others. I swear by SD for my dog.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Hi Mona

Being your dog is a boxer I am not sure if this would apply or not but our dog is a golden retriever and he gets "hot spots" which are VERY itchy to him but he has what we call a "double" coat and when he gets wet and it doesn't dry properly he ends up with these. I know when it first happened, last winter, and I took him into our vet's she was surprised because she said most dogs get this in the summer but Fuller loves to go out and roll in the snow and tunnel, lol. As a matter of fact he has a "hot spot" right now near the top of one ear. I had to shave the area and start scrubbing with an antibacterial soap and then I apply a tea tree product which allieviates the itching and helps promote the healing process. The last time (last winter) he did have to be put on antibiotics as it flared up really fast. It could also be allergies that Fuller has combined with what I mentioned above. I just changed Fuller's diet to a new food, no corn, no soy, no fillers... it's expensive BUT he loves it and time will tell if this helps. There is also a spray that is sold at Pet Smart for "hot spots" or any kind of skin problem that has Tea Tree in it and other soothing things that you might like to try. You can do a search about "hot spots" on the net.

Here is the link to the food I now feed (they have it at Pet Smart) and the one I feed Fuller is the By Nature Organic (no soy, no corn, ...) and he is a finicky dog and LOVES it.

http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/

 

[Mona]

Thanks again everyone. I just wanted to mention a couple of things...first of all, I don;t think Shimmer's problem is actually "hot spots". I had looked that up in my vet books here and the images shown and the way it is described, the hot spots are a larger spot, whereas Shimmer is like tiny little pimples where the bumps do show up. Down each side, where she was missing hair, it did look more like a mange, where there was no actual skin irritation, open sores or sores at all...just splotchy areas of missing hair that was itchy. She did get the little bumps down the insides of her front legs, the back of her legs, under her chim and on the top of her head. Not totally covered or anything, but those were the areas that were affected.

Now that I have been worrying over the food, I have been thinking more about when this all started. It was in October that I first noticed this down the insides of her front legs and on her head. That was also when shegot the bad rash on the underside of her belly but that in time, did go away on it's own, but she had it about a month or more before it was totally gone!

Anyway, when I first noticed it, I thought it may be due to mange from fox, wolves, or even deer? The reason being, hunting season had just opened, and I don't know if she found a deer carcas in the pasture next to us that someone had shot and left, or what it was, but she came in with some slight bloody looking stuff on the inside of her front legs, like she had been eating/chewing on something. I thought maybe if she went to where a wild animal had also been at the "kill", then maybe she picked something up that way. I started tieing her up most of the time after that.

But now that I think back, I also remember her getting sprayed by a skunk late last Fall, would have been around that time too, and I had no skunk shampoo and it happened at about 11:00 at night and I had to get her bathed. Human shampoo does nothing, so I had some odour control floor cleaner here and I used that to bath her in, hoping it would draw the skunk odour out of her, so now I wonder if that(the chemicals in the cleaner) may have been the cause of all this? Just a bad reaction to that??

Her skin is not all gooey and sticky and was slightly stinky. I have been smelling her ears all along, watching for that, as I have dealt with that in the past with another dog, but she only has a slight smell...a normal ear smell. The vet checked that too, and all was OK.

 

[mininik]

No doubt every dog IS different, Sonya, but you can't get blood from a turnip. Ingredients don't lie. Lots of folks eat junk food daily, yet they don't all appear to be fat or dying from the cancer-causing ingredients. In fact, some of them look pretty good! That doesn't mean their bodies aren't ailing from it, or they couldn't benefit by changing their diet, upgrading to better ingredients and leaving out the chemicals and artificial coloring. If it's an option, why wouldn't you? I often hear people say their dog can only eat this or that product when there are literally HUNDREDS of products out there, many of which are better than the product they've chosen (which is often veterinary recommended). I'm talking ingredients here, not just my personal attachment to a certain brand. Fact is, vets are not all nutritionalists. If I had allergies, I would not go to my general practictioner for advice on what to eat and expect that doctor to know the variety of things I could try, nor would I settle on a diet they suggested if I knew I could do better. As far as prescription diets go, I helped one owner switch from their S/D prescription diet for DIABETES, and that dog is now thriving... without peanut hulls, etc.

 

[mininik]

Mona, has your vet done any scrapings? Sarcoptes and Cheyletiella can both be caught by a dog from wild animals, but there are so many things this could be I still say allergy testing should also be done. The chemical bath last year was definitely not a good idea, and if what was in that stuff soaked into your dog's system it could definitely be a contributor. If this were my dog, I would also consider a natural detox program as well as a bland, homemade diet.

 

[Sterling]

Mona...is this what Shimmer's looks like? My old Boxer girl used to get this. It's common in Boxers.

http://www.dermvet.com/caninesfalopecia.htm

 

[Ashley]

I havent experianced any food allegies in my dogs. And considering I can find a reliable food sorce around here i am suprised.

My biggest boxer problem is the excessivly loud snoring, drooling on everything she touches, and excitement peeing. I can handle all but the pee.

That said I have a cocker who has really dry skin. She does the best o n the food mentioned above.

 

[Sonya]

No doubt every dog IS different, Sonya, but you can't get blood from a turnip.

I understand what you are saying. My dog was at MSU for quite a while, tried many many diets (of course not all) including a raw food diet and organic diet...none of it worked except for what he's on now. There may be ingredients in it that may not be the healthiest...but I look at it like medicine... just because a medicine has harmful side effects that doesn't mean you stop taking it.....you have to weigh the side effects to the benefit. In my dogs case at the rate he was going, he would not be alive right now had we not found a food he could keep down...it just happened to be SD w/d so I will stick to it. The dog I am referring to does not have food allergies though, he has IBS.

 

[Mona]

Yes mininik, my vet did do a skin scraping, but he could not see any mange mites, but he wanted me to treat her for it anyway, since he said many times they can have it and not show up in the scraping, so we did treat her for it to be on the safe side.

No Cheyenne, she was nothing even near like that looks. You couldn't even see her splotches of missing hair unless you looked against the growth of hair, and then it was still not real badly noticeable. I wish I would have taken pics. I tried to get some now, but nothing showed up as it is clearing up now. All under her neck, down her front legs, and her face and head are all clear. She has little scars that remain on her head, as you can see here, and she still has some sores on her one back leg, but everything else is either cleared up or coming along well. If you look at the pics of her head here, that is how it looked on her side....like little spots of sparse hair where some had fallen out and some remained.

Here are some pics of what it looks like. I am REALLY sorry about keeping the one pic full size, but it is the only one that kind of shows the hair on her side how it was losing hair. Where it looks almost white, those are the spots the hair came out.

 

[Sterling]

Yes Mona that does look different than the seasonal flank alopecia. Another thing that comes to mind is poison ivy/oak/simac....? Since it is healing up now that it's cold and winter it'll be interesting to see if she gets it again next season...I hope not ...poor baby!