Has anyone dealt with SEVERE skin allergies?

[Rusty's Mom]

Our DDB Rusty is approx 3-4 yrs old. We rescued him in August 2011. He had blood work to determine his allergies. He starts out with bumps which turn into scabs then scabs fall off and his hair comes out with it. According to the blood results he is allergic to 150 things outside (grasses, trees, weeds etc.) He is currently on an antibiotic, antihistimine and Atopica. We did try allergy shots last year but they didn't seem to be working. He is on a grain free turkey and sweet potato dog food. He is also bathed once a week with a medicated shampoo. He gets no tablefood except thin sliced, low salt, low fat turkey which I wrap his pills in. We also found that he has a problem digesting fat,dairy and fish. He is doing much better since starting the Atopica 2 months ago but I was wondering if any other dogs have this problem.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Not personally, but I know a few. Why is he on the antibiotic? If thats been a long term thing that could actually be making it worse as it messes with his immune system.

Have you added wiping him down with a damp towel (including feet) after he's been outside to your regimen?

I recently ran accros a natural supplement called quercetin thats supposed to help with allergies, its recommended to take in a form with bromelain (and is often packaged with it in pill form). Petco even came out with their own pill form of it. I know someone who's highly allergic Scotty has seen HUGE improvement since starting to take it.

 

[Rusty's Mom]

Thanks for you reply Ruth. The vet said that he has a yeast infection from the allergies. He was off them for a few months and got worse. Although my husband and I were just discussing the antibiotics and decided on our own to take him off. Just stopped yesterday and we want to see what happens. Going to add the damp towel, don't know why I didn't think of that and also checking out the quercetin. Really appreciate the input. I feel so bad for him. He has got to be one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met.

 

[ruthcatrin]

the antibiotics could be making the yeast worse to be honest. Cause of how they mess with the system.

You might pester Angelbears, she's got a Fila who's struggled with yeast and the like. I know she coped with alot of it by going raw fed, which isn't for everyone, but she might have some other suggestions too.

Also with yeast, it helps to cut out the carbs and sugars as much as humanly possible. With the food allergies thats harder I know.....

 

[marke]

the only thing I've ever seen give a dog with severe allergies some semblance of a normal life has been prednisone ........ keep it to a minimum and have him/her physically checked regularly ...... sorry to hear about rusty , good luck to him.......

 

[Rusty's Mom]

Thanks marke. Had an American Bulldog that was put on prednisone for low blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). Ended up with ruptered tendons and wasted muscles in his back legs. To make a long story short, 2 surgeries, good bloodwork and weekly surgeon visits for bandage changes (for about a year), he took a turn for the worse at the end of his surgery healing and was diagnosed with B cell leukemia and we had to let him go within 2 months. He was just turning 5. It was very sad but that is when we discovered rescueing. We now have Rusty who didn't have a home and will continue to rescue as long as we can.

 

[angelbears]

We are working with an homeopathic vet for our dog, Cane, who has suffered with skin problems most of his life. It takes a whole new way of thinking and may not be for everyone but Cane is 75% better than he was before we took this path. If you would more information on this I will be more than happy to share what I know.

As for yeast, antibiotics and sugar are the worse things to give a dog. It is like throwing gas on a fire. Smoked meats also contributes to yeast growth. Below is a link from the Great Dane lady, a great source of information. I am in no way advocating her products. I have never tried them but there is some good info there.

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_mini_course.htm

Also keep in mind that with severe allergies, antibiotics, steroids, benedryl, creams, ect.. are suppressive not curative. Usually the skin problems will come back and most of the time even worse.

IMHO, a raw diet is the best for a dog. A grain free kibble would be second best, trying to stay away from carbs(sugar). Which is going to be hard to do with a kibble.

Good Luck!

 

[CeeCee]

My dogs don't have allergies so I can't help you there, but they do see a homeopathic vet for other conditions and I can't say enough with how impressed I am with her and what she's done for my dogs. I second Angelbears HV experience.

 

[marke]

I don't think it gets any worse than a dog with an allergy , poor dog , and bless you for sticking it out with him .... ...over the years i've known many folks with dogs that have had allergies , I honestly don't know anyone who has ever resolved the problem ....... I truly am very opposed to the use of prednisone , but honestly it has been responsible for the best results I know of ....... I have a friend right now that keeps his pitbull reasonably normal with 10 mg every other day when the symptoms flare up . he'll at times go a week without medicating the dog at all .... if homeopathic would work , I would agree that it'd would be a better option hands down ......

 

[musicdeb]

Been there...done that... When I first got Titan, he had severe skin allergies. His previous owner took him to the vet every couple of months and they would do the round of anti-biotics, steroids and ear drops. The poor pup's skin was in horrible condition and had yeast infection in the ears too. I took him off of kibble and started raw in March 2012. His skin has improved drastically, although we do deal with the occasional ear infection. We're fighting one now.

The constant treatment of anti-biotics and steroids are not good the pup.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd do the towel rub down that Ruth suggested, and then add probiotics and ACV (apple cider vinegar) to his diet (and drop the antibiotics, if there's no known infection). I've read lots of great stories for both versus allergies. Mine aren't severe enough to know if it's helped or not. Denna has some low-grade skin issues - 2 fish oil pills (AK salmon oil, human version from Costco) per day seems to have done the trick for her. Denna's on raw, too, which makes it really easy to control what's in the diet... and what's not. But, that said, there are some really good kibbles out there, too. There are also dehydrated raw products and/or frozen pre-made, so, all sorts of options if you think there might be a food allergy piece to the puzzle.

For ears - we had AMAZING results from the Zymox gel treatment. One week of putting gel in the ear (and you don't wipe or clean it out, just put it in), and Denna's ear problem is GONE. Her one bad ear has been clean for over 2 weeks now with no cleaning required, even. I've tried cleaning, but there's nothing in there to get out. Her other ear has always been clean, and still is.

You might try some of the oatmeal shampoos and conditioners, too. When Denna's skin got really itchy, a rinse with the epi-soothe conditioner helped calm her down (I like their shampoo, too).

Good luck!

 

[thedigitalkiwi]

Our 10 month old has a bad yeast infection. She is still getting over a case of chronic mange (she and her brother are both rescues we've had for a few months) and the vet thinks the two are linked for her. She is also on antibiotics for her eye (entropia surgery recently helped but she's got a slight infection in one eye that needs treating). I have a special shampoo for her but the infection is definitely getting worse. The plan is to use cattle drench to finally treat the mange and hope that this also clears up the yeast infection. She does have probiotics and fish oil and is on a raw food diet.

 

[angelbears]

Sounds like your pups hit the jackpot. Thank you for rescuing. Let us know how they do.