Itching, Scratching

[Bonny]

Last Thursday I took Baxter back to the veterinary. In August he had given him an ivomec shot & steroid shot along with front line for two months & said allergies to weeds etc. Well I am really getting frustrated. He just isn't getting any better. I had purchased Old Gold with Aloe to put on him when he itched, & gave him a serious of vinegar baths along with washing rugs & couch cover where he sleeps. I took him back to the vet on Thursday last week. He was given an ivomec shot & steroid shot thinking mites? Doc scraped of some skin scab, hair, & notice d yah his skin is reddened in areas. I mentioned lyme disease. So he drew some blood it came up negative to lymes, heart worms, etc. Baxter is still itching & we have a return visit in 7-10 day. The only thing I can think of is maybe his dog food? My other dog Missy itches some also & had been checked out with Baxter last August. She does not have the reddened skin or almost hairless areas from scratching. Our grandpuppy has stayed at our house & does not scratch & has eaten the dog food. I just can't figure this out. I guess last summer lots of dogs had allergies & were treated for it. Right now there is 24' of snow so there is no pollen in the air. Go Figure! This is driving me nuts! Baxters coat looks healthy shinny & clean. The places of itching are his flank area, ears, & tail, along with an area on his hind leg. Any in put would be appreciated.

[Queen of Poop]

My RB dog Sami developed food allergies when she was 8 years old. She could no longer eat beef. A simple change of food and all her skin issues disappeared.

[pomtzu]

It could very well be food allergies. Myndi and Sparky always had itchies - especially Myndi - and had to have a Pred shot every few month. I switched them to a grain free diet back in October, and it has made a world of difference. No more scratching and biting at themselves, Sparky's eye discharge has gone away, and their coats are in much better condition - nice and soft and silky.

What I use is Dr Harvey's Veg to Bowl - it's dehydrated veggies that you add water to, and add your own protien source like chicken, beef, eggs, etc. It's a little on the expensive side, but it's worth every penny to see how much better my pups are doing.

You can order on line and have it shipped to your house, unless you can find a pet supply store in your area that carries it. Different places on line have different prices too, so I searched until I found the cheapest.

[Bonny]

We went for a vet visit this morning. It took Baxter a good 5 days to stop a lot of his itching. There is still a spot on his leg where the hair is thin & the skin is red. Doc gave Baxter another ivomec shot & we talked nutrition. I was given some free samples with veal & rice in them. We talked about reading labels on pet food bags. The first two ingredients are the most important. It would take up to six weeks if we changed to another dog food to show any signs of change. Right now we will wait six weeks to see how the shots work. It could be something in our house he is sensitive to also. I even wondered if the laundry soap I used to wash the couch cover & quilt were affecting Baxter. I just may end up getting rid of the couch. We talked about mites in the couch. I have covered the cushions in the couch with plastic garbage bags, & wash the couch cover once a week along with the floor quilt. The couch gets vaccumed too but it is old old. At least he has stopped scratching & itching & we have something to go on now.

[micki76]

Has he been checked for Malassezia (yeast infection)? It generally presents in the areas you're describing and is usually caused by allergies. You might want to try some fish oil caps to boost the immune system and use a shampoo for yeast. We use Melasab shampoo.

Here's a couple of articles on it, but you can google and find more info. http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+2102&aid=321 and http://www.westiemed.org/health/malassezia/ Chester's never looked as bad as the dogs in these articles, thank goodness. Just VERY red and he's unable to leave it alone.

My allergy dog, Chester, has had two yeast infections and the dermatologist has been the only one to figure it out both times. One vet was convinced he had mange, even though he'd been scraped for that upmteen times over the last 11 years. 30 days of oral meds and baths twice a week with the Melasab shampoo cleared it up, but it took a long time and Chester was in an e-collar for most of that time.

I seriously doubt your dog is allergic to your couch or even your laundry detergent. It's most likely either the grains or the protein source in the food, or external allergens like pollen (there is cedar in the air and other allergens even in the winter) or mold & fungus. We've had cold weather here, but Chester's been flaring for 3 weeks due to the junipers.

I wish you the best of luck!

[Bonny]

I wonder if the ivomec & Cortizone shots cover yeast infection? The cortizone is suppose to be good up to six weeks. When I farrowed sows years ago they would get a yeast infection we called it greasey pig. We offered them showers with the garden hose & once they were weaned off their babies they could go roll in the mud & the greasey pig would leave. We kept them in a clean environment but they really needed to get out in the dirt & mud to keep their skin free of infections. I went to the web sites & it seems to bother certain breeds of dogs too.

[Freedom]

If you switch to a high quality grain free food, you will see improvement in as little 3 days, may take up to a week.

Try a grain free kibble, if you don't want to go to the Veg to Bowl which Ellie/Pomzu mentioned.

Also, track down this book and give it a read:
The Whole Pet Diet, by Andi Brown.

I found it at my library. She gives so much information on which foods do what, which herbs will help. AND she includes recipes.

I am currently using the Veg to Bowl, and the Spot's Chicken Stew recipe from the book. NO issues! Itching stopped, the gunk build up in Marlin's eyes cleared up. Poor guy has lived with that for his 11 years and by switching foods, it cleared up in less than 5 days.

The veal and rice is nice, but I bet it is costly and who knows, the rice may still be an issue.

Good luck, which ever route you choose. Learning about nutrition and reading labels is just as important for our pets as it is for ourselves.

[Bea]

Try an all natural diet. So much healtier! No defiencies like commercial brands show! No skin issues ever!

[kokopup]

Koko had a similar problem and I spent a fortune on Vet bills until I decided to put her on a corn free diet, now she is no longer itching. I have found that this is a vets # 1 complaint ( and income producer) and the easiest way to solve the problem is by the owner doing a little study about pet allergies and make his/her own changes. It is a hit and miss proposition and you can try different
things without a vet. Throwing Steroids at the problem just mast symptoms and does not find the problem. IMO... Unfortunately most of our medical community takes the same approach, treat symptoms, to heck with the real problem.

[Bonny]

Our veterinary gave us a paper about the real scoop on pet foods. He talked about by products as being an inexpensive way to increase the protein content of the food. The sheet reads avoiding anything with by products in it. By products can contain feet, feathers, skin, intestines lung, brain, bone or blood.The fillers like ground corn, wheat middlings, wheat & corn glutens, sorghum etc. can cause dogs to develop allergies to these ingredients. He mainly pointed out protein as the first ingredient on the bag label with a source of carbohydrates as the second ingredient like rice or potato. At the vets office they favor Canidae/Felidae, California Natural, & EVO pet foods. I didn't get a chance to read any labels because I had Baxter with me at the time. I plan to visit the vets office to look at what they have, there are two co-ops that sell dog food. I plan to spend some time going around reading labels. I was given 5 sample bags to take home & Baxter liked the food he has never been a picky eater. The itching has stopped for now.

[MonicanHonda]

Steroids shouldn't be used, just like humans, for any amount of time. I'd honestly rather not have them used at all. My dog Remy was on them (my mother in law has her) and I was even iffy to allow her to use them on Remy... but I figured it's only once... so it won't be too bad.

I, like others, agree on a natural diet, whether it be homecooked, which takes a lot of prep time, or a raw diet. These take a lot of studying...

See Spot Live Longer by Steve Brown
Raw Food Diet
Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale
and Work Wonders by Tom Lonsdale are good books.

Well, maybe you don't believe in these two ways of feeding, or feel that you don't have enough time to read about them (once you start reading it's not as stressful or confusing as you think it would be.) So hey, you want to stay on a premade diet.

The next best diet would be dehydrated raw. The Honest Kitchen, Sojos, Ziwi Peak. But these can be very expensive for large dogs, if that is what you have.

The next, is a GOOD grain free food. Take a look at 'Food Pets Die For.' It's a VERY informative book. Having protein as your number one source isn't the only thing you should be looking for. There are many things that go into dog food that is horrible. Although, it does sound like your vet knows what it's talking about if they sell Natura products and Canidae. The Evo and Canidae Grainfree is a good one. California Naturals is for dogs with severe allergies. But it still has grains... so that may not be your best choice. But you can always try it if you suspect protein as the allergy because it has single protein sources. If you suspect it's grain, some good grain free foods consist of Evo, Orijen, Acana, Timberwold... I think I would first suspect grains too.

EDIT: Thought of a couple more grain free. I was in a rush before. Wellness Core, Solid Gold Bark at the Moon, Before Grain, and Blue Buffalo Wilderness.

[Bonny]

Baxter is a 7 year old Australian Cattle dog & weighs in at 45 pounds. We are looking at an indoor/outdoor dog. I take the dogs out everyday for a good mile to five mile walk this year snowshoeing for me with all the deep snow. The dogs find all kinds of protein in the woods & fields besides being fed their dog food. I am opting for a dog food with protein & rice. The sample doc gave us went well with Baxter. What gets me both dogs were itching & they are not related. The other dog Missy is a 2 1/2 year old Australian Shepherd. Everything came about when Baxter killed a manged raccoon. Besides that our sons black lab. rolled on the raccoon too & is around our dogs everyday & he doesn't have an itch problem. There are fox with mange & coyotes running around our area. I am going to ask about Malassezia-yeast infection. I don't know if the ivomec or steroids would take care of that. Baxter has had two steroid shots in the last 6 months. Maybe the dog food we feed both our dogs has something wrong with it? The lab eats it also when he is here. It is a process of limination & we will try the dog food next. Actually Missy is not scratching anymore & with the shots Baxter has stopped itching. There is a 6 week waiting period to see if he starts the itching again. I do feed some left overs & everything is pretty much homeraised around here. I will do some more reading & research that has been mentioned above.

[kokopup]

By Bonny

I am going to ask about Malassezia-yeast infection. I don't know if the ivomec or steroids would take care of that.

Yeast is a fungal infection and steroids if anything may make it worst. The topical shampoo treatment would be a shampoo like human SELSUN BLUE. or any shampoo for sebboria. If a topical treatment isn't effective then a systemic oral antifungal like Ketoconazole should be used.

Ivomec is for parasites like heartworms.

[Bonny]

I know ivomec is used to treat worms along with sucking & biting lice & mange mites. Doc drew blood from Baxter before he would give him the shots & checked for heartworms & lymes disease. The itching has stopped don't know if it is the steroids or the ivomec? Doc said the steroids would last up to six weeks. Yeast infection can be internal too. So wondered about it too? Maybe I should be giving Baxter yougart if we are talking about the same yeast infection that humans get? I know birds can get a yeast infection in their crops & yogurt can be used to get rid of the infection. Some questions to ask the veterinary for sure.

[maquignon]

Most common food allergens are corn, wheat, soy, gluten, yeast, chicken and beef. Does your food contain any of them? If so, find a food that doesn't contain any of those. I recommend Blue Buffalo Lamb and Brown Rice. It has none of them.