Skin Problems - He chews constantly!

[robinh]

Max our dachshund has severe allergies to 3 different kinds of dust mites and flea saliva (can you believe that). We think he has others that they don't even test for, but that's another story. He also has a underactive thryroid problem.

He currently gets an allergy shot every other week. He takes Hydroxizine (sp) two to three times a day and levothyroxzine (sp) once a day. I also have him on Omega Fatty Acids for his skin and coat.

Under advice of the vet, I bathe him every 3 days and vacuum the house and furniture every other day. He gets his face and tummy wiped down with a damp cloth every night.

I also have him on dog food that is supposed to help his skin and coat. But in spite of all I do, he also gets secondary skin infections all summer long which have to be treated with antibiotics.

This year as been the worst we've seen. I'm trying everything to keep him off prednisone as long as possible. The last time we gave it to him, he had a bout of stomach problems. He started throwing up blood and spent two days in the emergency clinic.

Short of replacing the carpet (which I plan to do as soon as we have the $), has anyone got any other suggestions? Here are pictures of his tummy - if you look real close you can see where he's lost hair in little spots where he had the infections. It looks like ringworm, but we've had scrapings done and it not. My poor little boy:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid76/p6d47fe732218413569a32aba63cdf2d5/fb455b83.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid76/p92b4724bf248cf314e3e9d58c9325367/fb4557ee.jpg

There probably isn't anything else I can do or anyone can suggest, but I'm at my wits end trying to help this little guy. He's cranky most of the time, but I would be too if I itched 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

[Kfamr]

That looks just like Simba's tummy right now :( Sorry, I have no advice.

[delceys_maddogs]

Hi my mum has a dog who is also allergic to flea saliva,
Hes a beardie so if he likes a chews its it get mankier.
Hes flead regular yet one flea bite and hes raw!
To help it we use (in a spray bottle) Tree tree, Witch hazel and salt water (home made), shaken and applyed 3 times daily (or more). it really works and you should try it,
keep us posted
Delcey

[robinh]

Can you get me the measurement. I'll definitely try it. Thanks for the suggestion!

[delceys_maddogs]

Ok!
Tip into a spray bottle,
A whole 10ml bottle of pure Tea Tree (brought from chemist etc)(its not to expensive here its £1.50),
10mls of Witch hazel (again not expensive and from a chemist),
2 tea spoons of salt,
1 pint of water,
Shake well, and also shake before you spray every time.
we spray it on everytime we see him chew!
and also because hes got long hair, every 2 days i wash down the bad area with diluted Hibiscrub just to kill bacteria ( you can bye this from equine stores and places like that.
Sorry to blab on but if the spray doest help we sometimes use Zinc and castor oil cream (inexpensive, in a baby section) adding a bottle of 10ml Tea Tree and smear on generously, (but i warn you now, this is a messy one) lol
keep us posted
Delcey

[robinh]

Thanks! I'll get the stuff ASAP and try it.

[wolfsoul]

What kind of food are you feeding? A good hypoallergenic food won't contain corn -- but alot of dogs are also allergic to wheat and rice. I'd suggest a primary or fully homecooked diet. Try adding some oil into his diet (not canola oil!!).

Why do you need to bathe him so often? Bathing makes the skin drier because you are getting rid of all the oils that keep his skin moisturized. Dry = itchiness. :( But if you really feel that bathing him helps, try bathing him in oatmeal. Oatmeal is very good for itchy or irratited skin.

Good luck! Try researching all of the vitamins that are good for the skin, because I can't remember them lol. :)

[robinh]

The food didn't say anything about corn, but I'll check.

The doctor said to bathe him to keep the dust off. I do put cortrisone cream with aloe and udder cream on him after the bath to keep him moist, but that draws dust so we back to bathing or wiping him down daily. It's a vicious circle.

Vet said the omega fatty acids would help and when he was off them for a while I noticed a difference. So he's back to taking them regularly.

[micki76]

Robin, I'm curious to know what food you're feeding him. We fed a food that was for "sensitive skin" but later found out that Chester was allergic to several of the ingredients. Have you tried a food with an unusual protien source like venison or fish? We've used both with wonderful results.

We also use a special shampoo and leave in conditioner from the vets. I'll get you the names of those, if you'd like to try them.

Stay away from any steroid! I didn't know better until recently and now it's to late. Chester has a damaged pancreas from them. He has pancreatitis and has bouts of severe pain from it. :( It's very sad to see him in such pain. I wish I had known better. Our current vet has us off the Prednisone and on the diet which is working well.
We bathe once a week and wipe with a wet cloth at night, too. Chester's allergic to chicken, beef, lamb, turkey and pork. He's not allergic to corn or beet pulp which are common food triggers.
He's also allergic to many, many trees, shrubs & grasses. He was HIGHLY allergic to Bermuda grass, so Michael and I ripped it all up and replaced it with St Augustine. It was VERY costly, and now the darn Bermuda is coming back! :mad:

[robinh]

I'm feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Small Bites Dog Food. It ways rice is the only grain and that it's good for skin and coat. What kind are you using?

Per the vet, I use two different shampoos. First I wash with Cortisoothe, rinse well and then wash with Dermal-Soothe Anti Itch Shampoo. They've recommended no creme rinse, since his coat is so short.

We had Max to Iowa State Veterinary School for allergy testing. They said he wasn't allergic to any of the native grasses. But we did recently ask whether they tested for corn allergies and found out that isn't even something they have a skin allergy test for. Food allergy - yes - but skin, no. But we've noticed this year he's the worse he's ever been. We wondered if it could be corn since it's so dry and we do have a corn field just at the back of our property with corn dust floating around.

The doctor keeps talking steriods, but I keep saying only as a LAST resort. That last bout of gastric hemoragic (sp) was awful. We almost lost him - I'll do what it takes to keep from those.

I really appreciate everyone's help on this. We've done everything we can think of to help him. He is such a sweet boy when he feels good. I just love him to death.

[micki76]

Originally posted by robinh
I'm feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Small Bites Dog Food. It ways rice is the only grain and that it's good for skin and coat. What kind are you using?


We are feeding Nature's Recipe Venison and Rice right now. It's priced comparably to Nutro and we've had GREAT success with this one after trying several different foods.

We were feeding Wellness Fish & Sweet Potato before, but we were still having the pancreatitis so our vet suggested trying this again. ParNone (Oz, Murphy & Maddie's mom) feeds Wellness Fish & Sweet Potato and has seen a dramatic difference in her dogs (can’t remember if it’s Murph or Maddie) allergies. It's pricier that Nutro or Nature’s Recipe, but well worth it to try a new food in my opinion, if it gets him some relief.

I've learned the hard way that just because it says a food is good for the skin & coat, that's not always the case for every dog.

Also, a lot of dogs are developing an allergy to Lamb so it's no longer the "wonder food" that it was once thought to be.

[robinh]

Where do you get yours?

[ParNone]

Hi there!

Maddie and I have struggled with her skin problems for about
8-9 years now. We've tried everything from steroids to allergy
shots to weekly medicated bathes to vet recommended dog
food to prescription skin ointments and on and on. There was
improvement in her itching and skin problems, but not to a
degree that she was ever really comfortable, until I switched her
over to Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato dog food.

I think we've been on it about a month now and I've seen a
remarkable change. Her skin and coat look and smell great.
Use to I could give her a bath and after one trip outside, she'd
be stinky again. I gave her a bath 2 weeks ago and no
smelliness so far. She's also sleeping through the night, not
up itching and chewing on herself. The only thing she's still
doing is some minor licking on her feet, but it's not near as
constant as it was.

Just wish I'd known about this food 8 years ago, Maddie
wouldn't have been miserable and I could have saved a
fortune in vet bills.

Par...

[robinh]

I've sent an e-mail to the only distributor in Iowa who carries the food. Hopefully will hear soon. Old Mother Hubbard doesn't sell direct to the public. Otherwise, I'll see if my vet can get it. I'm game to try just about anything. Thanks for the info.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one out there with these kinds of problems and that I'm not the only one who will go to such lengths to take care of my dog. I've been told I'm crazy to spend such amounts of money on this one dog. How can I not? He's one of my babies - I love him! To me, he's not a possession, he's a part of my family.

[ParNone]

Hey Robin,

I found Wellness at Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supply. I order it across the internet and have it delivered to the house. I also
get the treats too. While you're trying to see if food is the issue,
you need to make sure they don't eat anything else for approx.
8 weeks. With getting the treats too, then Maddie doesn't feel
like she's missing out on anything that Murph and Oz are getting.

Here's a link to the website:
http://drsfostersmith.com/

Par...

[robinh]

Got it ordered. Did a small bag to start with - see how they like it then go from there. Thanks so much!