Advice about Lady's bumps

[wolf_Q]

I posted a thread earlier about some bumps that Lady has on her back and sides. Lady is my friend's dog, an 8 month old german shorthair.

The bumps feel like little scabs all over...some pretty big scabs too. We took her to the vet and he said it could be caused by bacteria, or possibly an allergic reaction. He gave her some antibiotic pills and some shampoo to wash her with.

It's been a couple of weeks, and Lady still has the bumps. I haven't seen her for a few days, but the last time I saw her they appeared to be getting better...there are definitely less of them. Melissa says there are fewer, but the ones that are there are getting bigger now though.

We don't KNOW what has caused them.....we have a few ideas, and that's what I'd like your advice on:

Lady lives outside (not by Melissa's choice, parents) in a dog run. She has a large wooden dog house. Most of the top is covered by a tarp, but it still gets pretty wet in the front. Melissa keeps straw in the doghouse. I was thinking that with the straw getting wet (from the rain and her going in and out) it's bound to get moldy, etc. which could cause who knows what. And the bumps are on her sides which is where she would be laying in the straw. The wood also gets wet and it smells in the doghouse...
My suggestion to Melissa was to get a nicer, plastic dog house/igloo and put blankets or a pad in instead of straw and see if that helps any. A plastic dog house is *much* easier to keep clean/dry. The bumps appeared after it had been raining heavily.

Melissa seems to think that the food is the cause of it and wants to change food. She used to feed Lady Ol' Roy and I convinced her to change to Nutro Large Breed Puppy. Lady was working on her second 20 lb bag of that when the bumps happened....if she was allergic, how long do you think it would take for something to happen? It's not like the bumps happened right after she changed foods.

These are the only possible causes that we could think of. I was wondering if maybe it could be some sort of bug/mite too....but I don't know. We're going to take her back to the vet next weekend, as we can't go on weekdays (working). I just wondered if any of you had any info on maybe food allergies, etc. Thanks.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

AMy, I do not know what to tell you to do about Lady. If her bumps keep getting worse, try getting the opinion of another vet.

Is there no way for Lady to start coming inside? Perhaps Melissa could convince them to let her in her room. She could have a crate for her in there. Keep Lady on Flea and tick preventative to assure the parents she will not be carrying anything into the house with her.

Best of luck to Melissa and Lady. She will be in my thoughts.

[anna_66]

I too don't know what could be the cause of the bumps, but you said she had staw in her dog house? Has she ever tried cedar bedding? We put it in our dog houses and it keeps them dry and makes them smell good too.
I hope whatever is wrong with her goes away. I'll be thinking of Lady. Keep us posted Amy.

[wolf_Q]

Originally posted by DoggiesAreTheBest
AMy, I do not know what to tell you to do about Lady. If her bumps keep getting worse, try getting the opinion of another vet.

Is there no way for Lady to start coming inside? Perhaps Melissa could convince them to let her in her room. She could have a crate for her in there. Keep Lady on Flea and tick preventative to assure the parents she will not be carrying anything into the house with her.

Best of luck to Melissa and Lady. She will be in my thoughts.

She's tried.....she just wants them to allow her in her room sometimes, and to sleep in a crate in her room at night. Her parents say NO WAY. Her parents are *not* animal lovers. Her mom doesn't even like to touch them. Her dad thinks of animals as just "property." His 2 hunting dogs (they actually now live down the street at her brothers house) just stay outside all day, every day in a small little shack thing....he does not care, they are just animals to him.....

Anna, I'll have to see about the cedar bedding. Where do you get it?

[ParNone]

Hi wolfq!

Maddie has allergies and according to my vet, the signs of
food allergies are scratching in the rear, face and feet
areas. He also told me it takes approx. 6 weeks, after a
change in food, to get all the food out of their system that
could be causing the allergy. I tried Nutro Natural on Maddie,
but she itched fairly bad on that one and it happened within
a day or two. The dog food that's worked the best so far is
ZD, that I got from the vet. Oh and Maddie's never had any
bumps. Does Lady constantly scratch and chew on herself or
does she just have the bumps?

Par...

[anna_66]

Originally posted by wolf_Q

Anna, I'll have to see about the cedar bedding. Where do you get it?

Just about anywhere...I usually get it at Wal-Mart, it's pretty cheap there.

[ownerof3dogs]

I was also thinking it could be a mite/mange or ring worm from being outside. Did the vet do a skin scrapping? If the vet didn't then I would recommend having that done, just in case it is.

The Z/D food does work well for allergies. But is pretty expensive I think. But it is worth it.

I just wish Lady could go inside. That were a dog belongs