Jasper's Alergies...:(, and other updates.

[DogLover9501]

Incase anyone was wondering about Jasper or his alergies....

The alergies is still a constant battle, right now hes still on the Wellness fish and sweet potato, hes been on that for a little over a week, I think. I've also been giving him children's benadryl alergy, bubble gum flavor , but thats all gone now, and it didn't help at all.

Next week the vet is going to give us some anti-biotics(sp) for him, Im not sure what for...

Then in 6-7 weeks of being on the fish and potato food, they are going to do a blood test or something...

I don't know about any of this, and it seems REALLY weird to me, they should be able to do a test that tells if its even food related at all, or if its outdoor related..etc, as this could all be a waste of time and money if its not even food.

Some other updates...well he's really calming down, he doesn't jump on people half as much, and he isn't always running around the house being a pain, hes calmed down quite a bit, he's stopped the puppy chewing on people and their clothes and he is now sitting before going out of doors and before getting his food.

He is, however, getting a bit stubborn I will call him and he will either act like he is deaf and cannot hear a thing, or that he is not Jasper and has no idea who I am talking to

Well just a little update

[Logan]

Robyn, I'm glad you updated us. I do hope that the change in diet will help Jasper. Keep us posted on how things go.

Logan

[cloverfdx]

I am sorry to hear Jasper's alergies have not improved, Hopefully the Anti-Biotics will help a bit.

I hope that the Vets find somthing that has been missed with the tests and can start getting Jasper some treatment.

That is great news though that Jasper is starting to grow up and become a real gentleman.

Thankyou so much for the update *That i was going to ask for in the next few days *

[RobiLee]

Hang in there, Robyn and keep up posted!

Robin

[Cincy'sMom]

We have been and are going through the same allergy battle with Cincy. We found food was not improving her condition and as soon as she was off the antibiotics she was back to itching. Benedryl and Claritin didn't really help too much.

One thing tht did help was a new shampoo called Kertalux. The other thing that seems to be helping is immunotherapy. We have a blood test run that said yes, it is an allergy (tht took about 15 min in the vet's office) they then sent the blood out for further testing (both food and airborne) and found she is allergic to dust mites. We have begun giving her shots at home and she has had her first 5 which were 4 days apart. She will be given one a week for the next 2 months, then go to every other week, and eventually one a month, where she will stay for the rest of her life.

Getting started on this was expensive, but when we get it under control, it should only be $75-$100/year. (less then we were spending on antihistamines!) So far it is helping. We are not thre yet, and she is not as full dose yet, but we are making headway. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Good luck with Jasper. I hope you find relief for him soon!

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by DogLover9501
...

I don't know about any of this, and it seems REALLY weird to me, they should be able to do a test that tells if its even food related at all, or if its outdoor related..etc, as this could all be a waste of time and money if its not even food.

This is exactly what we felt and what prompted us to call another vet. Our vet told us they had to try food first becuase the blood test would not determine if it was food or not. But when we called our new vet, they said they could test for both. The testing procedure and such is put out by Allercept. It may be worth calling some other vets and finging out if this is aviable. It is much quicker then a 6-8 week food trail. (which our new vet actaully said is too short anyway, a true food trail needs to run 4-6 months!)

[DogLover9501]

Thanks everyone!

Also I feel VERY relieved that someone here is going through the same battle as we are, Cincy'sMom(sorry don't know your name ) My mom was actually thinking of calling more vets because that is exactly what our vet told us, but she said the test to find out exactly what Jasper is alergic to isn't available to them and that we had to do the food trial.

Also, she once told us that if the food trial doesn't work, he will have to go on alergy pills for the rest of his life, if he did, would he be able to eat everything??

It might be possible that the test just isn't available here? We are going out there sometime next week to get his antiboitics and are also going to ask about the alergy pills, and the prices and all of that stuff, and also about more tests, they have NEVER done blood work on him, could this be not even alergies??

The only tests he's ever had were 2-3 skin scrapes to test him for some skin diseases that boxers seem to be prone to, but he didn't have them, so they basically "decided" it must be alergies.

I will definatly PM you with further questions, thank you!!

[Cincy'sMom]

What we gie Cincy isn't pills, but injections. It helps build her immuno system against what she is allergic to (in this case Dust mites) Her injection is very simple inthat it only contains one allergen. Some dogs with extreme allergies may have 10-15 allergens all in the same shot. The injections are very easy to give her and I do it at home.

There are other things that can cause skin problems, but most come along with other symptoms. Thyroid is one that we looked into becuase Cincy also has a weight problem. Cushing's disease is another we did not check out, but skim problems along with bladder infections, lots of panting, and sort of a "pot bellied pig" look can be addition indicators of that. Lupus is another possiblity, but you will see problems around that nail beds and mucous membranes. If you are seeingno other symptoms, then I think allergies is the way to look.

What kind of reactions does Jasper have? Does he lick at his paws a lot? Chew at his back legs and have fur loss? Does he get pimples? These may be some indications of what kind of allergies you are looking at. (Cincy gets pimples on her belly and chews terribly at her back legs and tail)

[DogLover9501]

Well Jasper scratches his face mostly, his eyes have no fur around them from scratching and sometimes he makes then puss, and he sometimes makes his face/muzzle bleed and his ears have no fur from him scratching them.

He also has sores on his neck and chest from scratching and also has alot of hair loss on his entire 4 paws from chewing on them and scratching, but not his tail, as he can't really reach it

I will definatly get calling a few other vets on Monday and ask them about tests that can be done!

Thanks again