Hi everyone,
I am an new member to this site, but I have been reading your forums for years. And now that I have come across a reoccuring allergy problem with my older lab Buzz, I feel I must acquire as much advice as I can to treat his skin problem. Some history on Buzz…he will be 5 years old this August, and I've had him since I rescued him at 4 months old (no family history available). As he has gotten older, he has had a more difficult time (skin and respiratory) during the summer months . We live in Austin, Texas, so the summer makes up the majority of the year, with lots of humidity and a wide variety of airborne allergens. Buzz is mainly an outside dog, he stays in a large pen with his playmate Mocha (lab mix) while I'm at work and then I let them out into the back yard to play when I get home. We play fetch in a nearby field a few times a week and they sleep in crates (with a fan) in our open garage at night. He has eaten the same Purina Dog Chow formula for years now too. I noticed that when Buzz was around 2 years of age, he started getting wheezy after about 5 minutes of playing fetch in the summer heat. Sometimes he would even vomit about half his breakfast shortly after hard play. So I kept his activity to a minimum during those super hot afternoons and played mostly at dusk, which seemed to help. Starting last summer my vet gave him one injection each of penicillin and vetalog (a corticosteroid) , and a prescription for cephalexin (an antibiotic) all to help his respitory issue and cure a large hotspot he had under his belly and neck where his collar would rub on the folds of his skin. The vet said he had a fungal, yeast-like infection that was causing him to have flaky, smelly skin on his belly and oozing infections in his ears and neck. Since then, Buzz had another major outbreak in January and is starting to show signs of skin problems right now. In January the vet gave me another prescription for cephalexin, prednisone, medicated shampoo, ear cleaner, and eye ointment. All this treatment has been expensive, but it certainly helped Buzz at the time. Now that the weather is getting hotter and Buzz's allergies are coming back, I can see now that this may be an ongoing issue I will have to treat regularly. So with the research I have done and the vet opinions I have gathered, I am wondering if the best thing would be to treat Buzz regularly with anti-fungal shampoo (preferrably Melaluca if I can find it), ear cleaner (like Epi-Otic, as needed) and possibly a daily benedryl or prednisone to help Buzz with the itching (only during the summer). On our last visit to the vet, about a week ago, he said that fortunately Buzz's reaction is not that bad yet. He recommended 6 weeks of fulvicin (aka griseofulvin; an antifungal and antibiotic) to completely knock out Buzz's problem. Since I don't feel that Buzz will ever be completely cured of his allergies, and that griseofulvin costs about $2 a pill, I do not plan to go that route. I simply don't have the financial ability to treat his allergies that way. So other than steroids, does anyone have any experience with herbal treatment as an alternative? More specifically, Evening Primrose oil? I have read that it contains the omega-6 fatty acids that treat allergic skin conditions in dogs. Whereas daily prednisone is cost effective, I really don't like the idea of Buzz being on steroids all the time. So I'd rather give him the evening primrose oil supplements as a daily vitamin for prevention than utilize steroids on a reactionary basis anyway. Also, should I invest in something like Advantix, which would prevent fleas and mosquitos from triggering an allergic reaction? Buzz has never had a flea problem, but it wouldn't surprise me if one little flea or our many Texas-sized mosquitoes could be triggering a reaction during the summer months. Advantix would definitely be more expensive than shampoo and prednisone combined, but if it hits the root of the problem before outbreaks could begin, it would be worth it to me to buy it going forward. Overall, I am looking specifically for dog owners with experience in treating skin allergies with daily prednisone and/or benedryl, Advantix, or herbal supplements. I'm looking for the pros and cons so I can make a more educated decision as to how to start treating Buzz on a regular (and cost-effective) basis. Fortunately he is not as bad a case as I originally thought. I just need to prevent the reaction before it starts so I can maintain a strong and healthy skin and coat for Buzz. Any advice you can give would be most appreciated. Thank you so much!!
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