Slobbers (dog) has another hotspot

[myheart]

I feel so bad for Slobbers. He is a three year old St. Bernard who weighs 180lbs. (please keep that in mind if making food suggestions :?).

I took him to the vet earlier this year because his face seemed itchy. The vet perscribed some eye ointment because she said the his eyelashes are turning in causing irritation. The ointment helped clear his eyes up (they became less red), but he was still itchy.

Because of his scratching, he developed a hotspot on the back of his head a few months ago. Vet perscribed antibiotic cream and pills, which cleared the hotspot up. The only other thing the vet suggested was benedryl to help relieve the itchiness. The benedryl does help some, but the itchiness has progressed to his whole body. Now he has another really bad hotspot on his back leg from licking/biting it.

I know I should really have an allergy test done although I know they can't test for rabbit skin cell (they test for rabbit as a meat source). But the gammit of testing would have to include hays, pollens, dust, mold, carpet, and into food sources.

Anyhow, my question is... Does anyone else have an itchy pooch with an unknown allergy source? What type/brand of food agreed with your dog? I am thinking about an all meat diet, but I can't remember the name of the woman in my area who formulates the tubes of meat. I am almost ready to give up on all commercial foods because there is always something that seems like an allergy source such as dairy, corn, wheat, ect.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are both getting frustrated with the itchies.

myheart & Slobbers

 

[naturestee]

Have you talked to the Sheboygan Animal Hospital about it? For short term relief Dr. Winter gave Lily a steroid shot which worked really quickly. Now we have to wait and see if it comes back before making any changes, in the hopes it's a one-off thing.

What is he on right now? I might put Lily back on California Natural which makes foods with a minimum number of ingredients for sensitive/allergic pets. Dr. Winter likes that but also likesNatural Balance as it has some varities for allergic animals that use more unique ingredients. Unique= less likely to already have an allergy to it.

I'll find out what my friend uses for his dog. That one started with a beef allergy and then progressed to other types of meat too over the years, but vegetarian dog food made her feel awful.

Edit: California Natural website, check out the tiny ingredient lists!

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

I don't know if you can find this in Manitowoc but the Pet Supply Plus on 8th St. in Sheboygan carries most varieties of this as well as a number of other very high quality foods. You could also try something like Innova Evo which is grain-free, although that has a lot of different ingredients in it.

 

[myheart]

I perfer not to do the steriod shots if we are able to avoid them. He may only live to be eight or ten years old and I don't want his liver or kindeys to develop problems from too many shots.

I would really like to get to the root of his problem if I am able. I will check into the California Natural since I have heard of that before. I am also checking into the Wellness brand allergy formulas which are duck & rice or venison & rice.

The vet just called and will thankfully refill his antibiotic perscriptions without an appointment. I am starting to think that maybe some sort of fecal, urnine, or preliminary blood tests should be done to see if there are any indicators there.

Btw, Naturestee, he is still going to the vet here in Manitowoc. I have had thoughts of taking him to Sheboygan, which will probably be next on the list of things to do for him. Do you recommend Dr. Winter over Dr. Diedering (sp?)?

myheart

 

[naturestee]

I don't really have a preferance between Dr. Dedering or Dr. Winter. They're both very nice and I just happened to get Dr. Winter for Lily as I didn't have a preferance for any vet. Dr. Winter also treated most of my kitties' kitten diseases although Dr. Dedering did some too. They were both good, just had different preferances for URI antibiotics.

I'd ask who works the most with dog allergies. Dr. Winter at least seems to have a preferance for commercial dog foods instead of prescription ones for allergies. That'll save you some money.

And I do really like California Natural. The Evo line seems to have some 95% (insert meat type here) canned foods which might also be a good choice if you want to go that route. I was just looking at the website. That company as a whole makes fantastic foods.

Edit: Do check the Wellness labels carefully. I looked at them in the store and I seem to remember them having a lot of different veggie additives and such. That might be ok for Slobbers but Lily has a sensitive stomach and has always needed simple ingredients.

 

[degrassi]

What food brands have you tried? My pooch(cocker/bichon) has allergies and I've switched him to a couple different foods before finding one that worked. He used to be on wellness but now he is on Orijen.

Wellness and some of the other higher quality dry foods still contain grains. Thats why we finally switched to Orijen as its grain free, only meat and veggies. Since switching to Orijen my dog isn't ichy anymore and has stopped vommiting. I also feed a lot less of the Orijen then I did other brands as it isn't full of grain fillers. The per bag price of Orijen is higher but the "per serving" price is a bit less actually. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

Another good brand is Evo. Its also grain free. http://www.evopet.com/

 

[NetherlandDwarf]

I had a dog with a similar problem, it got to be rather expensive too with all the trips to the vet. our dog would scratch and pull her hair off of her legs and then her back started thinning as well. they scraped where the hot spots were to see if there was any little bugs living in the hair folicle. no bugs, but just allergies, now if it was food allergies or outdoor allergies, we weren't sure. most likely it was a combination. we tried a few different things even medicated baths constantly and medication. but what worked for my dog was i started making her own dog food. im sure it will much much more of a chore for a large dog, since our dog was a mini aussie & half border collie. but making your own dog food was a lot easier than i would have imagine and there are tons of great sites out there. i was amazed to find out that there was tons of ingredients out there thatare sensetive to dogs.i would just buy a bag of cut up chicken parts and cook them in a crock pot or just boil them along with rice and fresh spinach, and then keep it in the fridge. after making the whole dog food and feeding that to her, which she loved, all her symptoms went away and i was able to get her off of meds and medicated baths.

just thought i would share my story.

 

[myheart]

I think I talked with Dr. Dedering a bit about Slobber the one time she saw Luna when she wasn't eating after a dental. In a way I was leaning toward taking Slobbers to her because she has Newfies herself and is comfortable with large-breed dogs. That is important to me also because I don't want to pay for a visit with a vet who doesn't care for big dogs. But then again, Dr. Dedering wanted to give Luna a motility drug for her tummy even though she didn't feel anything in her GI track. :?

I think that we will start with a change of food for sure.

myheart

 

[naturestee]

Can't judge a cat/dog vet by how they treat rabbits.

 

[myheart]

Thanks degrassi for the input. I will check into that brand although it doesn't sound familiar (like any store carries it in my area). I will check out their web site to see what the main meat source is. I do like the idea of grain-free for him. I think the local pet shop might carry the Evo brand, so I will check that also.

I was also checking on the BARF diets, NetherlandDwarf. That would be some grocery bill between all of the greens for the bunners and meats/veggies for the dog. I wonder if food for myself should be added into the budget also....? (LOL)

A friend of mine used to feed the raw diet to her Basenjis and swore by it. But, then she was feed dogs that were under twenty pounds each. I wonder how that figures for a 180 pound dog?

Naturestee, I am only concidering the Wellness brand because I picked a bag up for the cats today. I am at a loss there also. Poor Pearl licks the top of the base of her tail clean of all hair because of some sort of allergy. I did have a scrapping done on her to make sure there was nothing living on her skin or hair, but that was negative. So this is the third or fourth bag of cat food we are trying out. Pearl is my gauge, but all three cats should like it all the same.

myheart

 

[myheart]

naturestee wrote:

Can't judge a cat/dog vet by how they treat rabbits.

You are right. Sometimes it is difficult to switch gears into dog mode, cat mode, or even piggie mode. Any one who has Newfies can't be all bad...

myheart

 

[degrassi]

myheart wrote:

Thanks degrassi for the input. I will check into that brand although it doesn't sound familiar (like any store carries it in my area). I will check out their web site to see what the main meat source is. I do like the idea of grain-free for him. I think the local pet shop might carry the Evo brand, so I will check that also.


Naturestee, I am only concidering the Wellness brand because I picked a bag up for the cats today. I am at a loss there also. Poor Pearl licks the top of the base of her tail clean of all hair because of some sort of allergy. I did have a scrapping done on her to make sure there was nothing living on her skin or hair, but that was negative. So this is the third or fourth bag of cat food we are trying out. Pearl is my gauge, but all three cats should like it all the same.

myheart

Orijen might not be available where you are, its made here in canada(here in alberta actually) I'm not sure if its available outside canada. I'm sure it will say on their website. Evo is similar to Orijen though, both are no grain foods and pretty much the best dry dog foods out there.

I know Origen comes in a few different "flavours". They even have a fish formula if you pet is allergic to othe protein sources. I believe Evo comes in a poultry based food and a red meat food.

Wellness brand has grains so that could be causing allergies(ichy/licking) in your cat. Cats shouldnt' have any grains in their foods. A all meat diet is best. Grains are just fillers and cause more problems then they are worth(allergies, GI upset, etc).

 

[myheart]

degrassi, I just looked on Orijen's web site, and the closest place to get it would be Milwaukee or Eau Claire. I wrote down the numbers for Milwaukee and the Chicago distributor to see if I could get more information or even a sample. Their cat food looks promissing also...

I suppose I should have looked into the Evo before posting this.... :?

Thanks all for the contributions to Slobber's itchy problem. It is so appreciated to hear what is working for others. This guessing game is really starting to become frustrating because I know he hurts.

myheart

Edited to add that Evo is available at the local pet shop!!! Will definitely get more information on that food for the dog and cats!! Big Thanks to all!!!!

 

[naturestee]

I was gonna say if you can't get Evo in Manitowoc you can get it here. Seriously, the place on 8th St has fantastic foods and even more choices for dogs. Just in case I need to though, what are the good pet stores in Manitowoc?

 

[myheart]

Thetwo places in town are the Colonial Pet Shoppe and the PetSmart, both on Calumet Ave. I never go to the PetSmart because they are cracked with their prices...

The only other place I go to, aside fromColonial which carries the Oxbow products, is the Silver Lake Country Store on HWY151 (?). They do alot of the farm grain feeds, but carry some house pet products as well. Usually a good place to pick up cat litter and treats for Slobbers. I wish they could get an Oxbow account as well, but I am sure that Oxbow only provides for one distributor within so many miles.

myheart

 

[naturestee]

LOL, you're right about Petsmart's prices. Just wait until yours gets Oxbow. They're really smoking something if they think I'll pay that much when its so much cheaper elsewhere in town. And for allergic cats (don't know about dogs) they don't have anything I'd buy except for the Nutro I'm currently feeding.

I've been to Colonial in search of Oxbow. I betthey would order stuff for you if you wanted to try it and they don't carry it. I used to do that with a non-chain petstore in Grafton when I lived further south.

Oh, just remembered something. Dr. Winter said that some of the allergic cats with skin problems do better when extrafish oil is added to their food. I would think flax oil would work the same way and it's used in California Natural's foods instead of fish. You could try adding some of that to see if it helps a little. I do remember my friend with the allergic dog taking James with him to search for the allergy-safe foods with the most fish or flax oil in them too.

 

[Elf Mommy]

Boxers are prone to wheat and corn allergies that cause the itchy skin, hot spots and red haws around the eyes.

Not sure if that's a problem with Saints or not.

We feed Kirby Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and Canidae.

I know others have offered advice, but thought I'd throw that in there too

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, I'm going to go a different route here - we have a cat that supposedly has allergies that make his ears swell and lose his hair in his tail and butt...... it only happens over the winter tho..... we think it's something to do with the air being dry.

ALSO..... My sister's dog (my dog's sister) and the neighbor's dog (our dogs' mother) lose their hair every year when they shed out for their new coats (spring and fall) and when they do..... they look like they have mange!! It's just their way of how their body works. My dog doesn't have any of that!

Have you tried Benedryl? if it is an allergy it might help.

We did try some food that is nice for our cat. He loves it, his coat is better but not back to full hairy manecoon yet, and his ears are tolerant of it - if it really is food allergy with him..... It's made by the actor DICK VAN PATTEN..... ALL of our animals have had samples and munch it down.... Here's the link.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/allergy.html

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would recommend a raw diet, but you would need to feed about 4lbs a day (you should feed 2-3% of dogs body weight a day). You could do it short term to see if he is allergic to a specific food like chicken, beef or something else. Once you have found what (or if) your dog is allergic to a food, you can avoid it. The cheapest way to do it for such a large dog would be to get the meat form a butcher to direct form the producer. A pre-made food is going to be expensive, the stuff I get for my dogs is about $1.30 per pound and I have seen some for $5 per pound. You also need to feed bones and organ meats. You can google Raw Feeding for some more info.

As it may not be practical to feed him Raw, a high quality dry food is probably your best bet. I am not going to give you one brand over another as I feed raw and the brands of dry food are different here than where you live. You can go to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com the 5 and 6 star ones are generally the best.

If the diet change doesn't help, it could be something else. I can take some time to see if a diet change does work. If you want to figure out what the problem is, then you shouldn't do too much at once. If you clean the whole house and change the diet, you don't really know what the cause is other than that your dog is better.

 

[RexyRex]

My dog has a skin allergy as well. I've been feeding her Nutro and that has helped some. She gets a rash all over her body and then her skin will turn hard and flake off. I give her Benedryl, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon and I rub Gold Bond cream into her tummy, where itseems to be the worst. She also gets a bath every other week with oatmeal shampoo, and that has really helped as well. My vet hasn't been able to locate what the problem is, this has been going on since last summer, which leads me to believe that it's something in my house since that'swhen we moved here. I'm with you on the steroid shots. Maggie is already 8 years old and I was worried about the effects on her body, so I turned it down. Good luck!

 

[werecatrising]

Allergies are a pain. True food allergies are not as common as atopic allergies, allergies to things in the enviornment. You can have blood sent in to a lab and have it tested to see what Slobbers is allergic to. They can also formulate an antigen shot, but even the company admits that only works 50-60% of the time. I have seen the best results with a new drug called atopica. It can be expensive at fisrt, but you eventually taper down the dose so the cost gets better.