Desperate for help with my doodle. Keeps licking her butt non-stop. Been to the vets again and again.

[Stacy Armstrong]

Hi everyone. 

I am so desperate to figure out what is going on with my 2 year old female australian labradoodle. Here's her history. I am hoping that someone can help me figure this out. I am now thinking it might be a food allergy. 

4/2011 ~ noticed licking in the anal area. Took her to the vets. She needed her anal glands expressed. They were full. Mild infection. Everything cleared up after about a week.

10/23/2011 ~ noticed licking in the anal area. Took her to the vets. Anal glands were expressed. No infection found.

10/26/2011 ~ still licking her butt Took her back to the vets. Her left anal gland was infected. Gave her a cortizone shot and put her on an antiobiotic.

11/4/2011 ~ still licking her butt Took her back to the vets. Both anal glands were infected. Changed antibiotics and added in predisone b/c the glands were very swollen and not able to drain. They also checked her stool for worms/parasites. Negative. She is also on monthly heartgard.

11/5/2011 ~ switched foods to Fromm 4 Starr. 3 kinds. Duck and Sweet Pot., Salmon a la king and Pork and apples. She loves them! She was on TOTW and would turn her nose up every other day.

11/10/2011 ~ Licking like crazy. Back to the vets. No infection. Still swollen glands so gave her another steroid shot. Continue on cortizone at home and antibiotic. Full rectal exam to check for polyps, obstructions, etc. All clear.

11/15/2011 ~ Licking like crazy. Back to the vets. No infection. No swelling in the glands. Checked for mites. Negative. Added benadryl twice per day. Started dewormer even though negative one week ago.

 

Nothing is working. She licked non-stop for hours yesterday despite trying to play and distract her. It's weird, she will run and play and then stop as if someone poked her butt from out of the blue.

 

I am at my wits end. I feel horrible for her. She circles licking all day long. She will stop dead in her track from playing to lick non-stop. Her bottom looks sore and her fur is all wet and matted from where she licks. She licks all around the area including the base of her tail.

 

Could this be a food allergy since TOTW was grain free and Fromm is not? What am I missing?

 

I have also posted this on the food board.

 

Thank you in advance!

Stacy

 

What am I missing?

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

We had this problem with Chloe and we had her expressed SO MANY times and it never went away. After a long haul the vet "didn't know what else to do" so he wanted to remover her glands with no guarantee that all will work right when she is done with surgery.

This is when we went to another vet for a check and he said did they ever give her an infusion??? It was an antibiotic shot right in her glands and we had no problems since which is a few years now, she didn't heave to be expressed since either.

You may ask for a 2nd opinion and also ask specifically about the infusion???? Good luck, I know exactly what you guys are going through, we had to use a cone some nights it was so bad. Keep us posted and I hope all gets better.

[Stacy Armstrong]

Thank you all so much for your brainstorming ideas, advice and sharing of your doodle stories. It is extremely helfpul.

 

We took the dog back to the vets today and they kept her for a few hours. There are about 6 vets at our place so another vet got involved for a second opinion. They decided to do the infusion thing where they take a small catheder and put the antibiotic directly into the anal glands. They were not full or infected today but thought it might help knock the overall infection and swelling out of her once and for all. They also changed her "anti itch" meds to something stronger and gave her a "cone" so that she does not continue to lick non-stop. We discussed several other theories and I asked a ton of questions. She also called her vet friend who is a dermatoloigist for animals. Hoping to hear his opinion as well.

 

The vet did notice that she was red in a few other areas (her sides by her belly, etc) and asked if she had been itchy elsewhere. She has in fact been laying on her back and rolling around to scratch her back too. She is very suspect of food allergies as well. So, we are going with a different food and trying to rule out one thing at a time. No more doggy treats, etc until we can figure this out. Too much of a mix of proteins to know what is causing it, if it is indeed a food allergy.

 

I am hoping that this fixes the problem and provides some relief. I will you posted as I feel that we can all learn from others and you never know when you might need to know.

 

Thank you again for all of your help and advice.

Stacy

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Stacey -- Hoping that the infusion they did today helps.  Keeping our fingers crossed.   One thing I wanted to mention is that because I know that you were feeding a good quality food, is that you might want to post in the food group what the food is that the vet has you switching her to.  Reason I say this is that it is pretty common knowledge around here on DK that the food Vets request that dogs be switched to is CRAP (for lack of a better word).  Vets just aren't normally food experts.  One other thing I'd be concerned about also with switching food at this point is really loose poops as you just switched foods recently, you already have loose poops from the meds and now they want you to switch again.  Just my thoughts!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree, and I would also say, along the lines of "one thing at a time", that perhaps it might be better to wait and see if the infusion and the meds help. If they do, and you also change foods at the same time, you won't know if the food change made the difference, or if the improvement is from the infusion plus the meds. 

[Stacy Armstrong]

Hi,

 

Hold your breath for this one. They recommended Science Diet z/d which is an allergan free food. The first ingredient is a starch followed by chicken liver, which sounds horrible.  I read about it online and others say that its an OK food for getting allergies under control temporarily but should not used long term b/c there is very little (if any) nutritional value. My vet agreed as well. She suggested it b/c we are desperate to get her to stop itching and then start figuring out the food issue.

 

Our girl will not eat it though so I will probably order some grain free Fromm. Any other food suggestions for allergies? I've read that the best foods are the ones that have the least ingredients..not all that other stuff that you cannot pronounce. I think Natural Balance LID (?) was one of them and Back to the Basics. Any others out there that your doodles love?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have tons of information in the Food Group on Rx foods and why you shouldn't use them, along with a list of Recommended Brands and grain-free formulas.

If you want to try a limited ingredient formula, your best bet is Wellness Simple Solutions. The Omega 6:3 fatty acid ratio is much better than Natural Balance. It does contain rice, though.

The stuff you cannot pronounce on dog food labels is mainly vitamins and minerals, and that's usually not the problem in cases of food sensitivities or allergies. You want a limited ingredient formula because if a food only contains a few ingredients and uses an alternative protein source, i.e. one the dog has not eaten before, you're eliminating pretty much anything that might be causing the problems. If the food doesn't help after 2-3 months, you can be pretty sure that food isn't the issue.

[Stacy Armstrong]

Hi. I agree. I am not excited about switching her food at all. They recommended Science Diet z/d (allergan free) as a short term fix and then we will figure out what food is best. I think it's CRAP based on the ingredients listed. My doodle won't eat it though so it's a non-issue. I guess she is smarter than they are....lol.

 

I am thinking about going with something very natural with few ingredients. I need to do some more reseach but I read about Natural Balance LID and Back to the Basics.

 

Thanks. Stacy

[Stacy Armstrong]

Andrea, thank you for the link to the inflatable cone.

[Julie, Boomer, Milo & Casey]

I'm working with a vague memory of a dog I had 20 years ago.  He did alot of licking too and the vet would express his anal glands (I don't know if he really needed that...I just trusted the vet).   I did some research myself and determined he had an anal fisure and told the vet my findings.   He said that could very well be true...but from there, I honestly don't remember what we did (if anything?)....this is something very painful for a dog (and humans!)    Has your vet ever mentioned a fisure?

[Stacy Armstrong]

Hi Julie,

 

Yes, the vet checked last week and again yesterday for a fissure. She also shaved her hind area (but not too close due to itching) to double check. You are right...I read it can be very painful

 

Thanks for the heads up on this.

Stacy

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

When I ordered the product Thornit,  it specifically said it was for ears and butt lickers.  I do not have this problem but with my dogs. I just ordered it for ear maintenance.   Does your dog also scratch ears?  Maybe someone else would know or use Thornit for bad bums.

[Stacy Armstrong]

Thanks. I will check it out.