I Need Some Advice Please

[cheryl & oliver]

This might be a little long, so please bear with me. The last couple of weeks Oliver has been suffering with what I call the "Itchys". He took to chewing his paw kind of raw, so I took him to the vet, she shaved the area to get a good look, and she put him on Timiril. Well that did not work out he was peeing all over the house, like he had no control, although I was walking him every hour. Needless to say this was not good for him or me...so we switched him to Benedryl, 2 tabs 2x a day, and she put one of those horrible collars on him. Well he was ok in the car with the collar, but when I got him home he started howling and actually screaming, and shaking and throwing himself around...It freaked me out, I finally got the thing off him and he lay shaking in my lap on the floor, with me in tears...I am not a new dog owner, I have had dogs for 35 yrs but I have never seen or heard anything like that before. He calmed down, and I put a sock on the affected area, This seems to working for the time, although i have to watch him like a hawk so that he doesn't remove the sock and get to licking the area. Anyway, I have noticed that the last week he has had very loose stools, not fun to have to clean up to say the least. He is happy, eating well and urinating fine. He is his happy self, so I was not too worried about the loose stools...I then remembered that he also ate one of those rawhide bones 2-3 days ago, he loves them, I don't like them, but gave it to him to divert him from licking the leg..Anyway I called the vet, she said it is not from the Benedryl, prob from the rawhide bone...I am giving him a chicken breast tonight with some white rice, but not sure how much to feed. I will shred one average size breast after I boil it, should I use chicken broth or water? and use white rice. But not sure how much to give him. I don't want him to be hungry, and should I do this until stools are better instead of dog food? He usually get 1 1/2 cups of Canadae 2x a day...Can u guys help me please? Sry this was so long...thanks, Cheryl...And we usually give some milkbone small biscuits as treats, if I dont' give that what should I use. I use one slice of american cheese to give him the benedryl....
thanks, Cheryl

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

My first suggestion would be to switch to a non chicken based food and no treats for a while. Go to lamb or beef based food. AND definitely no rawhide or cheap commercial treats... they are the worst ever

After switching foods you should see a difference in about 10 days. If you don't then go to a non chicken low grain food next

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Temaril is a combination drug containing steroids, which is why Oliver was peeing. Not my favorite drug, Jack's allergy specialist is also not a fan. The Temaril treats symptoms but not the cause of the paw problem. They should have done a skin scraping. If it's raw, it might also be infected, and might need antibiotics.There are cortisone sprays you can buy at the pet supply store to temporarily relieve the itching. Did the vet give you an opinion as to what is causing the intense itching? I would pursue that issue with her, it's important.
How much does Oliver weigh? Some of us whose dogs take antihistamines prefer Claritin or Atarax over Benadryl. But the dosages are different.
You can use sodium free broth or water to cook the chicken, it doesn't matter. Try a cup & a half of the chicken & rice mixture twice a day, it won't matter if the amounts aren't exactly right.
I prefer protein treats like duck, chicken or liver jerky to biscuit type treats that contain grains. They're usually also easier on canine tummies. Dairy products are not a great idea if diarrhea is present; try just putting the pills down his throat.
You can also give him a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin to help the diarrhea.
Hope this helps and Oliver is better soon.

[cheryl & oliver]

Karen I know it iwas the steroid that caused the excessive peeing, and we have stopped that. It is not raw at all now, she had given him an antibiotic when this started and a topical powder to use. She said it was definately a hot spot that he had just made worse by licking. He weighs 67 lbs now. I have sodium free chicken broth, which I will boil the chicken in, and give chicken and rice tonight and tomorrow. I just bought a can of organic pumpkin, so I will add a spoon of that to the mix. thank you so much for your response. he area looks clean and dry today, but I will put a little neosporin on it too tonight before bedtime and switch off woth the powder and that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You could give 2 10mg. loratidine (generic Claritin- not "D"!) once a day in place of the benadryl. It doesn't cause drowsiness like the benadryl, and has been more effective for Jack.

[cheryl & oliver]

well I will buy that and try that for him and see if that helps even more. He is not at all tired from the benedryl, I am tired though, lol

[cheryl & oliver]

Jame, funny he only licks this one spot on his leg, and only this leg too. He matted the hair so badly that we had to shave an area to see it well...The vet said it wasn't bad, but to me it was not a pretty sight. It has been looking much better, and he knows now that when we come in from his walks, he has to have his sock on...He just lifts his paw and gives it to me to put the sock on...He has had cheese many times before with no problem, never had loose stools with it, and I don't give it to him alll that much/

[cheryl & oliver]

Lol, I didn't say he likes wearing it, I watch him like a hawk to make sure it is on, he likes it much better when it is off, but until I get to Petsmart tomorrow and check out the soft collars, he has to wear it. We are going to a doodle romp tomorrow near us, so I am hoping that will keep him busy for awhile playing and running with the other doodles so he will not be focused on his foot...But he does let me put it on with no problems, so I guess that is good like u said, but is he happy with it? I don't think so...I do have to say he LOVED his dinner tonight. He looked at me with this strange look like Mom what is this??? this is delicious, he literally licked his bowl clean, lol....I gave him about a cup and 3/4 of cooked chicken, white rice and organic pumpkin and ke bout danced, lol...

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

sounds like a hot spot... dogs can get them for a variety of reaons; licking is a normal reaction to itching. I am surprised your vet did not give you a topical ointment, like tritop. If you cover the area with a sock, it may not be able to dry out and may become infected. Hence the e-collar... you can actually buy soft e-collars that are much more comfortable for the dog to wear - I saw them at petco last week, so should be easy to get one. One of my dogs has dry skin so I give her salmon oil every day, which has helped. I also switched from chicken based kibble to no grain, fish / venizon based foods (from Natural Balance). She is doing much better after I changed her diet and does't get as many skin irritations as she used to (she still gets some when she swims in the lake in the summer). Instead of rawhide, you can give your dog a bullystick or a bone to keep him busy! Keep an eye on the irritated area and if it starts to ooze or look infected, you should go back to the vet. If it just looks a little irritated, I would slab some cortisone cream on it and possibly also some neosporin from my own medicine cabinet...

[cheryl & oliver]

Yes that is what the vet said it was, a hot spot, and his licking is what irritated it. She did give us a topical powder, and it is working. The area is clean and dry, he just goes to lick, so I am going to use some neosoron inbetween the powder, and if I have to I will get a soft collar. ty vm for the advice, much appreciated,,The vet checked his skin all over and said he does not have any dry skin, infact she said that his skin looks wonderful all over his body. She thought that maybe he got a mosquito bite while walking, ( we live in Fl. they are here year rd) and it might have triggered the licking, but she said it was just a guess, she did not see any bite...He has done so well on the Canadae since he has been on it, but I guess I will have to see what happens and if I need to I might have to switch foods...Hope not, my other one has been on Canadae for 12 1/2 years, and he has always done well on it...But we will do what we have to do...thanks again...Cheryl

[Nugget's Family]

Cheryl-

When our dood started having similar issues, Karen suggested the Claritin/Evening Primrose Oil combination which my vet said would be fine. Nugget has been doing well on it this winter.

Just curious...how old is your Oliver? Our Nugget had absolutely NO skin issues until she was 2 1/2 and then it was like over night she got itchy and has been itchy since May. It seems that other dogs seem to develop these issues at around the same age.

Take care....good luck.

Susan

[cheryl & oliver]

susan he is 10 mos old...I am hoping that we don't have allergy issues, I had that with a dog years ago and it was a nightmare....Hoping this is kind of a one time or not to frequent thing...

[Natasha]

Have you tried one of the inflatible collars instead of the plastic collar to keep him from licking his paw? We used this when Rouser was neutered and it worked great. He ended up liking it - it served as a pillow when he was sleeping. Not sure if it would keep him from reaching his paw, but you might want to research it.

http://reviews.petco.com/3554/100555/reviews.htm