Help with skin condition

[Karen]

Hi. 

I read the forum a lot, but have never posted before.  I have an 18month old Australian Labradoodle, Cocoa.  I tend to bathe him a lot, my husband is not a dog person and cannot stand if he smells at all.  We also live in a woodsy area in CT and he gets dirty a lot.  Anyway, at his last check up, he tested positive for Lyme Disease and was treated with antibiotics for 30 days.  About a month after that, he began to chew his legs and has developed dry, itchy skin.  I brought him to give him a bath a week ago and he was stinky again within 5 days.  I noticed that his skin was broken and he had some lesions so I called the vet.  My husband brought him in today and the vet said he had seasonal allergies and "smelled yeasty".  He got a shot of Vetalog and a RX for Cephalixin.  We were told not to give him a bath for 7 days--and he really has an odor.  He seems agitated and twitchy.  Just generally uncomfortable.  

Anyone have any experience or words of wisdom???

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

I looked up your area and there is an animal dermatologist in Plantsville CT, about 15 miles from you.  When I needed one, I drove an hour for the evaluation and tests but was able to get medicine and syringes mailed to me.  My dog had weekly allergy shots for 7 years.  It helped save his life.  Your pup may not need that but you may want to go to a specialist.

[Karen]

I just looked up the clinic in Plantsville and will give them a call in the morning.  I figure I will cover all the bases and do whatever I need to in order for him to get better.  I think if I am proactive and don't wait for a referral from my vet, I can save time and a lot of pain for Cocoa.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Oh that is great Karen, Keep us updated, It is so hard to see our babies not feel well.  I don't know a lot about the disease but I want to read about it so I can understand  what other dog owners have to go through with their dogs as well as what the dog has to go through.

 

Hope this doctor is extremely helpful!!!!

[Diana Erhart]

Karen...my Charlie gets seasonal allergies too.  Once we got the skin infections cleared up, our vet recommended that every time he comes in from outside that I wipe him down with baby wipes.  Not only does it take alot of the pollen off of his coat but it also takes that "outdoorsy" smell away.  It is hard to believe how much pollen wipes off of him each time we come inside.  So far Charlie has not had any more skin infectioins since we started doing this and we have just finished a very bad cedar and oak pollen season.  If I notice him itching or biting a certain part of his skin, I try to wipe it down even more with a baby wipe.  I guess it also has helped all of us to not have all that pollen flying around the indoors of the house too.  Good luck to Cocoa.  We hope she is feeling better soon!

[Karen]

Cocoa actually seems much better today.  I have been wiping him off and I did give him a little bit of benadryl because it seems to help.  I am going to call the vet and the dermatologist in the morning.  My neighbor also has a dog with allergies so I am going to ask her about dietary changes.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Karen, be aware that diet has very little to do with seasonal allergies. Food allergies are relatively rare, accounting for only 10% of all cases of allergies in dogs. I know many people start talking about changing a dog's food, but that has more to do with the quality of the food and the Omega fatty acid content than it does with allergies to specific foods. We have a lot of information about this in the Health & Medical group, the Food group, and the Atopic Dermatitis group. The primrose oil will help, and if you're not feeding a food from our recommended food list, preferably one of the grain-free foods, you might want to switch. Otherwise, dietary changes will make very little difference.

I'm not surprised that Cocoa is better; that Vetalog is powerful stuff. But even though the symptoms have subsided, because of the immuno-suppressant action of the steroids, the underlying disease is still there. If Cocoa does have Atopy, you will need to manage the allergies to avoid having flare-ups like this in the future, because a dog can't live on steroids.

But at any rate, I'm glad Cocoa is feeling better.

[Karen]

I know, Karen, I think that this is just scaring me a lot and I want him to be as healthy as possible. Our neighbor mentioned that her dog has the same problem and one of the things she did was feed her different food. I'm just happy he is better, whether it is the medication or not. if I can get him better and then work to identify the triggers and avoid them as best we can I think we'll be ok. We played ball for a few hours tonight and he was very happy...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Karen, now that you've joined the A.D. support group, read some discussions there. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to discover his triggers is to do skin testing, and then you start immunotherapy injections. There is simply no way to avoid most of the triggers, because they are things like pollen, which travels hundreds of miles and is in the air, molds, dust, etc. Of course, Cocoa may have the kind of seasonal allergies that only produce symptoms in spring and/or fall and then you can try just managing the symptoms. But the rule of thumb is that if the dog has symptoms more than 4 months of the year, you have to find a treatment plan.

Please keep us posted!

[Karen]

I Just wanted to give an update on Cocoas condition--although there is not much I can say. He appears to be feeling better with new food and supplements that were suggested. He is not anywhere near as uncomfortable A's he was. However, I got very sick with bilateral pneumonia that spread to my blood, causing me to be septic. So, I was in the hospital for 2 weeks and right now barely have the strength to move from one room to the next. The upside is that my husband and teenagers realize how important it is and have been working with him.

I just didn't want you guys to think I was posting and running. I appreciate all of the help I got from each of you.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sorry to hear you were ill, I hope you're feeling better and regain your strength soon. It's good to hear that the other family members are pitching in to help Cocoa.