Itching out of control

[Niki & Jasper]

Hi everyone,

So Jasper is now 8 months old and has always been somewhat of an 'itchy' doodle I guess. but lately, it has been the worst I have seen. He is constantly itching, biting, and licking himself - wakes up several times in the night, stops while we're on a walk, etc. I have already taken him to the vet a couple times regarding this and have not really been that satisfied with the answer. The vet claims that it is a food allergy and I stop giving Jasper things such as cream cheese, yogurt, and peanut butter as it is probably one of those...

I live in Toronto and it is Winter here now and I am not sure how common environmental allergies are at this time. I vacuum and dust religiously, as it does get quite dusty here in the Winter, and I wash his bed and my sheets weekly. A few days ago I also bathed him with TropiClean OxyMed shampoo (I looked for Douxo but could not find it online anywhere that ships to Canada for a price cheaper than 2x the cost of the bottle), left it on for 10 minutes and then rinsed. It didn't have any effect on soothing him at all. I recently switched all his food and treats to grain free (about 3 weeks ago - Acana Pacifica), and I know it takes time but I havent even seen a slight improvement since doing this. He was previously on Acana puppy. For the past 2 months he has also been getting 1 500mg pill of EPO oil, and occasionally 1 10mg pill of Claritin - his coat has definitely improved since taking the EPO, but I have not noticed any change with the scratching. The Claritin also does not help as much as I thought/hoped. Should I increase the doses? Is Claritin something that I can give everyday? I brush him daily and wipe him down after spending time outside, but nothing seems to be helping. 

I am so frustrated, I just do not know what to do to help reduce the scratching. Over the past 2 weeks it is the worse I have ever seen - he has gotten to the point where chunks of his fur are falling out. On all other counts, he is healthy and I have not noticed any unusual behaviour or anything that should concern me.  I am taking him to another vet in a few days to see what they say, but I wanted to ask if anyone had any thoughts/ideas ANYTHING that may be helpful. It honestly breaks my heart to see my little guy so uncomfortable all the time. 

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, has your vet done a skin scraping to check for mites? They can't be seen with the naked eye, and that could account for hair loss and intense itching.

[Niki & Jasper]

No she hasn't. I'll mention that too when I go in next. Thank you so much!

[Niki & Jasper]

It is very frustrating to me that vets do not always know best - recommending Benadryl over Claritin and pushing prescription food as the solution to everything for example. Also, when the vet suggested food allergies and I brought up that I thought environmental were more common and Jasper has never had other symptoms of food allergies such as vomiting and diarrhea, the vet almost looked offended that I had done my research. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When it comes to food, the vets really do not get any nutritional training in vet school. Hill's Science Diet pretty much supplies them with the only info they have on that topic, unless they are specialists. This is not all that dissimilar to human doctors, who also don't get much nutritional education in medical school. The difference is, your doctor isn't selling you food.

According to Marion Nestle, who has written extensively about this and is considered one of the foremost authorities on this topic, many vet practices make as much profit from the sale of Rx foods as they do from their medical practices.

[Kate C Pappas]

I think you should see an allergist and or consider acupuncture. If you're giving an Omega 3, he should also have Vitamin E in order for the Omega to be properly absorbed. I hope you figure this out. It's sad when we can't help our fur babies.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kate, where are you getting the information that extra vitamin E is required for the proper absorption of Omega 3 fatty acids? It is not recommended that dogs be given vitamin E supplements in addition to what is in their kibble, which is a considerable amount as vitamin E is used as a preservative in most better quality dry foods. Vitamin E is fat soluble and excess amounts are stored, not excreted in the urine as water soluble vitamins are. Too much vitamin E interferes with the absorption of vitamins A & K.  

In humans, extremely high doses of fish oil supplements over a prolonged period can cause vitamin E deficiency, which is why vitamin E is added to many Omega 3 fish oil supplements. But this is not a concern when giving a dog EPO, or when using modest amount of fish oil supplements.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

My daughter's boxer went to an specialist, had a special serium made and she just started using it. The Dr. said it will take 3-5 weeks for it to take effect. 

They suffered with poor Lily trying all the things everyone suggested for over 2 years. They switched Vets, listened and tried all kinds of things (a lot came from my way thanks to DK). They all said food allergies and I always said it had to be outside. Turned out she is allergic to grass, molds and many trees they have in their back yard.  

With her you could see her red skin and watch flare ups....I can't imagine what must be going on under Jasper's coat. Lily never wanted to be petted, it would just start her itching. She actually wears a sweater to keep the itching at bay and it seems to help. Her older sister has a sweater now to because she was jealous of Lily. I just have to share this picture so a smile can be made with all this sad talk. 

I hope you can get to the bottom of this soon for his sake and also for you.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually, immunotherapy treatment takes 6 to 18 months to see a full effect. There is an initial induction phase lasting about a month in which you give the dog a shot every other day,  increasing the amount and then the strength of the antigens (serum) with each injection until you get to a full strength maintainence dose between 3-4 weeks. So you wouldn't see much in the way of results until the dog had been on the full strength/full dosage for a period of time.I hope the treatment helps Lily.

Regarding the trees being in their backyard, remember that it is inhaling the pollens from those trees (and grasses) in the air that causes the allergic reaction, and pollen travels as far as 400 miles. So even if they cut down those trees, Lily would still react to the pollens. So many people think a grass allergy means the dog can't walk on grass, but it doesn't have anything to do with actual contact. One of JD's allergens is corn pollen, and there is no corn growing anywhere in my neighborhood, lol.  

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Ugh, more bad news for my Lily....she actually had to take her off Clartian to start the process....poor thing. Of course there is a possibility that DD just told me that so I stopped worrying so much. Luckily the grass will be covered with snow and the trees are dormant.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, they have to be off meds to do the testing, because the meds will block or modify the reaction to the allergens. That's why we did JD's testing in the winter. You hope that the dog will have started to respond to the treatment by the time the pollens get going in the spring. I'm not saying that you won't see any improvement before 6 months, but you don't see the full effect that soon. JD's first year after starting treatment, he still had symptoms, but they were much milder. The second year, you would barely have known he had any allergies at all!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, even when the grass is not covered with snow and the trees are not dormant, the dog will only react to them (or any other plant pollens) when the plant is flowering /going to seed and putting out pollens. In temperate climates, that usually means spring is the worst season for tree allergies, late summer/early fall is the worst for weed allergies, and the grasses usually fall in between. But spring and fall are generally the worst seasons for allergy sufferers, both dogs and humans alike.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

One thing that I was wondering though is the Specialist had "pills" made not shots....is my daughter getting taken advantageous of?

I am so hoping she feels better this spring. When they went to North Carolina to the beach and salt water this summer her skin was clear - I suppose they would be better off with that.

Thanks for all this helpful info, I am going to pass this on to her today.