Ear infection and allergies

[Kris and Sawyer]

Sawyer has a nasty ear infection! I noticed yesterday that his ear smelled awful and he'd been licking and chewing his paws. Thankfully, his vet was working today. He cultured his paws and said no yeast, but his ear was bad. The first thing he said was, "oh, white dogs and skin allergies.." He put him on prednisone, ear wash, and ear medication. He said something about when to suspect it might be a food allergy (I can't remember what he said..maybe if both paws and ear was yeast?) but he didn't suspect that yet. He thinks seasonal. So we will keep evaluating. If it's seasonal he said there's a brand new medication that just came out which is fantastic but that it's so good they've had a shortage in it. I can't remember the name. He said his drug reps told him he'd have it in April and they're still waiting! 90% success rate so everyone wants it. I guess we will keep an eye on things... Sawyer really wasn't showing any signs (no head shaking, or itching). I just smelled it and knew. My hubby said thank goodness for mommies because he wouldn't have noticed! Haa.. Men. :-)

[Judi Kilpatrick]

Poor Sawyer, sure hope it clears up quickly and no further issues, tough when our fur babies are mot feeling well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It is most likely seasonal allergies, as this is the beginning of the worst time of year for them; weed pollens, most likely. We've had three or four new discussions started here about allergy symptoms in the past 24 hours, lol. Seasonal (environmental, inhalant) allergies, otherwise known as atopic dermatitis, are 10 times more common in dogs than food allergies. 

The drug your vet is talking about is Apoquel which is the veterinary version of the human immunosuppressant drug Xeljanz. It's not a cure; allergies are an incurable disease of the immune system, and the drugs used to treat them work by suppressing the immune system to prevent the allergic response. This one is popular because prior to it's being recently approved, the only pharmaceutical alternative to doing immunotherapy treatments (the safest option, but one that requires testing by a dermatologist) was Atopica, which is much more expensive than Apoquel. The side effects of these types of drugs can be very significant, and really shouldn't be used unless the dog has allergy symptoms more than 4 months of the year, because prednisone has its own serious side effects when used long term. 

General practice vets are not allergy experts, and if it comes to needing drugs to control the allergy symptoms, you really should consult a veterinary dermatology specialist. Allergies can often be managed without heavy duty drugs, but it requires getting a reliable diagnosis via skin scratch testing, which is only done by specialists. There are simple things you can do and use to help alleviate Sawyer's symptoms and make him more comfortable, such as Omega 3 fatty acids, antihistamines, OTC sprays, and simple lifestyle changes. Here is some information on this:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

 

[Kris and Sawyer]

Thanks Karen! The one thing our vet said was that he has not had much luck with the antihistamines. He said he would try it but he didn't seem to have confidence in them. Unfortunately where I live we don't have a lot of access to specialist types. I think I read there may be one that does clinics on certain days (probably flies in from somewhere), but I think I'd be concerned on consistency of care. For now we will just see what happens after this course of treatment, and go from there.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

've learned that most vets aren't familiar with using antihistamines other than Benadryl. JD's dermatologist recommends Claritin and Zyrtec. Many vets have never heard of using Claritin for dogs. The dosages are also different, too, which might be why your vet hasn't had luck with them. The effects of the antihistamines are also enhanced by using them in conjunction with evening primrose oil or fish oil supplements. These are just a few of the things you can do to help alleviate symptoms, and they're things that veterinary dermatologists recommend routinely.

Hopefully, the prednisone will reduce the symptoms enough to keep him comfortable until the pollens have cleared the area. 

With a specialist, once the dog is on a treatment plan, you only visit once or twice a year unless the dog has a flare up. So keep that idea in the back of your mind for now. :)

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

For Luna's allergies the prednisone treatment is just a month long.  High dose at the start and a gradual weaning.  Seems to work great even though the pollen lasts until October or so.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is a veterinary dermatologist in your area: 

https://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locations.asp?state=ID