Allergies!

[hmeadq]

I went to the vet yesterday with Doc. He had begun to shake his head again and scratch at his ears, so I wanted him checked. ((He had done this before but had almost entirely sopped))

His ears looked red but no infection. But the vet said that he has allergies, probably seasonal inhaled, but manybe his food. He did a good search of him and found 2 hot spots I had missed one on his neck and one on his tail... He got a steroid shot and a 10 day course of Clemastine.

I feel bad though. Here is my boy and I have been correcting him at classes and when we are working for scratching because I thought he was doing it to blow me off. But now I have watched him a lot closer in the past 24 hours and he is scratching a lot for a dog with no fleas... How could I have missed it?

Heres hoping we can figure out what he is allergic to and save ourselfs to cost of allergy tests! (and why didn't I buy pet inurance again... )

What are others experiences with allegies?

[YGGJRW]

I assume you've seen the discussion on licorice use with allergies, pretty good discussion
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=47280

[hmeadq]

Thank you I have. I'm going to pick up some licorice and see if I can find the Gemini spray. We already feed a grain free food (EVO) but the vet said that a common thing for dogs to be allergic to is ... CHICKEN!

He was talking about trying a low molecluar weight protein diet? As an option to try if what we are doing now does not work...

[YGGJRW]

Our female developed allergies at 2 yrs old. She had not demonstrated any symptoms prior to that. She got them pretty bad, we did not know what was causing it. Took her to the vet (actually 2 vets) and the both recommended that we start to identify what food allergy was causing the problem. She went on steroids and within 1 month put on 10 unwanted lbs, with some positive results but we were treating the symptom and not the cause. Around September ( here in Fl ) the allergies completly disapperared. We were now clued in that it was an enviormental problem. She picked them back up here in May and we are efforting solutions as we speak. These allergies are sneaky, try to logically think through the diagnosis process, lotta times the simplest solution is the right solution.
Good luck with your search, you are on the right track I believe by looking for case studies in this thread.

[Docter Jekyll]

Just too let you know, I've just recently gone through a great amount of research on this same subject, so by all means use what I've learned for yourself. Remember that what works for one dog don't always work for another. It is always trial and error to find out for yourself what works best.

Dog food/supplements with any of the following ingredients: Grains/glutens (wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, corn, breads, crackers, cookies, flours, yeast, etc.), any soy (soybeans and processed foods containing soy), casein (all milk and dairy products, all cheeses, ice cream, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc.) chemicals (MSG, BHT, BHA, ethoxiquin, estrogen/hormones, colors, artificial flavors/ preservatives), aspartame (sweeteners), sugar, salt, hydrogenated oils, sometimes kelp with some dogs, all nuts (almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, cashews, pistachios, except tree nuts like walnuts), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, and sometimes flaxseed with some dogs), some vegetables and fruits (beets, beet pulp, peppers, beans except green beans, apples, dates, raisins, plums, grapes, figs, cherries) and all pre-made processed foods that include (chicken, turkey, pork, rabbit, lamb, fish, soups, boxed/canned foods,) etc. can be very hard on a dog with food allergies. There are primary and secondary problems with foods. For instance, wheat is extremely high on the list and is primary, while oats is on the lower spectrum and could be considered secondary. Most meat is considered secondary and are man-made/processed foods which are loaded these days with chemicals like MSG and hormones that can set allergies off. If you process your own meat or use a different type like deer or bison, then it is less likely for problems to arise.

For the most part, grains/gluten and milk products are the highest ingredients known for causing leaky gut syndrome, IBS, etc. Grains are well known to be used in factories to make glue. Everybody knows you put water and flour together and it makes a glue-paste, well it does this also in your body, which is very hard to digest. The dog cannot get adequate nutrition that it needs because everything is absorbed by the glue in its body. Many longtime breeders have been preaching this for years.

Dogs, cats, and even people suffer from these same foods which causes them many ailments. If a dog has been eating the same food for years, they can still develop food allergies from these types of foods at any one time. You can read a great deal more about this if you do a general search on google.

A known dog food is used by vets for such sensitive stomachs and food allergies. It is the IVD Duck and Potato that you can get from their practice. You can also try DVP Natural Balance Duck and Potato that is sold in most pet stores and is very similar to the same product your vet sells. The reason for Duck/Potato is simple. Other meat sources including fish and lamb, other carbohydrates sources including rice and oats, have been used in kibble and can still cause allergies. These two ingredients haven't.

Here is the site for DVP

Keep your dog totally on this food. You can give these helpful and safe vitamins: E, Ester-C, and B-6 or B-complex. No dog treats unless it is the Duck and Potato treats. No people food! Do this process of elimination for at least three months for a total detoxification.

Then if your dog has improved, offer only one safe food product for a week. Most safe food products include certain vegetables and fruit. If symptoms develop again, stop that one ingredient, make a note that your dog is allergic to it and never feed them that again. It is very hard to remember not to ever give in to those begging eyes for a bite of French fries or pizza... but if you want your dog healthy, you have to just say no!

Best of luck too you!!!

[Ninasmom]

IMO - it is worth the money to do the allergy testing. It could save the dog's life at the most; at the least, save him alot of discomfort. We fought a two year battle with Nina to try and figure out what she was allergic to and then to control them so she could live comfortably. What put me over the edge with finally caving for the allergy test was when she went outside to go potty and came in looking like she had gone 5 rounds with Mike Tyson. She was outside for 2 minutes at the most. Her eye had swollen shut and she was coughing. She had been stung by a bee. The fear of anaphylactic shock motivates you.

Nina always had ear issues - the vets immediately suspected food allergies. If the vet does suspect food allergies, you can ask them to put the dog on an elimination diet to try and find out what specifically he is allergic to. Corn is a big one for rotties; it is present in alot of foods. Grains in general tend not to agree with them.

Good luck with your guy.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

Thank you I have. I'm going to pick up some licorice and see if I can find the Gemini spray. We already feed a grain free food (EVO) but the vet said that a common thing for dogs to be allergic to is ... CHICKEN!

He was talking about trying a low molecluar weight protein diet? As an option to try if what we are doing now does not work...

Genesis spray is available through your vet. It is not over the counter. And if you try a licorice elixer read the label and make sure it is not in an alcohol base.

[HerculesMomma]

I thought my boy had food allergies too. When I adopted him his ears were a mess and the vet and myself tried hard to get into under control. They were reluctant to do allergy testing as they did not feel that it would be worthwhile. I on the other hand, didn't not like the idea of having my dog on meds constantly for the ears.

It took months to get the ears straightened out. And I still have to clean them with a drying solution fairly regularly. But I found that was the key for us. His eyes get goopy too.

But after a little more than a year I have come to realize that it is not food allergies, but seasonal outdoor allergies. His ears were good from about Oct/Nov time frame through until the spring. Then the goopy eyes and ear scratching started up again. I am actually grateful that I didn't spend the money on the allergy testing to find out it's just seasonal. But I also had the benefit of it only affecting his eyes and ears, and those were kept clean so the problem was minimal and has been easily managed. Thank goodness for us it didn't spread into hot spots!

[rottnelmo]

I also try to add in fish oil. Elmo has severe allergies and we have had the RAST testing done, he is allergic to lots of things, including some pollens...but we did find that corn and wheat to be two major foor allergins for him. So we feed healthwise Oatmeal and Lamb, which is not a true lamb meal food because it does have chicken meal and Chicken Fat in it...so watch your labels, dont believe that just because it says lamb meal that it is.

But back to the fish oil, this time of year Elmo shakes his ears and looses the hair around his left eye which also gets a bump. We have had it looked at and tested, it is nothing, but an allergic reaction, so for him we have been able to up his fish oil to both feedings until about August...then the flair up settles down and the hair grows back.

I would definately opt for the rast test though....really helps narrow down what you need to do.

[hmeadq]

Thanks a lot everyone.

We will definatly consider the RAST tests. Right now my vet thinks it may be seasonal, in which case we will probably wait until the seasons change to do them, unless of course he gets worse or his hot spots don't go away.

My vet gave me a spray for him, Zn7 Derm Skin Care, it seems to be working well...

Does anyone remember what the RAST tests cost?

We are feeding him EVO, which is grain free, but does have Apples, Cottage Cheese, and tomatoes in it. We have noticed before that he seems to have a senitive stomach so maybe it is his food, although (for now) his stools are firm which they were NOT on Innova at the end...

Thanks for everyones responces...

[HerculesMomma]

If you get the itch to switch foods, look at California Natural. They have a chicken and rice formula and a lamb and rice formula. I think they may even have a chicken or lamb and oatmeal formula too.

There's only 3 ingredients in the meat, the rice and I can't remember what the third was. Anyway, it's a good way to try and work on an elimination diet if you think that's what it might be.

I don't think my dog did so well on it for his stools, so we switched to Innova. Good luck with whatever you decide. Update us when you see a change and/or know more.

[StephanieandToby]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

His ears looked red but no infection.

I feel bad though. Here is my boy and I have been correcting him at classes and when we are working for scratching because I thought he was doing it to blow me off.

What are others experiences with allegies?

Oddly enough...FOUR different dogs that I walk came down with a mysterious ear infection at the same time. My first thought was spear grass since the fields were just mowed, but all of them just had a very minor infection...just some redness...It cleared up within three days after putting drops in.I'm guessing it was seasonal and caused by the long grass/hay being mowed and blowing up spores.

I also gave Toby corrections and hired a trainer to help me once when he was showing aggression towards my roommates. We were quite tough on him. Turns out, he had an enormous hot-spot under his whole head and neck area and was in a lot of pain although outwardly there seemed to be nothing wrong. I figured it out when the thing burst and he ended up in hospital overnight. Boy, did I feel GUILTY.I learned my lesson to always get a check-up when a dog exhibits sudden strange behaviours,just to rule out a physical problem.

I hope you find the answer to your problem and I hope it's easy to fix!!

.

[hmeadq]

Originally Posted by StephanieandToby

I also gave Toby corrections and hired a trainer to help me once when he was showing aggression towards my roommates. We were quite tough on him. Turns out, he had an enormous hot-spot under his whole head and neck area and was in a lot of pain although outwardly there seemed to be nothing wrong. I figured it out when the thing burst and he ended up in hospital overnight. Boy, did I feel GUILTY.I learned my lesson to always get a check-up when a dog exhibits sudden strange behaviours,just to rule out a physical problem.
.

Stephanie.

I honestly did not think about corrections and his hot spots until you said so. Right now his worse one is on his neck and is maybe the size of a nickle and all scabby...

We have Obedience tommorow night. I will do class in his gentle leader! It would be creul to put him in a situtation to need corrections when giving them will cause him pain as I'm sure his chain collar would right now...I'll just have to be extra careful that he only succededs tommorow, which is easier with his gentle leader, as he hates it so much...

Thanks for the thought!

Heather

[Ninasmom]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

Does anyone remember what the RAST tests cost?

I want to say that the RAST test ran around $150. But that was also 5 years ago and in the middle of Nina's "Porshe" phase. (Spent so much money on the dog that my husband insists he could have had a Porshe instead. )

[2rotties2luv]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

Does anyone remember what the RAST tests cost?

When Jazz had the RAST test done about 4 years ago it cost around $185 but it was well worth it. We found out that although his symptoms were seasonal, it turned out that he is allergic to dust mites. He gets alltergy shots once a month and rarely has any symptoms, if he does they are mild. No more itchy and infected skin, rare ear infections and occaisional itchy watery eyes, easily treated. The allergy shot vaccine is purchased once a year, costs around $90 and I give the shots.

I feel guilty about the years I spent switching foods, while his allergy had nothing to do with food.