Allergies

[bendog]

No, and Nettle, you did recommend a vet. At the time I was asking more for boyfriends parents benefit, and they weren't prepared to change vets. But now she's ours I will definately do that. Does your vet have an email and I could ask him if he could recommend someone near(ish) to me.

Runlikethewind, I bought Dermacton cream, but it is very strong citrusy smelling so I'm reluctant to use it on Sash since I've heard dogs hate citrus smells?
How did your dog cope with it?

The malaseb was prescribed by the old vet, all they seem to do is circle through treatments in a loop, malaseb, then steroids, then stop the steroids, Sash scratches to bits, supply antibiotics and more steroids etc.
She quite often gets open sores from scratching (as on her chest in pictures) and they get infected etc.

[Nettle]

Vet. Nick Thompson of http://www.holisticvet.co.uk will travel any distance and he is VERY good, but of course it will cost. He might be able to recommend a vet by you.

Mark Elliott and Jane Keogh on on http://www.homeopathicvet.co.uk might be able to recommend someone too, but they do not travel as far as I am aware.

If they all recommend the same person - you'll know that person is good!

Other very good homeopathic vets are Richard Allport and Chris Day and I think they both have websites.

[runlikethewind]

Yes it's geranium that smells like that plus other essential oils. He was fine with it - applied from the back of the car before each walk - on muzzle and around eyes -- carefully where there was hair loss at the time. And off he went as normal running about on his walk. I sound like a walking ad for this stuff but hair grew back in a week. Not making it up.

I am aware that Nettle and others will say essential oils are to be used carefully and citrus smelling ones to be avoided but I can only go on what I saw for myself. I started using it BEFORE going on raw so there could not have been a connection there. However, I had already started aloe vera leaf gel (Forever Living, yellow bottle for the purest) by then so possibly a connection there with hair regrowth.

[Nettle]

Your own experience is every bit as valuable as anyone else's, so thank you for sharing.

[lindadrodriguez]

I am new to posting on here so first let me say hi to all of you! I have 2 adorable rescues that are shih-tzu's. Buster has awful allergies. I have had bichons with allergies but never this bad. So I know what you are going thru with Sasha. That poor baby! I hurt for her. Here is what has given us some relief. After spending alot of money I don't have and the last visit to my vet cost me 1200.00 for Busters ear infection that was the worst she had ever seen! Doing tests and changing food, over and over again...1. Started bathing him with a human generic dandruff shampoo. This helped stop the itching! He sits in the warm water and just lets me rub him for as long as I want to with this shampoo all over his body and head. Out of the water he will bite me if I try to rub his ears as they bother him so much! But while he is laying in the bath(kitchen sink)he lets me wash his ears with the same shampoo and rinse them out! Hmmm. Must feel good. 2. Just started feeding him raw. I am tired of always reading about all of the poison that is in commercial dog food. I have had him on Natural Balance limited ingredient, no grain,no soy,no dairy (Vennison and rice) for awhile. But really didn't help that much. After reading about going Raw for months I decided to just do it! It certainly can't hurt. It actually seems to be helping. Buster chews on his feet, shakes his head like he is going nuts! 3. Last thing I found out from my vet was the anal gland dilemma. It seems that the anal glands that are small sacs on the inside of their anus fills with infection when they have allergies. You need to learn how to express these for it will help immensely! I just learned and have seen quite the change. You do need to do this in the tub and be ready with soap and warm water...as they usually smell horribly! 4. His only treat now is apple pieces with peanut butter. He loves those.
Last but not least on a side note> He used to love chicken jerky by Wagon Train that I bought him. Then I got an email telling me how it is being made in China and is killing dogs all over the U.S. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THESE TO YOUR DOGS! Greenies were getting stuck in dogs intestines years ago and killing them too but nobody took them off the market. It is all about money. So please be careful. Knowledge is power. Hope this makes your baby feel better. Linda, Buster and Lilly

[Dawnflight1984]

I don't know if it's been tried yet, but have you asked your vet about antihistamines or has Sash tried them yet? As a human who is very proned to allergies myself (with a pup who'll have allergies every so often), it makes sense to me reach for antihistamines (to combat the allergic reactions) first instead of harsh steroids, although I know that there are some vets who will reach for steroids first because they calm acute allergic reactions most quickly.

Steroids cause very scary side effects and I'm not trying to scare you but I think being scared because of the knowledge you know is better than not knowing. Steroids can cause really bad side effects like thinning of the skin (which can add to the open sore problem since skin will break so much easier), hormonal problems, calcium deficiency, slower wound healing, weight gain (which may mean she tires easily when she goes out for walks etc) and liver damage.

While I'm not ready to switch my Oreo to raw yet, I sincerely hope raw will help Sash with her problems and help remove the need for steroids.

[Turflane9]

Hi

I'm in West Yorkshire too and wondered if you had found a good vet, our little GRT who is only a year old seems to have started with grass allergies - I walked him up Ingleborough on Saturday and the different grasses have made his skin itchy.

I've bathed him in warm water to wash any pollen off and put some aloe vera all over him which he seems to have been fine with and was much less itchy last night. Our vet said today (phone consultation) that we could give him some piriton or benedryl which will help and I may do if he gets bad again, but as he's quite a small dog I would only need 1/4 of a tablet once a day.

But it's an option if you find that it may help.

Jo