Allergies! Licking, Licking, Licking!

[Brodiedog06]

My boxer is now almost 6 yrs old and we have been struggling with his licking since he was a puppy. We have done, Steroids, OTC allergy meds, the new very expensive Atopica, baths, fish oil.

What am I missing? I am so tired on his licking and these yest infections on his skin. He stinks so bad I need to bathe him weekly. And his skin is just a mess - getting thick and bald in areas.

WHAT AM I MISSING? Steroids work but you can't keep them on it.

Has anyone had success?

Thanks for any input!

Brodiedog06

 

[gmacleod]

I'm guessing these aren't seasonal allergies, but are constant? If so, then food might be a possibility. Environmental allergies can be more common (just like for people) but if there's no seasonality to it, then food is a good thing to be looking at.

What does he currently eat? And have you ever had allergy testing done to ascertain what he may be allergic to?

Common culprits in food include things like corn, wheat, beet pulp, and soy. Sadly, those are fairly common ingredients in dog food, especially at the lower end of the market. Yeast infections are also pretty common when foods contain low quality ingredients such as animal by-products and grain fragments - and one would avoid things like brewers yeast or beet pulp, both of which would help to feed the yeast. A little natural yoghurt (the sort without any sugar and with bacterial cultures such as acidophillous and bifidous) added to his food daily (and even applied topically to the yeast infections) can also work wonders.

Well, let us know about his diet and if there are any seasonal aspects to his allergies, and perhaps we can make some more useful suggestions for you.

PS: Please post your introduction to the community in the introductions forum. That is supposed to be the first post you make on the site, before participating to the other forums. It's just polite, and it gives all the other members here the chance to say Hi too

 

[Brodiedog06]

Hey - thanks for the etiquette lesson on this board. It did post on the new member forum.

His allergies are constant. We did do allergy testing from his blood and did do shots for 2 yrs.

We feed him Nutro.

All the vets have mentioned food but so we did try duck and potato - but not very long. The vets say to truley see if it is food allergies he can't have anything but the food BUT I have kids and he is always eating leftovers on the floor. We do not condon feeding "human" food but he does get a hold of it.

Yrs ago I did the yogurt, maybe I'll try that again.

Should I give the food a shot? What kind would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[gmacleod]

Well, a very high quality (in terms of ingredients) food that is aimed at allergic dogs would be a good idea. But you'd need to make sure that he didn't get hold of anything else - most especially things with wheat in them (eg. bread or pizza) for it to be truely effective.

As a general rule, the point of allergy foods is that they're simple. They don't include any of the cheap and nasty grains that commonly cause allergy problems, and the meat protein source is usually an "exotic" one. Exotic simply because it needs to be something that the dog has not eaten before, and therefore won't have pre-exiting anitbodies against (allergies being an abnormal immune system response).

So. What meat protein sources has he eaten before? Chicken and lamb,, presumably, and duck briefly. Anything else? Because they should be avoided... How about fish? Has he had a fish-based food? Or venison?

A good food to try him on would be something like Wellness' Simple solutions range (comes in either venison/rice or duck/rice formulas), Solid Gold's Holistique Blendz (fish/potato), or Natural Balance (duck/potato, fish/sweet potato, venison/rice formulas).

All of those foods are suitable for a dog with severe allergies. Their websites, each with store locators are posted below:
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=6&code=160
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/PandD.html


If he's OK with those foods (and it will probably take a couple of months or more to know for sure), then a better long-term bet might be one of Fromms Four Star range - which is a better food, but also contains a greater variety of grains, which isn't ideal when you're trying to establish cause and get his skin sorted out.

If those foods don't work though, would you consider trying a natural raw diet? That is one pretty sure way of narrowing down precisely what the dog can and can't eat. It's usually also a lot less problematic in respect of digestion and skin issues that are often the result of plant proteins - which is pretty hard to avoid in a kibble.

 

[ToriFan]

We went through a lot of skin issues and licking with our male boxer. I posted a lot of details to someone else. We also had the yeast problem. We used Malaseb shampoo (can't remember how often he was bathed) and Malaseb spray every night on his feet and chin. And things eventually cleared up. Took some time and effort. Also, now I get him a hot oil treatment about once a month and it really does help his skin and coat. Also, the best thing we ever did and I wish we had done it sooner was see a dermatologist. Love my local vet, but the specialist was on the ball.

 

[AndyandSonny]

Have you tried Tavist Allergy in combination with Derm Caps ES? I have found this combo works with Andy and also with my mom's golden who has the worst year round skin problems I have ever seen. (he's on Duck and potato food)

 

[gmacleod]

Brodiedog06: One other thing - about his skin issues. In addition to giving him plain natural yoghurt (which can also be applied topically), you might want to talk to your vet about Malassezia. Sounds as though that might be his problem there. Of course, you still need to get to the cause of the problem, which is likely allergies, or it will keep recurring but if his skin problem is Malassezia then at least there is some hope for allieviation in the meantime.

Bathing the dog with selsun blue shampoo (surprisingly enough) can be effective in clearing things up. For more severe cases, an oral antifungal is required. Supplementing the diet with omega 3 and omega 6 acids is also thought to be helpful (though if you've been using fish oil, then possibly that route has already been tried).

Here's a short article on malassezia anyway - might be worth a read: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1557&articleid=321

 

[Brodiedog06]

Torifan - what are the hot oil treatments? And you saw a dermatologist for aminals? Malaseb shampoo and have had good success but I would need to bathe him daily! With 3 kids that is not going to happen. And how can that really be good for their skin???

AndyandSonny - To the other post I may just try your combo of Tavist Allergy in combination with Derm Caps ES. How often and how much do you use?

Thanks for the additonal option guys!

I am hopeful that I can make my guy more comfortable!

 

[Slobber Baby]

Sorry I caught this a little late but Bubba has allergies, we feed him Nutro Ultra and missing link..he also gets 1 benadryl at night especially during the spring and summer..you need to look around and see what may be causing it..look at his bedding and especially outside where he would normally lay around...if you change food give it a couple of weeks because you won't see improvements for at least that long..good luck..by the way too much bathing will dry the skin and possibly make it worse..keep us posted!

Laura

 

[KonaKoffe]

We feed him Nutro.


Should I give the food a shot? What kind would you recommend?

Thanks!

Which Nutro line are you feeding him. They have 3 lines and the 2 cheaper ones contain corn which can be an allergen in some dogs. Only the top of the line Nutro ULTRA lines meets the requirements of a premium kibble as presented in this link. http://www.boxerworld.com/feeding/

A product we used when Cassius had allergy problems (yeast) between his toes is a product called DOMEBORO by the Bayer corporation. It is a topical Astringent Solution which provides soothing relief from minor skin irritations,,allergies, bug bites and itching. Stinks like vinegar tho but it works.