I took Reznor to the vet this morn. because he has been trying to scratch his skin off for the past week and 1/2. I also started getting itchy bumps a few days ago. My husband and other Boxer are fine. Reznor previously had allergies and still has occurences sometimes. He started with about 2 or 3 bumps 4 weeks ago. I started on the Benadryl as normal and he did not seem to get any worse. About two weeks ago, he started with the scratching and now he has hive like bumps all over his back from head to tail. His elbows are also very bad and he is trying to chew them off along with his feet. His bumps (and mine) look like small mosquito bites. Neither dog has fleas so yesterday I spent a few hours doing a search on BW and found that his symptoms most resembled either Sarcoptic mange or the Cheytenelia (sp?) mite. The vet did a skin scrape and said that she did not find any mites. Long story short, I spent over $90 this morning to find nothing out and to get a slightly stronger Benadryl type drug for him. I am supposed to "see if it works" and go back in 2 wks. Just because I have been thru the "wait and see" approach so many times with him, I wanted to get any ideas, advice, input and personal experience re: this type of issue. I feel so bad to see him scratch constantly and if I don't intervene, he will chew his elbows and ankles until they bleed. Please help! Thank you. If you want any further info on Reznor's skin sagas, please read my old posts. Thanks.
Mites or allergies again?!?
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Rocky Hoya
Boxer Booster
Hi there,
I read some of your past posts and do you think he has airborne allergies like to dusts, grasses, pollens etc? Chewing of the feet is a sign of allergy and if I had to take a guess it would be seasonal allergies. How about hydroxyzine? I know it helps some with allergies. We went thru this also. Rocky was 4 months old when he had all the signs of allergies. 3 vets and a dermatologist later he had allergy tests and seems to be responding to his allergy shots. He also had the bumps all over his back. I hope this helps. PM me if you want you probably have more experience with allergies than we do so I am sure we can learn a lot from eachother. Sometimes I think we need a whole section on BW for allergies.
I read some of your past posts and do you think he has airborne allergies like to dusts, grasses, pollens etc? Chewing of the feet is a sign of allergy and if I had to take a guess it would be seasonal allergies. How about hydroxyzine? I know it helps some with allergies. We went thru this also. Rocky was 4 months old when he had all the signs of allergies. 3 vets and a dermatologist later he had allergy tests and seems to be responding to his allergy shots. He also had the bumps all over his back. I hope this helps. PM me if you want you probably have more experience with allergies than we do so I am sure we can learn a lot from eachother. Sometimes I think we need a whole section on BW for allergies.
Same exact thing with zowie. all scrapes i had taken were neg too. My wife has bumps but i don't. Zowie does though. It clears up with cephalexin and some kind of sterroid. But comes back. I don't know what else to do either. how much are alergy tests. what does one consist of. Hive like bites.if you have found out anything since the last post please contact me
thanks,
Andy
mightyicculus@hotmail
thanks,
Andy
mightyicculus@hotmail
Slobber Baby
Banned
Benadryl again?
I know how you feel. Our Bubba is the same way. I take him to the vet and he too gives benadryl and steriods and it goes away and comes back. He scratches under his neck and arms until they bleed. I've tried anti itch cream, oatmeal baths and it works for a little while. Any suggestions on this allergy test would be helpful.
Thanks in advance
I know how you feel. Our Bubba is the same way. I take him to the vet and he too gives benadryl and steriods and it goes away and comes back. He scratches under his neck and arms until they bleed. I've tried anti itch cream, oatmeal baths and it works for a little while. Any suggestions on this allergy test would be helpful.
Thanks in advance
Rocky Hoya
Boxer Booster
Rocky was the same way had bumps and would bite his paws he was given steroids by the vet and they went away for a while then would come back. We didnt want to keep him on steroids so we had the allergy test done and Rocky has inhalant allergies to dust, pollens, grasses etc. Rocky is now on allergy shots and he doesnt bite at his paws! After 2 months of being on the shots. It can take 6-9 months to see results so we hope it just gets better from here. YEAH!!!!! FINALLY he doesnt bite his paws...he had to wear booties all the time!!!! Also he is off steroids but still has these bumps. For this we are going to start using lipiderm this week after his next allergy shot. Lipiderm is supposed to be an anti inflammatory so we will see about that. his dermatologist gave us the okay to try the lipiderm. There are 2 different types of allergy tests. Blood and skin. For the blood one they take some from your baby and lab test it and see what they are allergic to they test for inhalant and food. I think it takes a couple days or weeks for the results. We called about 5 different places that do the test and they all said that sometimes the blood test can bring up false positives....so we opted for the skin. For the skin test they shave a patch and inject about 70 shots and you get the results that day once they read the skin(If there is a bump where they put a shot they grade it from a 1-4 with a 4 being the highest allergic reaction) Then your vet, dermatologist might recommend allergy shots (depends) they then make up a special serum for your fur babies specific needs. I do recommend allergy test so you know what your baby is allergic to....with allergies we have learned it is something that you learn to deal with....you find what medicine works for your fur baby and go from there. They might grow out of it or it might get worse as the seasons change but now that we know what we are dealing with no more going to the vet all the time for a quick fix.....just learn to keep your baby comfortable and lead a very normal life. Rocky is happy and thats all that matters. Allergy test costs about 225 or so and allergy shots for the year cost us about 200. I could go on and on but I wont...keep us posted. One more thing what type of food do you feed your babies????? We switched from purina to blue buffalo human grade food and think that has something to do with his improvement too.
it is Sarcoptic
We went to the vet again on the 31st. This time I took both dogs because they both had symptoms. Had another scrape done on both of them that also came back negative. This is no suprise because less than 20% of dogs that are scraped show a positive for Sacoptic mites. Becasue I have all of the symptoms of the human strain (Scabies) we decided that they actually do have Sarcoptic. Since we refuse to give them steroids because of the suppresant effect that it has on the immune system, we are treating them natually and w/out poison.
It has been just over a week w/ the natural treatments and they are slowly getting better. It just takes a little longer. It is worth it in the long run because you are actually addressing the problem, not just treating the symptoms. We also stopped feeding them dry food and now feed them Bravo raw blend. We are using the Bravo to slowly work our way to the raw diet. It is a big change, but I can see a difference after only a week.
I am in no way saying what the right way to treat or not to treat is. I am simply going from our personal experience with these issues. I just know that in the two years that we have shared w/ Reznor, we have spent about $1500 at the traditional vet for his "skin issues." There never was a real answer or solution other than her telling us to give benadryl or steroid shots. In just over a week of the "alternative" type treatment, they are both doing better. In addition, we have the peace of mind knowing that the way we are treating them is boosting their immune system and overall health, not the opposite. I know how frustrating this type of thing is. I wish everybody the best of luck with your doggies! Take care.
We went to the vet again on the 31st. This time I took both dogs because they both had symptoms. Had another scrape done on both of them that also came back negative. This is no suprise because less than 20% of dogs that are scraped show a positive for Sacoptic mites. Becasue I have all of the symptoms of the human strain (Scabies) we decided that they actually do have Sarcoptic. Since we refuse to give them steroids because of the suppresant effect that it has on the immune system, we are treating them natually and w/out poison.
It has been just over a week w/ the natural treatments and they are slowly getting better. It just takes a little longer. It is worth it in the long run because you are actually addressing the problem, not just treating the symptoms. We also stopped feeding them dry food and now feed them Bravo raw blend. We are using the Bravo to slowly work our way to the raw diet. It is a big change, but I can see a difference after only a week.
I am in no way saying what the right way to treat or not to treat is. I am simply going from our personal experience with these issues. I just know that in the two years that we have shared w/ Reznor, we have spent about $1500 at the traditional vet for his "skin issues." There never was a real answer or solution other than her telling us to give benadryl or steroid shots. In just over a week of the "alternative" type treatment, they are both doing better. In addition, we have the peace of mind knowing that the way we are treating them is boosting their immune system and overall health, not the opposite. I know how frustrating this type of thing is. I wish everybody the best of luck with your doggies! Take care.
I feed Zowie Natural Balance Duck and Potato. Supposedly an "allergy" blend. Her bumps come and go but she rarely makes herself bleed. just a little nick every once and a while. Always biting and scratching her hip. At it's worst you can see raised bumps of fur where the bumps are. She at one point in time was biting at them and started to show patches around the bumps where she bit bare.
Slobber Baby
Banned
Back to Vet
We went back to the vet again and he prescribed steriods again...I finally suggested the allergy test, he said I did't think of that?!? So we will do that mid December. Thanks again for all the info. I'm so lucky to know that others suffer with this just like me. So I'm not the only one worried about my big boy. Thanks to all!!
We went back to the vet again and he prescribed steriods again...I finally suggested the allergy test, he said I did't think of that?!? So we will do that mid December. Thanks again for all the info. I'm so lucky to know that others suffer with this just like me. So I'm not the only one worried about my big boy. Thanks to all!!
Slobber Baby
Banned
Thanks
Thanks Jan but there are no all natural vets in this area. We have been using the Missing Link on all of his food for a long time now. We use Prescription diet z/d that the vet suggested and it's not working. I stopped using Fabreeze, changed laundry detergent, only give oatmeal baths and still nothing works. He only breaks out under his chin and front arms. Its really hard watching him scratch all the time and nothing stops it. So the allergy test is next. One more thing we pulled up all the carpet and refinished the hardwoods so it isn't or wasn't the carpet.
Thanks Jan but there are no all natural vets in this area. We have been using the Missing Link on all of his food for a long time now. We use Prescription diet z/d that the vet suggested and it's not working. I stopped using Fabreeze, changed laundry detergent, only give oatmeal baths and still nothing works. He only breaks out under his chin and front arms. Its really hard watching him scratch all the time and nothing stops it. So the allergy test is next. One more thing we pulled up all the carpet and refinished the hardwoods so it isn't or wasn't the carpet.
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