CC
Completely Boxer Crazy
Sigh...Diesel has had a lot of skin, ear, and toe issues over the years and has been really good for a long time, but that seems to have come to an end lately. His poor belly has raised red hives on it right now and also some black marks (which I think is yeast). His ears also itch, have lots of gross brown stuff in them, and smell yeasty off and on - we use some steroid ear drops when they seem to flare up and it seems to get it under control quickly. He also constantly licks/chews his feet and I've noticed a whitish gooey substance between his toes.
Our vet has looked him over and done swabs many times. He often notes yeast and bacteria from these itchy, icky spots (I think the bacteria is from licking). The vet is kind of at a loss - he thinks it's allergies, but Diesel has been on the same (raw) diet since birth and I never give him anything with grains. He sometimes steals things and eats them, but this is rare. His bedding hasn't changed, cleaning products haven't changed, although we have moved a few times - but his symptoms haven't really changed.
His symptoms just seem to happen sometimes, for no apparent reason, and sometimes they get quite bad. I have tried homeopathy, benadryl, and he's also been put on antibiotics - nothing really seems to help, he often shows improvement, but there's no conclusive link to any treatments he's been on as far as I'm concerned. We gave up on the homeopath after about eight different treatments.
I just don't know what to do for him. It breaks my heart to see him itching so badly (and he's in a bad phase right now) and I don't know what to do to help him. I am suspecting it's a systemic yeast infection, and I have read a lot about remedies and things I could try for him - but I don't know which I should try. Or if it's even safe to try anything in conjuction with his BCM meds.
Does anyone have any ideas or advice? The vet thinks we should consider trying a vet kibble for allergic dogs and/or look at putting him on a permanent steroid (which I do NOT want to do and actually may not be able to do because of his heart meds). I've tried eliminating things from his diet over the years and it doesn't seem to change anything, so I really, really doubt it's a food allergy.
Our vet has looked him over and done swabs many times. He often notes yeast and bacteria from these itchy, icky spots (I think the bacteria is from licking). The vet is kind of at a loss - he thinks it's allergies, but Diesel has been on the same (raw) diet since birth and I never give him anything with grains. He sometimes steals things and eats them, but this is rare. His bedding hasn't changed, cleaning products haven't changed, although we have moved a few times - but his symptoms haven't really changed.
His symptoms just seem to happen sometimes, for no apparent reason, and sometimes they get quite bad. I have tried homeopathy, benadryl, and he's also been put on antibiotics - nothing really seems to help, he often shows improvement, but there's no conclusive link to any treatments he's been on as far as I'm concerned. We gave up on the homeopath after about eight different treatments.
I just don't know what to do for him. It breaks my heart to see him itching so badly (and he's in a bad phase right now) and I don't know what to do to help him. I am suspecting it's a systemic yeast infection, and I have read a lot about remedies and things I could try for him - but I don't know which I should try. Or if it's even safe to try anything in conjuction with his BCM meds.
Does anyone have any ideas or advice? The vet thinks we should consider trying a vet kibble for allergic dogs and/or look at putting him on a permanent steroid (which I do NOT want to do and actually may not be able to do because of his heart meds). I've tried eliminating things from his diet over the years and it doesn't seem to change anything, so I really, really doubt it's a food allergy.
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