Hi there, my first post. I'm after some help, some advice and maybe an opinion or two if at all possible? We have a female Labrador, Mollie, who is almost 3 years old. We got her when she was 5 months old from a family that didn't want her anymore and as such I don't know what her parents were like health wise. Last autumn she began having problems with her skin, her hair began dropping out and there were areas that were raw and scabbed over. She also began to smell badly even though she was being regularly washed. We took her to the vets who prescribed antibiotics. These worked, but one month later it came back. Different antibiotics were purchased. They worked but it came back. The pattern repeated until late spring this year. On one trip we were also prescribed steroids to stop her itching to go along with the other tablets. This was two weeks after our second child was born (the vets were informed of this). They prescribed such a high dosage that the poor thing lost control of her bladder and unfortunately caused a fair bit of carpet damage. We were given no warning of this. With the wife about to lose the plot we switched vets. They had a good reputation, but I felt they were just guessing a cure and trying to get us to buy as many tablets as they could push. The new vets (also highly recommended) predictably gave us tablets (antibiotics and steroids - a lower dose), but I guess at that point it coincided with the end of spring and she was fine. We were also given a shampoo to try (Malaseb). Throughout the summer months she managed on 2 x 5mg of steroids a day and a fortnightly wash with Malaseb. At this point we claimed on the insurance and we got back £350 of the £900 odd quid we'd spent do far. Naively I took out a one time only policy when we got her and so that ship has now sailed. Fast forward to autumn 2016 and its all flared up again. Rather than losing her hair the scabs have returned and her flanks feel like leather/cardboard which I'm guessing is scar tissue. The poor thing started to nibble at her legs and hind quarters which have begun bleeding. I took her to the vets 3 weeks ago and along with upping the steroid again and increasing the frequency of her being washed with the Malaseb, they prescribed a new course of antibiotics. Cost was the usual £75 odd. These did nothing - infact the poor dog has got worse and she's begun attacking her own skin with more persistence. She is bleeding profusely in a number of places. On Monday I took her back to the vets again. We've now got a different tablet to try (Apoquel) "these will stop all itching in 24hrs..." I was told. Along with a new bottle of Malaseb this visit was £100. These have also, somewhat predictably, done nothing. This is her this morning: I called the vets this morning and I'm taking her back again later but I'm loathed to throw more money at them to play 'guess the cure'. They've mentioned skin tests, blood tests etc, but and I quote: "It'll likely be £900 and there is only a 33% chance it'll identify a potential cause". We'd then have to inject her 3 times a year at £150 a time. I always get the impression we are paying for their Christmas party rather than helping the poor dog, but I know if we switch vets again it'll just be the same. It's worth saying at this point, that whilst the cost is proving extremely difficult for us to manage as a family, I'd be happy to pay for medication if it was actually helping her. Currently it's like pouring expensive oil into an engine with a whole in the bottom. Does anybody have any similar experiences that could offer any advice? It feels like we're trapped in a never ending cycle. I'm faced with a poorly dog taking expensive tablets, or a poorly dog who doesn't have to take tablets. Worth saying apart from her skin she is 100% healthy and we've tried every food under the sun. She's currently on Burns Sensitive+ Pork and Potato. Thank you for any advice.
I am so, so sorry to read your story, your poor dog and poor family! Have they suggested an exclusion diet? (single, source protein preferably a novel main ingredient such as venison, lamb, fish) I would have thought at the very least a referral to a specialist dermatologist. having such high and frequent doses of steroids would play havoc with her immune system.
Hi there, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about Mollie's condition. If I were you, I'd do as Kate suggested and ask for a referral to a dermatologist. I think we tend to assume that our vets know everything - and they do know a lot! - but sometimes a specialist is the way to go. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
Thanks both! My wife and I will both be able to go tonight, so for once I'll have someone with me who remembers what to ask! I'll ask about the referral. On the previous visit the vet suggested just trying basic Chappie food, but as we've just started a new 15kg bag of the Burns I was loathed to change her diet again. I guess everything is worth a try though.
hmm...when we had problems with diet with a rescue dog, our vet ( who I trust with my life..) said to go for a simple, single source protein, and a novel protein...meaning no chicken or beef which are common ingredients. I am not suggesting this is what you do in this case, every dog is different. A dermatologist however, will help and give proper guidance though it's what they do. I really, really feel for you! Don't give up, definitely time to seek more professional help.
Aww poor girl, and you guys. My sister rescued a German shephered who had very poor skin and hair condition. It was painful watching him scratch and bite himself to relieve the itch. Chunks of hair were everywhere, and he scratched constantly until he bled. She tried a couple things that didn't work and was referred to a dermatologist. Adding salmon oil to his diet and feeding a fish based kibble did help but wasn't enough. She did do an allergy test which revealed this poor dog is allergic to basically everything, including my sister (allergy to humans) but the dermatologist helped so much. He was on pills and injections for a year and it helped a lot. Now he only gets pills when it acts up I believe which is during shedding season, definitely no more injections though. But his skin is great and coat is lucious! Wish my hair was as gorgeous as his. I hope a referral to a dermatologist helps you guys get through this.
Thank you all for your advice. I guess my concern is the referral to the Dermatologist could be quite costly, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think it's definitely worth us trying a different, simpler food as well. I'll see what the shop suggests as they've been helpful in the past. I'm going to push my luck and ask the vet if we can be refunded for these Apoquel tablets as they are not working at all. I doubt they will, but you never know! My final question, has anyone tried Benadryl or a similar human antihistamine tablet? I've spent a few hours on Dr Google today and this keeps cropping up. I also figure the steroids aren't having any effect either so I might as well reduce those down to nothing over the next week or so as well.
I used Benadryl for Axel during the spring as he seems to have pollen allergies. I only used it when he was persistent on scratching. I don't think it's something you want to use for more than 2 or 3 days. But I called my vet to make sure it was ok and for correct dosage for him. But because how severe your Mollie is I wouldn't recommend it personally, it's not meant to be used for long term. But that's something you can ask at your vet appointment
We had exactly these problems with my last lab (yellow) and it was life-long management. He was allergic to everything and it was so hard. He did well on a very low dose of steroids and malaseb (important to leave on for a little bit before you was it off). The antihistamines did nothing really except make him sleepy. We fed him on an expensive vet prescribed food which was fish based. Salmon oil also helped. There were flare ups that required antibiotics. I suggest, if you can, you go to a dermatologist as they are much better equipped to help you keep it under control and avoid the flare ups which it looks like she is having. Once it flares up it takes a while to calm it down again. Our boy lived until twelve and with careful management he lived a good life but it was hard to cope with the flare ups. I've heard a raw diet can make a huge difference. My sister in law has problems with her pointer and uses the raw food that you just defrost and it's had a miraculous effect on her dogs skin. Good luck, I really feel for you. Sam
A referral is expensive per hour - but, I also spent a fortune at my regular vet's with Charlie's ear troubles. The vets I go to are good, on the whole, but I was seeing a particular vet that I didn't think took things seriously enough, and was just prescribing antibiotics and more antibiotics. In the end I sort of put my foot down and said I wanted a programme set out that would work. He said he wanted to put Charlie under a GA and clean out his ears but that he didn't know if that would solve the problem. I wasn't prepared to do that with such a weak sounding reason and since I didn't have a programme of treatment I had any confidence in, I asked for a referral to a dermatologist. It was expensive but I saw this guy twice and did get an action plan that solved the issue. Yes, it cost a lot of money but when I look back at the bills I spent more at my regular vet on things that didn't work than I did with the much more expensive per hour dermatologist, because what he prescribed solved the problem.
My last dog, a chocolate Lab, had skin problems for much of his life and like you money also came into the equation. Changing Rolo's diet greatly helped, although I wasn't methodical about excluding things so the real cause was only guesswork - I thought it was wheat, but may have been something else. I fed him on tinned tuna and brown rice, with the odd carrot, plus occasional meat and veggie leftovers. He did still need the odd course of steroids (prednisolone), but these were very low doses. Before we got it under control he needed antibiotics too but gradually I became better at spotting early signs of chewing and got him onto the steroids quickly to pre-empt infection. When he was 13 years old he developed arthritis and needed to be on daily Metacam so was unable to take steroids. He also went off his tuna and rice. We started using Malaseb bath, every 5 days, and fed Symply brand salmon and potato kibble. He was happy and active all his life and lived till 14 1/2 years. I hope you can find a way to make your poor girl more comfortable.
Poor girl, she looks awful and must feel worse. She looks worse than my boy did when he started itching at age two. EVen so, here is what helped us, drastically shortened. First, an over the counter did help with itching. We decided it was seasonal environmental as it went away but came back the next summer. Your girl appears to be the same. Then, for us the second season started sooner and we went to Prednisone and it did work. Next summer we tried Atopica, a lesser evil than Pred. and is similar to Apoquel, it worked too. Two years ago my boy got deathly ill, montha nd a half long diarrhoea and, really shortening the story here, went to a new Holistic INtegrative VEt who put him on a homecooke diet of a novel protein and a novel carb. Now, *the diarrhoea did not seem related to the itching, to me, but it stopped with the diarrhoea. Then he went to raw food and still fine poop and itch wise. Then a year later more liquid (think aiming a fire hose) poop, diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia, got meds, faecal implant and to this date over two years now is fine in both departments. He is not on any meds for itiching but is still taking TCM which worked when western medicine did not, as it seems not to be working for your girl either.. *Now I am reading lots that gut issues are the root of allergies and it sure seems to be true for my boy. Be warned, a Dermatologist Vet may still use Atopica or Apoquel. Niether worked for a neighbour's Lab, her dermatoligist has successfully worked out shots for her though. You do have several options but unfortunately it won't be cheap and one won't necessarily work first thing either, as with my neighbour, and with us with western med and as you have already seen with your girl. Good luck, it's horrible seeing them itch.
I had a dog who had regular skin issues for the first part of his life which devolved into once yearly (August time frame) skin issues which needed to be treated with a cortisone/steriod injection followed by a short course of oral antibiotics and topical cortisone. However, I don't think it was the same as yours as he would have large patches of fur go missing and the skin would be liquidy/sticky with mucus. It wasn't bloody as your poor girl seems to be. However, what moved us from "all the time" to "one a year" was when I moved from high quality kibble/fresh meat+bones combo to 100% home cooked meals. His ear infections cleared up, skin became a yearly instead of monthly occurrence. This isn't why a made the switch, but once I did, I noticed the difference. For me it was more expensive (not to mention time-consuming) to feed this way, but in the long run it actually wasn't as the health improvements more than made up the difference. I don't think it's a magic cure-all, but maybe it would be something you could try in conjunction with a veterinary medicine approach?
Morning all, thanks for your advice. Unfortunately the poor girl had managed to scratch herself again yesterday afternoon, so when we got to the vets I was more concerned about the bleeding than anything else. The vet swabbed the wound to send away for bacterial analysis. She also gave Mollie a shot of Baytril Antibiotics and prescribed her 10 days worth of tablets. This is in addition to the steriods and the Apoquel. Quite a cocktail! The vets bill was £137, so we are up to £300 this month alone. I then went to get her a neck collar to stop her chewing herself (I have to order the comfy one online) and also picked up some of the Wainwrights White Fish and vegetables kibble. It's hypoallergenic and a main ingredient we've not tried, so again, we'll give it a go. I suggested antihistamines to the vet and she agreed, so I'm trying that as well. My immediate concern is to get her skin calmed down enough to get this collar off of her as she just became totally depressed straight away. Once this settles down I'll ask for the referral and see if we can get to the bottom of whats causing it. This is her last night: The vets bills are going on the card and I've just accepted I'll have to deal with it all over the next few months. The depressing thing is not knowing how much next month might cost in addition!
Oh, that looks horrible. I'm so sorry you are both having to deal with this and hope you find a solution soon!
Poor girl, reminds me of my old lab when we had to put the collar on, so awful. But needs must and the main thing is to get control of the situation, don't let her worry the sores and hopefully then you will be able to manage it - we got really good at looking for signs of it starting again and it really was management through his life. I hope they get to the bottom of the cause so you know what to watch out for. Fish kibble worked for us - I imagine it's different case by case but am sure food can help massively. Have you had the allergy test to see what she is allergic too? It was interesting reading for us, for example in the spring it was grass pollen so we washed his feet often, and rubbed paw wax on his paws. The sea/sand did it too so we hosed him down after the beach. It was hard work but we did get used to it and he was the most gorgeous dog on the planet. My vet said that yellows can be more prone to skin conditions than blacks and chocolates from his experience. Do look into a raw diet if it's food related. Have heard from many people that this can help. Also Royal Canin prescription kibble for allergic dogs. Hope you get to the bottom of it. Sam
So sorry to see this! For her and for you! I am glad we haven't had skin problems with our dogs! My sister in law has two golden retrievers with skin problems. They did an elimination diet and now is on a special diet with fish. I happened to come across a website in Dutch where you can contact a vet, also on skin problems. The website is in Dutch, but I know the vets speak English very well! I will give you the link, perhaps they can be of any help. http://www.medpets.nl/atopische-dermatitis-atopie-bij-de-hond/ You can mail them and upload your Photos! At the end of this article is a phone number and email address. By phoning the vet you must call international 00-31 for Netherlands and leave the first 0 of the number away....
From my vet I got a solution to clean Finn's wound after he was attacked by a Great Dane. It was very good to clean out the wound. It is called sabenyl, perhaps you can ask your vet if it is allowed and possible to use this, and if they have if....
Oh my goodness! Poor baby. I hope she is more comfy soon. I'm sure the expense is a worry but good for you doing the right thing and getting help for your girl. Whatever it is looks like it's causing her a lot of discomfort!
