Oh hell. Just a few days after the vet prescribed meds have finished and Molly's belly is dreadfully red and raw looking. Have got the coconut oil and put a little in her tucker tonight. Also made what I think is probably a big mistake and rubbed a little on her hot sore tummy. Result, she licked, chewed, munched at her undercarriage for ages with the result that its now almost like a slab of raw meat. How long will the coconut oil take to work do you know - assuming it does? Seems wrong to take a chance when she is obviously in serious discomfort.
Oh dear, poor girl. I would stop with the coconut oil. And maybe she needs a cone till her belly heals up..? Did the meds help while she was on them? Would be best to get vet advice I think - sounds very sore and itchy.
Ok, just read back over the thread - so it does sound like the meds helped, which is great. She may need to be on them for the duration of the 'itchy season'. If she's left to itch and chew this can result in permanent thickening of her skin, and it's also horrendously uncomfortable to be so itchy. Things like steroids can bring a lot of relief....
Its a little easier this morning, but yes, she's certainly back to the vets today. I had hoped to avoid more steroids and the other meds but if that's what she needs, then that's what she'll have. Thanks Oberon for your replies. I had only got the coconut oil yesterday, so only applied a small amount, once. I'm going to continue to put a little in her grub in case it helps lessen the dryness of her coat over time, but certainly won't rub anything else on her - she likes the taste too much and chomping at her undercarriage certainly doesn't help.
Yeah, the idea of steroids can certainly be a bit off putting. Fortunately they're actually used in fairly low doses for skin issues and are pretty safe, especially when it's all being monitored by the vet (that's what my vet told me). Hope you can work out a regime that will make your doggie comfortable
Update on Molly's allergy problems. It was decided when her last lot of steroids were prescribed (3rd time) that once she has been off all meds for 2 weeks we would get blood tests done in an effort to identify the trigger. She's now been off meds for over 3 weeks. We were beginning to hope that either she was growing out of this or that if it is caused by grass/pollen/growing things generally, that now we're approaching autumn and everything is slowing down or not growing at all, she was going to be OK. So it seemed until the last couple of days. Sadly, she has been scratching a lot since yesterday, has sore looking eyes this morning and the skin under her forelegs is almost raw, poor little Molly, she never moans but must be very uncomfortable. Back to the vets on Monday for blood tests and possibly more steroids and abs.
Oh, how annoying for you. Hope you can find out the cause and that it's something you can control. I suppose your best hope is that it's a reaction to a food ingredient as that's easier to manage than an environmental trigger. As a very temporary measure to soothe sore skin on her legs you could try witch hazel.
Thanks Joy, I agree, if its food, that could be a lot easier to manager. I do add coconut oil to her food and it does keep her skin and coat softish and supple which helps I think. Thanks for the witch hazel tip, will try that.
Poor lass. I hope you get to the bottom of it. I guess the good thing is that at least you know the steroids help....it's worse if there is nothing that helps. Hope you can identify and then eliminate the cause though.
I've just been reading your thread and I really feel for you because we've been there for the last 4.5 years, plus Snowie is also epileptic -- both your dogs in one! He is now on 1.25gm of Prednisone (a quarter tablet) every other day. He still scratches and chews, but not nearly as much as when he was not on steroids at all. We resisted steroids for years, but earlier this year he was so bad and a vet in the family who was visiting from out of town said we must get him to stop chewing and scratching completely and then take it from there. We started on 1 tablet a day and reduced it over time (it reduced very quickly, had an immediate effect). On the day he gets the 1/4 tablet he doesn't scratch. Then it comes back on the day he doesn't have the tablet, but obviously mildly compared to the past. But there are side effects from the steroid, so I prefer this compromise. We can't use antihistamines because they appear to cause seizures in him. It's moulting season now (southern hemisphere) so his itchiness has got worse, but at least we know the reason, and I spend a lot of time rubbing him with a wet towel (after I dry him off after his morning dip) to loosen the hair as much as I can. He LOVES this!! He has a magnificent coat, which might be due to his getting salmon oil capsules every day (omega 3s are very good anti-inflammatories) as well as coconut oil (to eat). One thing I've been wondering about -- and I know it's a contentious issue -- do our dogs who develop allergies at around 2-3 months develop them because of vaccinations? My vet said that they think there is a connection between allergy to chicken and vaccinations because most commercial dog foods are made from chicken, which puppies are probably eating at the time of their first vaccinations -- so if the vaccination is going to trigger an allergic response (which it is supposed to do), then chicken protein in the system will be recognized as an allergen. In Snowie's case, he was stung by a bee and reacted badly (so I thought -- although in hindsight I don't think it was that bad but I was a new puppy owner and over-reacting!) so I rushed him to the vet. She had a lot patients and saw him briefly and then left us for about an hour or so till she had finished with her patients, so clearly it was not a do-or-die situation. When we eventually were seen by her, she gave him a cortisone injection and a Phenergan injection, and then also gave him his puppy vacs plus rabies plus kennel cough -- all in the ONE session!! He was due them a week later and she said let's do it now instead of coming in again. Some years later talking to my new vet, he said giving a steroid plus vaccinating must've caused a lot of confusion for a small puppy's immune system, not to mention that a puppy having an allergic response should not be vaccinated (I am so annoyed with that first vet!). And I often wonder if we'd let him recover from the beesting first before vaccinating, would he have turned out differently. Although... my new vet also said that there is thought that puppies who are stung by bees then develop allergies. However, his brother coincidentally was also stung by a bee in the same week (different town) and their vet did not give a steroid injection nor vacs then, he had to recover first, and he has not developed allergies.
Hells bells MF, poor little Snowie, that was a horribly bad start for him, all those ruddy vaccinations and meds at the same time, not good at all. I have a lot of sympathy for you coping with a dog with epilepsy as well as the allergy thing, good for you for doing so well for Snowie and not giving up as so many do. When I told my family about BJ's epilepsy (started aged 3) all those years ago, they thought the best thing would be for him to be pts, cut my losses and forget it. grrrr. Our BJ was the most adorable dog you could ever imagine and we finally lost him just short of his 14th birthday at Christmas 2014. I don't doubt you feel exactly the same about Snowie. Is Snowie on any meds for his epilepsy by the way? We've no idea what's caused Molly's allergy. Have been in constant touch with her breeders, lovely folks and they have told me that Molly's uncle had a similar problem that, despite tests by vets was never identified. All her litter mates are OK, just our luck eh? Will be keeping our fingers crossed on Monday. As far as you and Snowie go, what a lucky person you are to have him and what a lucky dog he is to have landed you as his 'human'. Very best wishes to you both x
Skin conditions in dogs have a strong inherited component. I don't think it has anything to do with vaccines. Agree with the need to completely stop the itch and go from there. That's what we did with Obi - our vet called it 'breaking the itch cycle'.
Nothing mentioned to me by vets about any connection between Molly's allergy and vaccinations, although she was having her 2nd standard vaccination at the time the first dose of steroid and abs were prescribed and it was suggested that we wait for a couple of days after the vaccination before starting the meds. As I understand it, the blood tests Molly is about to have are in an effort to identify any environmental trigger. If it is anything to do with a food ingredient that is a different set of long term(very expensive) tests but as MF says if it is food, once identified, it is easier to control.
Just catching up on this thread. Poor Molly and poor you. Fingers crossed you get some answers soon x
It's why Rory can't tolerate chicken . chicken has got a lot of growth enhancing stuff in it . Anti biotics. A lot of dogs are intolerant to chicken now because its in a lot of foods. Also when pups come new homes they often get upset tums. They get treated with anti biotic and this can create problems too. The research is out their I did read a bit of it when Rory was so I'll. not having a good day today so can't find it. Sorry
Poor Molly. I hope you are able to get to the bottom of it all and get a medication regime that will work for her.
