Ella has had sensitive skin from the day that we got her. It appears that she's just going to be one of these dogs that gets rashes, dry skin, itchy skin etc. This isn't something that's suddenly happened and hasn't really become worse, other than the recent loss of hair around her right eye. We've looked at a couple of options with the vet (they initially thought - a few months ago - that she had mites but she didn't and now they're saying it could be allergies). I'm not anti-vet, I just want to look at our options before we spend hundreds of dollars on investigations that may or may not help. I'm hoping to eliminate everything we can before we go back to the vet so I'd love some advice on the following: - Ella has really bad dandruff. We've brushed her and bathed her today with a good oatmeal shampoo in the hope to relieve some itching but I'm hoping we can do something about the dandruff as this has got to be adding to the itching (if not causing it). Do you think some sort of fish oil would help? I'm happy to include some fish in her diet (we currently feed a mix of raw and kibble) but would love some suggestions on the types of fish that would be good to feed her. - If it is allergies, are there any over-the-counter antihistamines that can be used to see if they help? I know that if I was suffering from itching I'd probably start with an antihistamine to see if it helped before I headed off to the Dr so I'm wondering if we could do something similar with Ella? - If and when we go back to the vet about this, has anyone had any experience with allergies and what the vet might do next? Thanks
Hi Em , my lad suffered from dandruff and dry skin, mainly due to pollens . We tried Vet shampoo , steroids , the lot and all just gave a temporary relief , his wasn't a bad case but he did lose some fur from the inside of his legs , no doubt from where he crashes through grasses and shrubs which give off pollen . I was advised to try coconut oil , the raw virgin stuff , I massaged it onto the affected areas and within days, we could see an improvement . I wouldn't ever advise using this as an opponent of Veterinary treatment but as a complimentary use , it has been fantastic for Sam . What I also did was to ensure that I brush him on a very regular basis , and brush him prior to applying the oil , his dandruff has gone and he is far far less itchy , might be worth a try .
Thanks Kate, I'll give it a go. The regular brushing should help the tumbleweeds of hair in my house if nothing else We're due to go to the vet next month for Ella's yearly check and vaccinations so, unless it suddenly gets worse, we'll look at another course of action when we'e there. Hopefully though, if we can improve the situation or at least narrow down the issue in the meantime it will help the vet to diagnose the issue and come up with a treatment plan.
Salmon oil could help as Omega 3 is good for the coat etc. you could also try some sardines, tinned is fine, added to meals
I also invested in a Furminator Em , the amount of dead hair that came out could have made another dog
We've actually just bought one so we'll give it a go! Cost a bloody fortune so it had better be good haha!
I don't know where to start, we went through so many things. Well I guess I'll start at our start. I was loathe to mess with diet but by 1.5 years old it was apparent the dry skin and mild dandruff was not puppy coat coming out or the heat on in our house so I added EFAs. Specifically this one: http://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/products/omega-3-6-9-1-200-mg-1 You will see it is derived partly from plant products, flax and borage. TWice I ran out and substituted the OH's pure salmon oil and quickly noticed a marked decline in coat quality and a return to the dandruff. Some dogs do better on the plant derived omegas so if salmon oil doesn't work, try them. Thinks got worse,as is typical with allergies, and we did use an over the counter anti-histamine, Reactine at our Vet's instigation. He prefers it to Benadryl for allergic itching. It only worked for a short time. Next we went to Prednisone. Scary stuff so next we went to Atopica, which is a lesser evil than the Pred. Then Oban got extremely sick and we ended up with a Holistic Integrative Vet, raw food, TCM and acupuncture, stopped all the other meds and along with clearing up the severe digestive issue (which we now know is lymphangiectasia) the itching stopped too. I just really abbreviated all we experienced but in hindsight I would not hesitate to recommend alternative Veterinary, TCM and the things that worked for us. While our goal with alternative medicine was not to stop the itching, it did stop. I have to think going this route might be worth looking into for just an itch. If the very basic addition of EFAs does not help. I should add, I discussed with our first Vet how much EFA to add. Good luck.
Thanks for sharing your story, it sounds quite traumatic! Definitely something to consider and bring to the table when we're at the vet next.
Have you tried changing her food? Some dogs are sensitive to certain proteins and carbohydrates, so maybe a change to something completely different would help to rule that out. A "sensitive" food generally has a less common protein and a less common carbohydrate (such as duck and potato) which your dog is less likely to be sensitive to. If it works, you can reintroduce the original protein(s) and the original carbohydrate(s) one at a time and see if she starts reacting again. Also worth considering is your washing detergent. I got a nasty rash when I was a kid when my Mum couldn't get her regular detergent and bought Persil instead. Willow has slightly dry skin. It's not terribly bad, but I found that adding salmon oil to her diet made a big difference and, if it gets a bit flaky on her tummy, I'll rub in coconut oil. She loves this pampering
A friend had similar problem with their dog -- itching, various allergies-- and went to a raw feeding diet. All is good now. I took the cue from him and slowly transiting myself going 50/50 but will go full raw when he goes down to 2 a day feedings. You'll find poops are better, they drink far less water thus pee less, and best of all they seem to enjoy taking the 20-25 minutes to finish the meal as opposed to 30 seconds for kibble. It will take planning but it's no more expensive than kibble, in fact for us it will cheaper.
Scooby had terrible dandruff when we got him. Really bad. I gave him omega 3 fish oil capsules and it more or less cleared up. In the home he had directly before coming to us he was on a vegan diet! May be that's why it started up for him. We fed him on a ridiculously expensive 70/30 kibble - maybe that helped too (that was for his loose bowels).
Bracken had awful allergies as a pup causing red itchy skin, recurrent bouts of conjunctivitis, ear infections, sore throats and coughs. In the end we went the blood test route to find out what he was allergic to. It came back with a long list of tree and grass pollens as well as many foods. The enviromental allergens were dealt with by immunotherapy, customised vaccine injections in minute, ever increasing amounts, and the foods by a strict lifetime total elimination. His immunotherapy lasted 18mths but was a complete success, he's been over 7yrs now with no problems at all.
I'd see a specialist and get a proper diagnosis of what is causing these problems. While it might cost a fair bit of money, every time I've asked for a recommendation to a specialist it has been ££s well spent. I love my vet - he is a good, caring, diligent and careful vet, but he is expected to cover absolutely everything, and can't be an expert in it all. When I looked back over my vet bills, although a specialist consultation (dermatologist is the one I'm thinking of - what Ella probably needs) was much more expensive than a standard vet appointment, it worked out cheaper because he solved the problem, rather than me going back and back and back to my ordinary vet, at a cheaper price but he didn't come up with a solution.
There is no substitute for proper dermatologist advice. All the rest is just anecdotal. I'm in Julie's camp. Although I practice acupuncture and feel it has its place (sorry Pippa!) I wouldn't touch TCM with a bargepole wither for myself or my dog. Yes to the single source protein food, yes to the fish oil, yes to the coconut oil, but bottom line is, dermatologist can save a lot of faffing about with trials of this and that. Worth it in the end.
Thanks for everyone's input, really appreciate it . I think I'll start with regular brushing, applying coconut oil to the worst areas and adding some fish oil to her food. These seem like the least drastic changes and it appears that they could be beneficial to her health, even if they don't resolve the issue. Then, when we head to the vet next month I'll ask for a referral to a specialist (unless the above changes result in a miraculous recovery). At least I'll be able to see if there are any changes and I'll have some more information to provide to the specialist.
TCM products are not manufactured to any sort of appropriate standard. You do not know what is in them. What you are told is in them can bear very little relationship to the reality. Ask anyone who works in the field of therapeutic goods regulation and that's what they will tell you.
What Rachael said. Plus you are often clueless as to what is actually given.....Some random crushed up leaves (in the UK at any rate) with unintelligible or unfamiliar names if any given at all. Plus well known "herbal supplements" that are known to cause liver damage. Plus common interactions with conventional medicines. I am not a total EBM geek and have a healthy regard for alternative or more correctly called complementary therapies. As I said, I practice acupuncture myself. But TCM.....just No from me.
There is some emerging evidence that acupuncture has some effectiveness in a very limited set of conditions for dogs - the vet specialising in pain relief at Greyfriars uses it for spinal injuries.
@Emily sounds a very sensible approach to me. Little changes but all very easily trackable for results. Juno's coat has improved since the addition of salmon oil, despite starting to moult
