zayda_asher

Seeing you are also dealing with allergies have you done a recent elimination diet? Adverse Food Reactions can also effect weight, as the dog is not processing nutrients from food properly.

Just for the record Zayda is my urticaria dog and she's never had staph from them... Asher is my Staph dog and he's had hives once. Maybe they're the exception that proves the rule - or just bloody contrary!

Mandela's condition, it seems, is not really an "allergy" as such. It seems for him it is a matter of food not being digested properly for one or two other (presumably organ related) reasons - the toxicity from improperly digested food builds up in his system and his liver hasn't coped with filtering the toxins from his system. Hence the out-break in hives. So I guess I don't quite qualify for your "K9 Allergy Support" List? PS In a way, I suppose it is somewhat like an allergy though - isn't that when foods are the cause of toxins that the body can't cope with and so the skin reacts? Well sounds like at least intolerance / GI stuff... so yeah you'd be welcome to join... I'll PM the link... Also been meaning to say that when I was researching a couple of weekends ago I came across a piece that said that recurrent staph infections are most likely to be allergy related... so if you're seein recurrent staph, its worth investigating the allergy option. I meant to save the link, but it got lost

I was just saying to another friend, who's dog is just in the process of being diagnosed, that we need to start a support group!! lol Well FTPO and I decided that we could use this for real... so I've got a board up and running - "K9 Allergy Support"... its sparse at the moment, as I've only done it today, but it will get there... so if any of you would seriously like a venue where you can be supported and discuss / find allergy management and treatment ideas and research drop me a PM. Hope to see some of you there :D

Good luck with it, let us know how it goes... it is the glue that holds Zayda together, that is for sure!! I hope you get as good a response!

I haven't, but there was a lot of stuff in the products that was either things Zayda can't have or were iffy for us. It does look like a pretty decent product, and if you have no food allergies could be a good option. The one thing I would be careful of in general though is the flax, because anecdotal evidence on feeding / health lists seems to suggest that a lot of dogs, regardless of allergies, seem to do poorly and get the itchies with it (same with alfalfa). Although there's obviously plenty that are fine with it too, it would be something to consider if you did get more itchies on it though. If you do try it, let us know how it goes.

Dude, they are colour coded! Asher has "bright red danger, go back!" containers for his beef and lamb! Everything else has big BEEF or LAMB signs written on it!! I was just saying to another friend, who's dog is just in the process of being diagnosed, that we need to start a support group!! lol

I've spent 8 years avoiding beef and lamb like the plague... it feels so *wrong* And yeah, it is nerve wracking that one of us will stuff up and give the wrong dog the wrong thing... just a certain consistent stress "have I got the right container... " But yes, excellent that he is getting better... just cross your fingers we don't have to stay like this forever! Argh! lol Thanks! ;) Zayda is about to go back onto a regular diet and we will reintro her supps one at a time to make sure there are no reactions to them... so yeah, just weaning one off and the other goes on - my house is so not normal!

Oh, I forgot to say: I don't actually think it is the meat source in his case, he's always been ok after his breakfast which is meat and bone. Its after his evening meal, which has the "extras" (veg, yogurt, supplements) that he's been having reactions, so I think it is something in that group.

Thanks... its been a horror... we are up to 4 days without a reaction! woohoo! Such a relief! Still have a minor staph flare, but nothing unmanageable. We're feeding him beef and lamb, which he's never had because Zayda is allergic to them... can't go any of the normal novels, because that's what he's grown up on cos of ZeeZee So beef and lamb with lentils and emu oil for EFAs ETA: we might have to start getting our antihistamines from a compounding pharm... have to see what is in the ones the derm can get us first...

I should add that we were on a limited ingredient diet for a few days before that, before we said "yep lets do elimination" and only had two small, controllable reactions... so it was more than just a couple of days on elim that make me think there is definitely something food related. Good news is tonight's meal marks 2.5 days and we had no reaction!

Just an update for any one interested: We are now on a full elimination diet, as it became apparent that an adverse food reaction may be involved in Asher's reactions (he had no previous AFRs). We've been on it for a day and a half, and we've had one more small reaction: all controllable with an extra antihist. So there is obviously something there, be it a "proper" AFR, or a food "cross reacting" with the atopy as they have found some do. The shit thing is that the only thing we could use for elimination for him is stuff Zayda is allergic to - this is all my nightmares coming true!! I'm now having to do things like colour code food containers and make Asher eat on a sheet so I can pick up the bits he misses so Zayda doesn't get them... ARGH! Looks like we may have to go through the intradermal testing with him again too, as our current derm (who we've worked with before, but is not our regular one who is on leave - never hurts to have other in put though) thinks that we can retry him on ASIT, at a much lower dose, even though he has reacted in the past. Bit scary, as he doesn't do so flash with anesthetics. We've had a bit of a staph flare in the last few days, so we'll see how he is a week after being on the elim diet, if its not settled it will be off to the vet for us for ABs. Of course, we're off his supplements that normally control his staph, so this could be an on going issue for a while. Good news is no Pred for now! Edit: spelling

Yeah, I would suspect foxes... Sarcopties makes much more sense in your case and would explain why the people are itchy too... Seeing there are itchy people, they need to go to the Dr and be treated too

North, so it would defo be a day trip... but that's not an issue, if I know the dogs can enjoy their time without harassment!

I see dogs off lead at the vets and cats out of crates in WA... drives me nuts!

The infection Zayda used to get in her feet was fungal... again in our case it was related to allergies, but it was in the wet weather that it would happen... We used to dry her paws well after being out and rinse coat with resichlor. This prevented it flaring due to being damp.

Asher doesn't normally either: the infection happens and THEN he'll lick when they are uncomfortable... so its not the licking that causes the infection in our case (assuming that this new thing is also infection)... Before we got Asher on antihistamines his whole pads would just peel away, again he didn't bother that UNTIL it got bacterial overgrowth... so maybe Dante has something similar in that the pads are growing /sloughing, but without the over growth... I know antihistamines weren't useful for him though, so that's obviously not the solution for you... Edit: to make more sense

I'll let you know what we find out... it is sold as a human supp under the name (Microlactin) and I'm sure I've seen something in the health food store... so that may be an avenue to follow, if its not here as an animal supp.

Yeah! Asher has just developed this in the last couple of weeks... I'm thinking it is fungal as he's been chewing and the roughed up patches on his pads have changed colour... Normally he gets yeast down in the toes, between the pads, but maybe he's been licking the pads more this time?? We normally use Lamisil, so I will start using that on his feet and send the photos to our Derm anyway and see if we need to bring him in. I've not seen it before: Zayda used to get fungal infection when she was much younger with her Allergies, but it was down between the toes again, not on the pad.

Have done... let me know if it doesn't come through...

Thanks for the info! Yeah, its definitely worth checking into import rules on stuff... so easy too get caught out!! I'll as my Derm if they've heard of it.. might be something they can look at getting in

Bugger! Sorry about that, here:

I've got a copy of this study: Click here for details. Its from the PDE aftermath. If anyone wants a copy drop me a PM with an email addy

Do you know of a nice quiet beach??

Just wondering if anyone here has used duralactin? Its marketed mostly at chronic joint pain... claims to have a strong effect on inflammation in the body. I've seen a little on people using it for skin inflammation from allergies... and I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with it. Thanks!