zayda_asher

My allergic girl has an adverse reaction to eggs (among a multitude of other things). Eggs give us ADD type behaviour, incredible flatulence, colitis and loose stools. Allergies and intolerances are heritable.

I had it done afew years ago, don't bother now... but all the basics are done through a lab here in Perth and shouldn't cost you more than $80ish... it will cost extra if you want to get done the ones they do o/s... Its actually the lab in Perth that they send to from other states to get the titres done, so don't let anyone charge you a fortune if you live in Perth!

Geez, you guys are going through the mill hey? :D We've never experienced anything like that... the only thing we've had was the pigment in Zayda's nose lightening / darkening at different time... which isn't entirely unusual... Sounds like it could be related to some of the immune mediated diseases like Pemphigus perhaps... I hope for your sake it isn't... I know of a Ambull in the States that was diagnosed with this and had the more traditional peeling skin, but I'm pretty sure his owner reported colour changes too... Have you got any pics of the spots when they are raised / black headish? Good luck working out what's going on there...

Yep, our Derm says its actually quite normal not to find mites in a scrap, even when you go deep enough to draw blood and for them still to have the mites... ETA: Zayda had a really bad case of generalised Demodex and they still didn't find that many mites in the scrapes... Vaccination is one of the worst things you can do for a dog with allergies as they have a compromised immune system... if you want PM me an email and I'll send you the stuff Dr Dodds (immunologist specialist in the States that has done a lot of research on vaccination) sent me. If you were up my neck of the woods I'd pack you off to my vet: I'm sure he'd work you out a deal for the fosters... but you're not

It looks and sounds mighty like demodex to me... thing is demodex is often not found on first scrape because it hides right down in the follicle... sometimes you never return a positive scrape, but treat it and it clears... I'd be asking for another scrape in other areas and perhaps treating as demodex any way. If it is Dem its a nasty generalized case... which means he may well have other immune issues like allergies too. I never would've vaccinated a dog in this condition, esp. if it is allergies... Not having a go at you, but I don't think the Vet's attitude was right on that score personally. My guys both have chronic allergies and Zayda started off with the Demodex, so we've had a fair bit of experience with it... So feel free to drop me a PM if you want. Hope the little fella is feeling better soon!

Here Wobbly, just to set your mind at ease: This is Zayda at age 6 after the Demdectic mange and with chronic allergic skin disease... you'd never know if I didn't tell you she'd had the Dem or that she has the allergies... Its not all doom and gloom

Hopefully its not Wobbly... but don't stress too much even if it is, its fully treatable and that GSD has been left for a while before being treated to get the skin like that... Zayda never looked like that with her generalised Dem cos we got on top of it early... she just looked like a poor bald, skiny dog! Pintarsol does smell... I used to use that myself too... stinky, kinda in a nice way though!

Wobbly bull breed types are also prone to Demodectic mange, which doesn't itch (unless secondary infection develops)... might be time for a trip to the vet... http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html ETA: It would fit the pattern of hair loss with no scab etc. and there are two types Localised (i.e.: it occurs in one or two localised spots) or generalised (all over)... We dealt with generalised dem here, normally the quicker you get on to it the better... but it does depend on the type and how old the dog is... pups can get cases of localised that will clear up with out treatment sometimes... best to check with the vet

Definitely the down side to a giant breed... My guys are expensive enough with their meds : size and they make up roughly the two of them for your one!

Yikes, I knew the atopica was expensive but hadn't heard exactly how much!! Good luck with the blood test... let us know what you find out... I've got heaps of little tips, tricks and other remedies for specific allergies if he comes up with any of the same ones as my guys... And you can hopefully try the immunotherapy off that if you get results for atopic/insect allergies... that's around the $300 per 6 months mark, which is better than the atopica!!!

Ah, no worries... I must've missed or misread, that's what I get for trying to do too much at the same time! lol Good luck with it then if it comes to that... I know quite a few people who say the atopica has been a "miracle" for their dogs so its worth checking out!

Another thought: Has your vet spoken to you about Atopica? Its been quite successful for a lot of dogs according to our dermatologist and doesn't have the side effects of the steroids... might be a good alternative for you??

Yep, I know... we have all the allergy types in this house between the two dogs... Rinsing the coat can work with atopic (sometimes called inhalant) allergies as well because it keeps the load of allergens in the most immediate area (on the dog) down, i.e.: the pollens, moulds etc. that cling to the coat are not given that opportunity to hang around and irritate (by being inhaled, ingested etc.)... Its not perfect, but it can help and make a difference for some... Have you tried the Heska Elisa Blood test, that would at least be a start at least... Certainly give you some idea of what maybe going on! Good luck... I hope you find some answers...

How long was he on the antibiotics for? A lot of vets make the mistake of not putting them on a long enough course for staph.... you need at least a 31 day course to clear it from the system often... Regarding the cortisone you can try taking him off the cortisone, but do other things like bathing every third day and rinsing the skin every day to keep the allergens off the coat to see if you can at least get the testing done... Its a lot to go through, I remember taking Zayda off her antihistamines for her testing and it was horrible, but it was worth it in the long run to get her cleared up... now we don't have skin infections because we are able to treat her knowing what is wrong and what we need to avoid... Same with Asher... The testing sucks when you can't treat them, but its worth it in the long run... Also a tip I have is that we use episoothe rather than the malaseb regularly because we find it keeps their coat in better condition: they get worse skin quicker with the malaseb... we now only use that when we do get a bit of infection - we put it on the spot with infection, say the foot, and do the rest of the coat with the Episoothe... Of course you need to know that the dog is not allergic to oatmeal to use the episoothe...

Have you been to a dermatologist and had the testing done yet to see if he is actually allergic and what it is that he is allergic to? Its much easier to control once you know exactly what they are reacting to... Are Danes prone to zinc deficiencies? As I think that is what is connected to the bronzing in other breeds... It sounds like staph infection, but that would've come up in the tests...

the bikkies weren't huge: little round ones and boomerang shapes... but I didn't think they were any worse than other kibbles... The advance we also used at the time was about the same size...

Way back in the day when we had kibble in this house we used this one... It was one of only two that was suitable for Zayda with her food allergies. Was fine for us... I know some people find their dogs don't thrive on supercoat, but mine did well...

Ok, we see Sharon (also at Murdoch if you haven't met her) which may account for the slightly different approach... but if you find upping the dose doesn't work try the others and see what effect it has... worst that will happen is that you loose a day to a drowsy dog... and you might not either, they might just keep on with the party and wonder what all the fuss was about! As I said, my guys have never had an effect from any of the ones they've taken... Just give your self a day when your doing nothing and can observe for effects. I know a few dogs who take them with out drowsy side effects so its not a definite. good luck

Dogs are like people though and do react differently to antihistamines: some get drowsy, some don't. Both my guys get 1 X 25mg phenergan twice a day and god help me if they are making them drowsy because they would be hurricanes without them!! We do obedience, agility and they work with me in my dog training consultation too... no effect what so ever... so I wouldn't rule them out without a trial if you do need to swap antihistamines (as you sometimes do because resistance builds)... We use 6mg polarimine (my antihistamines) if we stuff up and run out and we used to use iramine, but developed resistance to it. Nice thing about using human ones is that they are cheaper!! ETA: do you see Mandy or Sharon?

Yep, ge to the specialist and get testing done... there is still plenty for her to be allergic to atopically (air born allergies) and mould allergies is one example that would see her worse in the cooler months than the summer months. Also atopic dogs tend to get worse as they age, particularly if untreated. Also if she has food alleriges as well uncontrolled atopic allergies will often magnify the symptoms so you can't tell what they are reacting to... so find out what she is allergic to and you will be able to sort it out & give up the guessing...

Yeah, its hard to have them itchy and stuff again... but in the long run it does give you a lot more options... so grit the teeth and live through it!! Yeah, there's stuff that's hard to avoid, but you can still do a lot to keep them away from stuff at home... We had to take out some plants and stuff... and we have to be on top of cleaning and dusting etc. for dust mites... but it all helps...

intradermal testing makes a huge difference! Knowing what your dog is allergic to allows you to clear the immediate enviroment of as much as possible and also lets you know what you can use safely on that dog... it makes a huge difference!! Good luck!

In a food allergy the allergy develops to the proteins that make up a food source, they all have proteins as the building blocks that make it up, so it doesn't matter how much is present. Here's an article, its human, but explains food allergy and the difference between allergy and intolerance: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Food_Fac...olerance_fs.asp

Yeah, like I said that's the prob with a lot of products that throw everything and the kitchen sink in! And they don't often hear about the cases where it doesn't work or isn't suitable... Unfortunately a lot of the supps they used are destroyed by the extreme heating in the cooking and extrusion process for kibble so they aren't that great even if you by a small new bag! Yep, both of my dogs have been intradermally tested, Zayda also did food trial, but Asher has no food issues. We work closely with our dermatologist, constantly tailoring and refitting our treatment and maintenance programs to suit both dogs individually.

Oh and also its interesting that they say they have limited to one protein source, but in typical fashion they have used chicken fat, brown rice, beet pulp, vegetable oil etc. So its not limited at all... So they really should not be marketing it as such... But, of course, that would only apply to those with adverse food reactions...