Allergy/intolerance - Update 28.4.09 Post # 106

[animalfriendly]

Thanks all. And Animalfriendly for the book reference as well. Would appear to be a good book to have as a learning and reference guide. Expensive, it seems. But good. Will pop that one on my 'wish list' .

I don't think my boy has what your dog has, because it isn't as bad as all that.

Hi Erny, I couldn't afford that book myself! I have just been using it online. You can just type your keyword in the Preview this book search box. When it says you have reached your preview limit, just clear your cache (shift + browser refresh) and you can keep reading/ searching.

I don't think your baby has what my old girl has, I was just so glad that when I noticed her trouble, this book helped me find out exactly what it was and how to make her more comfortable.

I reckon your boy may have an allergy... but they can be so tricky and I am not a vet : ). One of my girls had food (constant diahoerrea) and grass (itchy reddish dry cracked paws and itchy spots which still happen in summer) allergies when we first got her. The food allergies took months to clear up with different drugs etc and we manage her skin with Aloveen shampoo and conditioner (as they are very soothing) and if it flares up, she gets her oral steroids for a few days to a week.

I wish you and Mandela all the best

[Erny]

Minor update : For the past 4 days or so, Mandela has eaten all of his meals, plus some (ie I've increased the quota and he's eaten most of the extra). I seem to have double my dog back!! . Not so much talking about weight (which has increased some) but talking about energy!!! I was at my folks' place yesterday doing some work in the garden for them (they are on acreage) and Mandela didn't stop! Well, when he did, it was for about 10 minutes of snooze in his crate. Then he was up and racing around again. He did get a bit sick of following me around when I was on the ride-on mower though, and decided he might as well lay down and watch me go around in circles . I think all his energy has encouraged Dad to persist with trying to eat Cottage Cheese even though he (Dad) doesn't like it. Dad's become somewhat interested in the consuming of goats' milk too . Heck - it's even making me think I should eat the stuff and perhaps imbibe the remainder of the holistic drops! I want some of that energy!! Mandela was very glad to get to bed and sleep last night though and had nodded off almost before he plonked his head down.

Stools are much better and are looking a better colour, although not reliably so - but the improvement is encouraging. He's finished all the holistic tabs and drops (tabs finished 1 week ago; drops finished yesterday). Will call Carol directly after the Easter break to arrange another consult. If stools are for the most part still looking good, I'm going to arrange another fecal test to check for presence of blood.

Yesterday morning after letting Mandela outside, I heard him come back in, chewing on 'something'. I asked for 'give' and found he'd scored a round piece of chip board. Where he got it from puzzled me. Of course, I put it to one side. Shortly after, whilst cleaning up the yard, I found half of a biro (minus the nib and ink). The remains comprised of sharp ends where it had obviously been broken. What concerns me more are the parts of it that are missing and I very much hope that Mandela hasn't ingested them . I've had a word with my neighbours as they had people over the day before, with kids. I don't think it would be my neighbour's own children who threw these things over, but could possibly be one of the other kids who were invited there for the day. My neighbours are lovely and we have a good relationship. They love Mandela as well and wouldn't want to see him unwell. The father is going to have a word to his kids and promised me it won't occur again. So hopefully all is well and that what I've found is all of what has been thrown over and not part of. Worry, worry, worry ...... :D .

Edited April 11, 2009 by Erny

[dogbesotted]

Erny... that is starting to sound good isnt it?

I know about finding bits and pieces and wondering what parts were ingested. mt divibe miss sophie would eat anything that she could get down. I could tell where she did her business as "it" was always decorated with all sorts of unusual non digestable items. Bless the her... when plastic would get stuck she would waddle up to me and present her rear end..... gaze over he shoulder at me with a most expectant expression on her face...............( one of the least charming of dog owner activities LOL)

fingers and paws crossed that Mandela continues to travel along the path of improved health

cheers and easter greetings

helen

[Erny]

at the "please get it out of my " expression.

Thanks DBS. Only thing that is going on now and getting worse rather than better seems to be skin allergy :rolleyes:. Now, maybe that's to do with the goats' milk or the cottage cheese or the yogurt. Perhaps I've been giving too much.

Holy Moly. All I would like would be for him to have a good long HEALTHY stretch. Going to bath him using Maloseb this afternoon - see if it will at least cease the scratching/licking/chewing until I get to see Carol next week.

But yes - I'm really pleased about his increased appetite. Although he seems a bit flat today and* left about 1/3rd of his breakfast. Stools later today a bit mushy. Hope I didn't speak too soon.

Edited to cross out - bath seems to have done the trick .

Edited April 12, 2009 by Erny

[Erny]

Update : Although over the last few days Mandela has been 'off' his food (hungry, but when he goes to eat he eats a bit and then looks sorry for himself and walks away - he'll try that a few times before aborting the idea of eating completely) he has at least been eating reasonable amounts. Maybe not in the first sitting, but perhaps in a later sitting. Or maybe in the first sitting, not the second, but perhaps later on, or not at all. You can see by this that his eating habits have been a bit all over the place. Overall, his weight is down by 1 gram since the last weigh in which would have been about 2 or 3 weeks ago. And he was light on then. So we still have weight gain to focus on.

The great news is, I had another fecal sample tested and it is FREE OF BLOOD!! . So one big step in the right direction, it seems. Now that the fecal sample has been taken and tested, I'm going to re-introduce RMB's (primarily chicken wings to begin with, but not too many).

And just because it has been in the back of my mind throughout (mainly a paranoia on my part due to my previous girl's illness and my failure to insist on OS full blood panel tests - simply because back then I didn't know what I know now), I've had bloods sent to the USA for analysis by Dr. Jean Dodds. The bloods should arrive in the US tomorrow and test results I think in about 48 working hours after that.

Mandela is still receiving healthy doses of goats' milk; cottage cheese; and yogurt. With an egg yolk now and again. And the occasional sardine or mackerel, depending on what's in the cupboard. If I were to say he enjoys these things, that would be an understatement :cool:.

[Cosmolo]

Glad he is feeling better- hope he continues to improve.

[Erny]

Update : In the past couple of weeks or so, Mandela has without doubt improved, but not completely. Still 'iffy' on his eating regime. And in the last 48 hours had become really itchy - breaking out in scabby sores down the inside of his back legs and also at the inside tips of his ears. I spoke to the people at Eagle Pack (who were extremely helpful) who in turn put me on to a person who gave me some additional advice.

The upshot is :

I've switched him over from EP holistic large breed puppy formula to the EP Duck. Twenty minutes before he has a meal, I give him AMH + Slippery Elm Powder. In his meal I add Spiruline powder.

I still give him an acidopholus tablet each morning and he also gets a small amount of Bi-carb (as per Carol Freeman's advice, supported by the person I spoke to yesterday).

Well - in a space of less than 24 hours, what a difference !!!

Eating his EP Duck with gusto (all of it!) and on top of this world!! Doesn't appear to be itchy, or at least, not half as itchy (I'll be able to tell more by the end of the day, seeing as it was only yesterday afternoon that we switched over).

I'm still holding my breath and don't wish to jinx this great step forward too soon, but I am delighted by what I see in such a short period of time. He's on this 'diet' for 3 weeks with no other foods to be added. All being well, I then re-introduce things such as RMB's ..... one at a time, so I can see what affects what. Well, that's the plan. For now, I'm just over the moon that my boy is eating with enthusiasm and is looking all the stronger (both physically and energy wise) for it.

Fingers crossed :rolleyes:.

ETA: Results of his thyroid/auto immune blood tests via Dr. Jean Dodds USA expected soon.

ETA: I'm changing the Title of this thread to "Allergy/Intolerance" as that's closer to what I believe has been going on.

ETA: Oh and I almost forgot - he also now receives a Vitamin C tab daily. At the moment, it's on 'introductory dosage' - if his system shows he's coping with it, the mg will be increased gradually until 2000 mg.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Erny

[Erny]

Thyroid test results :

"Thyroid levels are excellent."

Dr. Jean Dodds wrote :

All normal -- in fact very good -- so far. Only the T3AA (T3 Autoantibody) and T4AA (T4 Autoantibody) are pending.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Erny

[BellaEvie]

Erny you can also use the goats milk formula that you get for babies for Mandela if you dont have storage room

[Erny]

Thanks BE. As it turns out, I've ordered a freezer and am awaiting delivery so that will solve any issues pertaining to storage. But in the interim, I'm not feeding him the goats' milk etc. for another 3 weeks - this to give the new EP formula time without complicating anything with extra foods. So storage isn't an issue just at the moment.

But appreciate the info. 'cause you just never know down the track .

ETA: Apart from which, Andisa lives about 5 minutes from me and she's been great in keeping the milk in her freezers for me. Up until now, I've been picking up 2 or 3 bottles at a time from her.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Erny

[BellaEvie]

Good luck with Mandela - i hope that everything can be sorted

[Tru Borders]

Glad to hear of the positive progress this week Erny!!

Paws crossed it continues for you and Mandela

[Erny]

Thank you .

It's the most positive I've felt for the past couple of months or so.

[Andisa]

I've switched him over from EP holistic large breed puppy formula to the EP Duck. Twenty minutes before he has a meal, I give him AMH + Slippery Elm Powder. In his meal I add Spiruline powder.

I still give him an acidopholus tablet each morning and he also gets a small amount of Bi-carb (as per Carol Freeman's advice, supported by the person I spoke to yesterday).

Well - in a space of less than 24 hours, what a difference !!!

Eating his EP Duck with gusto (all of it!) and on top of this world!! Doesn't appear to be itchy, or at least, not half as itchy (I'll be able to tell more by the end of the day, seeing as it was only yesterday afternoon that we switched over).

Erny - every thing is sounding great - what a relief you must be feeling about now..

He will gain the weight that he has lost in no time at all at this rate.

I think I will gets some EP Duck for Hamish - he is being a bit difficult with food for his now owner - looks like Mandela has given it his stamp of aproval - definately worth giving it a go for Hamish too.

[Erny]

T3AA and T4AA results have come back normal.

I am so happy to have ruled thryoid/auto immune issues out of the equation.

Still going really well with the new Eagle Pack diet/formula. Mandela's stools became somewhat sloppy but one this morning looks a little better, so I'm hoping it is just a matter of his system adjusting. It will be so good when poo is not the focal point of my life :love:. But I can see he's put weight on and he looks stronger over all.

Thanks everyone for letting me unravel this one out loud with you. It's not over yet, but with any luck I'm on the home stretch .

[anniek]

Thanks everyone for letting me unravel this one out loud with you. It's not over yet, but with any luck I'm on the home stretch .

Thank YOU Erny - a pleasure to read (if thats the right thing to say considering the drama and worry you've had).

So pleased that it is unravelling, and sincerely hoping that Mandela is now well and truly "on the up"

[Jigsaw]

That's good news indeed Erny! Waiting for the day when you don't have to be a poo inspector!

[Erny]

... Jigsaw, I'm still "studying" his poo. Mostly are good'ish (ie coming better). But some are runny - although mainly the ones he does when he's been running down at the park.

As a complete aside ..... I noticed in the last two days that he's made a couple of attempts to whiz by cocking his leg, but he didn't really know what his back leg was doing. That made me laugh - he actually looked a bit surprised, as though his back leg had a mind of its own. Today he did a full on cock the leg pee up against a weedy bush at the park. It was his first one. .... I liked his puppy squats. My boy is growing up!!

And just something else that is going on. It's his ears. The inside of his ear flaps become angry red and are hot. They are also sore to touch. So something is still happening in the allergy department. This is not a completely new development, but they've been pretty bad in the last 2 days. I've been taking the heat and the redness away by using cold tea bags that I keep soaked in the fridge. They've been helping. Will be speaking to one of the holistic helpers I'm in contact with as, if I can, I'd prefer to avoid having to administer cortisone.

Anyone else got any idea's for this? I'm hoping it is something that I can bring under control and have it settle down, but I feel I need to do that fairly quickly before it creates more trouble for his ears than what there is already. I have massaged his ear drum from the outside and it does not appear to be sore. Only the flaps and the redness goes a bit patchy further down towards the ear canal (where the gristley bits are).

Edited April 25, 2009 by Erny

[Erny]

Further to my post above and in relation to the itchy/inflamed ear flap problem, I read Kavik's thread on Skin Problems

In which this link was quoted Dog Health / Nzymes.com

From the website:

Option 2: PREPARING A BAKING SODA RINSE and TOPICAL SPRAY

Using a final rinse of BAKING SODA AND WATER for the pets body after shampooing can be very effective to reduce the overall itchiness and smell. Mix two (2-4) teaspoons of BAKING SODA per gallon of water; make sure to mix it so it completely dissolves.

SPRAY BOTTLE

Mix one (1-2) heaping teaspoons of BAKING SODA with 8 oz. of water. Use this with a spray bottle or cotton ball for the itchy rashes areas. Reports show that it is quite helpful with the overall itchiness, skin problems and inflammation. Soaking a cloth with this baking soda solution and leaving it on the more severely affected areas can be helpful to soothe the skin and reduce inflammation.

I've just applied the "spray bottle" formula (applied with cotton balls) for tonight and will try the rinse formula tomorrow.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Erny

[tomas]

Further to my post above and in relation to the itchy/inflamed ear flap problem, I read Kavik's thread on Skin Problems

In which this link was quoted Dog Health / Nzymes.com

From the website:

Option 2: PREPARING A BAKING SODA RINSE and TOPICAL SPRAY

Using a final rinse of BAKING SODA AND WATER for the pets body after shampooing can be very effective to reduce the overall itchiness and smell. Mix two (2-4) teaspoons of BAKING SODA per gallon of water; make sure to mix it so it completely dissolves.

SPRAY BOTTLE

Mix one (1-2) heaping teaspoons of BAKING SODA with 8 oz. of water. Use this with a spray bottle or cotton ball for the itchy rashes areas. Reports show that it is quite helpful with the overall itchiness, skin problems and inflammation. Soaking a cloth with this baking soda solution and leaving it on the more severely affected areas can be helpful to soothe the skin and reduce inflammation.

I've just applied the "spray bottle" formula (applied with cotton balls) for tonight and will try the rinse formula tomorrow.

Hi Erny,

I posted the link to Nzymes there,glad it might be useful to you.

Yes the ears can be very red and hot,they and the itching in general as a detrox can also get WAY worse before it gets better,so be aware of that. It can go on for months,but usually you see some change quite soon.

I have also used standard Gold Listerine applied neat as a helpful anti itch relief. Can sting on an open wound but once that calms down they do get relief.

I had a terribly itchy dog for the first 2 years of his life,ultimately diagnosed as a yeast problem,well he is now 8 and been itch free since age 2,summer and humid weather as well,no problem. I feed raw and he gets NO carbs at all or sugar of any kind. But have not had to give him anything,treatment or medication for 6 years now.

Best of luck!

Tomas.