Yucca

[holly]

Rappie

in the past, I have found roo meat too rich for the GSD's that I have fed it too and also it is very lean, not much fat in it, which may lead to other problems, being busy bush dogs, but I did think about roo meat and may give it a try, so thank you. My supplier can also get fish, so may try that, again, it does lack fat. Eukanuba FP, I have seen some dogs go well on it and some not, it is very expensive and very bland, also it is Eukanuba and they do do clinical trials on animals in the lab, where as Advance doesn't.

Packsapunch, thanks for the ideas and the skin guru, lol, I am sure there are many of us here that could wear the crown. Maybe the manufactures need to go back to basics, feeding antibiotics, growth hormones etc, is certainly playing havoc with animals, imagine what it is doing to us! I am glad you have conquered your dogs allergies. The fruits of your hard work. I know I felt fantastic when I got on top of Lugars allergies, going from a dog that the owner was going to PTS, because it was too much trouble, to this (certainly makes it all worth while)

[holly]

Hi Steve

to save you some trouble, is there a thread that you have made in regards to Aloe Vera? If not can you tell me a bit more? I will also do a search on it. I know I tried Apple Cidar Vinegar for awhile and it made no difference, I think also at least one got some loose bowel movements, forget what it was, but didn't agree with one.

[holly]

HI Goldchow,

I did a search to see what kikiyu grass looks like, but can't find any, we probably have that variety too, as we have so many different types here. I do have my dog running the front yard, but can't bring myself to kennel for awhile until I get on top of it, for they are not use to being locked away and when they have been, they have sat there and howled and howled. But if all else fails, than I may have to do this for awhile.

I have not seen Eagle Pak stockists in my area, will try a search. Have you tried Vets Natural?

[Scales of Justice]

Holly,

I swear by aloe vera. It is an invaluable topical for anything like bites, stings and allergies. I have found that the raw plant is the way to go. Cut a piece from raw aloe vera and dab it on.

What type of allergy are you dealing with - what are the symptoms?

I have done a bit of personal research on allergies and another thing which you might like to follow up on would be harvest mites, which apparently are a big problem with sheep and are known to bite dogs (apparently they don't live on dogs but they do bite them causing extreme allergy). I think these types of allergies are concentrated on the underside of the dogs (ie. legs, belly, tail and undersides of feet and pasterns). Apparently these mites are cyclical only hatching out at certain times of the moon phase and are a big problem to farmers. Most dog people have never heard of them and I suspect many unknown allergies could be a result of these harvest mites. (They are microscopic and very hard to find and the fact that they don't live on the dogs makes it difficult to actually find).

Edited: Removed reference to "Eukanuba FP' as I just realised you tried this.

Edited March 1, 2005 by Scales of Justice

[holly]

Hi Scales of Justice

for the moment, I am treating as a food allergy, but I have my doubts, because everything that has worked in teh past is not working this time around.

My dog is also on Frontline and still I find little bite marks, like fleas do, on the inside of his thighs. I have been bathing in the coal tar, daily, still scratching, it is usuallyl half way down the inside of his tail, on the inside of his fore and hindlegs, flanks and underbelly, there is no hair around the groin area. the eyes are not mucky. I can not see any fleas when I go over the sites that are being scratched. What treatment do you use for the mite you talk about? I have Nusidol at home.

I am at a loss, I will drop the Yucca and try the Aloe Vera.

Edited March 1, 2005 by holly

[Scales of Justice]

Holly,

I have been in the same predicament as you. I tried everything over a period of months - the food allergy bit, Frontline, all sorts of different heartworm treatments which treat lice, fleas, etc.etc. and got nowhere. My dog continued to scratch and it was not from fleas or dog lice.

I got to the point where I was on my hands and knees combing through the grass with a magnifying glass to find out what was causing the trouble as my dog scratched at certain times and usually after rainy spells and usually after laying in the grass (ie not in the dry periods). I finally found a tiny red mite in the ground and did some research and found that it was a harvest mite (I even caught one and took it to the vet for identification and it proved not to be any dog lice or mites - it was a red mite/harvest mite, which do not actually live on dogs).

The only thing which I have found to this day which has stopped this is Fido's flea and tick wash.

Holly, you have the goats next door so you must be in a rural farming type area - check out the harvest mite thingo and try Fido's flea and tick wash. This was the only product which seemed to work. I had tried all sorts of things prior - bacterial/fungal flea rinses, food allergies, etc etc and the list goes on.

Good luck

[holly]

Thank you very much Scales of Justice, firstly for the comical image of you out there scouring the grass for the little buggers, lol and also for your thoughtful post, my dog and I really appreciate it.

I have done some searches and I can see why Fidos may have worked, as it is Tea Tree Oil based from memory and this site:

http://www.catclinic.co.uk/health/harvest.htm

stated the T.T.O based products seemed to work the best. I think in my bucket of goodies I also have Fidos, so will give that a try for a week, will also take my dog into the vet and see about a skin scraping.

Will post back in the future with what happens.

Holly

[Scales of Justice]

Holly,

Fidos is not tea tree oil based it is pyrethrum based.

Hope you have some luck.

Edited to add: I suspect many so called "grass allergies" are actually allergies to harvest mites in the grass

Edited March 1, 2005 by Scales of Justice

[holly]

Thanks for the correction, I was having a quiet day at work which had me being able to read and post

You could very well be right about the grass allergies being mite allergies instead. I can not sit on most grasses here or any other garden, as I break out in a red rash, the Qld biting midget (sandfly) sends me into a spin too, I only need one for the allergy to trigger, we have midgies in our area too, they are smaller than pin head.

Edited March 1, 2005 by holly