Westie Allergy

[molly_chick]

Hi, I have a Westie that has some form of an allergy. The vet is not sure if it’s a food allergy or grass allergy or some other allergy. She has a very black tummy area and is licking like crazy in that area and on her genital area.

The vet has given me a course of Apoquel tablets & some cream  (at $197 for the vet visit!) to help her and has advised me to look at her diet to see if the food is the cause.

 

All sounds good but the vet has advised me to not give her any of the meats that she has already been eating in her 7 yrs of life! So as far as I know, the only meats I have never given her is crocodile or venison.

I have no idea where I would buy crocodile meat and also I worry about how much this is going to cost for all this.

 

Researching this morning on foods and allergies on dogs I’m coming to the conclusion that maybe she has a yeast allergy as all the symptoms sound the same as what my Westie has.

I have seen quite a few ideas on what food to give a dog that is having problems with yeast but I’m getting confused as some contradict others.

On one website someone has said no potatoes, carrots, green peas, corn or fruit (of any kind)…… yet other posts and recipes for their dogs say to get silverbeet, carrots, oranges, apples etc and blend them to add with turkey necks or chicken necks.

Should I add vegetables to the meat or not?

 

I am going to try and see how she goes with fresh chicken/beef meat first as I really don’t know where to buy crocodile so will see how I go.  She has been brought up on can food so I will stop that for the time being.

 

Another question, I give her a drop of lactose puppy milk each morning as she loves the milk and a small smackos each morning, should I stop the milk also ?

 

Long winded post I know , but hopefully I have included everything I needed to.

[CHA]

We put our westie on Hills sensitive skin dry food when he started on his feet. It has helped him a lot along with washing his feet in malaseb. Alternatively you could put her on a completely raw diet such as the barf patties which are a complete diet and stay away from anything processed. If she's been having cans there would be a lot of processed stuff and goodness knows what in them!

[Papillon Kisses]

Hi Molly! Welcome to the forum.

 

Please ask a vet for advice on a suitable elimination diet and how to follow it. The food needs to be properly formulated and prepared for this purpose and you need to be very strict and not feed ANY other food. Since your current vet has not helped you with this I would be consulting another or asking for a referral to a specialist.

 

Once you know what to feed you can go online and see if you can find said diet for cheaper! You can also do the same with medications, though you must use an Australian pharmacy and have a script from your vet for which they may charge a nominal fee.

 

Again, please consult a vet about this. If an elimination diet isn't done properly you won't get accurate results and will run the risk of nutritional deficiencies that can make your dog sick.

 

 

[Boronia]

Contact Amanda at Qld Westie rescue https://www.facebook.com/Westie-Rescue-Queensland-539198722902427/

or Danielle at https://www.facebook.com/All-Westie-Rescue-Australia-210408315642997/

They both have excellent knowledge on Westie skin problems as some of their rescues are in terrible condition, proper diet and vet care is a must.

Just don't feed cereal at all; look at the ingredients in the dry food (if you are feeding dry that is) and if cereal or rice is listed just don't buy it.

They seem to do much better on a raw diet.

You could also contact Kate at McDowell Herbals, you will find she is of great help https://www.mcdowellsherbal.com/treatments/for-dogs

 

My Westie, Saffy, had a black tummy when I bought her and she has a lovely pink tum now, she gets raw meat, vegie slops (with ACV) and a little Blackhawk salmon grain free

There are some links to vegie slops here that will put you on the right track

 

[Scottsmum]

3 hours ago, molly_chick said:

 

I have no idea where I would buy crocodile meat and also I worry about how much this is going to cost for all this.

 

Actually....One of our wonderful members (@sas ) runs a business & great facebook page - and from it I know that Crocodile is becoming more easily available. From this post and also this post (hope those links work.) 

Link to the company: http://prime100.com.au/products/

and where to buy http://prime100.com.au/where-to-buy/ ( I believe they're now stocked in quite a few pet barns - so that's awesome). I got well over 40 results when I just put the post code in as 3000 too).

 

But beyond that - others here have given you good advice to think about. I also think one of @westiemums dogs has skin issues...  Good luck, I hope you can sort your pup out soon. She must be feeling uncomfortable. 

[Dogsfevr]

prime 100 do a crocodile roll .Ivory coat do a venison dry food .

There is meat wise also horse,goat & rabbit

You need to do a food list of EVERYTHING she gets daily  & be honest even if you end up at a specialist they will require the same honesty ,Anything that goes in there mouth is food even if some people seem to not think that

How long has she been itchy & had the black tummy ,is this an entire life issue or a more recent issue.

Yeast issues are also often seen in the ears & feet & generally all over .

Are you using a different groomer ??Do they clip the dog very short??

Does the dog lay in the garden in a curtain spot on on something .

 

Does she pee alot or look sore around her privates ??

Elimination diet means taking it back to basics but it needs to be done properly to get a true result & this is where some one offay with this process is a must .Its not a week week this & that process

Schmackos is a dog junk food so no loss not getting that .

 

Your vet doesn't sound very invested ,i would maybe look for a new vet who is no  an over servicer but willing to work with you ,maybe ask here.

Generally vets who have grown up in a farm background are great .

Specialist can help they can also lead you down the garden path & you spend lots of money for no real answer anyway.
 

Edited April 20, 2017 by showdog

[Boronia]

Feed one type of meat only to start off with is a good plan, perhaps minced turkey necks; you can often buy them in bulk and mince them yourself though you need a pretty robust mincer for the job, if you do buy turkey necks from a pet food supplier perhaps ask them to mince them for you.

Ditch the canned food pronto...Westies don't do at all well on processed food so it's back to plain meat, vegie slops, add a dollop of plain skim milk yoghurt (instead of the puppy milk...she is not a puppy) to the food as well, also add mustard and powdered ginger to the slops, both are cleansers and are very beneficial.

No sugars either so that means not smackos at all, also no treats that have caramel or are made in China. If you want to give a treat perhaps a small piece of cheese or an apple or carrot...wipe some cream cheese on the apple and carrot until she gets used to eating them.

Give a 1/2 or 1/4 chicken frame regularly for her enjoyment and teeth health.

Malaseb medicated wash is a fairly good shampoo, rinse after with a little ACV (the one with the 'mother') diluted with water. Don't use a conditioner, you want to avoid subjecting her to more skin-stress. http://www.ovedshorseandpetstore.com.au/horse/greasy-heel/malaseb-medicated-wash-1l-dermcare

As Showdog said; change your vet, contact Danielle-Westie-rescue as she may point you in the right direction Vet-wise.

This is the ink to McDowell's skin medicine https://www.mcdowellsherbal.com/prescriptions-for-you/product/806-blood-cleanser-skin-problems

Edited April 20, 2017 by Boronia
.

[Kajtek]

What @Boronia said.

Our wonder vet claims that beef and poultry are known allergens to dogs. Perhaps try fish - he calls the fish "noble protein".

[sas]

Given your dog has black skin indicating a chronic condition I wouldn't be taking any further advice from your Vet.  Ask for a referral to a Dermatologist and get on a correct food elimination trial with them and then onto intradermal skin testing to actually ascertain your dogs issues and get onto a desensitising injection program where appropriate.

With all due respect to well-meaning people, I wouldn't be taking their advice either, just get to a Dermatologist whose education & experience is what you need.

Whilst Hills Science diets ingredients are broken up so much they won't cause a reaction, the quality of the food itself so so incredibly poor that you're potentially affecting your dog's future health 5-10 years down the track.  Rather than use a band-aid, get pooch to a Dermatologist and work at the actual issue.

You could also look into food intolerance testing at http://www.nutriscan.org/

In terms of Novel proteins, maybe Croc, Goat, Horse, sometimes it takes some creativity when you have a mature dog.

[Stitch]

I have a dog with a chronic food allergy and tried pretty much all dry dogfood on the market including the crocodile roll which unfortunately she wasn't able tolerate.

Have also had her on Hill I/d and Z/d which were OK short term but definitely not good long term.  

 

Help actually came from this forum when at was suggested to try Meals for Mutts Gluten Free Salmon and Sardine......fantastic results.   Just because the vet says to find a novel protein source that the dog hasn't had before doesn't mean that the dog will actually be allergic to ALL protein that it has had previously.   It turned out that my girl reacted badly to chicken....and chicken is the most common ingredient in dry dogfood.