any dog vets, ? need help please...

[mena292]

Hello, moderators please fee free to move this where it belongs...Any vets out there? Please help. My black lab is scratching and itching his back so that he has a strip of hair missing, sometimes it bleeds he rubs it so raw, he just rolls around out on the grass, he also rubs his nose and bottom jaw into the grass and carpet. He is miserable. I called the vet and they said that it would cost over $400- $1000 for testing to give him some sort of an allergy exam! Please dont flame me but I am unable to pay that right now, my pet is my family, and I take good care of him but I can't pay this right now. First we thought it might be a beef allergy, because our friend dog did that, so he has been on lamb and rice food, that seemed to make it better for awhile, but not anymore. He does not have fleas for positive. I was wondering if there is anything you can suggest, I know you can not "diagnose" anything without seeing him in person. I just dont know what to do? Can anyone help please, thank you so much, a furry friends mommy, mena292

 

[hiwaygal]

I'm not a vet, but my first suggestion would be to get some benadryl cream to put on the spot where he's itching. You can also give him some aspirin.

Most dogs are allergic to the corn and/or wheat fillers in dog food, not so much the proteins. However, you might want to switch to something that is for allergies/sensitive skin (usually something with potato and duck or lamb). Wellness and Natural Balance both have these formulas, but I'm sure there are others.

I know you can't afford the cost of the allergy testing now, but really, your vet is doing the right thing by suggesting it. It's far better to do the testing to see if there really is an allergy than to try to figure out what is causing it.

You can also go to the pet store and see about some coat conditioner/hot spot treatment.

Hope that helps!

 

[Virgo10]

I am NOT a Vet and I don't play one on TV but years ago we had a dog with a problem very similar to this. It turned out he had contact dermatitis and it was always at its worst from mid to late summer.

I don't know if we ever had him tested for allergies. The Vet put him on steroids (prednisone), first a shot and then a week or so of pills. Cleared it up each and every time.

My suggestion is, get a second opinion. Your Vet wanting to do $$$ tests without trying something easier just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[SetzKitten]

My suggestion is, get a second opinion. Your Vet wanting to do $$$ tests without trying something easier just rubs me the wrong way

I was thinking the same thing. Shouldn't the vet be concerned with making the dog comfortable first, then trying to find out what's wrong? I had the same issue with my dog at the beginning of the summer. I took her to the vet, who immediately put her on prednisone. It worked wonders. It cost me $7 for a bottle that will last all summer. I know it's not really good for her, but it's better than having her suffer. My vet did not even suggest allergy testing. (I guess that's a good thing because I have a feeling she's allergic to my new carpeting. She didn't itch at all before we had the whole house done. ) Anyway, I'm sorry your pup is so uncomfortable.

 

[issa]

What kind of flea medication are you useing?

My dog was on Advantix. Eventually he started itching and peeling along his back...the skin raised and almost yellowish layer. Lost all the hair on his back in a wide strip.

Took him to the vet and that is the first question he asked "what flea medication". When we said advantix, his reply was that some dogs have a horrid reaction after 1 or several treatments. Of the on the market flea meds of the type - it has the highest allergic reactions. He recommended an immediate switch to Frontline.

My poor dog .. he was misrible and I was embarressed. We had him on allergy medication and in a few weeks later we went on a Disney vacation - his back was better...but still bald and looked horrid. I was so embarressed to bring him and explained to the front deak women the situation.

She was right with me and said " My dog looks like that ? !!! " When I mentioned the advantix... that was in common between both dogs. She though it was a flea reaction and kept putting more on. Her dog was almost bald.

When I went to pick him up after our return - the owner was there and was talking with me about the situation. Mentioned a standard poodle ..again - yellowish skin lifting - skin raw and flaking. extreme hair loss - and again - From advantix.

We followed through with switching him to frontline. His hair has grown back in shiny and healthy and his skin looks great. We also added Vitamen E to his diet as well as omega 3 supplements.

Good luck with your pooch. Severe allergies can be a nightmare

If you are not useing advantix, I would take stock of anything esp, chem or a new plant that your dog comes in contact with. Benadryl helps and total removal of the allergy cause.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Allergy testing in dogs is expensive and most vets recommend to do trial and error first.

MOST dog allergies are environmental, just like ours. Mold, pollen, grass, etc. Treating with benadryl is usually the best course of action - call your vet for dosage amts based on the weight of your animal.

If Benadryl doesn't seem to help, you could try a food elimination diet. You start with a basic food that has few ingredients and slowly add ingredients until you find the culprit. This is time consuming as it takes 6-8 weeks to see results and you can't feed ANY other foods but those with ingredients that are exactly the same as the food you are feeding. Can be hard for families with children that like to give the dog "treats" off their plates.

More than likely, it's environmental. I would never recommend longterm steroid use and thankfully most vets won't either. Instead try a different course of allergy treatment and see if things improve. Putting an allergy cream on him to help with itching will help, as will baths in itch relieving shampoos.

Most dogs don't have to take allergy meds year-round but only in high seasons, just like people.

 

[pumba]

my sisters dog had a problem a few years back and it was the mange.. because they live in an area where other animals go thru their property ....they thought this may be it......google it and see what it comes up as.....

 

[RNMOM]

Our dog is the same way. He is allergic to grass pollen and it has been a problem for all our dogs. We bathe weekly with a very mild shampoo, no cream rinses or other extras. You can also hose them off daily to help remove the pollen from the skin.

Benadryl twice daily for our guy and when he gets bad with the scabs, itching or infected areas it is a trip into the vet for antibiotics and a short course of steroids. We try to keep on top of it so he doesn't have to go on those.

We switched from eukanuba food to Natural Balance. It has no corn or wheat which is also a big cause for allergies. We feed the duck and sweat potato formula and various canned. There are a lot of makers of high quality foods and they are kinda expensive but if it helps keep him out of the vet's office, it is worth it.

Testing for allergies is a shot in the dark with animals and people. Don't pay those prices.

I might suggest you find another vet too. If that is their first suggestion....

I like our group cause it is big with several doctors and they don't seem focused on making money so much as finding solutions.

 

[mickeysaver]

We have a Chihuahua that has allergies. He definately has FADS...flea allergic dermatitis, but of course that is prevented with monthly Frontline Plus applications. We have gone through a lot on our own in trying to find what his triggers are. It's any sort of poultry...chicken, duck, turkey....if it flies, he itches, loses fur, and has the saddest pink red raw rings around his eyes.

It's sort a nightmare finding the right foods and treats, because we can't trust that anything that has "animal fat" is ok. We have been buying Solid Gold and Blue Buffalo dog foods because there are lots of all natural ingredients and his coat looks much better on these foods. Dog treats are the most challenging, because even a product that should be ok according to the label, sometimes will still trigger a reaction, like Walmart brand bacon strip treats....no label issues, but he starts itching within hours of ingestion of just one. We have found a hand full of approved treats and foods. The worst part is that these things seem to be reformulated all of the time! No kidding, we can find that in a 6 month period that some treats can be labeled as ok and then be listed with a problem ingredient and then be ok again.....it's maddening.

Deuce has been so bad that he has needed Cortisone shots and antibiotics for secondary infections from his allergic reactions. If your dog is miserable, and you don't have the patience to work through the triggers, spend the $500 and get the allergy testing done. Just know that even when you know what the triggers are, you are still in for a lot of work to keep him trigger free. Maggie

 

[lisajl]

Not a vet but I work for one. First off, yes, I agree with another poster take your dog in so it can get comfortable. The prednisone, if it is okay to use on your dog, it wonderful. It can cause your dog to eat and drink more, which in turn, will cause more frequent urination, but your dog will feel better.
Yes, it's a steroid, but it will help and if you use it short term, should not be a problem.

Have you tried any of that? If your vet won't do that, try another one.

There are several allergy meds that can help.

Let us know what you end up doing.
Lisa

 

[D&R love Disney]

My old lab had terrible allergies and we had him tested. Postivie for grass, mold, dust mites and a list of others. We did shots for years along with daily tavist. It kept him comfortable most of the time. On occasion we had to put him on a low dose of predinose which helped immediately. Our vet went over and above the call of duty to find the right course of action with TJ.

 

[ocd4disney]

My dog had allergies too. I was told I could put her on clariton or benadryl. The vet should be able to tell you a dosage. I don't think all the expensive allergy testing is necessary. Good luck with your dog. Be careful of using steroids. They can help really bad flair ups but you don't want to have to use them long term. It would be better to find some other allergy medicine tomanage the allergies. Steroids can sometimes be harmful.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Any vets out there? Please help. My black lab is scratching and itching his back so that he has a strip of hair missing, sometimes it bleeds he rubs it so raw, he just rolls around out on the grass, he also rubs his nose and bottom jaw into the grass and carpet. He is miserable. I called the vet and they said that it would cost over $400- $1000 for testing to give him some sort of an allergy exam! Please dont flame me but I am unable to pay that right now, my pet is my family, and I take good care of him but I can't pay this right now. First we thought it might be a beef allergy, because our friend dog did that, so he has been on lamb and rice food, that seemed to make it better for awhile, but not anymore. He does not have fleas for positive. I was wondering if there is anything you can suggest, I know you can not "diagnose" anything without seeing him in person. I just dont know what to do? Can anyone help please, thank you so much, a furry friends mommy, mena292

Not a vet, but an RN.

A couple of thoughts.

Did you actually speak to the vet? Or was it whoever answered the phone? I can't imagine a vet saying that would be the first step. A basic exam needs to be given first.

There are many things it could be, and a lot can be told from the appearance of the skin and pattern of the "rash" or whatever it is. Remember, they see this all the time.

If they think it's indicated, they might do a skin scraping to see if he's got the skin mite for demodectic mange, which can cause hair loss (this is not the contagious form of mange; it's thought to be an autoimmune superinfection of mites already present in the skin and hair follicles). This is done right there and they look for the mite under the microscope, no fancy lab fees. They will also look to see if there is pus from the skin lesions themselves (as opposed to infection from scratching) - which would indicate bacterial infection and require antibiotics. And on and on... A qualified vet can tell a lot just by looking at the dog, and that will be the cost of a basic exam plus any prescribed medications - probably $100 or so.

Most vets are also very sensitive to the fact that people don't want to (or can't afford to) spend money unnecessarily so they'll opt for conservative treatment first like antibiotics, steroids, dietary change, etc. Further testing would be strictly elective on your part. My dog recently had some skin lesions after being groomed. The vet said to leave them be and advised me to try a little safflower oil orally (which I never got around to buying and the lesions went away, however they reappeared when she was next groomed; another of my dogs also had demodex in a very small area of her lower jaw).

Anyway, the first thing I would probably do on my own is to bathe the dog with a gentle dog shampoo and warm water. Sometimes even though you don't see fleas with the naked eye, you will see the water bloody and a few dead fleas in the tub. Then I would try to prevent him from scratching which can lead to secondary infection (which may in fact be what you're seeing now and *could have* initially been caused by allergies, who knows). One thing you can do is put an old tee shirt on the dog so he can't scratch his back if it's not too hot where you are. I would not put any creams on open, raw skin unless they're prescribed. HTH.

 

[nephthys43]

my zara has allergies. we had to cut almost everything out of her diet until we figured it out. turns out she's allergic to wheat and poultry. almost everything out there has wheat and poultry in it. i'll say to go with the natural balance food as well. we use sweet potato and fish. no grains and no poultry. she's doing very well on it.

 

[crazyme5kids]

I had a dog that had the same problem. Poor guy was raw from scratching and nothing was working. I stopped by the farm supply store and bought a product for itching. It had brewers yeast in it along with some other vitamins. It worked like a charm. We would put it in his food, not much, maybe just a tablespoon or so. It was a long time ago, but for some reason the name Itch-X keeps popping into my brain.

 

[JustHolly]

How can they be so sure it is an allergy. It could be fleas, mites, or even itchy ant/mosquito bites.

If they look and determine it might be an allergic reaction, our vet would try a cortisone shot, and have us change to a special "allergy" pet food. We have been through several skin issues with our dog, and one of our cats. They also gave us a special anti-itch spray to put on the raw spots.

The cortisone is really like a band-aid. It won't cure the underlying problem, but will stop the itching, and help the raw spots heal.

When you bring your dog in, allow them to check for mites with a skin scrape- probably around $15-$20. Then, if they don't find anything, try changing the diet with special food. They'll have what you're looking for at the vet.

If they try to recommend something more aggressive and costly, I always ask my vet, "Is there something less aggressive we can try first?"

I learned my lesson the first time when my kitty underwent VERY expensive and somewhat tricky facial surgery for what ended up being an ulcer that can be treated with an injection at the first sign of a flare-up.