Heads up Dog & Cat lovers

[msdis]

HELP!
Our poor little guy(he's actually moose size-3+1/2 yo german shepard is scratching himself stupid. We have taken him to the vets 3 times, two treatments of steroids, one treatment of flea stuff. Now he has been on benadryl for a week. We switched to Purina just about the time this started (can't remember which came first) so we related it to that and switched him to science diet, not on advice of the vet or the kennel because they did not feel this was the case, but from well meaning family. He threw up for 4 hours when we completely switched him and then we backed off and gave it to him a little at a time. He has also always eaten the same canned dog food and he gets dry cat food as a treat, his choice, same kind always. We took the cat food away but still give the canned. The vet says rag weed allergies. Anyone else ever been thru this whole ordeal? We got snow yesterday and no real hard frost yet but some below freezing nights. We have has no sleep for over a month and we now know how parents with newborns feel, tired. Anyone know what may be wrong, nothing has helped. We are so tired of his misery. TIA!

 

[Serena]

msdis, I don't have any ideas, I'm sorry.


My dogs eat Iams. Less mess to clean up.

 

[stamper]

msdis, did you switch him completely all at once or a little at a time.....mixing old and new until it was all new (should take a few weeks to this)? If you did it all at once, that would probably cause the vomiting...otherwise I'm not sure.

Your well meaning family is right that Science Diet is usually good for dogs with allergies.

You might want to try a different vet. Or ask the nice people at Great Pets . They have a discussion board called for asking about dog problems. There are several vets on there who may have an idea. Good luck with the poor itchy guy!!

 

[scarlett873]

i used to have 2 dalmatians...my female would chew on her paws until all of the fur would fall out. her poor paws looked as if they were stained from a beef basted bone or something!! it turned out that she was allergic to corn. i had to switch her food to something that didn't list corn in the first 3 ingredients, which pretty much left all of the cheaper brands out for me. so they ate nutro max...they probably still do! (my ex has custody of them)

my cat can't eat anything but purina one. her tummy is so sensitive that she throws everything back up if i change her food. she can't even have treats anymore...

 

[Liz]

I went dog food shopping today and got Pedigree instead of Old Roy. Is that a step in the right direction or just a different brand of poor quality stuff? I looked at the Iams, etc. and just didn't have the money to do it. I had a coupon for the Pedigree so it made it just about a dollar more than Old Roy.

 

[Dax]

Yes it is a step in the right direction, but it is still a poor quality dog food. There are a lot of fillers and stuff in the cheaper stuff. You can try to go to the pet store(Pet Supermarket,Petco,Pet Smart) and look at the food they have there. Even cheaper premium quality food is better for you animals.

I pay 25 bucks for close to 30lbs of food. It will last my 2 pugs about a month or so...It all adds up...

 

[depplyinluv]

msdis: i also heard science diet was good for dogs who allergies!


hope your poor baby is alright!!!! i couldnt imagine if my g/s had a bad itching problem

 

[Grog]

we feed our cats Iams

 

[depplyinluv]

my 2 cats eat iams and they dont have hairballs or get sick or anything...my german shepard harley tends to throw up wehn he gets into the garbage or we feed him too much stuff from the table, but other than ol'roy has been good to him

 

[msdis]

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I have been researching and have found much information and much to my surprise most of what I have read says it probably is not the food but an allergan from dust, fleas, cats(we have one), mold, pollen, dust mites, dead insects, us, bacteria, and the list goes on. Given the fact it started a month ago in prime ragweed season, and the vet blamed it on that from the start and then we looked back to see the same itchy problem last year, just no where near as bad, and it was mostly his ears which is another tell tale sign; we suspect it probably is the ragweed or pollen and the house is probably full of it. So we bought several air purifiers, one for each room, and they recommended the omega-3 fish oil fatty acid caps which he could have eaten the whole bottle, he loved them, thank goodness, along with the benadryl, and we shall see what happens. Short of a therapist for his trauma I hope this works.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

My dog is over 13 years old and has been eating table scraps most of her life and is doing fine.

 

[Jockaroo]

MsDis and itchy dog...

My male Scottie has awful allergies. He will chew himself bald during bad times. We did the food change thing because the vet thought Mac was allergic to the dyes and/or corn used in cheap food. Switched to Science Diet Lamb and Rice (after several years Sensitive Skin formula came out and we used this). We discovered that Mac is severly allergic to flea bites. This year has been really bad since it has been wet here and a neighbor's outdoor cat has "adopted" me as his favorite person. Cats can bring fleas.

Treatments for Mac...
We have done one or two steriod shots. Do not give your dog any more steriod shots!!!! These can accumulate in the liver and cause major problems later in life. Mac will never have another steriod shot unless it is a life or death issue. Steriod shots are bad. Mac has an oil suppliment for his food (like your capsules), gets monthly flea treatments and has puppy allergy pills to take as needed. These really drug him out so we only give when we have to.

His food is a vet prescribed Purina EN formula--for gastro issues since he has some liver issues. This is the food that the vet feeds the dogs who are boarded or recuperating at his office. Both my Scotties love this stuff. Mac ate the Science Diet, but I don't think he really liked it. His appetite is much better on the Purina EN. My female is a rescue who came to us apparently eating a grocery store food diet--really bad stuff. She got into Mac's bowl and refused her old food even during our "switch over" for her. She was really fat when we got her, but has lost weight with the EN, even though she eats a lot of food.

-Jockaroo