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CricksMom · 07-28-2011, 09:12 AM

Thanks all for your concerns and responses! Yes, I had an appt scheduled with the vet, I just wanted to go in a little more informed since he is an animal specialist, not necessarily a Yorkie specialist

My vet thinks it is allergies, although he can’t be sure if it is environmental or food-based without doing expensive and often in-conclusive allergy testing. But we came up with a pretty comprehensive treatment plan: a daily oral prescription called Atopica, baths twice a week using the medicated shampoo he provided, followed by a leave-in conditioner/lotion containing hydrocortisone (called Resicort by Virbac), medicated powder to put on hot spots or itchy areas (we discussed oils and lotions but he always rubs them off on the carpet). The vet also gave him an antibiotic shot in the case it was s staph infection. He could have tested for staph, but it would have been more costly and would have delayed giving him the medication, which he said was not harmful in any case. I also switched to Trifexis for flea and heartworm prevention since I have lost confidence in Advantix. I had never heard of Trifexis, but according to the vet an oral prescription is more immediate and longer-lasting than the topical treatments. It is more expensive than the other brands, but it contains both flea protection, and prevention from heartworm, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. It doesn’t prevent against ticks, but we discussed using a tick collar called Preventic if necessary, which I think I am ok as long as I don’t travel outside of the area. As for diet, I had no idea chicken and beef were the 2 main food allergies in dogs. Here I was giving him just chicken, duh! So I’ve been giving him Natural Balance LID Potato and Duck Formula (dry and canned food). The dry food comes in tiny-size pellets and so far he loves it! Which is shocking since he has always been very finicky. It has been almost a week and he is still scratching a lot, but hopefully with this new regimen we will get it under control soon. Any more feedback? Has anyone else used any of the above products?

07-28-2011, 09:12 AM	#13
CricksMom YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: San Diego, CA, USA Posts: 2	Thanks! Thanks all for your concerns and responses! Yes, I had an appt scheduled with the vet, I just wanted to go in a little more informed since he is an animal specialist, not necessarily a Yorkie specialist My vet thinks it is allergies, although he can’t be sure if it is environmental or food-based without doing expensive and often in-conclusive allergy testing. But we came up with a pretty comprehensive treatment plan: a daily oral prescription called Atopica, baths twice a week using the medicated shampoo he provided, followed by a leave-in conditioner/lotion containing hydrocortisone (called Resicort by Virbac), medicated powder to put on hot spots or itchy areas (we discussed oils and lotions but he always rubs them off on the carpet). The vet also gave him an antibiotic shot in the case it was s staph infection. He could have tested for staph, but it would have been more costly and would have delayed giving him the medication, which he said was not harmful in any case. I also switched to Trifexis for flea and heartworm prevention since I have lost confidence in Advantix. I had never heard of Trifexis, but according to the vet an oral prescription is more immediate and longer-lasting than the topical treatments. It is more expensive than the other brands, but it contains both flea protection, and prevention from heartworm, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. It doesn’t prevent against ticks, but we discussed using a tick collar called Preventic if necessary, which I think I am ok as long as I don’t travel outside of the area. As for diet, I had no idea chicken and beef were the 2 main food allergies in dogs. Here I was giving him just chicken, duh! So I’ve been giving him Natural Balance LID Potato and Duck Formula (dry and canned food). The dry food comes in tiny-size pellets and so far he loves it! Which is shocking since he has always been very finicky. It has been almost a week and he is still scratching a lot, but hopefully with this new regimen we will get it under control soon. Any more feedback? Has anyone else used any of the above products?