Need help with my itchy dog

[Zoeysdad]

The ear infection is coming back and her hair is starting to fall out of her front leg again. Last night we gave her a bath with oatmeal shampoo and sprayed some topical on her hot spots, but she just wouldn't leave them alone. I'm willing to cook. What recipies would you recomend?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Zoeysdad

The ear infection is coming back and her hair is starting to fall out of her front leg again. Last night we gave her a bath with oatmeal shampoo and sprayed some topical on her hot spots, but she just wouldn't leave them alone. I'm willing to cook. What recipies would you recomend?

It's a big step, but you could even tell yourself to just try it for 2 weeks - see what happens with her. Stick with JUST this diet for at least 6 weeks, nothing else.

**White fish (pollock, sole, cod, trout, tilapia, whiting); I can buy a big, frozen bag of pollock at the regular grocery store for 5.99. Sprinkle lightly w/ all-season, bake 4-5 filets for 13-15 mins, put in tupperware, flake w/ fork, keep in fridge.

**Get canned, sliced, white potatoes (or, fresh, whole); I micro about 3 cans at a time in a big bowl w/ some butter and salt - mash up, keep in fridge.

**Steam then puree canned (or fresh, frozen) green beans - I do a bunch at a time - so I end w/ about 1.5 cups at the end.

Now, how much does she weigh?

[Belindtch]

My Alyssa is 5 years old. She has had skin allergies off and on all of her life. I have switched foods several times. Canidae was the best I found before changing to Life's Abundance. That is what I use now. My Alyssa would itch when she ate anything with corn or wheat in it. I was changing her foods but failed to pay attention to the treats I was giving. This was her problem. If you look at most treats they have corn or wheat flour. That was her source of itching. So let me just suggest that you check the ingredients in her treats. I think you'll be surprised at what they have in them.

[Zoeysdad]

Originally Posted by Belindtch

My Alyssa is 5 years old. She has had skin allergies off and on all of her life. I have switched foods several times. Canidae was the best I found before changing to Life's Abundance. That is what I use now. My Alyssa would itch when she ate anything with corn or wheat in it. I was changing her foods but failed to pay attention to the treats I was giving. This was her problem. If you look at most treats they have corn or wheat flour. That was her source of itching. So let me just suggest that you check the ingredients in her treats. I think you'll be surprised at what they have in them.

When I put Zoey on the Z/D I stopped giving her any treats at all. Actually the only thing she eats is the Z/D. The Dr.s thinking was that she was allergic to either the protein source or the cornmeal. Z/D is supposed to be formulated so that threre is nothing in the food that she could have a allergic reaction to. So much for that theory.

[Zoeysdad]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

It's a big step, but you could even tell yourself to just try it for 2 weeks - see what happens with her. Stick with JUST this diet for at least 6 weeks, nothing else.

**White fish (pollock, sole, cod, trout, tilapia, whiting); I can buy a big, frozen bag of pollock at the regular grocery store for 5.99. Sprinkle lightly w/ all-season, bake 4-5 filets for 13-15 mins, put in tupperware, flake w/ fork, keep in fridge.

**Get canned, sliced, white potatoes (or, fresh, whole); I micro about 3 cans at a time in a big bowl w/ some butter and salt - mash up, keep in fridge.

**Steam then puree canned (or fresh, frozen) green beans - I do a bunch at a time - so I end w/ about 1.5 cups at the end.

Now, how much does she weigh?

She weighs 6 lbs
By "all-season" you mean just any season salt. Correct? Can I keep the salt out of the potatos?

Funny thing; I eat alot of fish, potatos and greens.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Zoeysdad

She weighs 6 lbs
By "all-season" you mean just any season salt. Correct? Can I keep the salt out of the potatos?

Funny thing; I eat alot of fish, potatos and greens.

*for an all-season, I use Mrs. Dash's Table Blend (it is salt free) - it's Marcel's fave

*I do add a bit of regular salt to the potatoes (along w/ some butter spray or butter) - I think the salt just adds some *oomph* - just give them a taste and make just a bit "blander" than you would like them

*for her weight, I broke it down into Tablespoon measurements to make it easy, these are measurements for the WHOLE day, so you can divide by 2 if feeding 2x per day:
6T of fish
4T of potato
2T of green beans (actually, I do recommend frozen over canned here)
then, adjust per weight; keep in mind fish is very lean (hence, the volume)

*When homecooking, you MUST supplement with calcium - I used to make mine from egg shells (I used to use a shells from a dozen, put them on baking sheet, bake for 10 mins at 350, grind in my coffee grinder to a powder and give about 2/3rds of 1/8th of a teaspoon, a "pinch"); you can also purchase calcium easily at Pet stores (comes in powder) by Solid Gold and other brands (also called "bone meal")

Does this all sound doable? This is really the best for her right now - having these few ingredients, clean/easy protein could really get her straightened out.

[Wylie's Mom]

A few more things (sorry if this is too much), as far as the candida - it really does have to be addressed, or it will just continue to grow and infect. Yeast infections don't just go away on their own, unfortunately. So, you could ask the vet to prescribe something INTERNAL for the treatment of a systemic candida (yeast) infection.

I've just been searching everywhere online and am coming up frustrated in terms of what the gold standard is for chronic yeast meds for canines. For example, in humans, a chronic yeast situation would result in prescribing a once weekly dose of Diflucan for 4-6 weeks -or- 15 days of ORAL Nystatin 3x per day. I see vets giving topical Nystatin but am not seeing clinical evidence of oral. SO, you could ask your vet about what is available to treat the yeast internally. Giving more prednisone, in my mind, is just a red carpet to more yeast in the long run.

Or that nutritionist does sell a "yeast package" (http://www.askariel.com/product_deta...ans_parasites), I've never tried it, but knowing Susan, it works. Whichever way you go, she needs the probiotics desperately - and since you are feeding potatoes (a simple carb, which is good for the diarrhea, but not so good for the yeast) - it really needs to be addressed somehow.

I know how all of this can get incredibly overwhelming too...so I really hope this is sounding okay...and I know costs can be concerning too...

[shotgun]

Originally Posted by Zoeysdad

The ear infection is coming back and her hair is starting to fall out of her front leg again. Last night we gave her a bath with oatmeal shampoo and sprayed some topical on her hot spots, but she just wouldn't leave them alone. I'm willing to cook. What recipies would you recomend?

We feel your pain, The vet gave us some shampoo it is called RELIEF by IVX
it work great for us and we still us it. We tried oatmeal shampoo and it did not do a thing for us.

[Zoeysdad]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

*for an all-season, I use Mrs. Dash's Table Blend (it is salt free) - it's Marcel's fave

*I do add a bit of regular salt to the potatoes (along w/ some butter spray or butter) - I think the salt just adds some *oomph* - just give them a taste and make just a bit "blander" than you would like them

*for her weight, I broke it down into Tablespoon measurements to make it easy, these are measurements for the WHOLE day, so you can divide by 2 if feeding 2x per day:
6T of fish
4T of potato
2T of green beans (actually, I do recommend frozen over canned here)
then, adjust per weight; keep in mind fish is very lean (hence, the volume)

*When homecooking, you MUST supplement with calcium - I used to make mine from egg shells (I used to use a shells from a dozen, put them on baking sheet, bake for 10 mins at 350, grind in my coffee grinder to a powder and give about 2/3rds of 1/8th of a teaspoon, a "pinch"); you can also purchase calcium easily at Pet stores (comes in powder) by Solid Gold and other brands (also called "bone meal")

Does this all sound doable? This is really the best for her right now - having these few ingredients, clean/easy protein could really get her straightened out.

This sounds very doable, honestly at this point I'm willing to do anything to get her healthy. As for the probiotics and the yeast I think I will purchase the "yeast package" from the website, rather then take her to the vet. Also concerning the yeast, I've heard alot about "Dinovite" being a probiotic. I belive this is what they claim on thier website. do you have an opinion on it?

Thanks for all of your help.
Bob

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Zoeysdad

Also concerning the yeast, I've heard alot about "Dinovite" being a probiotic. I belive this is what they claim on thier website. do you have an opinion on it?

Here are Dinovite's ingredients:

Ground flax seed, dried kelp, yeast culture, ground grain sorghum, fructooligosaccharide, zinc methionine complex, diatomaceous earth, montmorillonite clay, yucca schidigera extract, dehydrated alfalfa meal, Aspergillus oryzae fermentation product dehydrated, Aspergillus niger fermentation product dehydrated, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product dehydrated, Lactobacillus casei fermentation product dehydrated, Bifidobacterium thermophilum fermentation product dehydrated, Enterococcus faecium fermentation product dehydrated.

The ones that are bolded are the ones that, if it were me, I'd stay away from for now. The bolded ones are either grain derivatives, grassy, or just plain yeast. For probiotics, you'll be covered if you get that "yeast package" above. So, what you'd get there (we used some of those for Marcel too) is:

**Mycozyme: anti-fungal; also contains digestive enzymes (anytime something ends in "-ase", it is generally a digestive enzyme)
**Probiotic: I know she uses one that guarantees live cultures too, which is essential (many you buy at the store are totally dead, unless refrigerated)
**Omegas: this will give you what you were trying to get w/ the Missing Link (essential fatty acids), which will help w/ skin/fur etc.
**Notatum: an anti-inflamm. - GREAT for both digestive and allergies (food and skin) - it helps heal - this was a key one for Marcel

So, if you get that package - you will be set! And, for a good while too. Are you okay on the calcium then? I'm so excited for you....and I'm just so hopeful that you see good things! Hopefully others will chime in w/ advice too - everyone has so many ideas on here.

[Zoeysdad]

I'll make sure she gets her calcium. Now is there anything I can give her as treats? Carrots? She also likes to chew. We used to give her "Dingo" rawhide chews and just plain rawhide chews, but took them away when she went on the Z/D, but recently I started giving her the "Dingo" again. Seems like they take her attention away from constantly itching.

[Wylie's Mom]

Great on the calcium, very important - essential actually (to life/heart/musle). Does she eat carrots now? If so, carry on ! If no, introduce baby carrots slowly (try one, see how she does); carrots, initally can cause a bit of loose stool ('course, she already has that, so it almost is a moot point) - so go a bit easy. But they can be a great chew!

You probably know all the choking controversy w/ rawhide, so I won't bore you w/ that. If they ease her itching and you can always watch her - then who can argue in taking them away from the little gal, ya know? But, does the "meat" portion of the dingo have any chicken etcetera? If so, you may want to find something kind of plain for her. If it has any corn whatsoever, don't give at all.

[Kren]

Hi Zoeysdad, I have 3 fur babies and a fur kitty. I am a human and pet massage therapist and aromatherapist. I used to take my guys to the vet for everything. I have a little guy that seems to have allergies, he licks his feet and will lick his tail and gets hot spots. My Yorkie had ringworm when we adopted her. One baby had cysts on his legs, and the cat had feline acne on his chin. The vet always prescribes antibiotics and ointments that always make my babies sicker. They would lick the ointment and get even sicker too. So I now I only use aromatherapy on my guys and they are all very happy and healthy. When they get a boo boo, I use my pet skin rejuvenator on them and they are better in days not weeks. It is safe to lick off too. Dogs can be allergic to so many things, corn, beef, pork, lamb, fish, eggs, dairy, wheat, chocolate, mold, feathers, dander, plastic food bowls and even bacterial allergies. Dog's skin normally has Staph bacteria. Usually, Staph bacteria doesn't have any type of affect on your dog though some dogs may develop a sensitivity to it causing an allergic reaction. They may get crusts on their skin and patches of hair loss because of scratching, similar to ring worm. If you would like more info on my pet skin care feel free to visit my website at www.doggygoneit.com go to the doggy spa products. I only sell products that I use on myself, my family, friends and fur babies. Yes all products are human tested first, NOT animal tested first. Any questions also feel free to e-mail me. I am not here trying to promote my website, I just saw your message and I know what your going through and how you and your baby feels. I hope your baby gets to feeling better soon.

[Zoeysdad]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Great on the calcium, very important - essential actually (to life/heart/musle). Does she eat carrots now? If so, carry on ! If no, introduce baby carrots slowly (try one, see how she does); carrots, initally can cause a bit of loose stool ('course, she already has that, so it almost is a moot point) - so go a bit easy. But they can be a great chew!

You probably know all the choking controversy w/ rawhide, so I won't bore you w/ that. If they ease her itching and you can always watch her - then who can argue in taking them away from the little gal, ya know? But, does the "meat" portion of the dingo have any chicken etcetera? If so, you may want to find something kind of plain for her. If it has any corn whatsoever, don't give at all.

Yea we always keep a close eye on her when she has a rawhide chew. I belive I will just give her the plain rawhide instead of the dingo.

[Crickettsmom]

okay, I am going to chime in now!!! When we first got Turbo (westie) he had major problems too. We put him on some products called Nzymes (www.nzymes.com) used to clear up yeast. They also suggest foods that are good for yeast prone dogs and foods to avoid. Potatoes are a food to avoid if your dog is yeast prone. Turbo got better, but not cured with these products. I ended up putting him on Atopica a non streroid perscription and he is pretty much itch free. Atopica is not cheap, but him not having itching fits and losing his hair is a big improvement. I know it is hard having dogs with problems, but they so need our help. They can't help themselves.

Also, I would try a grain free food. That might help. That website suggests some really good foods. good luck and hope this little bit helped.

Oh yeah, you can try local raw natural honey. It helps with allergies, as does organic apple cider vinegar in their water. good luck!!