Solved Teakas itchiness... Her story

[TeakasMom]

After a year of medicines, shampoos, infections, raw spots etc I have finally found what is wrong with Teaka! I am so proud of myself.

At first I thought it was Ringworm , tested negative. Then maybe I thought it was Hypothyroidism, tested negative. Maybe its a flea allergy? she had 1 flea once.... Nope that wasn't it. Thought it was hot spots from being groomed. Nope. Allergies maybe? She always has disliked chicken. So I thought to myself. Shes allergic to the chicken food. That is when my food search began. I have tried 5-7 different types of food for Teaka, and ended up with lamb being a great source of protein for her. So I stuck with it. Hmmm shes still itchy. Her old vet kept on shooting her up with steroids, which would help for about a week. We went 3 times and thats all they would do. Finally I got fed up and got a 2nd opinion. I was introduced to an anti-bacterial and antifungal shampoo from where?? Oh PETSMART! Then a medicated rinse. I was also introduced to Atopica. Plus an antihistamine. She was like a new dog. At Teakas follow up vet appointment I had tears in my eyes. Talk about being grateful!! This new vet found out that Teaka had 2 year infections, a skin infection and for months my girl was itchy and in pain and the old vet found nothing. I was furious!!!

Eventually Teaka finished all of the antihistamine, and the vet wanted to keep her on the atopica and to stick with the lamb food. No problem. She gets frontline every 3 weeks. Gosh, my girl started to itch again!!! Alright so its impossible for her to have fleas. She is on an immune suppressant drug and shes not eating chicken. I kept up with bathing her once every 2 weeks which would help for like a day and a half. This has been going on for about 7-8 months now. This past Monday Teaka went for her hardworm test/vaccine. I mentioned Teakas itchiness and the vet said to bathe her once a week and to get a claritin for her. Excuse me? You want me to give my dog a claritin? Yes. 5mg of claritin once a day. Long term. So that night I went out and bought a box. She has been getting it everyday since with her Atopica. Again, SHES LIKE A NEW DOG!!! OMG no itching.

Shes so happy. I gave her a bath last night with the medicated shampoo and rinse. Her skin looks great, her coat is shiny. My girl looks so good!! And shes not itchy!!!! Oh and the best part, no food allergies!!! She has been eating a couple kibbles of chicken this week, shes had turkey, fish, duck and lamb. Not itchy!!

After all this, Teaka has enviromental allergies!!!

I would like to thank the makers of Claritin and Atopica for your wonderful products. Teaka and myself are forever grateful!!!

I am just so proud of Teaka and the progress we have made, I felt the need to share.

[MY OSCAR]

wow, that is so awesome .
happy for teaka

[Patti]

That's great. My Cali has been on Atopica for years and it was a miracle drug for her. I'm glad she is itch free.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'm so glad for Teaka as I know she feels like a new dog!!! Bless her heart - such a long time to be uncomfortable and all the testing and trials but now she's comfortable & happy. Her mommy is to be commended & here is a huge ATTAGIRL for persisting, nagging, pushing & driving for answers for your little one with no voice of her own. Bless your heart, too!!! You are a wonderful pet steward & I LOVE stories like Teaka's & her wonderful mom's. You have a wonderful Mother's Day! You've more than earned it. Snuggle close with your happy little girl Sunday.

[chachi]

I think the environmental allergies are worse this yr I know they have been for me and my Jewels has never had itchiness before however she is this yr. Im glad you found something that helps Teaka

[CouversMom]

That is great!! Nothing is worse than an itchy and miserable dog...

[GeorgiesMomma]

That's great so glad Teaka is comfortable now and you too

[Latte's Mom]

I'm so jealous that you figured this out! We've been round and round, too. I will remember your post when I visit the vet later this month. We tried Atopica years ago and he had recommended Zyrtec recently, but there's no reason not to try either or both again. Thanks for the tip. Good job! Again, jealous!! (But happy for you!)

[Latte's Mom]

Originally Posted by TeakasMom

After a year of medicines, shampoos, infections, raw spots etc I have finally found what is wrong with Teaka! I am so proud of myself.

At first I thought it was Ringworm , tested negative. Then maybe I thought it was Hypothyroidism, tested negative. Maybe its a flea allergy? she had 1 flea once.... Nope that wasn't it. Thought it was hot spots from being groomed. Nope. Allergies maybe? She always has disliked chicken. So I thought to myself. Shes allergic to the chicken food. That is when my food search began. I have tried 5-7 different types of food for Teaka, and ended up with lamb being a great source of protein for her. So I stuck with it. Hmmm shes still itchy. Her old vet kept on shooting her up with steroids, which would help for about a week. We went 3 times and thats all they would do. Finally I got fed up and got a 2nd opinion. I was introduced to an anti-bacterial and antifungal shampoo from where?? Oh PETSMART! Then a medicated rinse. I was also introduced to Atopica. Plus an antihistamine. She was like a new dog. At Teakas follow up vet appointment I had tears in my eyes. Talk about being grateful!! This new vet found out that Teaka had 2 year infections, a skin infection and for months my girl was itchy and in pain and the old vet found nothing. I was furious!!!

Eventually Teaka finished all of the antihistamine, and the vet wanted to keep her on the atopica and to stick with the lamb food. No problem. She gets frontline every 3 weeks. Gosh, my girl started to itch again!!! Alright so its impossible for her to have fleas. She is on an immune suppressant drug and shes not eating chicken. I kept up with bathing her once every 2 weeks which would help for like a day and a half. This has been going on for about 7-8 months now. This past Monday Teaka went for her hardworm test/vaccine. I mentioned Teakas itchiness and the vet said to bathe her once a week and to get a claritin for her. Excuse me? You want me to give my dog a claritin? Yes. 5mg of claritin once a day. Long term. So that night I went out and bought a box. She has been getting it everyday since with her Atopica. Again, SHES LIKE A NEW DOG!!! OMG no itching.

Shes so happy. I gave her a bath last night with the medicated shampoo and rinse. Her skin looks great, her coat is shiny. My girl looks so good!! And shes not itchy!!!! Oh and the best part, no food allergies!!! She has been eating a couple kibbles of chicken this week, shes had turkey, fish, duck and lamb. Not itchy!!

After all this, Teaka has enviromental allergies!!!

I would like to thank the makers of Claritin and Atopica for your wonderful products. Teaka and myself are forever grateful!!!

I am just so proud of Teaka and the progress we have made, I felt the need to share.

Is there any way you can look back in Teaka's records and find out what the "skin infection" was and what test they gave her to figure it out? I am on the same trail as you and want to nag my vet for any answers I can get. Thanks!

[TeakasMom]

Originally Posted by Latte's Mom

Is there any way you can look back in Teaka's records and find out what the "skin infection" was and what test they gave her to figure it out? I am on the same trail as you and want to nag my vet for any answers I can get. Thanks!

It was just a bacterial/fungal skin infection. She gets them often because she scratches and she'll open the skin a bit and bacterial will get in, causing her to be more itchy. Its like an endless cycle. They actually used a black light I think. I think either certain bacterias or fungus glows.

I'm not sure exactly what test it was, but I know they did a couple of skin scrapings and tested for ringworm, parvo, mange, mites, lice and fleas. All which were negative. I went to two vets. First one did all the tests and everything came out negative. But she was still itchy so thats when I went for a 2nd opinion. The 2nd vet is the one that found out it was a bacterial infection. The 2nd vet didn't even do a test. She just looked at Teakas skin and knew.

On Teakas skin she gets these black flakes, if I don't bathe her like I should. I actually comb them out with a flea comb. Its the only tool that gets them out. Then I bathe her in the anti bacterial/fungal shampoo I have. That shampoo is a God send. The groomer from Petsmart told me about it actually. LOVE it. Hope its around for a long time. Then I use a medicated rinse that I get OTC. Also if you are bathing your dog, try lukewarm water. Hot water makes them more itchy. If you can, let your dog air dry, and don't rub them. Pat them dry. Rubbing makes them more itchy. Heat (blow dryer) makes them more itchy.

Teaka is less itchy when we keep the grass outside cut low. She gets frontline on every 3 weeks. Oh and my vet also said that once a dog is on Atopica and then stops, the immune systems gets out of whack. Like its on overload. Its not supressed anymore so, sometimes dogs can get even worse. Just FYI for you. Oh also if the dog is scratching behind the ears, he might have an ear infection. Teaka had 2 that the 1st vet didn't find. If he is stratching his body, put clothes on so this nails can't dig in the skin causing another infection like in Teakas case.

I'm at work at the moment so I don't have Teakas records, but I don't think they put down the name of the test, just that they did a skin scraping. But I'll check online to see if there is a name for it. Sorry for such a long post, but I know how it is. Its very frustating. I've been there.

If there is anything else you need, don't hestitate. Good Luck!!

[rubymoon2072]

so happy for you both that is awesome!!!

[Sophiegirl724]

awe so happy for you. I do notice Sophie itching & I know she does not have fleas at all. I changed her dog food & saw a significant difference, I bathe her about every 2 weeks. she does still itch at times but not all the time like before. What is the name of the shampoo & rinse you use? Thank You for posting so I can keep an eye on her. we are going to be moving to Okinawa, Japan next month. huge change of environment is going to be taking place for all of us. again Thanks for posting. ;o) happy that your pup is doing well. ;o)

[Perrella]

What wonderful news...good job momma! I'm so happy your Teaka is feeling much better, bless her heart. I know she has to be so happy to feel so much better and to be itch free. I know how it is to look at your girl and have it just melt your heart to see her doing so well and be healthy

[Latte's Mom]

Latte mostly scratches her sides and under her arms. It can get pretty red and I'm constantly watching her and making sure she doesn't break the skin.

On Monday, I called the vet and told them that she had been on the thyroid supplement for almost 2 weeks and she was up in the middle of the night on Sunday, scratching like mad and panting. The Dr. said to take her off the med for 72 hours and see if it's the med or she was just hot. Well, I know it's been warm here in the high desert lately, and I have hot flashes, but I knew it was the med. I put her back on a short course of prednisone and a 1/4 tab of Zyrtec and she is sooooo much perkier. Only occasional scratching. I don't like the thyroid med for her. Her actual vet has been out of the office, but I'm going to talk to him tomorrow and let him know. Her thyroid panel was just a touch below normal. Maybe she doesn't need very much of a dose.

I am just at the edge of getting the VARL allergy panels done. The poor thing is eating the HP diet trial (second trial) and she's still itchy. I think I am just about done with the "trial and error guessing". We have tried so many things and I would love to get her off the prednisone. We have the ketoconozole shampoo and Revolution for fleas and short grass outside and oh, boy, you name it. I can say, though, that these last 2 days have been the best in recent memory.

I SOOOO appreciate all the help that I get here from everyone.

[Latte's Mom]

The "black flakes" are they on her belly or back? Latte has these black dots on her belly that seem to be under the skin. My hubby and I thought they were fleas at one time, but I'm assured not. I want to get a flea comb and see what I can see.