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by Jared Purdy on 19 July 2012 - 18:07
Greetings, It's been a while since I visited the forum, and today it occurred to me that someone here might have an answer. My GSD is now almost 14 months old, and aside from a lot of scratching, she is doing great.
I am assuming that it is a food alergy - of sorts. Aside from two bags of Royal Canin GSD dog food for puppies when I just got her, she has been grain free, most of which has been either Orijen large breed for puppies and then Acana. I tried all of the grain free Acana products and the symptoms appeared to be the same: scratching. Her skin does not appear to be dry, she has no dandrough and her coat is nice and shiny.
I also tried a round of Fromm's Surf and Turf, a bag of Taste of the Wild, Nature's Instinct and Performatrin grain free.
My memory is a little foggy as to when the scratching really started, but it went on all through the winter and it has continued, though it appears to have dropped off a bit as of late. But, I think that she is still scratching too much. And, she does not have flees.
I picked up a tube of over the counter hydrocortisone (0.5%) and have been applying it to the trouble spots, and it appears to be working - but I am not around her all day long.
Any thoughts are welcome.
Regards, Jared Purdy
I am assuming that it is a food alergy - of sorts. Aside from two bags of Royal Canin GSD dog food for puppies when I just got her, she has been grain free, most of which has been either Orijen large breed for puppies and then Acana. I tried all of the grain free Acana products and the symptoms appeared to be the same: scratching. Her skin does not appear to be dry, she has no dandrough and her coat is nice and shiny.
I also tried a round of Fromm's Surf and Turf, a bag of Taste of the Wild, Nature's Instinct and Performatrin grain free.
My memory is a little foggy as to when the scratching really started, but it went on all through the winter and it has continued, though it appears to have dropped off a bit as of late. But, I think that she is still scratching too much. And, she does not have flees.
I picked up a tube of over the counter hydrocortisone (0.5%) and have been applying it to the trouble spots, and it appears to be working - but I am not around her all day long.
Any thoughts are welcome.
Regards, Jared Purdy
by Nans gsd on 19 July 2012 - 19:07
Well, 2 of my 4 dogs scratch like crazy if they get anything with Flax seed/oil in their diets. Most or I should say a lot of kibbles have flax in it now days. Also I would start her on salmon oil + a Vitamin E capsule (400 mg) each day or even every other day until she stops scratching and itching. That has done my guys the most good. I use capsules (instead of oil) so I can measure easily how much they are getting. I increased my guys to 2,000 mg per day recently and has helped their shedding and coats out tremendously. I just buy the salmon oil capsules from WalMart they are 1,000 mg each; all my guys get 2 per day and a Vit E cap which helps activate the salmon oil and helps the body to utilize the oil; also helps the joints. BOL Nan Hope this helps.
by Rass on 19 July 2012 - 20:07
Allergies in dogs are a misfire of the dog's immune system as an inapprpriate immune response to allergens. Usually there is a broad spectrum of things the dog is allergic to and these things combined produce an allergic response (itching, crusty scabs and so forth).
Removal or reduction of one of more of the allergens can reduce the immune response to below threshold so the dog is not symptomatic.
I have one dog with seasonal atopy. We are approaching that season.. and I do not know what it is that is pushing her over the edge and giving her hot spots. When I find the first bump on her head, I put her on a 10 day course of prednisone (reducing dose schedule) and that suppresses her immune response for the brief time this one allergen (probably environmental) pushes her over threshold. She is spayed.
I have another dog that itches badly when she blows coat and itches some all the time. I have fooled around with foods with limited success and I bathe her in Zymox with limited success and used supplements (salmon oil, Safflower oil which is rich in Omega 6, Cod Liver oil and so forth), with limited success. Spaying her gave her the biggest relief so likely her allergies were exascerbated by normal female hormonal changes coupled with her immune response (and you don't want to breed a dog with allergies of any sort anyway).
Allergy testing MAY give you insight as to what the dog is allergic to.. and you may be able to reduce her threshold by removing those things. However, if your dog is allergic to grass or common things you cannot remove it is a more difficult issue. Only 20% of dogs respond to anthistamines and most do not respond well over the long haul to allergy shots.
Dog allergies are a difficult problem to manage.. you have to keep trying different things or combinations of things.
Removal or reduction of one of more of the allergens can reduce the immune response to below threshold so the dog is not symptomatic.
I have one dog with seasonal atopy. We are approaching that season.. and I do not know what it is that is pushing her over the edge and giving her hot spots. When I find the first bump on her head, I put her on a 10 day course of prednisone (reducing dose schedule) and that suppresses her immune response for the brief time this one allergen (probably environmental) pushes her over threshold. She is spayed.
I have another dog that itches badly when she blows coat and itches some all the time. I have fooled around with foods with limited success and I bathe her in Zymox with limited success and used supplements (salmon oil, Safflower oil which is rich in Omega 6, Cod Liver oil and so forth), with limited success. Spaying her gave her the biggest relief so likely her allergies were exascerbated by normal female hormonal changes coupled with her immune response (and you don't want to breed a dog with allergies of any sort anyway).
Allergy testing MAY give you insight as to what the dog is allergic to.. and you may be able to reduce her threshold by removing those things. However, if your dog is allergic to grass or common things you cannot remove it is a more difficult issue. Only 20% of dogs respond to anthistamines and most do not respond well over the long haul to allergy shots.
Dog allergies are a difficult problem to manage.. you have to keep trying different things or combinations of things.
by ggturner on 20 July 2012 - 02:07
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