Constantly itchy...skin allergies - Page 2

Thank you, Spooks, for the information! Your personal experience with your GSD's itchiness sounds so similar, especially the recurring pyoderma. And I agree with fish oil...he takes the same capsules I take myself (from Costco).

I had been thinking of looking into bacterin injections, but the success rate (as well as the success rate of immunotherapy if he is allergic to mites and pollen) seems quite low and the process very expensive.  I like my vet, but he doesn't really know why my dog is so itchy; he knows less about good dog foods than I do.  And is it the environment or is it the food?

Well, I am thinking that lamb and chicken are out as a protein source. Beef is out too as that gave him his original constipation problem.

So far...recommendations are Precise, NutriSource, Honest Kitchen....any other brands that others have been successful with when resolving itchiness?  

In order to limit possible allergens, I would go with a limited ingredient diet. My female has food alllergies that cause her to scratch her mouth, her ears, her anal area and most recently, her belly. She licked and chewed it until it was naked.

We got it under control with Solumedrol, a steroid. She had a relaly bad ear infection, which was cured with  gentamycin ear drops. Chicken seems to be a trigger for her, so she is now on a limited ingredient food that's buffalo based!

The strandard protocol for diagnosing and treating allergies is an elimination diet. Eliminate everything that could possibly be a problem, then slowly add back one thing/ingredient at a time.  This has to be done slowly, as the dog rarely reacts immediately to a particular allergen, unless the allergen is wind borne, or triggered by contact with the skin (topical). For instance, I have a severe allergy to grass pollen, so I will start to sneeze vigourously within minutes of coming in contact with hay. I will also get really itchy if my skin gets scratched by the dry grass stems. (Hay is cut whent he grasses are in bloom, or just past bloom. I don't react to grass at other times.)

"I think he is not a dog who can tolerate raw as I tried some raw chicken when he was about 6 months old and the result was explosive diarrhea for 24 hours."

Did you remove the skin and excess fat from the chicken before feeding? I feed raw but remove the skin from chicken before I feed (or else both of my GSDs would have explosive diarrhea).

I am thinking a fish diet, bison, or possibly even venison might work.  And yes Acana and Orijen are both very rich, my guys could not take either and proteins are way too high for a problem dog.  They are grain free but the proteins are mid to high 30's I think;  way too hot for skin problems.

Good luck  Nan

I am currently using Blue Wilderness Salmon.  It is grain free with fish as the primary source of protein so might work for you as well.

Thanks all for the suggestions and comments.

Laura271...it was trimmed and skinned chickens thighs.  :(

Nans and Keith...I am thinking fish (salmon) will be a start...Blue Wilderness is too high in protein at 34% for him.  There is another recipe: Blue Basics Grain-free Salmon & Potato.  It is 20% protein, and contains potato, which, Nans, you had mentioned contributes to sugar in the food and can lead to yeast problems, so I am concerned (but then it's probably much better than staying any longer on RC).

All this makes me think I have a lot of research to do....

Yes really any type carbs CAN have yeasty responses;  so can vegi's like carrots due to their sugar content, same with peas, sweet potatoes also; rice white and brown; all grains have or should really say convert to sugars;  maybe try Honest Kitchen ZEAL, or the one with Quinoa in it I believe it's turkey protein.  Might work.  Check out Honest Kitchen site;  and remember you don't have leave him on it forever, just get him cleaned up and go from there.  Honest Kitchen you do have to soak for a bit before feeding which is kind of a pain but it has exactly what is listed on the ingredients list;  no hidden stuff.  My young boy also did not do well with raw chicken breasts.??

He gets K9 Kravings chicken/beef formula;  prepared raw/frozen diet.  DOes excellent on that.  So, go figure...  However, it is balanced 80/10/10 approx. 80% meat with small amount of bone and vegi's.  Sometimes gets yeasty ears but I am on them several times per week cleaning and ear watch regularly.  They also have just beef, just chicken, turkey, fish formulas, all good also Elk.  Have not tried the Elk and I think a few others.  You can go to the sight for K9 Kravings and check it out,  may work for you.  Good luck.  Except for the chicken/beef formula the others are a single protein diet already balanced and ready to feed.  Makes it easy,  I changed over to this when I got my puppy as I did not want to guess on the balance while he is growing up.  Wanted it all covered for steady growth;  have not had any pano problems, although he is only 10 l/2 months old;  but he is a big boy so I hope he does not go through that BUT still could.  Have on occasion added some Honest Kitchen also which he does well on (Zeal).  Wanted to add some fish in the diet without guess work also.  Only occasionally though.  Just don't want to add supplements at this age, not sure how each dog uses them and don't want to guess.  Good luck  Nan

I assume you have had this dog allergy tested by a veterinary dermatologist. You are wasting your time switching foods and trying all sorts of supplements. Dogs rarely have food sensitivities, over 90% of the time they are reacting to something they are inhaling. And never overlook the obvious, fleas. The dog doesn't need to be polluted; one flea bite can set off a dog that is sensitive to flea saliva. Treat all scratching dogs for fleas and all dogs in the family regardless of whether or not you see the fleas. Never assume a dog doesn't have fleas or doesn't have enough fleas to make it scratch.

Have you tried to desensitize this dog with a custom blended vaccine? For resistant dogs  Atopica is the drug of choice, keflex the antibiotic of choice. The dosage you are using of pred is next to nothing for a large breed dog. There have been many threads here regarding dogs with allergies. You should be able to find them doing a search.

If you hope to treat the dog to effect, you must identify the irritants and the only way to do that is skin testing. Allergies are an epidemic in the dog world and very common in GSD's. Don't breed dogs with allergies is the starting point. It's not just a skin problem, it goes far deeper than that. Google dog allergies and read all about it. Been there myself and I'd rather deal with almost any other condition in a dog than atopy. It never ends.

BTW most dogs have no adverse reactions to Atopica. You might consider trying it for your dog. If you read the warnings on a bottle of aspirins, you'll never take another.

Yes, Atopy is my vet's primary diagnosis for my dog, Blitzen.  And that may very well be the case.  I have not been able to locate a veterinary dermatologist that is geographically worth driving to see.  In addition, I would have to take the dog completely off the prednisolone (even at his low dose, it actually does help him for 24 - 48 hours after a dose...I can see the difference and then the itchiness starts to increase) to have him skin tested, and I hate to think of him being so miserable for the weeks required for dermal testing.  My vet is trying to encourage me towards allergy shots but the odds are at no more than 60% success rate.  He has also tried to talk me into Atopica, but cost and money becomes a huge factor as well as my dog is so sensitive with his stomach and intestines, it would be just our luck that all the bad side effects would happen to us.

I am interested in the newest drug, Apoquel, that was just FDA-approved and introduced in January this year; but there is no more supply available for new patients until mid-2015 (according to my vet). This new drug is basically an enzyme inhibitor, which is different from messing with immune system.  It does sound promising...

Regarding Keflex...he cannot tolerate it...terrible diarrhea the whole time, both times he has been on it.  It literally tears up his gut.

It may not be the food, but I think everyone here has been pointing me in the direction of better nutrition at a protein level that is not too rich for him with a novel protein and non-yeasty carbohydrate.  I can't argue with that after reading what Dr. Karen Becker has to say about yeast problems in dogs.

But, you are so right...allergies and itching are horrible conditions to have to deal with.  I just want to enjoy my dog, and I want him to enjoy his life.