Fleetwood was diagnosed with autoimmune disease a while back (mostly affecting his GI tract), and while we have that pretty well under control, his skin has been a problem from about 4 months old. Dry skin, lesions, and more so in the past 6 months non-stop scratching. He goes through phases where he scratches bald spots on himself.
He's been on salmon based foods all along, and salmon oil for a long time. He was on coconut oil for quite some time, too, but I didn't notice a difference (he was on coconut and salmon oil at the same time). And my vet(s) both kind of agree that it's probably just dry skin and everything else (lesions and such) are secondary to that. The dry skin is probably caused by poor absorption due to his condition. He may be dealing with allergies, too, but I'm really not sure. I haven't noticed a correlation between symptoms and foods + treats, so the vet is thinking possibly environmental triggers.
So this last week, his face swelled up three times, and benadryl didn't bring it down. I had to give benadryl and pred. No idea why, the vet has no idea either. I also switched him (after those episodes) to TOTW roasted fowl, because I want to get away from the salmon, thinking maybe he's developed a sensitivity, or just what happens I guess. So far no change. I'm almost out of salmon oil, which brings me to my question.
What other oils could I try him on? I've read good things about Sardine, herring, hemp, flaxseed and a few others. I also went to a (really great) local pet store yesterday and asked what they recommended to treat the problem from the outside rather than from the inside, and they recommended EQyss Premier rehydrant spray, which I bought and I am using now. Any other recommendations?
On a side note, since about two or three weeks ago, every time we go out on walks he's been eating grass towards the end of every walk that we take, which is a indication that he's not feeling well and wants to vomit. He hasn't done that since last summer... And I know that there hasn't really been grass everywhere because it's been winter, but he hasn't tried to, or seemed sick-ish either. I wonder if he's reacting to an environmental trigger??
And a last side-note, his thyroid was very low a little over a month ago, so he's been taking thyroxine. His thyroid is functioning fine, but it's apparently working very hard to compensate the autoimmune disease. So he was on thyroxine for exactly 30 days, and a week and a half ago we stopped giving it for fear that he was getting too much because he was vomiting... Wow this is complicated. Awards to anyone who followed it all
He's been on salmon based foods all along, and salmon oil for a long time. He was on coconut oil for quite some time, too, but I didn't notice a difference (he was on coconut and salmon oil at the same time). And my vet(s) both kind of agree that it's probably just dry skin and everything else (lesions and such) are secondary to that. The dry skin is probably caused by poor absorption due to his condition. He may be dealing with allergies, too, but I'm really not sure. I haven't noticed a correlation between symptoms and foods + treats, so the vet is thinking possibly environmental triggers.
So this last week, his face swelled up three times, and benadryl didn't bring it down. I had to give benadryl and pred. No idea why, the vet has no idea either. I also switched him (after those episodes) to TOTW roasted fowl, because I want to get away from the salmon, thinking maybe he's developed a sensitivity, or just what happens I guess. So far no change. I'm almost out of salmon oil, which brings me to my question.
What other oils could I try him on? I've read good things about Sardine, herring, hemp, flaxseed and a few others. I also went to a (really great) local pet store yesterday and asked what they recommended to treat the problem from the outside rather than from the inside, and they recommended EQyss Premier rehydrant spray, which I bought and I am using now. Any other recommendations?
On a side note, since about two or three weeks ago, every time we go out on walks he's been eating grass towards the end of every walk that we take, which is a indication that he's not feeling well and wants to vomit. He hasn't done that since last summer... And I know that there hasn't really been grass everywhere because it's been winter, but he hasn't tried to, or seemed sick-ish either. I wonder if he's reacting to an environmental trigger??
And a last side-note, his thyroid was very low a little over a month ago, so he's been taking thyroxine. His thyroid is functioning fine, but it's apparently working very hard to compensate the autoimmune disease. So he was on thyroxine for exactly 30 days, and a week and a half ago we stopped giving it for fear that he was getting too much because he was vomiting... Wow this is complicated. Awards to anyone who followed it all