Anyone know anything about this?

[Doberluv]

My sister's 3 yr. old sheltie has some kind of immune system problem, I think. He seems to be allergic to something and has lost a lot of hair, his skin is very itchy and irritated. He's seen a dog dermatologist and so far, after almost a month, nothing is helping. He doesn't seem to know what is the exact cause. She had some prescription shampoo stuff...no help. I think she had him on Prednisone but she doesn't want him on that continually....or at all anymore. (I can totally understand that) She put him on some kind of prepared, freeze dried "raw" food called Sojo's. She heard it was great. I read the ingredients and wasn't impressed, but what do I know? There are like 2 vitamins listed and no bone meal....just a bunch of herbs and nuts and things. Oh and it is a single source meat....chicken.

So, does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? I suggested a real raw food diet, complete with the bones, but she doesn't want to do that. Anyhow, this skin problem manifested itself long before she switched to that food, so although it's not helping, I don't think he's reacting to it necessarily.

If anyone knows anything, I'd appreciate some advice for her. Her dog is really quite miserable.

Thanks!

 

[4dogs3cats]

Has she tried a grain free kibble? Does the premade raw still have grain in it? Sounds to me like theres something specific triggering it.

 

[Doberluv]

No, that food is grain free. Hmmm...any other ideas? LOL. This sucks! She showed me the food. I think this is the particular formula. But again....he had this condition before she started feeding him this. I think it's been quite some time since he's been suffering with this. His skin is so raw that the vet can't do a skin scraping, I guess...or specific allergy testing.

Sojos Complete Grain-Free Dog Food

 

[lizzybeth727]

We had a dog at work with similar problems, and got an allergy test done to determine the exact cause. Turned out he had a bunch of environmental allergies, no food allergies, and is now on allergy shots. He still has good days and bad days - still has to go on prednisone every couple of weeks - but the shots are definately helping.

SO, I'd suggest getting an allergy test. I know you said his skin is too raw, but if that's so than he needs to be on prednisone until his skin clears up enough. Or the vet can give them a specific elimination diet so that they can figure out if it's a food allergy.

In the mean time, I'd suggest anything you can do to help his immune system, such as getting him on probiotics.

 

[Bailey08]

LOL! -- on the food: Charlie's Food (LONG)

From what I've read, environmental allergies are more common than food allergies (though it seems like a lot of people assume otherwise).

The best way to test for environmental allergies is a skin test. But I would think that a veterinary dermatologist would have tried that -- ???

I hope she figures something out!

 

[elegy]

did the steroids help?

there's a bloodtest for allergies... not as accurate, i guess, but better than nothing. allergy injections, antihistamines, atopica (cyclosporine). if the steroids didn't help, have they tried treating for scabies? have they considered biopsying?

 

[Doberluv]

I don't know too many details. I know my sister doesn't want to use anymore steroids. I think they did help, but when he went off them, the skin problem came back and she doesn't want him on them. If he were my dog, I'd get him on the steroids long enough to heal him up so he could have a skin test. But she's quite decided on that. So, I don't know what this vet is doing exactly, but after a month since she saw him, he's gotten worse, if anything....not better.

Thanks for all your ideas. I hope she can get to the bottom of this. I hate to see a dog so uncomfortable.

 

[lizzybeth727]

If he were my dog, I'd get him on the steroids long enough to heal him up so he could have a skin test..

Yeah, exactly.

The dog at work will scratch so much he's gotten massive skin infections and has to go on antibiotics. So we give him prednisone when we're afraid he's going to cause sores on his skin again, until it heals, and then we wean him back off the pred.

Of course we have him on a very low dosage - 1/2 pill (not sure how many milligrams that is) twice a day - which I do think makes a difference. But when he's on it a long time he looses weight (even though we increase his food) and acts hungry all the time, it's quite sad.

One thing you might suggest, is to put a t-shirt on the dog. We did that with our dog and it makes it so that he can't scratch as well, and it doesn't damage his skin when he does scratch. It's really helped a lot.

 

[MicksMom]

Going out on a limb here, but has he been tested for Cushings? Scratching, hair loss- that sounds an awful lot like my mother's JRT that had Cushings.

 

[AussiesMom]

The t-shirt idea is great! My only worry would be if you live in a high humidity area would be adequate ventilation for the skin. Moisture, high temps equals hot and humid and that's a perfect environment for bacteria.

If Fido is inside in AC then that shirt sounds like a quick cheap fix.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Being on steroids inhibits the allergy test tho I don't think the results would show much.

 

[Saintgirl]

If it is a food allergy a change of diet even to a better food may not help at all if the source is still there. I agree that environmental allergies are more common than food allergies, and I think the reason that people jump to the food so quickly is because a healthy immune system will cope better with allergies. Meaning, a dog with environmental allergies may not suffer if they have a diet that supports a healthy immune system. I would recommend an elimination diet to rule out a food source, it is easy and cheap and can be done at home. The dog would have to be on it for 3 months with absolutely NO other food source. This will determine whether food is the issue, and she can move on to other ideas once this has been ruled out.

 

[LittleBigDog]

Something that helped my dog when he had a skin manifested allergy is Malaseb medicated shampoo and Relief creme rinse. They are both made by IVX animal health. They really made a big difference. (We can't use prednisone with him due to other health conditions.)

 

[Doberluv]

Thanks for these replies guys. I kind of forgot to come back to this thread. I appreciate the ideas. Macbeth! That's right! (I kind of forgot to think about that.) The steroids do inhibit the immune system. I wonder how long he'd have to be off them for the immune system to react normally....like say, if he were put on them to clear up his skin, then go off them. But I also don't know how long after he would go off them, the skin irritation would return.

Saint girl...yes, she should do a planned out elimination diet first, to be sure.

Littlebigdog, I'll pass on that information about the shampoo and conditioner. Maybe that would help him too. Thanks!

I like the T-shirt idea. And I'll pass on the possibility of Cushings and see if he was tested for that.

Thank you again for the responses.

 

[Bigpoodleperson]

I wouldnt test the dog for allergies during a big inflammation though. That can hinder testing too. If all the antibodies they test for are "plugged in somewhere" to help the response then the test wont pick up any. False negative.

 

[Bailey08]

Do you think she would be open to integrative medicine? Traditional Chinese Medicine may be worth looking into.

Your post made me think of this: Allergies: Raven's Story

 

[Doberluv]

Bigpoodle...yes, the vet has been holding off doing the allergy testing when the skin is so inflamed.

Bailey....that's something she might well be open to. She, herself sees an accupuncturist. So, I'll pass Raven's story along. It's very interesting. Thanks a lot!

 

[Shelti]

~ My immediate thought was perhaps.....

Dermatomyositis / "Sheltie Skin Syndrome"

Dermatomyositis in dogs is an inherited inflammatory condition that
involves the skin and muscle and occasionally, the blood vessels.

( This disease occurs primarily in Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs )

 

[Doberluv]

Thank you Shelti. I looked at that link. Murphy's condition does not look like that. He doesn't have it around his eyes and the more specific places that are mentioned. He has irritation all over his body...more so than his legs or face. His chest, his flanks...large, generalized areas are where he has the inflamation and hair loss.

I suppose it could be and the vet should check for that, since they say in that article that it is quite breed specific and not all vets will know about it. But from the description and pictures, it's covering areas where Murphy does not have it. What a mystery. She has an appointment soon to try for the allergy testing and skin scraping...probably some kind of biopsy too.

I appreciate all of the comments. You are all more knowledgable than I am about this matter, as I've never had a dog with skin problems. What a nightmare!

 

[drdamian]

My boxer started shedding his fur and my vet said it was some sort of fungus :s he gave a cream which helped a lot...did you get a second opinion about this skin problem?