Very BAD allergies!

cindamae41 · 12-16-2011, 06:42 PM

I have been treating my dog's allergies for over 5 years now. I have never completely resolved this issue. Currently his ears are very red, one more than the other. When he scratches, he is making one of them bleed. I have the ear cleaner and the otomax which I use regularly but am frustrated that this only seems to help for maybe one day. He has been through allergy testing and was on shots for one year with no improvement. I have changed his dogfood several times. He is allergic to cotton so I use gauze to clean his ears. Today I bought alcohol, boric acid and gentian violet to do a treatment, that I found online, on him but I am concerned about using it if his ears are red and had been bleeding earlier. If anyone has any input on this, I would appreciate it VERY much. I feel so bad for my guy and just want him to finally have some relief! His name is Maverick. Thank you

Jax08 · 12-16-2011, 06:58 PM

Have you tried probiotics or digestive enzymes? Have you tried a RAW or home cooked diet?

onyx'girl · 12-16-2011, 07:03 PM

I would not use the blue powder ear treatment if the ears are inflamed. I have the same issue with Onyx who is also 5 and suffered from allergies since about 6 months, she has environmental allergies and chronic ear problems. We did the serum shots too, with no relief.
I do use Zymox on her ears and it will help reduce the need to itch, it soothes and will take care of bacteria and yeast. I buy the larger bottle, it is a better deal:
Zymox Otic with Hydrocortisone (1.0%)
Today I got G drops and the Rejuva spray from Amazon, but here is the information about the products: Topicals

I don't know how these will work, worth a try. I do feed raw, add supplements and still haven't gotten her comfortable!

cindamae41 · 12-16-2011, 07:31 PM

not tried probiotics or digestive enzymes. To be honest, I know nothing about those but I will definately look into it. I did a little research online about the RAW diet but I didn't think I would be able to feed some of the things they talked about feeding your dog. Squeemish I guess. Currently, Maverick is on Eukanuba for Sensitive Skin. I'm not sure it's the best but it's literally the only dogfood besides California Natural Lamb and Rice that doesn't have an ingredient listed that he's allergic to! The California Natural was giving him diarhea so bad that I had to make him yams and rice every other day for about a month! That cleared up after switching to Eukanuba. Thank you for your suggestions!

chelle · 12-16-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cindamae41

not tried probiotics or digestive enzymes. To be honest, I know nothing about those but I will definately look into it. I did a little research online about the RAW diet but I didn't think I would be able to feed some of the things they talked about feeding your dog. Squeemish I guess. Currently, Maverick is on Eukanuba for Sensitive Skin. I'm not sure it's the best but it's literally the only dogfood besides California Natural Lamb and Rice that doesn't have an ingredient listed that he's allergic to! The California Natural was giving him diarhea so bad that I had to make him yams and rice every other day for about a month! That cleared up after switching to Eukanuba. Thank you for your suggestions!

You might consider a grain free, limited ingredient food with the main source as something he doesn't have an allergy to. I have a non-GSD with skin allergies and it took awhile after the food switch, and I'm still afraid to proclaim success, but her allergy issues seem to be improving a lot.

cindamae41 · 12-16-2011, 07:40 PM

Wow...your situation sounds like a mirror image of mine! I see you are also from Michigan. We got Maverick in Clio, MI. and he was one of about 10 pups. We were told he is Belgium and German. Thank you for answering my post. I will definately wait on flushing his ears with the boric acid mixture. I'm probably looking at another trip to the vet though to get his ears back under control. Not looking forward to the side effects of the steroids that they will probably give him tho. Last time he was needing to go outside a couple times throughout the night. He has also had to have hematomas drained in both his ears in the past. He has been through alot. It's just not fair. I'm glad I found this forum and asked first before doing the treatment! Thanks again

onyx'girl · 12-16-2011, 07:41 PM

Fresh(frozen)raw green tripe is something I'd add, it has natural digestive enzymes and probiotics. You can get this thru my pet carnivore who will do monthly deliveries in Michigan(not sure where you are) I give a heaping spoonful every day(about 5 oz) Tripe | My Pet Carnivore
This article boasts the benefits of tripe:
A Place for Paws - Columbiana, Ohio - Tripe - The Other White Meat
you could also order it from there...

chelle · 12-16-2011, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cindamae41

Wow...your situation sounds like a mirror image of mine! I see you are also from Michigan. We got Maverick in Clio, MI. and he was one of about 10 pups. We were told he is Belgium and German. Thank you for answering my post. I will definately wait on flushing his ears with the boric acid mixture. I'm probably looking at another trip to the vet though to get his ears back under control. Not looking forward to the side effects of the steroids that they will probably give him tho. Last time he was needing to go outside a couple times throughout the night. He has also had to have hematomas drained in both his ears in the past. He has been through alot. It's just not fair. I'm glad I found this forum and asked first before doing the treatment! Thanks again

Does he have skin allergies also?

cindamae41 · 12-16-2011, 07:49 PM

It's good to hear someone having success in this area! I've had Maverick allergy tested and surprisingly, he's not allergic to wheat but he is allergic to just about everything else, including corn and peas, brewers yeast, etc. I've eliminated almost everything to the point of picking a dogfood that had one ingredient (barley) in it that he was "borderline" positive to on the allergy test list. Since barley was listed as about the 5th ingredient, I figured we might be safe. It's been a long road but I'll keep trying. One of the things he's allergic to is cotton and that's one thing I haven't totally eliminated yet. I've even switched my laundry detergent to one that doesn't have any irritants. Thank you for responding to my post. I appreciate it!

cindamae41 · 12-16-2011, 07:50 PM

Yes he does have bumps here and there on his skin. They were alot worse until he started on the Eukanuba for Sensitive skin. I've noticed his coat is much shinier too but he isn't completely bump-free yet. He's only been on it for about a month now.

12-16-2011, 06:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
cindamae41 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 22	Very BAD allergies! I have been treating my dog's allergies for over 5 years now. I have never completely resolved this issue. Currently his ears are very red, one more than the other. When he scratches, he is making one of them bleed. I have the ear cleaner and the otomax which I use regularly but am frustrated that this only seems to help for maybe one day. He has been through allergy testing and was on shots for one year with no improvement. I have changed his dogfood several times. He is allergic to cotton so I use gauze to clean his ears. Today I bought alcohol, boric acid and gentian violet to do a treatment, that I found online, on him but I am concerned about using it if his ears are red and had been bleeding earlier. If anyone has any input on this, I would appreciate it VERY much. I feel so bad for my guy and just want him to finally have some relief! His name is Maverick. Thank you

12-16-2011, 07:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,608	I would not use the blue powder ear treatment if the ears are inflamed. I have the same issue with Onyx who is also 5 and suffered from allergies since about 6 months, she has environmental allergies and chronic ear problems. We did the serum shots too, with no relief. I do use Zymox on her ears and it will help reduce the need to itch, it soothes and will take care of bacteria and yeast. I buy the larger bottle, it is a better deal: Zymox Otic with Hydrocortisone (1.0%) Today I got G drops and the Rejuva spray from Amazon, but here is the information about the products: Topicals I don't know how these will work, worth a try. I do feed raw, add supplements and still haven't gotten her comfortable! __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

12-16-2011, 07:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,608	Fresh(frozen)raw green tripe is something I'd add, it has natural digestive enzymes and probiotics. You can get this thru my pet carnivore who will do monthly deliveries in Michigan(not sure where you are) I give a heaping spoonful every day(about 5 oz) Tripe \| My Pet Carnivore This article boasts the benefits of tripe: A Place for Paws - Columbiana, Ohio - Tripe - The Other White Meat you could also order it from there... __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

12-16-2011, 06:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jax08 Crowned Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NNE PA Posts: 14,331	Have you tried probiotics or digestive enzymes? Have you tried a RAW or home cooked diet?

12-16-2011, 07:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
cindamae41 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 22	not tried probiotics or digestive enzymes. To be honest, I know nothing about those but I will definately look into it. I did a little research online about the RAW diet but I didn't think I would be able to feed some of the things they talked about feeding your dog. Squeemish I guess. Currently, Maverick is on Eukanuba for Sensitive Skin. I'm not sure it's the best but it's literally the only dogfood besides California Natural Lamb and Rice that doesn't have an ingredient listed that he's allergic to! The California Natural was giving him diarhea so bad that I had to make him yams and rice every other day for about a month! That cleared up after switching to Eukanuba. Thank you for your suggestions!

12-16-2011, 07:40 PM	#6 (permalink)
cindamae41 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 22	Wow...your situation sounds like a mirror image of mine! I see you are also from Michigan. We got Maverick in Clio, MI. and he was one of about 10 pups. We were told he is Belgium and German. Thank you for answering my post. I will definately wait on flushing his ears with the boric acid mixture. I'm probably looking at another trip to the vet though to get his ears back under control. Not looking forward to the side effects of the steroids that they will probably give him tho. Last time he was needing to go outside a couple times throughout the night. He has also had to have hematomas drained in both his ears in the past. He has been through alot. It's just not fair. I'm glad I found this forum and asked first before doing the treatment! Thanks again

12-16-2011, 07:49 PM	#9 (permalink)
cindamae41 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 22	It's good to hear someone having success in this area! I've had Maverick allergy tested and surprisingly, he's not allergic to wheat but he is allergic to just about everything else, including corn and peas, brewers yeast, etc. I've eliminated almost everything to the point of picking a dogfood that had one ingredient (barley) in it that he was "borderline" positive to on the allergy test list. Since barley was listed as about the 5th ingredient, I figured we might be safe. It's been a long road but I'll keep trying. One of the things he's allergic to is cotton and that's one thing I haven't totally eliminated yet. I've even switched my laundry detergent to one that doesn't have any irritants. Thank you for responding to my post. I appreciate it!

12-16-2011, 07:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
cindamae41 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 22	Yes he does have bumps here and there on his skin. They were alot worse until he started on the Eukanuba for Sensitive skin. I've noticed his coat is much shinier too but he isn't completely bump-free yet. He's only been on it for about a month now.

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