Steroid shot results-what does this tell me?

2431 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by onyx'girl, Oct 19, 2010

Courtney

Discussion Starter · Oct 18, 2010

Ok-my 6 month old male all of a sudden the last two weeks has been itching-not constantly, but it's noticeable. He now has dry flaking skin on his backside (area upbove the tail)-where he itches the most. He has never had this before and his coat and skin have always been very healthy in appearance.

-he's been fed Innova since 8 weeks.
-gets pure samoln oil daily for over 3 months straight now.
-last bath was 1.5 months ago-not over drying from bathing.
-not being over brushed

He does not have fleas and mites have been ruled out by the vet. He was given a steroid shot and has completely stopped itching.

Questions:

I know the steroid shot is a temporary fix-but can it tell me anything about what the culprit is-espically if he stops itching all together.

If it's food related is it possible to all of a sudden have a allergy to it?

It's sometimes frustrating talking to vets because they want to give a RX and move on

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onyx'girl

· #2 · Oct 18, 2010

The steroid shot will not tell you anything, it is just to relieve the dog of itching.
My dogs have all been scratching lately. It is very drydusty outside-we haven't had any rain all month!
I know their winter coats are starting to come in(even though they are blowing some undercoat yet) I think the undercoat for winter months is different(denser hair), it seems that way with my parrots, too. The down feathers in winter are different than the summer months.

Vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine so I give that to my dogs daily(start at 500mg and up the dosage to 2000mg split between meals).
When giving salmon oil, it will deplete the dogs natural production of vitamin E, so you should be giving E(400iu daily) as well...unless your salmon oil has E with it already.

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jakeandrenee

· #3 · Oct 18, 2010

Check this thread...http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/basic-care/141598-help-dandruff.html

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Courtney

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 19, 2010

Thank you both for the information!

He has been shedding more lately and the temp. changes have been drastic from day to day here.

I will certainly look into the vit e & c and check the salmon oil (maybe he's getting too much?).

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LisaT

· #5 · Oct 19, 2010

Any dog on a Natura food, I would be concerned about food changes. They don't have to state supplier changes on the bag, and with the recent sale, it's unsure which direction the comapny will move in. Just thought I'd throw that into the mix too

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BowWowMeow

· #6 · Oct 19, 2010

And if he has a flea allergy then all it takes is ONE bite to cause major problems.

Btw, I would not get another steroid shot. Steroids depress the immune system and can end up causing more problems than they fix.

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KZoppa

· #7 · Oct 19, 2010

our male Riley didnt develope itchy issues until he was about 6 or 7 months old. His allergies are food and more so environment. He's actually allergic to grass. He's now almost 6yrs (Jan 2010 he turns 6). We're seriously looking into steroid shots for him because i'm starting to lose my mind yelling at him to stop scratching and chewing. He's also allergic to fleas. He's been bathed and combed and even shaved to remove ALL fleas and he's still itchy. You could have allergy tests run and have serum created to create immunity to what the allergy is but its pricey. If the steroid shots helps i say stick with that.

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onyx'girl

· #8 · Oct 19, 2010

The cost of an ear hematoma repair was almost $200(due to itching, shaking head due to allergy causing chronic infections)
After that I decided to go ahead with the serum injections.
The serum cost me $130 and that is about a 4 month supply(starting with very small injection amounts .1cc every few days-now we are at 1cc ever couple weeks) I am about ready to order my second round, not sure what
the cost will be, but I think it will be less than the first kit.
The test to run the allergy results was $160-sent to Heska labs.
I will not give steroids, waay to many risks.

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