Itchy Skin

[Gaelle]

Rosie is 10 ish years old and has had for a long time very itchy skin. Skin tests diagnosed atopic eczema with allergies to tree pollen especially willow, some grasses and some house dust. Try avoiding that lot!! Anyway She has been on all sorts of things to try to help but nothing seems to for long. The last things were calendula cream and Piriton for the itch. The vet has now prescribed a mild steroid spray to calm the itch. She scratches a lot mostly her mid back and down towards her tail. I 've just noticed today that the bald spots are now joining up into one large area about a foot long by about 6 inches wide right down her back. I'm open to suggestions any remedies out there I could try? Please?
Gaelle

[Lindy]

could it be diet related? i know Kirsty had a problem with big Bob and his skin and she has been feeding RAW and it seems to have made a difference, there is plenty of info and links to web sites on RAW feeding in the Diet & Nutrition topic of the forum.

[Lorna]

Try dorwest.co.uk for herbal remedy suggestions. If you email them they might be able to help you. I hope they can make Rosie more comfortable.
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Regards,
Lorna, Basil & Poppy
Great Danes are not substitute children. They are much more important than that!

[suzanne l]

my heart goes out to you! skin allergies are awful, so frustrating! wondering if you wash her paws and legs after walks? this can sometimes help, especially where its a grass allergy, try to avoid long grass so its not all over her. With regards to the house dust, you could every few months freeze her toys and bedding overnight and then wash the following day, thats advice given for people with allergies and asthma type conditions. bathing regularly may help also, just as long as shes not allergic to the shampoo!
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your cat will never annoy by barking at 3am, he wont attack the postman or eat the curtains, although he may climb them to see how the room looks from the ceiling...

[marcella]

if it is house dust allergy another good investment would be a steam cleaner! I have asthma and it's caused by house dust mite. So I bought a karcher steam cleaner. It heats to 140 degrees which is hot enough to kill mites and the spores .................... when I use it that is!!!!

But as Lindy says very often it is their diet that causes it as I'd mentioned to you before. Trial and error Gaelle until you find something that makes a difference.
I know since my two went RAW they scratch less!

[Sam]

Diet is by far the biggest cause of skin problems with dogs. You would be amazed at some o the ingredients that will set it off. Beef being a prime one and foods that are loaded with waist cereal based foods fillers, colorings etc. That 'Bakers complete' is the worse food of all.

What do you feed out o interest?

Sam
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Damn dags.

[Gaelle]

In reply to Sam, I usually feed her on Burns complete either fish or chicken flavour, lately she had taken a shine to Cuthbert's Chappie complete with chicken and JWB Turkey as official treats. (not including the odd piece of apple skin,or table scraps ) but she gets fed up of things fairly quickly. I think I'm far too soft with her when she doesn't eat I'll try to find something she will eat. I do try not feeding her until she eats what's put down but give in after a day! Gaelle

[marcella]

[Gaelle]

You're absolutely right!! I'm going to toughen up!! I'm embarrassed to admit it but they run rings round me so no more MS nice guy. I'm in charge! (Or at least I'll try harder!!)
Gaelle

[marcella]

that's it Gaelle ..................GET TOUGH!!!!!

[Sam]

You go for it Gaelle!


If you want to be sure that it is not a cereal allergy, then you could try switching to the burns new' pork and potato' kibble for a while, give it a whole month to check for improvements though, and a fork full of tined or fresh sardines added into the kibble makes it super yummy for the fussy ones.
If you buy tinned then get the sardines in tomato sauce and not in the salty brine or sunflower oil. Its not that sunflower oil is bad for them, but if you are trying to eliminate cereals then its best to avoid the sunflower seed oil.

Sam
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Damn dags.

[Gaelle]

Thanks for all the advice. At the moment I'm persevering with Nature's Harvest diet so I'll give it a while then see. Re washing her paws after walks good idea but she hates getting her legs or paws touched (she has severe arthritis) so I'm very wary of doing it as I kind of enjoy having 5 fingers on each hand! O.K I guess I'm probably a wimp in this area too!! Same as trying to cut away the knots in her fur behind her ears, I wait for it to grow long enough that the knot is not right up against her skin then very carefully try to trim it. She does go to the groomers several times a year as well! The steam cleaner sounds like an idea. Who knows what Santa will bring??


Keep you posted. Thanks.

Gaelle
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Happiness is watching my dog chase leaves dancing in the breeze.

[brenda]

Our Kaiser is having problems with constant scratching, I have checked him over for flees nothing there. I was thinking could this be anything to do with dog wash last week. I am going to the pet shop after the walk to see what I can buy to help him.
Brenda
Has anyone else had a problem with dog wash.

[marcella]

Brenda .............. Murphy has been the same this week. His skin looks dry and flaky, not inflammed in anyway but dry and he's scratching constantly, Diesel is too. We were checking them for fleas etc and couldn't see anything.
I have been giving them oil of evening primrose capsules last couple of days with an intention of keeping it going so that hopefully in a few weeks there will be a difference. Murphy suffers from a dry nose and it cracks, vet says this is due to central heating most likely and that some dogs get dry noses and pads. The oil should help that too.

If you find anything meantime that gives Kaisser some relief let me know!

[brenda]

Thanks Marcella
Brenda