Sigh.

June 4, 2013 at 7:02 pm 13 comments

Poor Boogie

It breaks my heart to see him like this. He is so itchy and miserable. The allergic reaction has flared up really badly in the last week (combination of grass pollens and 1 or 2 flea bites) and in spite of the baths, witch hazel, coconut oil etc. it looks like Boogie’s skin issues have progressed to some sort of secondary bacterial infection because he has been chewing, rubbing and scratching himself raw and bloody, and the bald patches have spread. 😦

I read a recent article in THE BARK magazine that if the dog’s GI tract is healthy, this would be the BEST protection against allergic reactions, compared to antihistamine or steroid-type medications. Well, I thought Boogie’s GI tract was health-ier! Now I don’t know, anymore.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow morning.

And as skin issues are a “pre-existing condition”, we are not covered by Healthy Paws…. Sigh.

UPDATE: Since these photos were taken, Boogie’s skin got much worse. The sides of his body are full of bald patches. There are red bloody sores on his neck. Dr. F (Boogie’s vet) has prescribed Simplicef antibiotics and Prednisone. I hope the meds will help him feel better, not so itchy.

Entry filed under: Skin issues.

Beware the grass. Genius ideas

13 Comments Add your own

1. Carla Jackson | June 5, 2013 at 12:35 am

I imagine you’ve explored all food allergies already. I just wanted to mention that my Boston had the same, mange-looking skin reaction to eggs. After multiple vet visits, skin scrapings, and special shampoos, I finally switched to a food that had NO eggs in the ingredients. He never had another skin problem after that. I hope Boogie finds relief soon.
Reply
- 2. lili | June 5, 2013 at 6:38 pm
  
  Hi Carla – As I mentioned in my previous post – I switched to homecooked food (no eggs) and Boogie’s skin improved. Things got bad when Summer started – with warmer weather, grass and fleas. The problem is environmental and seasonal, rather than food-related, I think. Though I have never done an elimination diet to rule out for sure any suspect foods.
  Reply
3. jet | June 5, 2013 at 4:59 am

poor Boogie…. I think diet isn’t the whole answer with dogs that have really bad allergies… there’s a staffy type dog with one of our rescues at the moment who had really bad skin, they did actual tests to determine what it was that he was allergic to, changed his diet accordingly, and then worked on desensitisation, giving him needles… it seems to be working for him so far.
Reply
- 4. lili | June 5, 2013 at 6:51 pm
  
  Jet – What needles did they give him? I imagine diet can’t be the whole answer when you have to battle the pollens and insects too 😦 I know that I myself am super allergic to flea/mosquito bites… if I get bitten once or twice, my WHOLE BODY itches like crazy. It’s really horrible and takes months to heal. I can totally relate to what my poor dog is going through.
  Reply
5. thegraceofdog | June 6, 2013 at 1:26 pm

Our dog also has some ongoing skin issues, which we finally had to treat with a cycle of antibiotics about every 4 weeks.when the sores flare up. However, in the (long–a year or two) process of trying to figure out what was going on, we ended up doing the elimination diet thing. We didn’t discover what it was she was allergic to, but we DID immediately discover that she did much better overall eating a vastly simpler diet. (We worked with our vets throughout this process, for the record.) First all we gave our dog was bison and quinoa. That lasted about 2 years, until Costco stopped carrying quinoa regularly, at which point, we switched to brown rice (and bison), which is working great. Over time, we have also added in small amounts of fish, bacon, and peanut butter as rare, special-occasion treats (or to get her to take her pills).

Our vet explained that a lot of times you can help an allergy-prone dog by reducing the total “allergen load” on their bodies. A major, practical way to do this is to limit the number of different foods they eat. We suspect that this reduced allergen load is why Biscuit’s condition got better enough that we can now manage it with those monthly cycles of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin). We ALL wish we could solve the mystery once and for all, and none of us loves the idea of taking antibiotics every month, but we remind ourselves that they are inexpensive, have few side effects, and they keep our dog healthy and free from sores and infection. I’ve long since made peace with it.

It’s super frustrating and sometimes really hard to sort out. Good luck!!! You’re not alone!

Betsy
Reply
6. Laurie Luck - Smart Dog University | June 10, 2013 at 5:47 pm

I hope Boogie feels better real soon! Poor pupster. 😦 I have a Labrador who suffers from seasonal allergies, too. I’m a sympathizin’ sister!
Reply
7. tracy | June 24, 2013 at 9:29 pm

Hi,ive followed your blog for a while to see how hes doing.I have a 3 year old pug who has bad allergys and yeast and bacterial infection on her body for years.The bumps ,black elephant skin,stinky smell,and oh the itching!Like you ive tried so many things even an holistic vet.She had one treatment of Ketoconazole one of Simplicef and 3 years ago prednisone.Never again will I use any of these except an antibiotic in an emergency.After trial and error I started to give Colostrum 1/2 pill twice a day,and 1/2 pill twice a day of Quecertin.Within 3 days her skin cleared up!Within a week the yeasty smell was all gone and it is now 3 weeks later and the itching is almost nonexistent!She eats raw turkey with the Balance it vitamin and mineral sup. that’s it.These 2 sups have been a miracle for us.She will always have allergys but they are being controlled now so well.It does start in the gut weather they show signs or not.That is what the Colostrum is for.If you have any questions please just ask.
Reply
- 8. lili | June 24, 2013 at 10:49 pm
  
  Hi Tracy,
  Can I ask which brand of Colostrum and Quecertin do you buy and how do you know how much to give? Boogie doesn’t have a yeast infection (this tested negative). It is mainly allergies and bacterial infection. The prednisone has stopped the itching but I am not sure if the Simplicef has done anything. His skin still looks bad.
  Reply
  - 9. tracy | June 25, 2013 at 2:31 am
    
    Hi,I have the Symbiotics Colostrum plus capsules 960mg. I give half at breakfast the other for dinner.Wild Harvest brand Aller-Aid with quecertin.its ingredients are vitamin C 250mg,275 mg quecertin and 300mg Acetyl Cystaine,150mg organic nettles.I got them at super supplements.My holistic vet said half a cap at each meal was fine,so one cap each a day.Better to break it up into 2 meals.The Aller=Aid is really helping with the itching but it did take a week or two for it to kick in,but all the bacterial and yeast infection were gone in days!My holistic vet had her try a few Chinese herbs but they didn’t do a thing over a 5 week trial.I actually read oin the Bermese dog site about the Quecertin and Colostrum,she was also using MSM.I did buy the MSM but only used it for a few days and stopped,just to see if it was the other 2 that were the ones really working.I couldn’t find an E-mail or name on the thread I read on the Bermese site or I would have asked the lady some questions!But im just so happy after years of my poor girl suffering to have finally found something that is working.Ive been reading for years,trying all kinds of things..my vet did say it all starts in the gut though,so finding info on that area really helped.Good luck to you and if you try these,and I hope you do..please let me know how they work for you.FYI,you cant over do Colostrum,they can have as much as you want to give.
10. Paolo | July 22, 2013 at 10:12 am

Hello there! How’s your BT doing? My BT’s condition looks the same with yours. But my vet is now giving him medications for demodectic mange. I also changed his food into a better one just to rule out food allergy.
Reply
11. Lee Anne | September 10, 2013 at 11:15 pm

Oh poor Boogie. The pics look a lot like how my Frenchie, Calpso, often looks. The only thing my vet and I have tried that is sort of working in immunosuppressants (cyclosporine). We used the veterinary brand Atopica; but, switched to the human generic by Sandoz, as it saves me about $10 a month. It’s quite expensive at about $95 per month. She is still itchy, and has a few hotspots along with an ongoing acne like rash on her belly, but it’s not consuming her every waking moment like it was January. The vet would like to try a blood test to pinpoint the cause of the alergy response, and have an alergy vaccine-like injection manufactured. But, as with all options, it is expensive, at almost $1000, and ongoing injections for life.
Reply
12. Shannon Elliott | May 10, 2014 at 9:11 am

Hi there. My dog Kuro has bad skin as well. Our vet gave us a shampoo to use once a month. He said that if we bathed her too often it would dry out her skin which would make her problems worse. The name of the shampoo we use is UBAVET Medicated Shampoo Keratolytic/Antiseptic Shampoo For Dogs & Cats. It has Sulphur, Usp 2% W/v and Salicylic Acid, Usp 2% W/v in it. It has helped my dogs skin, so much so that she has grown back her fur and she is not itcy anymore. We also stopped giving her the major dry dog food as well. We feed her NRG dehydrated dog food http://www.nrgpetproducts.com/. We just add warm water to it and it expands to it’s normal size. We feed her the salmon one. She loves it. Also, to prevent tick/flea/mite issues I put a quater size of Neem Oil in my palm, rub it on my hands and then rub it all over her body. It really stinks badly, kind of like rancid onions or garlic, but those insects won’t bother the dog. It is a well known flea/tick/mite repellant in India. It is non-toxic to dogs so there is no risk of adverse effects. Try that and see if it helps your little one. My dog is from Thailand. She is a Thai street dog. I was wondering if you could do a drawing of her? Do you do dogs of different countries or only the so called “pure breeds”? Let me know if you could draw my dog and how much it would cost. Thank you. 😀
Reply
13. Shannon Elliott | May 10, 2014 at 9:16 am

I forgot to mention that the major brand name dogs foods with chicken meal in them give Kuro really bad skin allergies. I think your dog might have those problems from what I read in the post and subsequent comments. I find the salmon dog food is good for my dog Kuro and her skin but I used to feed her a major brand name dog food with salmon in it and she still had bad skin so maybe there is something they add to the dog food that gives both of our dogs bad skin allergies. 😦 They are only out to make money and our dogs have to suffer for it. I am glad I switched to NRG. She is much healthier for it. Good luck with your little paw. 😀
Reply