Guest Anonymous Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Okay, Bentley is a 13 month old Saint. Over the last several months he's been having skin problems. It started with a hot spot on his rear end. Took him to the vet and they shaved the area and he was on an antibiotic for ten days. After that was cleared up he was still constantly scratching and nipping. I took him back, my vet said to start him on Benadryl. So he was taking 100mg of that twice a day. That didn't work. So he went on Prednisone. That seemed to help although it wrecked havoc on his bladder. He was always thirsty and needing to go out all the time. Several times he would be laying on the floor and just start to pee all over himself. I felt so bad for him. I know he wouldn't have done it if he had any control over it. So, the vet said to take him off the Prednisone because she didn't want him on it full time. So now we're back to Benadryl. Only now he takes three 100mg doses a day. It doesn't seem to be doing the trick. We're also using Linatone Plus supplement on his food and a pill with omega 3 fatty acids. I'm at a loss. I know it can't be comfortable to be itchy all the time. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Fist thing I would suggest is to have a CBC blood test done and a full Thyroid panel...some times hot spots are a sign of a thyroid problem or other auto-immune problems. Hot spots are caused by so many different things including allergies, flea bites, mange, anal gland disease, poor grooming, ear infections, plant awns or burrs and arthritis. I experienced this problem with one of my Newfoundland dogs...but, instead of going the normal route of antibiotics and steriods I choose to change her diet...this worked for her. I put her on a hypo allerginic food which cleared her skin problem up. You can try switching to a good quality holistic food if you are not currently feeding one already. Brands to consider to start with are Wellness and Solid Gold. There are other brands that have even more bioavailable protein but that might be an overload for your dog to start with and you'd see some serious detox (better to take it slow). Some other reasons for a dog to start having hot spots is dogs which have a double coat getting wet and not drying properly ecpecially if they have alot of dead under coat...the dead coat underneath can cause hot spots as it gets trapped next to the skin...I make sure my Newf's are brushed out daily to remove dead coat and after bathing they are dried 100% and by using a high velocity dryer specially made for dogs I am able to get more of the dead undercoat out. Bathing too much especially in the winter when the air is dry can cause skin problems as well...and I have found that using a shampoo with a built in conditioner on a double coated breed can cause problems...the residue from the conditioner can stay in the coat and cause skin problems. Brushing a double coated breed is a requirement. I have used medicated gold bond on hot spots with alot of success...this powder helps dry up the area....some people have used tea tree oil on the hot spots after cleaning them with Nolvasan with success as well. I would also put Bentley on a good quality supplement (Missing Link would be the one to use in this situation) to help out. I would also add a good quality fish oil supplement or as I have done...I added canned sardines and wild canned salmon to my dogs food, I also add organic flax seeds to my dogs food ( I buy the whole seeds and grind them in my coffee grinder and then sprinkle on the dogs food) or you can buy organic flax seed oil at a holistic food store, I would also add vit. C. You can also start throwing in an egg or tablespoon of plain yogurt or cottage cheese. These steps will do so much to help the condition of your doggies skin and also overall health...I would definatley add natural organic bio-yogurt to your dogs diet as after antibiotics your dog needs to have the friendly bacteria replenished in his gut...or you can buy probiotics at a health food store. Another thing which can cause hot spots is under lying stress...if there are any stressful situations in your dogs life I would try to eliminate them. So first, get a CBC done (full blood panel), have the thyroid checked...then once this is clear then start making some changes to your dogs diet....of course I don't know what Bentley is eating... :lol: so the food may be fine....add natural foods to your dogs diet as well. Treat this as if it may be allergies and start taking some foods out of the diet and adding new ones to see if this may clear it up...my Newf's problem was Beef. Good luck:wink: OK, I'm going to stop now... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Well, let's see. Bentley is fed Nutro Lamb and Rice formula. I'm supplementing with Linatone Plus which has vitamins A,D, and E and zinc. He also gets Derm Care Dietary Supplement Capsules which contains fish oil. The fish oil is the source of the omega 3 fatty acids. I've never heard of the food you mentioned, is that something that has to be specially ordered? I think I'll absolutely have the CBC and thyroid checked out. Then I guess I'll just have to go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thats a good idea to get the blood tests done...some times hot spots are caused by some thing other than diet alone...its a good idea to find out the under lying reason for this skin problem. With my Newfoundland dog I had to use the Vet's brand of hypo allerginic dog food...I have all of my other dogs on the wellness and solid gold and give it to her on occasion...but, I am sticking with the hypo allerginic food as it seems to be the only food item which keeps her hot spot free. I would perhaps check out the available hypo allerginic foods your vet sells and perhaps start with that...feed that to Bentley for a month or so to see if that helps...it does not work over night...keep treating the hot spots them selves as well. I don't like the way alot of vets treat the symptoms with out finding out the cause...at the clinic I work at the vets will some times advise the owner to feed a home made diet and give recipes for the owner to prepare at home. Hot spots seem to a big problem with alot of dogs right now...perhaps iour dogs are dealing with too many toxins in their environment as well as their foods and their systems just get over loaded... As for the food you are feeding Nutro Lamb & Rice...I am not familiar with this food...but, I have heard of other people using it with great success. Maybe you could try a food with a different source of protien...the hypo allerginic food I am currently feeding has duck as its main protein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac850 Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 for the food: Eukanuble makes a good diet, but you can only get to through your vet. its called Response. The vet I work for has a lot of patents on it, and most of them say that the food helps a lot, and if they take the dog off the food, the skin problems start up in like 3 days. It won't stop it, but it will prevent the skin issues for as long as the dog is on the food. The food is somewhat expensive though, its around $40 for a 30 pound bag (approx. i don't remember prices) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 i'd go with a quality fish and potato formula (wellness, natural balance, breeders choice etc.). eukanuba has many low quality ingredients (such as "animal fat" and various unnecessary chemical additives) and is preserved with ethoxyquin. that is absolutely scary and very likely to induce worse problems in the long run than just some skin problems. *a definite thumbs down for eukanuba* as far as linatone and the other supplement goes, it's also quite a waste of money. both contain a lot of unnecessary stuff. you'd be way better (and cheaper!) off with a premium olive or safflower oil and a human quality fish oil supplement. if you look at the linatone ingredients, it's primarily soybean oil with a large amount of synthetic additives. and yes, definitely a quality diet, either fish and potato like mentioned above, or another brand that offers a formulation for sensitive skin. california natural or healthwise lamb & oats (made by natura) are worth a try, wellness fish & sweet potato, pinnacle trout & potato, natural balance duck & potato, avoderm specialty or verus advanced opticoat are some products that come to mind that i'd personally consider. they are all high quality diets without harmful/low quality ingredients, but most of them are not available at large chain pet stores, only at independent smaller ones. if you'd like more details, i'd be glad to help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 TDG, are you familiar at all with the use of cyclosporin for treating allergies? Any opinions on the longterm use of it (or Atopica)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 horsefeathers, no i am not - luckily i never had to treat a dog for allergies beyond making some changes in the diet. this is by no means to say that changing diet is a "cure all", and i agree that blood and thyroid definitely need to be checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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