Skin Inflammation -- Any Insight?

[Guest Vers]

Apologies for the length, but I could really use some insight, and have probably still left things out.

 

Something is causing the outside of Simba's ears and now the front of his neck and inside of his front legs to become inflamed and raw.

 

His first flare up was in February, right around the time I was trying to switch their food over to Kirkland chicken and rice. Only his ears were affected; we saw the vet, treated with compresses, benadryl and HB101 solution (Barrow's and hydrocortisone), and stopped the Kirkland immediately. He was checked for mites, and bacterial and fungal infection, none found. A food or environmental allergy/sensitivity was the best educated guess.

 

 

His ears cleared up more slowly than I would have expected, but most of the hair had grown back as of a few weeks ago, and there was no sign of inflammation.

 

 

Since I'm still (apparently very foolishly) trying to find a food both hounds do well on, I started a slow switch to TOTW Pacific Stream about two weeks ago. Simba's ears were totally inflamed again a week ago by the time I was feeding a 50/50 mix. Back to vet last Saturday, recheck for mites and infections, same negative results.

 

I obviously stopped the TOTW, and started again with compresses, benadryl and HB101. But over the past few days, the same type of inflammation has appeared on the inside of his front legs, and now an area on the front of his neck.

 

His ears today show up here:

and his front legs:

 

I spoke with my vet yesterday, and he's prescribed a short course of prednisone which we started today.

 

I don't know that it's the food that's the problem, but the timing is very suspicious. The two foods not involved were Solid Gold Mmillenia and Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine and Salmon; the two foods I suspect are Kirkland Chicken and TOTW Pacific Stream. The ingredient that the latter two have that the the first two don't is potato.

 

How common is a sensitivity to potato? Would it manifest this way?

 

I can't rule other environmental sensitivies, but I haven't changed laundry detergent, don't use cedar beds, and the first flare up was in February when there's no pollen here. Treats and such are simple and haven't changed since Simba came home a year ago. I've been using Revolution and and a Preventic collar since he came home as well.

His appetitite and attitude are excellent as ever, but I can tell the raw skin on his front legs is bothering him when he walks.

 

Thoughts on possible causes and how to proceed?

 

Our vet is very good and does not go for the "big guns" unless necessary. If there's information I can bring to his attention, I can count on him to be open to discussing and possibly pursuing solutions based on it.

 

(It hurts to see my hound with even this relatively minor discomfort, and yeah, I feel like I've somehow been a bad dog-mom. If only I could figure this out.)

Edited April 18, 2010 by Vers

[Guest Drumhellergrey]

I though those ears looked red in the ... stick my foot in mouth thread.

 

I would say that you are on the right track in thinking it is a food allergy.

 

You are going to get a lot of suggestions on what to feed, but it all comes down to what you can afford and what you want to do regarding your grey.

 

Don't even think for a moment though that you are a bad Greyhound Mom. You are here asking questions, and that isn't what a BGM would do. They would totally ignore the problem and do nothing about it.

 

Sorry , I cannot be of more help, but I'm sure that you will receive lots of greyt suggestions.

[Guest IrskasMom]

I am not much of any Help either>I would suspect FOOD ALLERGY deffinitly.To what ,I would not know. Keeping all my Finger crossed you get to the Bottom of this fast. Handsome Guy

[Guest Greytluv]

Simba His ears look so sore

 

Aren't both Kirkland and TOTW made by Diamond?

Edited April 17, 2010 by Greytluv

[GeorgeofNE]

No strong reason to believe that's FOOD allergy versus inhalant allergies. Plenty of dogs have "hay fever," just like we do, and this is a very bad time of year for some.

 

The legs look to me as if he's been nibbling them because they itch; he could also have a severe flea allergy; one flea would be all it would take. The ears appear to have been scratched raw; another classic sign of allergic itching.

 

It's talk to your vet about seasonal allergies. Yes, it could be food, but it could also be the other, so before I went all crazy changing foods, I'd consider pollen first!

 

Having lived through one dog with severe allergies, I know how tough this can be on both human AND dog!

 

Don't forget the pred will make the dog thirsty and make it pee more...

[Guest Vers]

A couple of clarifying points.

You're correct, Greytluv, Diamond does make both the Kirkland and TOTW (and Simba wants to say thank you for the very gentle kisses to his poor ears).

Seasonal allergies are on the table, but since the first flare up was in February and there are close to zero pollens here then, it's somewhat unlikely. Also, Simba's been living here through a full four seasons, and didn't have this inflammation until this February.

No signs of fleas; dogs and cats are on Revolution and I'm typically the first to get bitten by any stray flea.

His scratching, licking and nibbling is minimal; the areas are pretty well raw without any intervention from him.

ETA: Thank you for suggesting seasonal allergies. Did you find a successful treatment for that? Benadryl hasn't seemed to do much at all, and I learned the first time that Simba can have a hyper episode (a bit terrifying) when the dose wears off. We'll be tapering off when he's ready to stop it this time around.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Vers

[Guest longdoglady]

My lurcher, Jack, was allergic to potato; when eaten whole he regurgitated them otherwise he came out in red, itchy spots.

Poor Simba, I do hope you find the answer soon.

[Guest Greytluv]

How's Simba today?

[Guest Vers]

Thank you for the responses -- it's just seeming like there's not an obvious cause/fix for this, but this sort of inflammation isn't highly unusual, is it? I'm getting worried.

 

Longdoglady, thank you for letting me know about your lurcher's sensitivity. Was it easier to pinpoint the cause because he was eating potatoes whole?

 

Greytluv, thank you for asking about him. Simba's still acting fine, good appetite, happy attitude and all. His ears look slightly less red and aren't as warm to the touch today, but he has a new spot under the fur on his upper shoulder that may be the same type of inflammation, just no hairloss there yet.

 

He's had two doses of prednisone so far and seems slightly better, certainly not worse, still on Benadryl and I'm swabbing the inflamed areas with HB101 twice a day. He hasn't had any of the TOTW for a week now; he's been eating raw dinners (chicken and turkey) and for brekkie the Holistic Select that he didn't have trouble with before. I've been with him 24 hours both days this weekend, and he's really not scratching; he has started to lick the insides of his legs a few times, but is easily called off from that.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Looks like a raging yeast infection to me.

If you smell the areas do they have an odd odor?

[DevilDog]

Oy, poor Simba.. get better you big goofball!

[Guest mcsheltie]

It is too coincidental that both episodes happened during a food change. That fact that the second episode is more severe than the first is not surpising. It takes the immune system a while to calm down after an allergic reaction. And it is normal for each subsequent exposure to cause a more severe reaction. The first reaction wasn't very long ago and while the skin had healed up, the immune system itself was still on hyper alert. When it was challenged again it it pulled out the big guns to fight what it perceives as an assault. It will take longer for his system to calm down this time. Keep him on the Pred until it does and then wean him off. Keep in mind you may now be dealing with a secondary bacterial skin infection. An opportunistic infection that may be causing the problems on the legs and neck. If the skin in those area doesn't calm down from the Pred (or it continues to spread) you should go back to vet and check on this.

 

I had a medical problem a few years ago and had repeated CAT scans. The first I was fine. The second I felt a little weird after. I felt like my ears were plugged and my throat feel a bit odd. I thought I was coming down with a cold. the third time my tongue and throat swelled while I was having the scan. They pulled me out, shot me up with Benadryl and made me drinks gallons of water.

 

I do see an obvious fix for this. Put him back on the food he does well on and don't change it. The more often his immune system goes on alert, the more sensitive it becomes. You may not be able to have both dogs on the same food. That really is not a problem. There are some people here that five hounds and are feeding five different foods.

[racindog]

IMO, stick with the Solid Gold and then it probably won't be an issue. I have 5 hounds at home now and each one REQUIRES different meals/supplements/and/or meds. Solid Gold fortunately has the foods each need. Aggie needs the low P Holsitic Blendtz(kidneys); Bobber needs the Barkin at the Moon (anal glands); Minny needs the Hund n Flocken or Wolf King...etc. Its no biggie feeding different rations, you just get used to it.

[sweetdogs]

Ow, that looks so sore. I'm a raw feeder so I'm obviously not a fan of The Kibble Run-Around. I would put Simba on a raw or home-cooked diet & off commercial food. Eliminate grains, rice & potatoes - all are carbs that dogs don't need & some have trouble with. Here is a great article from The Whole Dog Journal: Homemade Diets . Since he does well with his raw chicken & turkey, I would keep him on it. Beef would probably be even better.

 

My old boy Faolin had terrible ear infections & would lick himself raw when I first got him (& was feeding him IAMS ). A switch to a raw diet cleared up his skin issues for good (his ear infections were environmental & needed desensitization shots). A raw diet is more work but it is so worth it.

 

I hope you find something that helps him - Simba's gorgeous!

[Guest LindsaySF]

I'm going with allergies. Could be environmental or food. Given that his flare-ups happened around the time of switching foods, I would say food allergy is likely. Is potato the only thing the two 'offending foods' have in common? He might be allergic to potato.

[Guest scfilby]

Looks like a raging yeast infection to me.

If you smell the areas do they have an odd odor?

 

I was thinking the same thing. The closeup picture of the ear looks weepy to me, unless that is just an illusion. I thought weepy inflammation usually indicates infection not allergy

[Guest Vers]

Looks like a raging yeast infection to me.If you smell the areas do they have an odd odor?

I was thinking the same thing. The closeup picture of the ear looks weepy to me, unless that is just an illusion. I thought weepy inflammation usually indicates infection not allergy

I truly appreciate all your help with this. I did sniff Simba's ears when I went home for our lunchtime walk, but that was inconclusive because I have a lousy sense of smell. I left a message for my vet to ask about yeast infection, though he had said previously that he wasn't seeing bacterial or fungal infection on the slides of the scrapings he's taken. To determine yeast, does a sample need to be cultured?

 

Is potato the only thing the two 'offending foods' have in common? He might be allergic to potato.

TOTW and Kirkland also have fish meal, egg products and "natural flavors" in common, but the two non-offending foods also have those ingredients, but not potato. That's why I wondered about a potato sensitivity.

A raw diet is more work but it is so worth it.

I am rapidly heading in that direction. I don't mind feeding two different foods in the meantime.

The closeup picture of the ear looks weepy to me, unless that is just an illusion.

Not an illusion, but not weepy -- his ears were slathered with Neosporin until I could get him to the vet the first time this happened.

 

Busy day at work here, so this is a bit brief and scattered, but maybe a bit more info to go on. Truly grateful for the help and well wishes for Simba!

[Guest longdoglady]

Simba is so handsome it is heart breaking to see him so sore...and the photo with his paw in his mouth...

 

With Jack whole pieces of potato were rejected before they caused a problem but feeding him dog food with potato in it caused skin symptoms.

 

You are doing the best thing by feeding Simba home prepared food with as few ingredients as possible. I would be tempted to feed just chicken and some really well boiled rice until his skin settles down, no add-ins, no treats. The Holistic Select does have a lot of ingredients and his immune system may decide it no longer likes one of them. Keep it really simple with no extras until he is better then add things in one at a time, that way you can pinpoint the culprit if his symptoms flare up again.

 

I fed Anna a salmon and prawn food which made her ill, she was fine with fish including salmon so it must have been the prawn, unfortunately now all fish makes her ill, it is though her body linked the fish with the prawn so my poor baby can no longer have her favourite sardines That is why I would be wary of feeding too many ingredients in case Simba's body decides to do the same.

 

Simba

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I'd also suspect the food to be the culprit, since both flare ups coincided with a food change, right? And the weepy, sore ears could be infected secondary to an initial allergic reaction.

 

One other thought, is it possible that he is allergic to his Preventic collar? Could he be rubbing at it with his legs and then rubbing on his ears as well? I don't know how often those get changed, but could the allergic outbreaks be around the same time as a collar change?

 

Whatever it is, I hope he gets some relief, poor kid... If Benedryl isn't working, maybe check with your vet about trying Zyrtec or Claritin?

[Guest TheUnrulyHound]

I'd also suspect the food to be the culprit, since both flare ups coincided with a food change, right? And the weepy, sore ears could be infected secondary to an initial allergic reaction.

 

One other thought, is it possible that he is allergic to his Preventic collar? Could he be rubbing at it with his legs and then rubbing on his ears as well? I don't know how often those get changed, but could the allergic outbreaks be around the same time as a collar change?

 

Whatever it is, I hope he gets some relief, poor kid... If Benedryl isn't working, maybe check with your vet about trying Zyrtec or Claritin?

 

can you give a hound claritin? Stepper has allergies and benedryl seems to not be working.....