Back To Vet?

[Guest myGreyHeart]

Little over one month of having Tav now. He was treated for fleas/ticks the first day. Then right after an ear infection, hookworm, given an antihistamine for what vet thought was itching because of allergy to the flea bites. He was switched to prednisone from the antihistamine, given Flagyl/Metronidazole (and had Interceptor last month and will continue). Also, vet didn't see any fleas but said to give Frontline Plus to BOTH hounds to kill any eggs. He's just to have his stool checked again the very end of this month for hookworm.

 

I'm not sure if it's a food issue or allergy to___ ? But I notice he bites himself here and there and scratches at times. When I've looked, it sometimes looks like maybe a bug bite? I just catch him licking or nibbling but it isn't 24/7. The only other thing I might mention is "irregularity"? I'm not sure how long it takes to get used to a food, esp. after being on meds like that. I might just need to give it more time, we stopped pred. last week. I don't have any experience with that.

Most days he always seemed to have bad gas and loose stool. Some days it was normal once or twice. Today it looked better.

I don't know if there's something I could be feeding or if we need another vet visit?

 

 

[Burpdog]

What is the protein source of the food you are feeding?

[sweetdogs]

Skin issues take a long time to resolve. New skin cells have to grow to replace the itchy ones on the surface. Since you've only had him a month & he's been on a bunch of stuff, I would want to give him more time to work it out. I guess what I'm really saying is I don't think the vet will be able to do much more. You might try a little witch hazel on his red bumps. I use one with aloe vera in it.

 

His tummy issues may be related to his change in food. Again you've only had him a month & tummy issues are pretty common with newly adopted hounds. You're testing & treating for worms so that will eliminate that problem.

 

Tav looks like a beautiful boy - I'm sure he'll be doing better soon.

[Guest Energy11]

Sounds food-allergy related to me. Maybe try another food? There are many brands out there that contains things they are usually not allergic to, like whitefish and sweet potato, Venision and potato, Duck and Potato, etc. ...

 

Might to try one of those. Good Luck!

[Guest myGreyHeart]

I posted yesterday when I thought it might be a food issue (it's posted as "Food etc") I'm just going to copy/paste what I put there, sorry for the repeats:

I'm wondering if my one GH could have an allergy, and "rotating" or "mixing" the kibble has been something mentioned and read (a way to get variety and all the nutrients?) I've looked at DogFoodAnalysis.com and noticed some foods aren't updated....I wouldn't feed them anything that contained ethoxyquin etc. So I'm uncertain about what's "good"...rather the better "good" options for what I am dealing with. I'll post information first:

 

Currently feeding Chicken Soup as the dry kibble to both. Chicken is usually given with it- sometimes beef or Turkey. At times a small spoonful of yogurt occasionally pumpkin. I add a tiny amount of rice or small pasta. And I noticed a good difference when I began putting salmon oil in Rosie's food at Dinner time a long time ago. Rosie has does well on this.

When Tav was adopted,-now just over 1 mo.- He was on bland first (on meds though, hookworm and was on pred. for allergy to flea bites. I don't know how long it takes prednisone to fully leave) He's off meds now unless Interceptor counts, and is to be re-checked for hookworm at the end of September.

 

He eats the Chicken Soup, the meat and rice/small pasta. I stayed away from giving him any pumpkin or yogurt. I introduced him to the Salmon Oil as his skin is terribly dry and that alone seems to make him itchy. He rarely goes without seeming like he has the Big D. Some odd days it looks normal, but mostly it's been like some form of Diarrhea. Allergy to something in the food he's given? I hope prescribed meds for it killed all hookworm. I've looked at different foods and wondered if any might help him or benefit both as a "rotation". Looked at so many from "Grain Free" to few ingredient ones to "AvoDerm" (because of skin). No changes atm, and not comfortable yet to be raw.

 

[Guest Energy11]

I feed Chicken soup, both kibble and their senior canned. WONDERFUL stuff.

 

If I give Cari ANY form of fish oil, she gets the Big D, so I have to put Canola Oil in her food.

 

Maybe you just need to forget the fish oil like I do with Cari? I really DO like the Chicken Soup food, though. Good Luck!

[Guest myGreyHeart]

The itching/biting and that dry skin....I just don't know what it is. His fur looked like it was getting better and my best guess is the last round of bugs around here maybe. Aww, And the Grizzly Salmon oil was the best (Rosie loved it from day one and so many had positive feedback also). I'm careful of anything topical so ANY SUGGESTIONS of something safe that may help (allergy/itch). Last I remember passing quickly without time to look was Nature's miracle?

 

Diane/Burpdog, I know you have experience with allergies and I was hoping you & other people who do would be able to tell me more about it. I don't know how something (for ex.) like a gluten allergy shows itself or severity etc.

 

 

 

 

[Burpdog]

How many days of panacur did he have?

 

Because of the hookworm, I would make sure that is gone and I wouldn't check just do another 3-5 days of panacur.

 

Did he come from a farm?

 

 

[Batmom]

What Burpdog said re worms.

 

Re itching: Are you 100% sure he has no more fleas? Has he had a bath since he had them?

 

Re diarrhea: Change the food to something completely different. Doesn't have to be grain free. Just different ingredients. I would stop the salmon oil while changing over and restart when he's stabilized on the new food. Note that it can take a good 6 weeks to see skin/coat difference when giving oils.

 

Allergies usually show up as a histamine reaction -- redness accompanying the itching. Dog can have a food intolerance without having allergies, tho. The grain free thing is a big allergy myth, don't know who started that. Dog is as likely to be allergic to meats and potatoes as to grains such as rice, corn, oatmeal. One of mine was allergic to fish and fish oil.

[silverfish]

While reading that, I was thinking 'food intolerance', or maybe flea allergy .. but it fits more with my experiences of food intolerance.

 

If I eat malt I get very similar symptoms to Tav's though I tend not to chew myself. I do find myself absent-mindedly scratching though. And if I eat more than a tiny amount I'm ready to tear myself to pieces - and yes, I do get dry, red, scaly skin to go with it, especially round my eyes for some reason. Yeast gives me different symptoms. My true allergies tend to result in vomiting (immediately), and/or swelling, and/or hives.

 

Renie was intolerant of more than a trace of sugar - she'd get dry, flaky and very very itchy. I knew if she'd had something with sugar in it because I'd hear her licking and licking and licking her feet.

 

Jim couldn't take milk - he was lactose intolerant. It was mostly his gut that was affected.

 

When you get really dry itchy skin, you do tend to get little cracks and spots appearing, so that could be what you mean by 'bug bites'. If his fur is getting dry and rough looking, that points to an ongoing problem, because fur doesn't grow overnight, and isn't directly affected by an allergy.

 

I think I'd try to pare his diet down to a very basic two or three ingredients and see what happens. If no improvement after a week, change one of the ingredients and try again. If it's all OK after a week, try adding one single extra food item. Go slow, double check by reintroducing, and make notes. You may find it's something very simple. Good luck!

[Guest mandm]

Where on his body is he biting/nibbling? I ask because sometimes intestinal worms like hookworm or whipworm cause them to nip at their body, alongside the intestinal tract it seems. Maybe he still has worms, which would explain both the nibbling and the GI trouble. He could have a negative fecal and still have worms. Another round of Panaucur might help.

[Guest mcsheltie]

I am a fan of waiting things out with a new hound, they go through so much. One of my girls still gets loose at any new experience. If she has worms, coccidia or giardia by now they deserve to live!

 

If he has flea allergies even one flea can cause an immune reaction that can take several weeks to calm down. So I'd be a flea sleuth for starters. A few fleas on your dog = eggs in your carpet. Which hatch several weeks later. So Frontline applied a month ago may not have taken care of it yet. I have talked to a zillion people who are having flea problems this year. Seems they are bionic! I've read a lot of recommendations for Adam's spray on this list.

 

As far as the poo probs - Since you said it is normal sometimes, I'd give more time before I changed anything. He may now be getting used to the food. I'd stop all supplements and keep feeding Chicken Soup and not feed different meats with it. Keep things simple. If you can find out what he was eating before, compare ingredients and see if you are still feeding the same protein and carb sources.

 

Did you know that by adding extra meat you are throwing the calcium/phosphorus balance out of whack? Meat is high in Phosphorus. The balance should be minimum 1.2 (cal) to 1 (phos). To the max of 2 (cal) to 1 (phos) Dietary minerals all interact, excess phosphorus should be avoided long term.

 

Worm him again with Panacur, which also helps with lurking Giardia. Our track dogs have all had it. And it is hard to find on stool samples, but raises it's ugly head in times of stress. My good vet in KY told me one of the inert ingredients in Panacur also helps with D. Not just the Fenbendazole itself.

 

The reasons why I would wait on a food change right now are: D = inflamed intestines. Food change, his health issues with antibiotics =inflamed intestines, he's had worms =inflamed intestines. So unless things get worse I'd keep it simple and wait a couple weeks.

 

I am also a fan of good probiotics. Products that guarantee an amount of microorganisms thru the expiration date. I like to give those four hours before/after any antibiotics. If they aren't getting antis I like to give at bedtime.

Edited September 24, 2009 by mcsheltie

[Guest myGreyHeart]

I thought they would give Panacur- that is what Rosie had right before she was on Interceptor regularly. I had freaked out because with D. he vomited and I saw a few drops of blood (from straining) and went ASAP as an emergency. I didn't like the Dr very much and first I was just given an Interceptor and LATER given 1 1/2 flavored tablets for Large dog of Drontal (originally she wanted me to wait like 2 weeks after the Interceptor and when I got in touch with Rosie's vet she said "give it NOW"). Should I CALL the vet for Panacur or can I buy it without an RX??

No he didn't come from a farm, he came from a small rescue. Took him very first day on the way home to get nails dremmeled and fleas &ticks were found on him- he was given a bath. ALL the blankets he laid on in the back were thrown out (not by me, but later I thought it was good). The dr. looked through him and didn't see anything and I applied Frontline Plus. I also used the "earthen powder" (the word beginning with a 'd' escapes me) on so many things in the house. It was given as a preventive measure.

 

Probiotics.....in pills? In yogurt? I didn't know about the phosphorous.....I remember Rosie being on bland Chicken and rice and being given chicken with her food, and then she wouldn't eat without chicken usually with her food.

Limited ingredient foods- off the top of my head I can only think of "Natural Balance".

 

Tav mostly is having skin issues on his sides, a little on his stomach. I took pictures- I don't know if this is what they call 'hot spots'? One of the "spots", one of his side and one of his stomach,

 

 

 

[Guest Energy11]

Looks like flea or food allergies to me.

 

If a dog is allergic to fleas, ONE flea bite can cause misery and a rash.

 

That is about all I can add.

 

Forgive me if I forgot, but have you tried Benedryl on this?

 

 

[Guest myGreyHeart]

I'm not sure how much to give or how long with Benadryl. When he was prescribed the antihistamine and it did nothing I didn't think of trying it.