Hello everyone. This past summer I had posted about my one year old Doberman having some problems with flaky skin. I took him to the vet, I believe in August and he said to double the fish oil and believed it was stress related. Well, I orginally had him on Wellness Allergy mix dry for a few months (Duck) with no improvement. I now feed him Nutro Evo. He still has flakes(Which doesn't seem to bother him as much as it bothers me) so I took him back to the vet yesterday (12/19). We gave him a thyroid test which the results will be in by Friday. He said that if it is thyroid, its a clear and cut solution. He then told me if it's a food allergy we will switch him to Hills Prescription Diet Z/D for two months. Since I originally had him on Wellness Allergy mix I asked the vet what the difference was and he said the protein is Hyrolized. Does anyone have any experience with this food? Good, Bad or something better out there? Other then the flakes my Doberman is very active and is a total scamp! I'll keep everyone posted.

I had a it-didn't-help-one-iota experience w/Hills. Hopefully Connie will post here but until then, I'll tell you my experience with the stuff. My dog has allergies and the vet put him on Hill Prescription Z/D whatever. I went through almost 2 big bags and there was no improvement. Zippo. Nada.

I posted here asking the same question you did. Most were horrified about Gunnar eating Hills Z/D so I changed and put him on an elimination diet using buffalo, venison and rabbit - all things he didn't have before. I quickly added chicken hoping he wasn't allergic. That has been his diet for the last several months.

Over time, I added to this, eggs for example. My dog is allergic to beef of all things . I do believe he's allergic to something else too but haven't found out exactly what it is...my guess is something dairy related or something environmental. Still working on that one.

Now his coat glistens. Itchy paws are once in a while but have improved immensely. Hills Z/D had nothing to do with that success .

If you read this whole thread, you'll have a good starting point:
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4181619/site_id/1#import

Food is not the most likely allergy.

But that thread addresses the more likely causes for atopic dermatitis, I think.

Also, how much fish oil do you give? Is the itching seasonal at all? Is he on flea prevention (fleas are most common allergy by far)? Have you tried Hydroxyzine along with fish oil? (They work best when you use both, according to 2005 Tufts research.) Is he worse after being outside? Has he had any ear infection or inflammation?

P.S. Even if it's not food, my experience and opinion is that excellent food helps support the immune system, and allergies are an immune response. Excellent food (to me) means fresh raw food.

Connie, this is part 2 of a post from spring/summer. You were helping me back then try to figure out what was wrong. I left with me coming back from the vet and giving the dog a bigger dose of salmon oil and using a soapless shampoo so it wouldn't dry his coat out. The vet said it could be stress. Well its the end of December and he still has flakes. So, I started another topic because I just brought him back to the vet yesterday. Thyroid test was done and if that isn't the problem, vet said he would try the food next for two months, then if that doesn't work, next would be a dermatolgist. He said the dog could be allergic to protein in genral. I'm not to familar with the Hill's Prescription Diet Z/D and was wondering if people had some imput. Thanks

 Quote: Kevin Guthrie

I'm not to familar with the Hill's Prescription Diet Z/D and was wondering if people had some imput. Thanks

Sure, I have input. It's crap.


There is no substitute for REAL food in dealing with a dog w/allergy (or any other) issues; allergies are an immune system problem, so strengthening the immune system is the most important step in combatting their annoying symptoms.

Ingredients
Starch, hydrolyzed chicken liver, vegetable oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), powdered cellulose, hydrolyzed chicken, glyceryl monostearate, DL-methionine, taurine, ethoxyquin (a preservative), minerals (dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

A few (very very few) dogs are allergic to protein in general unless it's denatured. That would be the absolute last thing I would suspect, personally.

Please remind us about why you and the vet don't suspect inhalant/environmental allergies.

I'm sorry; I recognize your name, but not the whole story.

BTW, the dermatologist is a good plan, if you can do it, because the dermatologist can do scratch tests. This involves shaving the dog's side and testing for allergies. It's far more accurate than a blood test, but many people don't do it because of the shaving and the cost. Blood tests can help, but are not very accurate. Scratch (skin) tests can be 75% accurate.

He is itchy, right? Not just dry?

Have you tried hydroxyzine, along with a gram of fish oil for every ten pounds of dog weight? Are you considering a fresh diet?

Jenni, how would I go about strengthening his immune system? I'm a little confused. So if I feed him real chicken leg quarters, that will be better then the chicken in the dog food, even though he could be allergic to chicken?

When do you get the thyroid results?

Connie, I suspected inhalent allergens BUT he will be in the house for eight hours while I'm at work and he'll be covered in flakes when I get home. When I take him to the feild to run which is about hour to two hours, he'll be fine. I live in WNY so we're pretty cold up here now. I figured with summer gone this would have cleared up if it was inhalent/seasonal but it didn't. Itching-just a little bit. Sneezes about 6-7 times when he gets up from bed. Shakes his head like there's something in his ears. So I figured he had an ear infection. The vet put the scope in his ears and let me look. Just a little wax. Also tried the allergy meds you suggested with no success. It's just frustrating.

Thyroid test are sent to Oshawa Ontario Canada and will be in late Thurday or early Friday.