Maybe you can give me some insight to what's going on with my gsd.

I have a 20mos old gsd not nutured that has had itchy skin issues sence he was a puppy. He developed a rash on his belly & a dimed sized hair loss spot on his head. GPVet#1 said rash was possibly from grasses because it's on his belly. Did a scraping for mites that was negative & sent me home. Itching increased so went back to GPVet#1. He said it was allergies but gave no solution.

I decided to go to a new vet I'll call GPV#2. He said it was puppy staph & treated it with antibiotics. The rash went away & the itching lessened but came back after his puppy shots. At this time Cocoa was in alot of discomfort. He would wine & make terrible noises when he itched & started to tear his skin by his itching. GPV#2 had me treat him with Malaseb shampoo & antibiotics. The itching continued so he was then treated with 3 oral doses of ivermectin. The itching let up the 1st week but then came back. A Vet Pharmacist later told me he didn't think this treatment was long enough.

This process took several months & still no solution so I went to GPVet#3 who treated Cocoa with Revolution. He said it would cover mites, fleas & ear mites. He also treated my 3yr gsd because she also developed an itch but not as intense as Cocoas.
The itching continued so decided to take the advice given on this fourm: Go to a Derm Vet.

The Derm Vet diagnoses/problems: Dermatophytes & secondary bacterial pyoderma. Neutrophils with a large number of intra-and extracellular cocci from all areas sampled. He put Cocoa on cephalexin & gave otomax to put on his ears to releave the itching & put him on a food trial. Cocoa itching went from a scale of 8 down to a 2 the 1st day of treatment. Within 3 week his itching & discomfort came back. I called the Derm vet but he was out of town for 2wks. So I decided to take my 3yr dog to GPVet#2 to have her checked because she had loose tufts of hair on the rims of her ears & that might give a clue to the itching. GPVet#3 found a demodetic mite & had me treat both dogs with lym dypt. Thinking great we found the problem I didn't return to the Derm Vet. I discontinued the treatment after 2 baths as Cocoa started to vomit. This was done in Mar. of 08. In August he was treated again for Demodex for 7wks with daily oral ivermection. he seemed to do well but half way through the treatment he started ithcing again.

Fast forward: Cocoa has been treated on & off with antibiots for staph & also for a yeast infection. The itching would reside for a few weeks but then come back. Early Nov. I had to go out of town & take the dogs to a kennel. Cocoa just finised with antibiots for staph & metronidazole for yeast. He was still itchy when I took him to the kennel so I sent along some anti itch creams. When I left him there he had scabes in his ears & hair loss on the back of one ear. When I picked him up 1 1/2 wks later he was in better shape than when I dropped him off. His ears looked really healthy & his hair was growing back. The lady @ the kennel said he didn't itch while there which was obvious by his appearance. Woops running out of space. Any comments?

Hi, Kathy,

I'm not a health professional. Based only on my own more-extensive-than-I-would-wish-for experiences with allergic dogs (and research), I would like to ask some questions:

How old was he when the itching started as a puppy?

By "grass on belly allergy" was he saying contact allergy?? Did he say?

The itching continued so he was then treated with 3 oral doses of ivermectin.

For Demodex?

He put Cocoa on cephalexin

For how long? When it was over, was there a re-check for neutrophils by the GP vet when the derm vet was away or did the GP vet not know about the finding (indicating acute bacterial infection)?

He put ..... him on a food trial.

For how long and with what result?

When is the derm vet returning? Or was the derm vet episode in March of '08? I absolutely get it how frustrating derm problems are, but this is a lot of going from vet to vet with no followup, I think.

How is the dog right now? How about the ears?

Nothing of real consequence to add, but the final clue in this saga seems extremely relevant to me: dog didn't itch while in the kennel.

That looks like a strong indication of the dog reacting to something in the home. Dustmites? Airborne Mold? Carpet shampoo or floor cleaner? Some other airborne allergen?

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Nothing of real consequence to add, but the final clue in this saga seems extremely relevant to me: dog didn't itch while in the kennel. ...

Good point.

I would love to hear how the dog is now.

Kenneling was in early November. If I had to guess, the dog is back home and itching again, prompting her to post.

What's the consensus on Benadryl for itching? It seems to work pretty well on my Cardigan's seasonal (fall) allergy to airborne mold/pollen. Benadryl won't cure the underlying cause--but if the OP's dog is clear of mites, yeast, and secondary infection--just providing relief from the itching may give the skin a chance to heal up.

That does sound suspicious that the dog got better in the kennel. Was he eating the same thing in there that he eats at home? - all the exact same thing? If so, you can probably rule out food allergies.

Did the dog ever go outside while he was in the kennel - was he around grass, trees, etc?

Did the dermo vet suggest skin testing to see what he's allergic to?

IMHO, it would be helpful to have the derm vet do the skin tests so you know exactly what the allergens are, as opposed to guessing.

There are so many things in the environment that can cause a dog to flare up that it was worth it to me to identify the bad stuff so I could concentrate on eliminating/neutralizing those things.

ETA: The skin tests identified my dog is HIGHLY allergic to wool. Not something that would have occurred to me but really good to know. I wouldn't want a wool blanket in my dog's crate, for example. :wink:

Thanks for all the replys.

When I brought the dog home from the kennel he started itching again & within a wk he had imflamed skin in the armpit area. Took him to gpvet & was put on cephalexin. Told to shampoo with a calming shampoo she sold me & to give him prednison for the itch. She did suggest a blood test but no mention of a recheck. That's when I decide to call a Derm Vet which is 200 miles away. Can't get in until 12/17. Didn't give the dog prednison because it would interfer with testing.

Cocoa's rash started when he was 12wks old. The gpvet said it was contact from the grass. 3 mos later he was treated with oral ivermection for scabies even thought scraping was negative. He still itched. This is around the time my other dog started itching. She still itches but not as agressively to damage her skin.

I did block off access to the livingroom & they both seem to be itching less. I was thinking the carpet & pat is old & maybe the pad underneath is breaking down & give off some toxin. Just now he was itching on his uppr leg. It's like a little red pimple. I put some quadritop on it. He seems fine.The reason for the post is I was hoping someone else had the same issue & found a cure.

At the kennel they have the same food as I feed @ home. Wysong. They were let out side to play & there's snow on the ground.

The dermvet didn't do skin tests. Said to bring back in a month. When I called back about Cocoas itching, he wouldn't be back in for 2wks so went to a local vet for itching. This time he had lym dypt for demodex. I didn't go back to dermvet thinking we found the problem . Every time something is done it takes weeks to a month to see if there are any good results & here we are 1 1/2 yrs from original itching @ dozens of appt & still itching.
I Quit the food trial thinking it was demodex.

How would you know if you have mold spores?

I guess I was hoping I could find the answer to his problem before his Wed appt. I don't look forward to the drive & yesterday found out my job is going to be eliminated on the 19th so don't look forward to spending the money for tests. But I've spent so much on Cocoa up to this point, hopefully will find the answer & stop the drain on the pocket book.

Yes I should have listened to Connies messages sooner. GO TO A DERM VET it'll cost less in the long run.

Kathy

A blood test for what? (2nd paragraph)

Reminder: the blood tests for inhalant/environmental allergies are far less useful than either of the skin tests. A vet who does not point this out when suggesting blood tests (RAST or ELISA) is remiss. I believe that sometimes this is because derm vets do the skin test and the GP vet can do the blood draw -- but also, it's true that many owners do not want to pay for the skin tests or allow the shaving.

None of these tests can ID a food allergy, of course, as discussed many many times here. Only an elimination diet can do that.

Even if you cannot do the skin tests, you can get a diagnosis. This means derm vet, IMHO, especially in view of this tangled history. If it's parasites, then atopy aids are not useful .. and vice versa.

If the diagnosis IS atopy, then there are some things to try short of the skin tests. But there is no believable diagnosis yet, IMHO.

P.S. I am 100% sympathetic.