ok, I guess I'll be saving for a Derm Vet. Till then, how much probiotics can I give.? How much yohurt at one time. Plus what would a therapeutic dosage amount of salmon oil be.? He is 93 lbs. I use the oil from Leerburg. I have tried all of the antihistamines and they do nothing for him. The only thing that really keeps him comfortable is Temeral P. But I hate keeping him on that.
There are no ragged edges on this ear flaps.
I make a compound that turns blue and has 3 things in it. I have to get back to on what they are. Seems to work very well.
He does get frantic when he chews on his paws but its almost always at nite and he'll stop if I tell him. Makes me think he's bored. I'll give him a chew at that point.
He never goes in woods or fields. Just the yard and on the pavement where we go for walks. His itching is not constant, but a little here and a little there. We have no where to really bathe him (with him being so big)but I take him to the kennel for baths at least once a month.
I think we will have to wash the throw rugs once a week. (usually every other week now. )We have no rugs only tile and he does not get on the furniture. So I think that is everything.
Thanks again. Dog people are the best.

how much probiotics can I give.? How much yohurt at one time.

For a dog that size, 1/2 cup to start sounds fine for a day.


Plus what would a therapeutic dosage amount of salmon oil be.? He is 93 lbs. I use the oil from Leerburg.

You use Grizzly? Do you follow the bottle directions? Ads I recall, that's very close to the 1000 mg per ten pounds of dog that I would suggest (9 grams for this dog). How much Vitamin E are you giving?


I have tried all of the antihistamines and they do nothing for him.

Have you done ten-day trials with the fish oil concurrently?

He does get frantic when he chews on his paws but its almost always at nite and he'll stop if I tell him. Makes me think he's bored. I'll give him a chew at that point.

It makes me think that the itching drives him crazy but he gets distracted when he has things to do and is not lying in bed.

We have no where to really bathe him (with him being so big) but I take him to the kennel for baths at least once a month.

On the way in from grass, you can either walk him through a basin of clean water (and dry his paws carefully - yeast is NOT a good thing to have develop - or use unscented baby wipes on his paws and undercarriage, This at least helps keep pollen and grasses from being dragged in to his bed and carpets, rugs, etc,, where he breathes them 24/7.


In fact, baby wipes might be a good investment with a dog this big who you really can't rinse when he has been on grass, etc.

This is not against contact allergies, which are in fact pretty rare in dogs compared to fleas and environmental/inhalant allergies, but against the dragging in of outdoor allergens so that they are on him and being inhaled constantly.

Frontline or one of those- or better, a bath followed by this.
Prednisone if it gets any worse. Don't want to wait until a dog becomes uber-sensitized to whatever the agent is before acting, especially if the itching is seasonal. Sometimes you can knock the inflammation back and they'll be good for months.
Check out the chewies? Sometimes we avoid garbage dog food only to feed a
chewie that's creepy (made in China, stuffed with?)

Ok... I was giving him 2 tablespoons a day of yohurt and 4 pumps of Grizzle a day all summer which is what the bottle recomends . Did not notice much difference in his behavior.
So I will up his yohurt. Keep up with the Salmon Oil (I had stopped for a while as I read some doys are allergic to that) But I started it again.
I need to add the Vit E which I will start today.
Baby wipes is a great idea. Will start that tomorrow.
Had his checked for fleas at the vet yesterday and they did not see any.
The only chew he gets is Elk antlers.
Right not I give him no treats from anywhere. I was thinking of ordering some of the treats from Leerburg, But I'm afraid to add anything else to his diet right now.
I'm going to make an appointment for the Derm Vet during the holidays and see what we can find out.
Thanks for your help on this.

"They did not see any" is not really meaningful. Again, one exposure can drive a hypersensitive dog wild. I would comb him over a white sheet. "Didn't see any" is an odd reply from a vet who is hearing about bad itchiness. JMO.

I'll put money - big money - on the dog not being allergic to fish oil. It's about 2% as possible as the allergy being food, which is less than 10% as possible as fleas and/or environmental/inhalant. JMHO!

Fish oil and probiotics are not short-term "fixes," and in fact, nothing is. Only steroids can work immediately, but steroids have such serious potential side effects that you want to reserve that for an absolute must situation, to break a bad itch cycle.

The fish oil and E are, IMHO, the very first things to start. Then I would thoroughly vacuum the house (taking the used bag outside immediately) and bathe the dog.

I don't remember the Grizzly directions (I mean, what they come to in ml or mg). If you would, please see if the four pumps you are giving come to 2 measuring teaspoons, which is the dose for this big guy. (A teaspoon is just about 4.75 grams).

Connie, I feel I have done everything right with my guy. Fish oil, Vit E, Vit C, yogurt. I also give him Clearalergy from the Leerburg site. So last Thurs I started him cold turkey on the Raw Diet. I swear he is itching less. Especially his paws. I really think and hope that this helps a lot. He seems more content and not so antsey. I guess I'll see as time goes by.
I'll keep you updated. Thanks for help. If this does not fix the problem, I'll go to a Derm. Vet.
Geri

Raw food (and fish oil) is always my first step when I adopt a dog, and the itchy ones sometimes need nothing more than that.

You are also near or at the end of flea and pollen season, most places.

Connie,
Just an update. My boy is doing well on the raw diet. No problems with the change over except his rear end seems to be sour and red. I've been putting Destin on it and Aloe. Do you think this is from the extra bone in his diet now. ?
Just curious. Thanks Geri

 Quote: geri gill

Connie,
Just an update. My boy is doing well on the raw diet. No problems with the change over except his rear end seems to be sour and red. I've been putting Destin on it and Aloe. Do you think this is from the extra bone in his diet now. ?
Just curious. Thanks Geri

That meant "sore," right?

No, I really don't. It's not at all a typical reaction to bones in the diet.

What are the items in the diet now? (I am just looking for anything that might cause irritation.)

I can offer a possibility (one of many): atopy that is now non-seasonal but has left behind (haha pun) a yeast overgrowth. But again, that's one of many possibilities.

Is this just around the anus? Any odor (musty/nasty)? Any corn chips odor? Rash? Bumps?

I would say to pierce and apply the contents of a vitamin E capsule, except that it would be good to rule out yeast.

No face-rubbing now, right? No paw-licking?


eta
Unless .... he's not straining to poop, right? You don't mean that kind of redness, right, inside the anal opening?

Edited by Connie Sutherland (11/22/2010 02:36 PM)
Edit reason: eta

I'm doing the raw diet for 90 lb GSD that Leerburg has on its site. I'm following it exactly as it says.
He is sore and red around the anus area. I detect no ordors.

His skin has improved 100 %. He used to get kinda greasey hair and had red and irratated skin. That has also gone away.
That said, he does still lick his paws a little and rub his mussle on the furniture a little. But not like he use too.

So, I am still suspecting enviromental allergies still. He is also on the chinese allergy supplement from Leerburg.
He does get wiped down and feet wiped off when he comes inside when we think of it Probably something we need to be better about. He gets no foods outside of the raw food diet suggestions.
He is not straining to poop. The redness is right inside and outside the anus area. He also will chew on that end of his tail. Top and bottom. Once in awhile.

He just had his rear glands expressed. So its not that.

Thanks again. Geri

Ps. I'm thinking that I may still have to go to the Derm Vet.
It 's just that so many people claim that they have gone to them and it hasn't helped their situation. So I've been leary of doing that. What do you think about this?