BTW, you will probably need a derm vet. JMO.

But the scraping cytology will be in the dog's file and will go to the derm vet when you see one.



I want to second something Lori said earlier:

"I would like to add that we would have ended up paying less in the long run if we would have gone to the derma vet first instead of trying all the other foods, drugs and trips to the regular vet!"

Not to mention saving some frustration and some dog misery.

 Quote: robert bruce

thanks for the info and advice lori,i will take a trip to the vet tomorrow and find out about an appointment.He gets evening primrose oil on each meal,i didnt know steroids cause yeast its a vicious circle at the moment.
thanks robbie

Steroids are an immune-suppressing drug, so it makes it harder for the dog's immune system to be able to keep the yeast population down when taking them. I'm not saying that you shouldn't give a dog steroids if they have yeast, but that you should know if they do have yeast so they can be treated for it while on the steroids.

Moved to new thread here:

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=33025&page=1#372005


Edited by Connie Sutherland (01/13/2013 08:08 PM)
Edit reason: move post

 Quote: robert bruce

thanks for the info and advice lori,i will take a trip to the vet tomorrow and find out about an appointment.He gets evening primrose oil on each meal,i didnt know steroids cause yeast its a vicious circle at the moment.
thanks robbie

You know that evening primrose isn't a substitute for fish oil, right?

Hi
I was told evening primrose was good for his skin,10ml per day on his food.I was at the vets this afternoon,he could not find any evidence of fleas,he said it probably was enviromental allergies as i had changed foods and had no success.He then mentioned a blood test that could determin the allergies and a vaccine could be made which he could have every month.
I said i thought the blood test that had been done wasnt accurate for food,he said it was a much better lab they dealt with now and could give accurate results.I didnt go with it and got some malaseb and try that to see if it will help
robbie

Robert, did you tell the vet you found flea dirt?!! and he still didn't think fleas could be a problem?! I'm so bummed a vet would come to that conclusion just by looking at an animal...

 Quote: Lori Hall

Robert, did you tell the vet you found flea dirt?!! and he still didn't think fleas could be a problem?! I'm so bummed a vet would come to that conclusion just by looking at an animal...

This is seriously bothering me too. You found flea poop on your dog and the vet somehow disagrees?

Did you talk about scrapings for yeast?

While it's true that there have been recent improvements in the ELISA test for dogs' allergens (not food, though, as mentioned on page 1 here), the apparently non-methodical approach of the GP vet is bothering me. JMO, of course.


It's the Malaseb shampoo you got, right?

http://www.ehow.com/how_5079592_use-malaseb.html

To re-state what Lori said:

QUOTE: Any shampoo bath will kill fleas because they essentially get drown, especially because you will have to leave this yeast shampoo on for 10 minutes after getting him all soaped up. Start applying the shampoo at the head so the fleas don't run from the back end of the dog to the head! If you lather him up good with the shampoo, let it sit 10 minutes and rince, you will get rid of the fleas. I would recommend using flea protection year round with an allergy dog. END QUOTE

What I do in winter with a therapeutic shampoo is warm up the house and get my biggest towel ready, because while in summer I "air-dry" the dog outside, letting him run around and shake himself (which they all will!), winter is sometimes just too cold.

Do you have a plan for keeping the dog in the tub for the time needed? I do marker training with high-value rewards.

I get everything ready in advance.

After, if the dog is liftable, I pick him up into my towel-draped arms and blot as much as I can before letting him go, and I wouldn't let him loose anyplace where I might care about the shaken-off water (in my house, there really is no place like that .... lol). If he's not, I have him stand on one mat or towel while I blot as well as I can with a second one.

Avoiding brisk towel-rubbing and hot-air drying is a priority when you're dealing with damaged skin.

This bath will be both anti-flea and a step in the yeast battle.

You will want to vacuum thoroughly and launder his mats or beds just before doing this. And you will want to have the flea topical ready.

Do not do the allergy blood test, my GSD had it done in 2008 (at our primary care vet), did allergy shots based on those results for 6+ months and there was no improvement at all.

We took her to a derm vet in 2009 and had intradermal allergy testing done, of the 28 allergens (out of 36) she was allergic to, only 10 were picked up by the allergy blood test. We started allergy shots in 2009 (from derm vet)and she has done wonderfully well.

Hi
The vet didnt disagree that it could be fleas he just didnt find any himself.He took a wet tissue to his back but didnt find any flea dirt.He said it probably was enviromental after all the foods i tried.The malaseb shampoo is for dogs or cats,use twice weekly especially feet.Teak has finnishe his course of pred,i asked about the long term effects of steroids and the vet said 5mg was a very low dose and would not do any harm.
He then went back to the blood test to find the vaccine but i said no.I have been following this allergy test since 2007 with differant foods with no benefit for the dog.He said allergies can change in time and the lab they use now was a lot better than before but i didnt take it.
Its a bit cold here just now for shampooing teak outside so it will be the bath,he will be ok with it.
robbie