Quote: joyce salazar

So a combination of all these seems to be doing the trick.

Dr. Shawn Messonnier ( http://leerburg.com/971.htm ) taught me a ton, and one thing I will never forget is that allergies and the related issues don't have one fix.

I throw every proven trick in my bag at them, and that's my "approach."

Tufts backed up this POV in 2005 when their paper on antihistamines ended with something like "the 30% success rate goes up dramatically when fish oil is used in conjunction with the antihistamine."

Long-chain 3s, the E to protect the PUFAs in the fish oil, appropriate food, removing allergens from the environment as much as possible, rinsing them off the dog and vacuuming, etc., trials of the better human antihistamines if needed, skin tests if needed (and the followup desensitizing injections) .... never has only one of these worked for a dog I adopted who was in allergy hell. But a few or a couple (or, in one case, all) have always helped enough for me to get quality of life back for the dog.


P.S. I forgot to add that I have on occasion used Pred to break an itch cycle and have even used it at the lowest possible effective dose when needed in a bad pollen season for a dog breaking skin and losing sleep. I would never say not to resort to it when needed to restore quality of life. My problem is with dogs I have known who were on daily Pred for years and years (for life) with some or all of the terrible possible side effects from overuse of steroids. It is a balancing act, and a last resort, but when used carefully that way, it can be a magic bullet.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (03/27/2009 11:34 AM)
Edit reason: p.s.

 Quote:

I throw every proven trick in my bag at them, and that's my "approach."

I am finding this out, and believe absolutely in what you say to be so true!
Just knowing that you have had some real tough cases with your dogs, and hearing you say that:

 Quote:

never has only one of these worked for a dog I adopted who was in allergy hell. But a few or a couple (or, in one case, all) have always helped enough for me to get quality of life back for the dog.

Right there, is a very important part of this whole thing.
I just wanted to reiterate this because it is so important.
I also have taken Mike A.'s advice and started to feed more good quality yogurt throughout the day.
For me, I just need to know what more I can do to keep building
Kaia's immune system so that if possible she could possibly not have these other troubles keep popping up, ie; skin issues.
I have yet to see a derma vet, but should we fall off this good path we are on, that will likely be our next step.

Connie, if Joyce's dogs have yeast, should she be feeding yogurt yet? When Kasey had yeast Cindy posted and told me that I shouldn't be feeding anything with sugars in it. What's your stand on that?

Hi Lori,
I'm not Connie, but, I am feeding the plain yogurt with many active cultures in it, plus a good quality powdered 6 strain
probiotic as well. I realize that there might be milk sugars, in there that you might be referring to. I do believe that Kaia's problems are more allergies than yeast. I believe that the yeast is just a secondary infection, and that seems to be getting cleared up with her baths. I certainly appreciate you, Lori for asking this.
If Connie says get off the yogurt, then that is what we will do.

Thanks Joyce, I was asking for Kasey's sake too. He had yeast between the pads of his feet a few months ago and had to take an oral antifungal drug - which I wasn't crazy about! But Cindy had said that milk sugars and all others (i.e. squashes, sweet potatoes, etc) should not be fed to dogs, especially dogs with yeast. I've been talking with Mike A. about Kasey and his allergies and want to put Kasey back on yogurt, but am curious if it will help lead to a yeast problem again! It's confusing!

Ugh oh, you know, I have feeding Honest Kitchen, which also has sweet potatoes as well as various other ingredients too!
Yikes, I wonder now if I am helping this yeast stay active!
So, glad you mentioned this Lori.
Interestingly enough, lately both my dogs have totally been snubbing Honest kitchen and seem to prefer just their meats!
Sometimes you have to wonder if they instinctively know when they shouldn't eat something.... could just be a coincidence.???
You know, I think I may just try the Azmira product they sell here at Leerburg for detox and I believe it is for yeast as well as bacteria.??? I am not sure but I remember seeing it here. I will try to look it up.
http://leerburg.com/41.htm
Azmira, Yeast and Fungal Detox. I think I am going to order some. I hope it can help. Kaia also has this redness between her toes. My vet said it is not bad, but still, what could it hurt for me to try this natural product?
Was Kasey's redness really bad between the toes and pads?

How did it go with the antifungal meds for your dog? Did you have to get blood tests done to monitor Kasey?
Also, was this your Derm Vet that prescribed this?
We are so broke right now, with all our frequent trips to the vet we see, but I have a feeling that we could be needing a Derm vet if Kaia does fall off this good streak we are having.
I am really starting to question her diet now.
I want to thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Which THK are you giving, and are your giving RMBs, too?

Also, please remind me of how much fish oil you are giving.

Oh boy, just looked at the ingredients to Embark and it has many things that are likely not helping if indeed she has yeast issues.
Cranberries, apples, carrots, potatoes, bananas....
Plus, I have been giving blueberries for a daily treat!
Well, I am not going to be feeding it for a while and get some
of the Yeast and Fungal Detox and go back to feeding just greens with meals.

I give each of the dogs, 4 pumps of the Grizzley Salmon oil, which is 3220 mgs, per pump, which equals 12,880mgs per day.
I just emailed the Grizzley company to get these numbers and this is what I came up with.
Have been feeding Embark as well as Thrive.
But these last two weeks neither is very interested in. Kodi and Kaia used to just love Embark.

Also, yes the dogs are getting RMB's each day with it and a little muscle meat, plus some heart muscle meat and chicken liver,just a little bit each day on the liver.