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How would you know if you have mold spores?

Google: "how to test your house for mold" and you'll get a few million ways.

There are home test kits you can get where you set a petrie dish of stuff out exposed to the air for a day or two, then send it in for testing to see if any mold grew on it.

There are also mold inspectors, testing companies and abatement companies.

All of which might be a wild goose chase if the dog isn't even allergic to mold. With an old carpet and pad, it's just as likely to harbor dust mites which are a common allergen too. As someone mentioned above, allegy tests can help determine the specific trigger (if the issue is, indeed, an allergy) so that you don't start fixing things that aren't broken.

Sorry to hear about the job--and the continued problem with the itchies. It must be frustrating.

Although I haven't had anything close to the ordeal you've gone through, I do have one dog (the Corgi I mentioned above) that is a VERY itchy girl from mid-August until the first frost every year. We have been able to eliminate her symptoms with a combination of Benadryl and a super-low dose of Prednisone. I start with the recommended dose of Pred for her weight, then immediately start reducing the dose until it's down to the minimum that will keep the inflamation at bay. For her, it's a tiny crumb--an eight of a tablet--given every other day. That's just enough to make her completely comfortable. Then, after the frost here, she's off meds completely.

Good luck with the Derm vet. You'll find the answer eventually.

Ditto on the sympathy! We went through much of the same thing with our golden - he is now a little over 2 yrs and we finally know it is environmental allergies. He was skin tested this summer and allergic to 45 of the 75 things they tested for. We're giving him the allergy desensitizing shots and hope they will help with time.

If I were you, I would definitely go ONLY to the dermo vet now. Too many vets doing too many different things makes it difficult to know what, if anything, is helping. Our dermo vet was sooo much more knowledgeable with the skin issues than a regular vet. And if you tell them you want to start conservative, they will work with you. At least you will be able to know whether it is food, fleas, or environment/contact allergies, and if there is any parasites, yeast, bacteria, etc involved. I know it is a drive, so is mine, but once they diagnose, they will work with you so the trips to their office are minimal - they will even mail you prescriptions, etc.

It saves money in long run, but it also gives you peace of mind because you don't have to keep trying to figure it out!

Let us know what happens on the 17th!

 Quote: Lori Hall

.... If I were you, I would definitely go ONLY to the dermo vet now. Too many vets doing too many different things makes it difficult to know what, if anything, is helping. Our dermo vet was sooo much more knowledgeable with the skin issues than a regular vet. And if you tell them you want to start conservative, they will work with you. At least you will be able to know whether it is food, fleas, or environment/contact allergies, and if there is any parasites, yeast, bacteria, etc involved.

I have to say that this is huge. Of course derm vets range from excellent to not-so-good, just as in all professions, but you are starting with someone who studied exactly what your dog has: skin stuff.

By far the best recommendation I ever received about my first allergic rescue dog (surrendered by previous owners because of the vet costs, deaf from repeated ear infections, on a big Pred dose daily for years, itchy, bloody, and smelly) was to get myself and her to a derm vet. I wish that I could say that a GP vet recommended it, but I can't.

And please, start a log today.

Dates, weather (if it's unusual, such as unseasonal high-allergy plants bursting out in a mild winter week), med, food, vet visits, and 1 to 10 itch scale.

You will never regret the short time spent on the log.

Tracy, the reason I asked about mold spores is 2 yrs ago we had a tree fall on the roof & had water damage. Thought it was repaired properly but might have to peek through the small opening in the ceiling to see if anything is going on up there. Didn't think of that until you mention mold in your reply.

I had Cocoa on Benadryl but didn't seem to help much. When I called the Dermvet they said to take him off of it because they didn't want it in his system 2 weeks prior to testing. I took him off of it & he did itch more so it must have helped more than I thought

I wasn't real impressed with the 1st Dermvet I went to. I went to him because he was only 2 hrs. away. He recently graduated & had just started his practice. This time I'm taking Cocoa to the Veterinary Med Cntr @ the U of Minnesota. They treat 1000's of dogs a year so I feel more confident. Also not one gpvet mentioned a Dermvet. I called direct.

I'll see what the Dermvet says about starting conservative. Good idea.

Thanks everybody, Kathy

This is an update on Cocoa's itchy skin condition. Took him to the Derm vet in MN & she's going to treat him for sarcoptic mange again because she doesn't feel the 1st treatment trial which was stopped by 1st Derm vet because Cocoa was still itching was long enough. She said because he was still itching @ that time it could have been from the bacterial infection he had & @ that the mange really couldn't be ruled out on itching alone. Did do scrapings, they were negative. So he is being treated with Revolution & cephalexin for bacterial infection. She's also treating my other dog with Revolution. I had to take my other dog in to the local vet today to test for heartworm before I start the Revolution treatment. I also took a stool sample in of hers because she developed a mild case of diarrhea. I left her in the car until they were ready for her. Now just to let you know what scares me abit, I waited for approximately 15 minutes inside & the vet came and said the stool had some??? can't remember the word & treat it with metronidazole & the blood test showed negative for heartworm. Well guess what, my dog was still in the car, I hadn't brought her in for the blood draw yet. It just makes you want to throw in the towel. Oh well, I brought her in & they did the test & it was negative. I hope.
I just had to share that with you.

I take Cocoa back to the new Derm vet in 4 wks for a recheck to see if we have to go on to a food trial. I'll update then.
Kathy

This thread might help, look at the post by Joyce Salazar for good links for mange.
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=10&Number=214134&topic=0#Post214131

Also, I am considering this product for my flea problem but haven't tried it yet. It says it works for any kind of biting insect and mite.
http://www.pestigator.com/protect-pets.php

These are alternative treatments to chemical mange products.

I checked into the cedar oil. Suppose to reply fleas. I'll have to stick with the revolution now just to eliminate all probable causes. I tried the earth clinic treatment for mange a while back but it didn't work for me. The product from pestigator might work well for the yard this spring as we have a lot of ticks. thanks for the info.
Kathy