Allergy problem? Drontal plus safety?
 

I posted a previous thread about my dog who has been diagnosed with nasal adenocarcinoma. She has also been having trouble with an itchy rear and vulva area. She licks her skin around her vulva area and the vulva itself as well as around the anal area. She also scoots a lot which is why I thought it was an anal gland issue since she has had problems in the past but when the vet came she said they were not that full. The only thing I can think of is some sort of allergy but this may be hard to figure out. Right now I am cooking for her - mainly chicken based so should I change to a different protein like whitefish? The other thing the vet gave was drontal de-wormer just to rule out parasites but I was worried about giving any kind of chemical medication since she has a nasal tumor. Does anyone know if drontal plus is safe. I am to give 2.5 tablets and another 2.5 tablets in 10 days.

A change in protein might be a good idea. Chicken turns out to be frequently allergenic. One of our dogs is allergic to chicken and we switched to pork.

We've also used Drontal with good success, although it does tend to make them hyper for a few hours after they get the pill. We've never had to use it on a dog with another major medical condition, though.

Thanks hazelrunpack,

I just think it's unlikely to be parasites. I don't like treating my dogs with medication if it is unnecessary. I know she is just trying to rule it out but my feeling is it is allergy related. I'm a little protective over her and I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

I would have your dog stools check for parasites especially if you have small kids that are on floor a lot .

No kids, just dogs.

Her stool was checked last year during the tick ordeal and it was negative. If you give heartworm every month you are giving a de-wormer . I think the vets logic is that to send away for a stool test is 3x as much as just treating the dog but again, I think it's pretty unlikely.

Did the vet check a stool sample?

[QUOTE=SuperWanda;1048861]No kids, just dogs.

Her stool was checked last year during the tick ordeal and it was negative. If you give heartworm every month you are giving a de-wormer . I think the vets logic is that to send away for a stool test is 3x as much as just treating the dog but again, I think it's pretty unlikely.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/veterinaryqa/a/Anal-Sacs-and-Scooting.htm[/url]


this web give a list of reasons dogs will scoot across the rug. Not all heart worm med treat all the worms dogs can get.

Thanks for the link Barkingdog. No hazel, they did not check the stool. The vet would have to send to Toronto for that. Here they tend to just de-worm because it is cheaper than sending it away for analysis. I could probably ask for that but honestly think it is not parasites. I was pretty sure she didn't have parasites the last time they sent her stool off but at that time, I went along with everything recommended and in the end she had the anaplasmosis. The only major issue here is round worms and that would have to come from my dogs eating a small mammal or poop from an infected dog. My other dog likes to eat goose and rabbit poo but there is no worm life cycle that passes through those species to dogs. Her thought was to rule out that rare chance but in reality, it would be extremely unlikely. We have heartworm tests done each year so not concerned about that. I am removing chicken from the diet to see if that helps. Her glands were not full or infected so I still think it could be allergy related. The itchy vulva area is another mystery that I'm not sure would be allergy related as well??? She does have a slightly inverted vulva as well so might be her own urine irritating so was given medicated soap and cream. I think it is hard to get older!

It's even harder to watch [I]them[/I] get older. :( The itchy vulva could also be allergy related. Macie has allergies and they give her an itchy chin, paws, and vulva. Sometimes Benadryl will get her past the worst of it.

Thanks Hazel,

It seems to me that the scooting is perhaps associated with an itchy vulva (if that is possible???) as opposed to itchy anal glands. I have been trying to keep a close watch and she still scoots and then licks her vulva area always, not the anal area. Anyways, still haven't given the drontal. Today it looks like she has developed a rash on her vulva and even on the surrounding skin. It is not raised at all but just small red spots. I hope that this may be the end of whatever the problem is. I have continued to feed a fish diet (cod, sole, basa, herring, sardines) with veggies in hopes that if it was an allergy it would subside. My vet doesn't seem to know what the problem could be and suggested maybe urine was getting trapped because her vulva is inverted but I don't know why that would cause the rash on the surrounding skin. :shrug:

Could she be allergic to fish?

[QUOTE=SuperWanda;1048902]Thanks for the link Barkingdog. No hazel, they did not check the stool. The vet would have to send to Toronto for that. Here they tend to just de-worm because it is cheaper than sending it away for analysis. I could probably ask for that but honestly think it is not parasites. I was pretty sure she didn't have parasites the last time they sent her stool off but at that time, I went along with everything recommended and in the end she had the The only major issue here is round worms and that would have to come from my dogs eating a small mammal or poop from an infected dog. My other dog likes to eat goose and rabbit poo but there is no worm life cycle that passes through those species to dogs. Her thought was to rule out that rare chance but in reality, it would be extremely unlikely. We have heartworm tests done each year so not concerned about that. I am removing chicken from the diet to see if that helps. Her glands were not full or infected so I still think it could be allergy related. The itchy vulva area is another mystery that I'm not sure would be allergy related as well??? She does have a slightly inverted vulva as well so might be her own urine irritating so was given medicated soap and cream. I think it is hard to get older![/QUOTE]

My dog loves to eat rabbit poop. He love to eat it with snow, I call it poopsicle.

Was your dog on antibiotics recently? This can give a dog yeast infection and made her vulva itchy.

Gosh, I hope she's not allergic to fish. :wall:

She was on antibiotics for 14 days. Has been off them for the last 14 days but the irritation started months before she started on the antibiotics.

I looked up dog vaginitis and that seemed to fit. I am going to try washing the area 2-3 times a day with medicated soap and using some antibacterial cream and cornstarch to keep it dry. It said that the inverted vulva and surrounding skin folds can cause irritaion and bacterial overgrowth and the licking can also keep it from healing.

[QUOTE=SuperWanda;1049266]Gosh, I hope she's not allergic to fish. :wall:

She was on antibiotics for 14 days. Has been off them for the last 14 days but the irritation started months before she started on the antibiotics.

I looked up dog vaginitis and that seemed to fit. I am going to try washing the area 2-3 times a day with medicated soap and using some antibacterial cream and cornstarch to keep it dry. It said that the inverted vulva and surrounding skin folds can cause irritaion and bacterial overgrowth and the licking can also keep it from healing.[/QUOTE]

Maybe the antibiotics made the irritation worst , a good quality yogurt with no sugar or sweeter may help , you can give your dog a little to eat and see if is agree with her.

:fingerscr that's all it is, SuperWanda! If it is, then the wipes and keeping the area dry should take care of it!! :goodvibes:

Thanks for always replying hazel and barkingdog! It is very frustrating to see her uncomfortable and not know exactly what is wrong. I am also worried about her nasal cancer and just want her to be as happy as possible.

I think she may also have some spay incontinence. I boosted her up on the bed and she felt a little wet so possible urine is causing some of the irritation as well. Now that I am preparing meals they don't get flax seed which is a source of phytoestrogen. I was actually avoiding flax because I was thinking allergy but maybe should add something like soy milk or lignans from flax seed again. But yes, I think cleaning the area regularly is helping a lot. Just a difficult thing to do on a dog. I have some aloe wipes that I can try as well and she loves plain yogurt. Does cranberry help tighten sphincter muscles I wonder or maybe that is just for bladder health. Can't wait until I have all these female issues :wall:

Cranberries is good for urine infections , it will not help help tighten sphincter muscles. Boy that sure would be great if it did , I would be drinking it by the gallons! LOL!! I brought my dog 2 big dog cookies that has whole cranberries in it but they fell out while he was eating his cookies. So tried to find some cookies that have the berries ground up good if you decides to buy some. Marty did not eat the berries that fell out of his turkey and cranberries cookies.

Barkingdog got it right--the cranberry will not help the sphincter muscles. Either DES or pheylpropanolamine are very effective for spay incontinence. I doubt that either would affect the nasal cancer but your vet would know for sure.