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Old October 27th, 2011, 06:40 PM
ev.o ev.o is offline
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Ridiculously Itchy Pup

My 8 month old Bantam Bulldogge has had a tough go of it with his skin. Right now he's got ridiculously itchy skin on his stomach/arm pits/feet and redish bumps (not hives... they're hard feeling). I have taken him to my Vet but he hasn't been able to help much he keeps saying allergies. The weird thing is his skin seems wet sometimes, but no yeast-y smell. Any ideas on what do do?

He's on raw (horse) so I don't entirely agree with the food allergy deal, we've tried antihistamines, vinegar rinses, oatmeal baths, iodine rinses (they're the only thing that has seemed to kill the reddish bumps, but not really the itching)

Ohh... and after I got him from the breeder about 4 months ago I found out he had scabies, so he's had treatment for that. He got 3 rounds of Revolution and steroids to deal with the itch while killing off the mites. He was fine for a couple of weeks after the treatment ended and then this all started up (doesn't look the same or itch the same as he did with mites, so I don't think they're back)
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Old October 27th, 2011, 07:29 PM
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Loki Love Loki Love is offline
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Are you only feeding horse meat as his diet? It could very well be that he does have issue with it - maybe try other proteins and see how it goes? A good balanced raw diet, with lots of variety is more ideal anyway

It may be time to search out another vet for a different opinion too.
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Old October 27th, 2011, 07:54 PM
ev.o ev.o is offline
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Its not only horse meat... its a mix of meat, bone, fruits/veggies, a little bit of grain, fish oil and a couple other things. I've tried him on other raw food, but it hasn't made a difference
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Old October 28th, 2011, 06:55 AM
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Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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I hate to tell you that it is a long road ahead. Try and remove the grain first, what are you feeding? I doubt it's the meat. Try a skin biopsy to check for parasites. The skin is wet from scratching, it will probably turn into an infection so you will need antibiotics. It could be environmental allergies as well. There is a blood test which I paid 75 bucks that checks for "histamines" in the system. If they test positive then you proceed with assumed allergies. Mine tested negative twice. Never resolved the issues. Steroids are the last resort.
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Old October 28th, 2011, 11:20 AM
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Myka Myka is offline
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Check out a recent thread of mine...my dog had a rash that sounds a lot like yours. I wish I would have taken pictures when it was at its worst...she lost hair on every red bump. Her skin felt damp sometimes too. Our troubles may not be resolved yet...she's on Hexadene shampoo, antibiotics (to prevent infection of the blemishes and to clear her skin of bacteria in case of a need for skin biopsy), and Revolution drops. So far so good, but we won't know for sure until she gets off the antibiotics.
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Old October 28th, 2011, 12:13 PM
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Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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Now that we have joined in on the same thread with the same problems. Why on earth are soooooo many dogs itchy? It is the largest vet issue today. I wish more studies could be done!!! Is it in the "genes" the "food" even maybe the "drinking water" who knows but it's really a problem....... With all the scientific testing out there when will they figure it out? I have read so many threads with the same issues.
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Old October 28th, 2011, 01:01 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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We have itching too. First thing the Vet wanted to do was stop the itching to prevent damage to the skin. Damage to the skin might admit infection. To do that, yes, steroids; Vanactyl P which was dosed in decreasing amounts for about 3.5 weeks and stopped. Along with Reactine twice a day.

I will note here that vinegar rinses did help control the itching but we had to repeat a couple of times a day. Epsom salts and oatmeal were also suggested to me and the salts also worked. Haven't tried the oatmeal. Perhaps it is not working on your dog because the itch has been allowed to get too advanced?

Once drugs were stopped the itching returned but found we could maintain on a Van. P once every second day and the Reactine twice a day. That's only 2 mg of steroid every second day for a Lab. Not ideal but not a high dose at all.

I have the advantage of last year when all itching cleared right up over late Fall and Winter, thus we suspect seasonal allergies, pollen, not food. He itched on all three foods, including a grain free and three different main protein and filler sources, and he was fine all Winter on the same three.

I have stopped the Van. P completely and only giving a Reactine occasionnally now. It's been below freezing the last three nights and the pollen diagnosis seems to be right on again. No itching and no drugs. Hope this helps, perhaps you should let your VEt know what you're doing isn't working and explore other options?
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  #8  
Old October 28th, 2011, 03:47 PM
ev.o ev.o is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Myka View Post
Check out a recent thread of mine...my dog had a rash that sounds a lot like yours. I wish I would have taken pictures when it was at its worst...she lost hair on every red bump. Her skin felt damp sometimes too. Our troubles may not be resolved yet...she's on Hexadene shampoo, antibiotics (to prevent infection of the blemishes and to clear her skin of bacteria in case of a need for skin biopsy), and Revolution drops. So far so good, but we won't know for sure until she gets off the antibiotics.
Just looks at the pics you posted, my guy looks a lot like the last pics you have.
The only thing thats working so far is diluted povidone iodine rinses 2x/day. It seems to be taking care of all the sores and crusty bits, they're almost gone.

On a side note, I've tried benadryl and reactine and neither of them made any difference for the itching, even at max dosages.
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