# Very Itchy Oasis



## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

I'm sure you have probably looked into it, but have you done an allergy test to figure out what exactly is making your dog itch? Is it environmental, food, yeasts, household cleaners? Some dogs can even be allergic to aloe.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Poor baby. He sounds uncomfortable. I would definitely try to research his allergy. If you find the cause you may be able to eliminate or reduce his medicine. I would also give him a fish oil supplement. Hopefully it will make his skin more supple and less itchy.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Have you tried a grain-free food? That made a difference for our Lab. He had always licked his feet a lot and had recurrent ear infections, and last year he developed a terrible hot spot on his head. The vet suggested grain-free food (we went to TOTW and then to raw), and he hasn't had a problem with any of it since.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

You should take him to a dermatologist = they will get to the root of the problem and treat what is causing it rather then mask the symptoms like the regular vet is trying to do with the steroid.
Back when I first took Taylee to the dermatologist, one of the first things he said to me is that he does not ever prescribe steroids - they are too dangerous. He was right - he successfully managed Taylee's allergies for years without the use of steroids, and then years later her regular Vet killed her by erroneously insisting that she needed steroids for another issue - it only took 5 days for that steroid to send her down the path of no return.
I will NEVER, under any circumstances give any dog of mine a steroid.
Oh, but if you decide to take her off, please remember that you cannot stop abruptly, but must slowly decrease the dosage.
Anyhow, the dermatologist will cost more to start, but will save you much in non-useful treatments from the regular Vet, as well as save untold angst - it really is worth it!


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

I found a recipe for equal parts water, oil, and Listerine that I am now using on some ant bites that Angel was worrying. It is doing a great job so far and these are fire ant bites so I know how they feel!
The bites were oozy and red and very itchy and basically overnight they are working on disappearing! No longer red and they are scabbing not oozy anymore. So very quick work. I am impressed.


It has seemed to calm the itching and might help until you find the source of Oasis problem.

Good luck and blessings!


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## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Jamie Hein said:


> I'm sure you have probably looked into it, but have you done an allergy test to figure out what exactly is making your dog itch? Is it environmental, food, yeasts, household cleaners? Some dogs can even be allergic to aloe.


I have mentioned to the vet about testing and he said no use in testing, they don't work so good. I will mention it again. Thank you


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## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

JudyD said:


> Have you tried a grain-free food? That made a difference for our Lab. He had always licked his feet a lot and had recurrent ear infections, and last year he developed a terrible hot spot on his head. The vet suggested grain-free food (we went to TOTW and then to raw), and he hasn't had a problem with any of it since.


Yes, I have tried the grain free and it does not help, my poor dog is so itchy, I feel so bad for him, I bought some excellent shampoo and I am going to give him a bath today to see if this helps. Thank You


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## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Tiny Poodles said:


> You should take him to a dermatologist = they will get to the root of the problem and treat what is causing it rather then mask the symptoms like the regular vet is trying to do with the steroid.
> Back when I first took Taylee to the dermatologist, one of the first things he said to me is that he does not ever prescribe steroids - they are too dangerous. He was right - he successfully managed Taylee's allergies for years without the use of steroids, and then years later her regular Vet killed her by erroneously insisting that she needed steroids for another issue - it only took 5 days for that steroid to send her down the path of no return.
> I will NEVER, under any circumstances give any dog of mine a steroid.
> Oh, but if you decide to take her off, please remember that you cannot stop abruptly, but must slowly decrease the dosage.
> Anyhow, the dermatologist will cost more to start, but will save you much in non-useful treatments from the regular Vet, as well as save untold angst - it really is worth it!


Hi, what did the dermatologists say what it was? I would consider going, my vet does not mention this, he keeps giving prednisone. Thank You


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

poodlelover said:


> I have mentioned to the vet about testing and he said no use in testing, they don't work so good. I will mention it again. Thank you



I am not sure I would bother as I would be looking for a vet that did more than mask symptoms! 

I guess I thought your vet had done some testing or other before giving such a strong drug! I do know that dogs can have allergies and they can run tests that do determine their cause! 

For a Vet to say the tests don't work would make me question, for them to say don't bother to test but to give steroids to mask symptoms would make me run for the hills!

I have had misdiagnosis of dogs by careless vets before, with major repercussions. 

Your dog is too precious to just leave on this potentially deadly drug long term. I would be finding someone that can help and is willing to help find the answers.

Hugs to you and Oasis! 

I am sorry to come off so strong, but this kind of carelessness by a professional is very disturbing to me! 

I am not upset with you as an owner! I see you want to care for your baby and do what is best, but this cavalier attitude by a Vet is why I had a dog die of Congestive Heart failure. And their failure to diagnosis caused months more of suffering without the proper meds. 

We can only work with the best info we have. 

I pray you find answers soon, so you and your baby can rest easy.


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## Wilbur5 (Jan 25, 2012)

I had an itchy Boxer that I tried everything on and was on prednisone, too. I hated having to give her medication all the time. I found a product called Dinovite (it gets mixed in with their food), it worked! She stopped itching. It worked so well that she didn't even need the prednisone.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

poodlelover said:


> I have mentioned to the vet about testing and he said no use in testing, they don't work so good. I will mention it again. Thank you


By the time we found the dermatologist Taylee had already had blood testing for allergies and two years of immunotherapy based upon it, which did nothing for her. The Derm told me that he was not surprised because the blood testing is highly inaccurate - he only does it with skin testing but they have to be put under for it.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

poodlelover said:


> Hi, what did the dermatologists say what it was? I would consider going, my vet does not mention this, he keeps giving prednisone. Thank You


For Taylee it was that her allergies caused her to have excessive dander, the dander would cause yeast and bacteria to overgrow, and those were the cause of her itching. Since I did not want to do the skin allergy testing and immunotherapy again, we decided to treat the symptoms instead - short term treatments for the bacteria and yeast (skin and ears), and long term treatments for the dander which were prescription shampoos and a human psoriasis medication which he had made into the correct dosage at a compounding pharmacy. At the time my regular vet told me that his license would not even allow him to prescribe that medication even if he wanted to, so you see there are treatments that the Derm can offer that the regular vet can't even if the knew about them!
My only regret is that we did not find the dermatologist years earlier!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I think a dermatologist is an excellent idea. Your dog will get the right type of testing by a specialist who will be aware of the best course of treatment. I do not think steroids are a good idea for a long term problem. They have horrible side effects.


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## Everline (Mar 1, 2013)

My Joe Joe had been itchy for months. It was so bad and we couldn't figure out what the problem was. About two months ago, the vet convinced me to put him on some "special" food they could sell me. She told me to give him only this food and no other treats or anything for at least 8 weeks. I was feeling so bad for my baby boy that I was willing to try. I took him off the food he was on (Wellness) and put him on this other food. —And everything went straight down hill from there. This food made my poor dog smell so bad that people had a hard time tolerating being around him. He was also scratching like crazy, more so than ever! He was constantly licking his paws and biting at himself. The vet said we had to give it time and so we went on like this for a few weeks until no one could take it anymore. I bought some Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Grain Free and took Joe Joe slowly off the "vet recommended" food over a few days. As soon as he was completely off that food and on the Castor and Pollux everything _dramatically_ improved. He smells just fine. His itching calmed down substantially and he now can rest peacefully without constant and desperate licking, scratching and biting on himself. 

Yes, my Joe Joe clearly has allergies. They are not completely gone. He still has some itchies. I suspect there are some seasonal issues going on in addition to his food sensitivities. However, changing to this food has given him a great deal of relief. It is so wonderful to see him resting comfortably! Over the past couple of days I have just started to give him foot baths at night which seem to help as well.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Everline, that is great that switching to grain free took care of most of Joe joe's allergy issues. I believe the OP has tried that. I think the foot bath is an excellent idea. What an adorable picture in your signature.


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## Sweetp (Mar 23, 2013)

You might want to try Colostrum. It's an excellent immune modulator. I give it to my pets whenever they are vaccinated, get shots, or when they're under the weather. It's also an anti-inflammatory which will help with the effects of over production of histamine in pets suffering from allergies. It comes in powder form and mixed with a little water is easy to administer. My pups love it!


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

Sweetp said:


> You might want to try Colostrum. It's an excellent immune modulator. I give it to my pets whenever they are vaccinated, get shots, or when they're under the weather. It's also an anti-inflammatory which will help with the effects of over production of histamine in pets suffering from allergies. It comes in powder form and mixed with a little water is easy to administer. My pups love it!



Thanks for the reminder! I had sort of let this slip from my repertoire of healing "meds". 

I used to use it to heal my nose. As a child I had bad nose bleeds and this would stop them cold. 

I used to use it all of the time on wounds too, but had forgotten to buy some more.

Putting on list to buy in town.


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## spindledreams (Aug 7, 2012)

funny question but have you tried different grain frees with different protein sources? Chicken is a big allergen for some poodles but my monster can handle it on the other hand pork of any kind sets him off even a pigs ear or ham hock to chew on will make him sick. Some grain frees will also have potatoes in them another allergen source. Some will not say chicken on the label but still have it if your read the ingredients. We are slowly switching our boy to raw as that way we can be sure of what is in his food. Even a good food with generic " animal meal" can have pork or animal fat or you get the idea. his currently food is Merricks grain free, the chicken, bison and pork versions have chicken in them but the Sweet Potato and Duck doesn't. 
Good luck finding a the solution to his itching. And remember treats can have dyes and ingredients in them that can also trigger itching. Plus as mentioned things they walk on, sleep on, or even inhale can trigger itching.


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## Everline (Mar 1, 2013)

CT Girl said:


> Everline, that is great that switching to grain free took care of most of Joe joe's allergy issues. I believe the OP has tried that. I think the foot bath is an excellent idea. What an adorable picture in your signature.


Thank you. 

Actually, I did a poor job of explaining. Switching to grain free actually did not work at first. We had Joe Joe on grain free before and it didn't help at all. Perhaps it still had something in it that was bothering him. Only now, with this particular food does he seem to be getting better. I guess my point was, for the OP to maybe try another grain free or limited ingredient diet. I don't think my Joe Joe does well with chicken and a few other things. I'm currently keeping a "food log" and trying to figure out what works best. 

To the OP: I know how frustrating and upsetting it can be to see your dog suffering with allergies and not be able to help. I hope you soon find something that works. Good thoughts to you and your baby!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Everline's post is very interesting. I wonder if Joe Joe's issue was grain if a brand of grain free still did not fix his issues. Perhaps for some dogs the issue is not just grain but perhaps an additive or other ingredient. I thank my lucky stars that Swizzle does not seem to have allergy issues. It seems so difficult to isolate the offending ingredient.


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## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks for everyone advice, I will look for the Dinovite and the Colostrum and give it a try, I took Oasis back to the vet and questioned him on the allergy tests. He told me that the test are not 100% and there could be many things that he is allergic too. He gave him another medicine, vanectyl P, it has an antihistamine in it and is still like a prednisone, but I had no choice as Oasis was so itchy and bleeding on his face with scabs. He or I could not sleep.

I had changed his food to Acana and will see what happens. His vet said it is a seasonal allergy and not related to his food. He had this last November. 
Now Oasis is on a dose every second day and is starting to scratch again.

Oasis is so miserable, I am going back to the vets to ask him to see a dermatologist. 

Now my other poodle Indy has a leaking anal gland problem. 

I will make a new post about Indy.

Thanks again


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

poodlelover said:


> Thanks for everyone advice, I will look for the Dinovite and the Colostrum and give it a try, I took Oasis back to the vet and questioned him on the allergy tests. He told me that the test are not 100% and there could be many things that he is allergic too. He gave him another medicine, vanectyl P, it has an antihistamine in it and is still like a prednisone, but I had no choice as Oasis was so itchy and bleeding on his face with scabs. He or I could not sleep.
> 
> I had changed his food to Acana and will see what happens. His vet said it is a seasonal allergy and not related to his food. He had this last November.
> Now Oasis is on a dose every second day and is starting to scratch again.
> ...


I am glad that you are considering the dermatologist - but depending upon who your Vet is, be prepared - many regular Vet's have the idea that they handle it ALL, and really get their nose out of joint if you talk about going to a specialist, but fortunately I ignored that because Taylee was SO uncomfortable (I had to sleep with my arms wrapped around, so she would wake me up when she tried to scratch), and I was so glad that I did.
And as for the allergy testing - it is true that the blood test that he would probably do is not all that accurate, but the skin testing that the dermatologist could do is very accurate. And while there probably would be many things that he is allergic to, there is a way to treat it - just like with people, you can do immunotherapy injections to progressively desensitize them to the allergens. And while you are working the immunotherapy, which does take time, the dermatologist can treats the symptoms more effectively and less dangerously then is currently being done for him!


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## MrsKaia (Dec 3, 2011)

I don't know what you're willing to spend on a test, but another thing that is worth considering, is doing a food sensitivity test at home through nutriscan.org. If you do both panels, it's $277. Not cheap, but I did it on Yuki, and I learned a lot from it.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

MrsKaia said:


> I don't know what you're willing to spend on a test, but another thing that is worth considering, is doing a food sensitivity test at home through nutriscan.org. If you do both panels, it's $277. Not cheap, but I did it on Yuki, and I learned a lot from it.


We had our vet do the blood food allergy test (not sure which one) and found the results extremely useful. It might not catch 100% of everything, but it will give you 100% more information than you have now. You get a comprehensive report that not only tells you what ingredients are a problem, but lists specific foods and treats that do not contain your dog's allergins. We learned exactly what proteins and foods to avoid, and switching Beau -- who had already been eating grain free -- to one of the recommended grain-free kibbles resulted in a huge improvement in his ear yeast, paw scratching and eye goop. In our experience, the test was worth every penny of its $175.


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

I'll just chirp in to say I would demand a referral to a dermo too. I would also do the blood allergen testing. It's not as accurate as a skin scratch test true, but it's more accurate than the whole lot of nothing you have now. The results from that can be used by the dermo to hone in on anything that leaps out as suspect, potentially cutting diagnosis time.
It may not help but it certainly can't harm as much as steroids and other masking medication can.


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