Question:
Hi guys & gals!

I have a seven year old Shepard/Lab mix. I'm guessing what she has are Hot Spots but I'm not sure. I had her to the vet last month to get her shots updated & I asked the Dr. about it & she really didn't give me an answer just a product to buy. The spray I bought does seem to help a little & I give her three 25 mg tablets of benadryl 2 or 3 times a day but she still itches. I've checked & she doesn't have flees or ticks. She gets little red bumps that pop up almost like a rash. Is this in fact Hot Spots?

Another issue I'm seeing is that she doesn't want to eat her dry food, she'll only eat the meat I mix in with her dry. Do you think this is happening b/c I spoil her too much? She eats her cookies & other treats just not her dry. It's not that she doesn't like her dry food, I think she's being picky. What do you think?

Thanks for all your imput.

A Victor - Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
If your vet is not helping you understand what is happening to your dog, you might want to consider a new vet. I don't know about the "hot spots", but about the food it may be that some of her teeth may hurt her. Did your vet check that out? If not you may want to get that checked out. You could try soaking her dry food in hot water for a few minutes. I do that for my dogs and they like it better that way.

Answer:
Regarding the hot spots, if the vet didn't give you a satisfactory answer then I would find another vet that you can communicate better with. I also would be cautious about giving Benadryl 2 to 3 times a day. Did the vet tell you to do that?

Regarding the food, what are you feeding her? How long have you been feeding it? What meat are you adding and how long have you been doing that?

Answer:
Hi thanks!

Yes rainbow, the vet told me to use the benadryl every 3 hours as needed. I don't use it that often. I'll only give it to her if she's itching real bad. As for her food, I give her Purina Little Bites. She seems to like that, I've been feeding her that for about 5 or 6 years. I mix in whatever meat I've made for dinner that night. I try to keep the meat for her on the bland side.

Oh & we3beagles, Casey won't eat foods that are soft or soggy. I bought her Pedigree can food years ago & she wouldn't touch it.

I'll look into having her teeth checked. I really don't think there's anything wrong with her teeth, she eats her Milk Bone cookies & rawhides.

Can a dog be depressed or bored?

Thanks for all your advice!

A Victor - Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
Purina isn't very good dog food. Maybe if you changed to a better quality kibble she would eat it better. Check out the dog food forum here for suggestions.

Answer:
I think you really need a new vet. Treating something with benadryl when it might not even be allergies is not going to help. If the skin is infected, the dog needs antibiotics and probably cortisone to stop the itching for a little while. Also, giving a food without the usual suspects- corn, wheat, chicken, soy, etc, will probably help if it's a food allergy. You really have to move fast on itchy issues because they are habit forming, and even when you solve the real underlying issue, your dog can just keep scratching because that is what she's used to.

Answer:
Thanks so much!

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Hi!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking Casey to my regular Vet today to get checked out. I'll let you know what the outcome is when I get back this afternoon. Again, thanks for all your advice! I'll check out the food section here also.

A Victor - Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
Good morning all!

I'm a little relieved today after taking Casey to my regular vet. Dr. Berg had told me last year when the rash started to appear that it looks like allergies. Yesterday I said to the vet that I'm concerned b/c the rash hadn't left yet so the vet said it could be a number of different allergies.

We started a whole blood work on Casey b/c she's just about considered a senior & started her on a small dose of Prednisone. We're hopeful that the medication will work If the medication doesn't work than we have other steps to take.

The vet I saw this time is my normal vet. She takes the time to explain everything in detail to me.

Well, I just wanted to update you. Now I'm off to the training part of this community.

Thanks again for all of your help & great advice!

One other thing, what's the best way to catch her urine? The vet needs a sample. I tried last night but everytime I'd put the tray down under her she would stop . Any suggestions

Thanks

A Victor - Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
Hi,

Is it confirmed that your dog's condition is caused by allergy? If it is, the best way to prevent it from recurring will be to find out what it is allergy to and remove the item from your pet. Try to answer the following questions and I hope it will help you.

Have this just happened recently? If so, please try to think back whether you have introduce anything new to your dog during this period of time. It can be anything such as food, a new brand of floor detergent, a new brand of laundry detergent use to wash the bed or towels it sleeps on, or have you given it a new bed or have a new carpet in the house? Did you use a new brand of shampoo or conditioner for your pet and etc...

Then have these item removed and see if the condition improves.

Regarding collecting of urine samples, what I did with the dogs I have once fostered is by sliding a disposable party plate under a dog while it urine and then pour the content in to the container. But you have to ensure that the plastic plate or any other container you might use must be clean an dry, if not the urine test result will be affected.

Hope that your dog gets well soon.

Answer:
One other thing, what's the best way to catch her urine? The vet needs a sample. I tried last night but everytime I'd put the tray down under her she would stop . Any suggestions
I've always collected urine first thing in the morning. After being in the house all night a dog really needs to pee so isn't likely to stop. Also, then the sample wouldn't have to sit overnight until you got to the vet.

I think if you change your dog to a better quality premium kibble you will notice a big improvement with her allergies. Purina is probably the cause of her allergy and I would reconsider giving your dog prednisone and slowly switching her to a premium kibble. Check out the dog food forum here for some good suggestions.

Answer:
The vet always took my doggies' urine with a syringe...

I agree about the food too. Food allergies are so common these days, especially when the food is full of fillers.

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Hi everyone!

I managed to get a urine sample yesterday & took it to the vet's office. Rainbow, you are absolutely correct about getting a sample first thing in the morning. That's exactly what I did.

I'm changing her kibble as suggested. I bought a couple different bags of kibble. We'll see if these are any better.

The Prednisone is working! Her rashes have cleared up significantly! Now comes the hard part, figuring out what she's allergic to. I'm so glad everything is working out nicely for her & it wasn't something more serious.

A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa & Casey

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What two bags did you buy?

Glad the pred is working.

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Did you buy dog food without corn or wheat (including corn gluten meal or wheat flour or anything else like that) listed in the ingredients? Corn and wheat are two of the biggest causes of allergies and a good place to start by eliminating them.

If you tell us what you bought we'll be able to help better.

Answer:
Thanks Rainbow!

Right now I'm experimenting with different foods. I bought a little bag of Kibbles N Bits Homestyle but I just checked the ingredients & it has both corn & wheat. She's not eating out of her dish so I had fed her a little of the kibble by hand just to get something in her.

I just found out the results of her blood test yesterday & it's not good. Casey has a swollen liver so she is now on three different medications & a supplement. I pray this helps her! She goes back to the animal hospital Sept. 6 for more blood work. Once we get the results from the blood work back we'll be able to tell if these meds are working.

The Prednisone she's on seems to be helping with her itching & has cleared up her rash. Right now I'm concerned more about getting the swelling of her liver down.

I just don't know what I would do if I ever lost Casey God forbid!

Answer:
I am no vet but family members have had same sort of symptoms in there shepards and the vets told them that it was form of and allergy to grass they tried all the medication that the vets gave them with no good results not to say it did nothing as it did carm down the rash but did not go away after talking this over with my uncle who has had shepards all his life he told me to tell my mother in law to try a product called (burns) (http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/) after slow intro to this product of dog food and by slow i mean adding in to the food which your dog is on till you change over to this to prevent them from getting the runs they was some very good results the rash went away and the dog was in top condition good coat and back to normal self both my uncle and mother inlaw have kept there dogs on this product and have had no more problems since. I hope that this may of been some help to you and your dog .PS if you type the address in to your address bar it will take you to there web site . good luck

Answer:
Jerseygirl, sorry to hear about Casey. :( What is the supplement the vet put her on? I've heard that milk thistle is great for liver problems.

Kibbles N Bits is not a very good food. Nor are any of the others you can buy at the supermarket or places like Walmart or even the vet's office. Check out the dog food forum on this site for some good recommendations.

Our fingers are crossed for Casey and please keep us updated.

Answer:
Casey's update:

Well the rash & itching she had is gone. Problem with the Prednisone she was put on makes her drink a lot of water which means she has to go potty more often. Now she's having a lot of accidents at night in the house when I'm asleep. Some nights she does get me up & others.....

As far as the meds & supplement she was put on for her swollen liver they are: Metronidazole, Amoxicillin & a supplement called S-Adenosyl-100 (SAMe)

I stopped giving her the Kibbles N Bits b/c it has the same ingrediants as the ones you had mentioned. I'm started to think she's allergic to chicken. I had given her a little chicken last night & she started itching. I've been giving her two scrambled eggs with a little turkey breast in it & she seems to really love that. I'm just wondering if it's ok to give her eggs. I asked the dr & she said to try boiled chicken or beef but didn't say anything about the eggs. I know eggs are good for their coats once in a while. I want to get something in her so I've been giving her maybe 4-6 eggs for a couple of days. Do you think that's ok?

I feel so bad for her. She has no energy & she just seems depressed.
:( Other than the rash clearing up, she's still the same.

A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
SAMe is an excellent supplement for the liver. I didn't mention it as I know it's quite expensive.

Eggs are fine to feed but I think she needs something more than that to eat. Add some boiled rice and mashed green beans. If you think she is allergic to chicken boil some lean hamburger and drain off all the fat.

Try to get some samples of kibble that is not chicken based. Solid Gold, Timberwolf Organics, and Dick Van Patten are three that come to mind at the moment. You will find them at the better pet food stores. Check out the dog food forum here for some others.

Good luck and our fingers are crossed for Casey.

Answer:
Here are some chicken free foods:
Solid Gold Wolf King

Natural balance sweet potato and fish
Natural Balance Venison and rice
(I'd stay away from duck too... Some doggies are sensitive to all poultry and it's just better to be safe.)

The timberwolf ones: http://www.timberwolforganics.com/Pet_Foods_s/12.htm (pretty well all of them except the one with chicken in it- southwest chicken and herbs)
(We can post individual links now! )
This one is my fav from timberwolf (but we can't get it here still):
Ocean Blue™

Good luck!

Answer:
Thanks so much for all your help! Thanks also for providing these links!

Well, I'm starting to wein Casey off of the Prednisone.

I let you know how her blood work comes out on the 6th of September.

Thanks again for all your help!


A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa

Answer:
Hope you find a food that Casey likes and does well on. And will keep our fingers crossed for good news about her blood tests.

Answer:
Jerseygirl-
I know your pup is getting better, but i have some info for you on hot spots. Last year my pitbull Sampson started acting weird. He wasn't eating much to speak of and not really drinking either. He wasn't his usual fiesty self and really seemed out of it. He would fall asleep sitting up and when he laid down he cried in pain. I didn't see anything on him that appeared painful except a small scab on his belly about the size of a pencil eraser. I thought for sure that couldn't be the problem but i was wrong. This went on for about 3 days until I could get him to the vet. Just as the vet was about to tell me that Sampson was physically fine, he felt the scab on his stomach. I said that i had noticed it a couple of days ago and it hadn't changed any since. The vet said that it was a hot spot that is usually caused by some kind of an allergy. Sampson got a cortisone shot and was literally back to normal before we got back home. I was shocked that something so small could literally ruin a dog's life. Sampson has had cancer removed twice from his hind leg and the incision split open each time. That did not affect him as much as this hot spot did. The vet said that the hot spot is actually inflammation and it affects nerves which is why it was detrimental to his entire system. As soon as we got the inflammation down, he was as good as new and he has never had one since.
Nikki

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