My Springer is 7 mths old. For the last 6 weeks he has been suffering skin problems. It started with him licking and gnawing his paws. The vet said it was a allergy to carpet dye, washing powder or dust mites in the carpet (we only have carpet in one room, the others are hard floors). He gave him an injection and sent us away. One week later it was worse and the end of his nose was going pink and he was getting spots around his genitals. This time the vet said perhaps the problem was too much protien in his diet, took him off his regular feed and told me to give him 'Chappie' plus one steroid tablet a day and to come back in 2 weeks. 2 weeks later and the rash was getting worse, so back again to the vet who now told me to take him off biscuits and Chappie and to put him on a 'gluten free' diet and a food called 'KIBBLE', reduce the steroid to 1/2 a tablet and give him 'Piriton' tablets 3 times a day.

We are 10 days down the line and I have an itching, gnawing, balding, pink, lifeless (through Piriton making him sleep) Springer. PLEASE can anyone who has had similar problems HELP? I am open to all suggestions. I have called his breeder who assures me that the dogs parents have not had this problem and she is posting this on a gun dog site she visits for me. I DO NOT want my little dog to suffer any more.

Please please please insist that you get a proper and correct DIAGNOSIS of your dog's problems from your vet!  At the moment he is only guessing!  If your dog is insured (or even if he is not) ask the vet to take a blood sample and send it away for allergy testing to Yorktest laboratories who specialise in this.  This is the ONLY way you will discover what, if anything, your dog is allergic/intolerant to!  At the moment the vet is treating your dog's SYMPTOMS without identifying the cause; at best this will ameliorate them but not cure them.  You can only treat a problem when you know what it is!

If the test comes back identifying a food allergy then it will be simple to remove the offending items from the diet and then the symptoms will disappear!  If it is an environmental problem this is more difficult to treat but CAN be helped in SOME dogs by desensitising jabs.

The steroids and antihistamines will alleviate symptoms but not prevent the problem. (The piriton should not cause drowsiness?) Your dog may indeed be allergic to gluten but it is better to KNOW than to guess.  As for the too much protein argument, well IMHO no one can know this because as yet regulations do not have to include info on where all the protein comes from or its bioavailability; your dog could be fed 100% protein but if it is incomplete or unavailable then it will be useless!  I had a dog with allergies which caused extremely bad ear infections, once the allergens were removed so was the problem!

Your vet's job is to identify the cause and correct treatment; otherwise you may as well take him to a witch doctor!

Your vet has no idea what is causing the dog's itches at the moment therefore he is just "shooting in the dark"!

Hi, allergies can be notoriously difficult to diagnose & they are either internal from diet or contact & that could be anything at all. They come about by the immune system not working properly so the best way to get it up to par & help the body help itself is thru a healthy diet & lifestyle :) It also needs remembering that tho dogs can have allergies it doesn`t necessarily mean they will be allergic to the same thing all their life, it can disappear never to be seen again or they can become allergic to something new at a later date. There is also a good chance as well that a dog allergic to the one of the ingriedients in dry food ie-beef/corn etc, will not be allergic to it when it is fed in its natural fresh state.  :)

You can have him tested to see what he`s allergic to, your vet can`t do this except to take blood & send it away. he can also take skin scrappings to check for parasites to make sure it`s not them causing, let us know what you decide which route you want to take. If its the diet causing it & you want to change it there`s lots here who can help you thru it :)

Christine, Spain.

Think the tests are a must, while you are waiting for the results it might be worth feeding him naturediet, ( www.naturediet.co.uk )it is said to be formulated for alergies.  Have a look and see what you think

Did the vet do any skin scrapings etc?  The spots on the tummy area sound like some sort of mange or flea bites, and that these are causing the allergic reation rather then food.  Not that I would rule out food, my cocker - finlay is allergic to chicken so is on nutro lamb and rice.  Best to go back to vets and get everything looked at.

Nikki xx

Hi,

I have found Quistel products helpful, if you read the testimonials on-site, you can judge for yourself!  :)

http://www.actigeneruk.co.uk/quistelframeset.htm

Christine

Thanks Christine (Lily Munster) for the info. on the Quistel shampoo and lotion. I have a westie with skin problems/ allergies so I have ordered some. It is great to be able to read the testimonials.

I have tried loads of other things with no success so it is great to have something new to try. Can't say the thousands of pounds of vet treatment have been much use either.

The vet did not do skin scrappings or blood tests. We are going back Mon 05.01.04 to insist these are done. Luckily, we are insured and had the hindsight to take out an advanced policy. Even if we weren't we would not let any animal suffer. Thanks for the reply.

Dee :)