I know this is probably a silly question, but I don't know the answer :rolleyes:

Does kenneling a dog that has the above allergy *cure* the problem? I know one person who's dog became much better when it was kenneled, but has anyone else had success by kenneling their dog :-)

That's interesting Leigh, I'm glad it helped out that person

Nanouki my GSD suffers house dust mite allergies but is also allergic to grasses and hazel and possibly some foods, so in dogs with multiple allergies, I don't think it would work .

Theresa

Theresa, thank you for the info :-)

Would you mind me asking you how Nanouki's allergy presents?

It presents very similiar to mange actually Leigh :)

Pink skin at first with mad scratching, ears pinker than normal.
He is worst affected around his bottom, hind legs, front leg, particularly his shoulder and his underbelly. Over time he completely loses all his hair in these areas and his skin goes black from scratching and tearing.
It also stinks think of the smell of an old dishcloth and you're about there.

Any more info just let me know

Theresa ;)

Had a feeling it might Theresa :rolleyes:

I have a GSP that has a immune problem and it does affect his skin, and although similar to mange, it isn't. Thank you for the info .. if I think of anything else, I'll yell :D

By the way, I hope your dog is ok. What a nightmare!

Leigh,

He's been clear now for over three months, and is a completely different dog :) All his hair has grown back, his skin is clear, ears normal colored etc etc.

He was treated conventionally and homeopathically, and gets custom vaccines now for his allergies which have worked for him, they are successful in approx. 66% of dogs treated with them

We also switched him to a raw diet on vet advice which helped re food allergy

The allergies he is treated for are inhaled allergens, atopy it is called, but I also suspect he suffers from contact allergies as he sometimes has a right go at his feet.

Good luck with your chap :)

Theresa

Theresa,

I am glad you managed to find a way to help him :-)

Thanx for your good wishes.

I don't seem to be having a lot of luck with my dogs at the moment do I :-(

Leigh

It took seven and a half months with Nanouki Leigh

Persistence !

Theresa :)

Persistence ! I know it well ;-)

Paid off in the end though and I am sure Nanouki was worth it :-)

Leigh

My answer may sound silly :-) but I think you are right Leigh.

( well maybe not 100% cure but certainly combat the results of the allergy on the dog)

I have never had a run or kennel until now and Although my 2 don't have allergies, they do not like the carpets at all. I think they really honeslty benefit from being outside during the day.

This is going to sound even dafter but you know when you bring them in they have that cool feeling about them, their eyes sparkle more and they generally look and act healthier and happier well that is what convinced me. I was very against runs etc but I am converted. When I move shortly I am going to get a nicer kennel and bigger run built so they can be happy as larry. ( whoever he was).

I also will not be having a carpet again.

As you know Westies are commonly affected by this and most say that the removal of carpets and outside fresh air 100% helps.

I am not sure if you were meaning 24 hour kennelling but which ever just thought I would contribute my agreement.

BFN

Pam

Interesting Pam. Nothing to do with allergies, but my Cal hates living indoors. I'd rather have him inside, especially now that he's elderly but if he sees the kennel doors open he nips in, puts himself to bed and refuses to come out again. I agree about kenneled dogs looking better. I nptice an improvement in the boys' coats very quickly when the girls are in season and the males are in the kennels.

Hi Sharon,

You will laugh when I say this but I was scared to get the run done and small kennel in case people thought I was cruel or just making it to start breeding. I think most people always associate kennels with larger breeds. I now don't care and know I was being daft. I guess my circle of freinds are more doggy people now and would be more encouraging of my ideas or I just don;t give a poop anymore as I know my dogs are benefiting from it so much.

BFN

Pam

Hi Pamela,

thank you for your reply :-)

I do kennel some of my dogs already :-) It was my intention to eventually kennel Laws, but I usually keep puppies in the house for the first year, letting them go into the kennels for a couple of hours a day to start with. She is a very *hot* dog and I think her wire coat is very efficient. She prefers to lay on the quarry tiles rather than anywhere else and I think she will suit outside living perfectly. O well, looks like she will be joining Bear in the kennels sooner than I anticipated. I think I will try putting her out there for a few hours to start and see if that makes any difference.

We only have one room that has carpet now and that is for the chop shortly too :D

I also agree about dogs being happier and healthier when they are kenneled. My lot have much more *freedom* in the kennels, than they get indoors. Fresh air is good for them ;-)

One of my GSD's had a house dust mite allergy amongst others :(.
Kennelling outside certainly made him more comfortable - controlled rather than cured! It took a desensetising vaccine to *cure* him!
He's ok now

Lara

Hi Leigh, maybe this is why I have never had allergy probs - its only recently I have kept westies in the house as my old lab hated them all with avengence and its only since she passed on that I have been able to have 2 of them "in". One of them Jimmy, is the only one I have ever had that is a bit itchy/scratchy but he doesn't scratch so much that he damages his coat or skin, just that he scratches a bit more often than his companion. Its not really a problem though. How is your puppy now? - on the mend I hope. WL

Hi Leigh.
In my experience kennelling a dog with dust house mite allergy DOES help. Many dogs we board are better whilst boarding than when they are at home.
Dawn.

Lara, I am glad your dog is better now :-) Was he just desensitised against *HDM*?

Dawn, many thanks for your feedback :-)

No! He was allergic to human skin, feathers, grasses as well ..... I used to kennel him outside and handle him with gloves. The vaccine worked a treat but if it was just for the feathers and house dust mite it wouldn't have been worth it as keeping him outside would have been enough to prevent a reaction. :)

Hi WL,

It is interesting you should say that as this has been my thoughts on it for a long time. ( not you in particular but in general) which triggered of this interest into their allergy problems.

I remember when Holly got to about 6 months and she was sneezing ocasionally I started getting really parinoid and scared. I took every measurable action to keep her away from anything that could bring on any trouble. I ensured her diet was perfect. ( My thoughts on perfect anyway)At that time you may remember there where itchy westies popping up on the boards quite a lot. Luckly nothing has happened and she is 100% fine. I also used to let her sleep up stairs on the carpet or at the bottom of my bed.

I only have carpets up stairs but if I have Holly up the stairs she has sometimes wee sneezing bouts and only when she is up the stairs on the carpet or if she has sneaked onto my bed which she has not done nor been up the stairs for months and months, since I have kept them down stairs and in their run and I have never heard 1 sneeze.

I am going to get a nicer better kennel when I move shortly because I am 100% convinced they are benefiting from it.

BFN

Pam

>>How is your puppy now? - on the mend I hope. WL

Not *right* yet WL .. hence, my question :-(

The stronghold appeared to get on top of the problem and she never got past the itchy/coat thinning stage. So no scabs/sores etc. But then she started scratching like mad again. At the same time, the bracco decided to come out with classic signs of sarcoptic mange: scabs all over the bottoms of his huge ears :rolleyes: So another trip to the vets and we came home with the wash this time. The whole lot were treated and Bear appears to be *cured* but Laws is still dropping her coat big time now and is starting to get itchy again.

She lives with my GSP in the house and he has skin problems, but has been totally unaffected by the mange at all!!!! So now I am wondering if she had mange at all or if we are dealing with something else :-( If it wasn't mange, then the odds against Bear getting it must be massive. But Laws didn't have contact with Bear after she started scratching, and Bear was treated as soon as we clocked the scabs.

To be honest, I haven't a clue what is going on. Maybe the treatments that are making her itch and drop her coat now or maybe it is something else? I know I might be jumping the gun slightly, but I am very worried that she is still losing her coat :-(

Lordy Leigh, what a nightmare. :-( Hope you get something sorted soon. Don't forget I've got a homeopathic book if you need me to look up remedies etc. :-)

TTFN.

Hi Claire, any idea's on what I can give her to stop/help the itching would be welcome? I have sulphur and arsen.alb to hand. Someone suggested Zinc for her coat? I know this will help because I had a homeopathic zinc based cream for my psoriasis and it was brill, but in what quantities? I think I need to buy a homeopathy book :-) Any recommendations?

Leigh ps, will email you soon. I have just been so busy!

Leigh

nanouki was inititally on sulphur 30c three times a day.

I used a dilute solution of lavender and tea tree oil for the itching, worked far better than prednisone, even if it made his coat a bit clumpy.
From what I remember there was no problem using the two in conjunction with each other, i.e. lavender/tea tree and sulphur

Theresa

Thank you, thank you, thank you :-)

She is such a good girl for taking pills now, she just opens her mouth and I pop them in :D

HI leigh, I do feel for you, mange is the most dreadful problem when you have more than one dog. Even if she is dropping her coat, I would still keep on with the Stronghold on every dog you own, but I can understand your worries about continuing to use it. Trouble was, for me, after losing two to it I felt I had to get rid of the mange almost regardless, the next time we got it, even if the treatment was worrying as I figured a live dog was better than a dead one. It really was that drastic.

However mine never reacted badly to the Stronghold, any coat loss was due to the mange in our case as by the second outbreak I knew what was "typical" for mange. Even when my first affected dogs were in isolation from the others - kenneled opposite ends of the garden - I changed my clothes and wore rubber gloves and changed again before returning to the unaffected ones - they still all got it. I did everything possible to make sure there was no cross-contagion, I even wore a blooming shower hat when dealing with the mangey ones.
The mangey ones didn't leave their isolation kennel and run for weeks and the others were always on a lead when outside, so they couldn't rush round and say hello to the isolated ones -not even once.
If you dont mind me asking, how are your dogs kept - are the affected ones inside/outside - kept together - how are you managing their accomodation/bedding etc. In damp weather mites can crawl accross the grass, and can live for several days while they find another host. Once I had "beaten it" I hoovered the kennels (wooden ones then) and then applied several thick coats of yacht varnish, so that it filled the gaps between the floor and other boards, in the hope that any stray mites would be "varnished in". I burnt bedding (newspaper and shavings) and had two seperate grooming kits.

Each dog was different, some would just have one lesion - often on the hind quarters or neck - if it was just one - that would heal and then another one would appear. With other dogs it started on the top of the head which quickly spread to the front arm pits then up the chest-neck -jaw. Its the latter that dropped a coat of coat, the ones that just had one or two "slow" lesions only ever lost a bit of coat around the lesion and to anyone visiting, they looked ok, as being fairly long coated it would "cover up".

One thing that worked like a dream was Derbac - a malathon liquid, which was actually prescribed for my son when he came back from rugby camp with scabies the previous year. ( You must all think we are a filthy family!!)
I had an unopened bottle left over. It couldn't be prescribed by vets, at least not then. A pregnant bitch I had (before Stronghold) couldn't be washed with the Aludex or Vet Kem, I was tearing my hair out and then I remembered about this Derbac, mentioned it to the vet and he said "GREAT-use it - dab it on the affected parts daily". It did work, but saying that she only had two small lesions. Nevertheless it worked and the puppies were fine - I was so worried they would get it from her. Any chance of going off to your quack to complain about your "itchy wrists" if you still have them, and check with your vet that he's happy for you to use it on a dog? Its a stab in the dark I know. Trouble is if you are still using the S/Hold, is it a good idea to use two treatments?
You WILL get rid of it in the end - as long as the foxes are gone. Thats the bottom line really - the foxes just have to go from your immediate area.
Have you considered Ivermectin - its the most worrying treatment - but it does work and can be used with the washes - Ivermec one week, wash the next. Though I did spot treat with the wash every other day - even on young puppies - it was the only way I got rid of it before Stronghold came out. If you do decide on Ivermectin wait in the vets car park for at least 40 mins after the injection just in case of a reaction and have some preds to take home with you incase of a reaction - though if they are going to have an allergic reaction to Ivermec - its immediate. If they are ok after 40 mins or so you are home and dry. the one that I had who reacted, reacted within 5 mins, and was ok again half an hour later. Sorry this is so long - I just want to help - I know what you are going through.

A word of warning to any others reading this who think its fun to encourage /have foxes near by. Get rid or live to regret it- honestly!!

Hi WL, thank you for your help :-)

Of course I don't mind you asking. I will email you :-)

Leigh

On the subject of stronghold I was advised to keep it up regularly to avoid any change of the Nouk catching mange/fleas and having to deal with that and his allergies.

Many dogs who are allergic to house dust mites are also severely to flea bites according to my vet, and he recommended stronghold both for fleas and mange.

Theresa :)

Hi Theresa,
my own vet will not use stronghold unless it is a treatment for mange. I always wondered why he didn't try to *sell* it to me over Frontline, but having now seen the list of contra-indications for the american *version* I now know why he hesitates :rolleyes:

I know sarcoptic mange is a mite, but do you think that Lawrie will always be *vulnerable* to it now? :-)

Don't know Leigh, it was the flea allergy which the vet was primarily interested in, Nanouki was tested for flea allergy and had none

Nanouki's last stronghold was four months ago, and he has not picked up anything since then. With mange being a mite I can't see how Lawrie would be more vulnerable to it as she has possible allergies.

Will check and get back to you.

Interesting to see your comments about stronghold, I know a couple of rescues here who hesitate now to use it particularly on puppies as a couple of pups have taken ill and died after being strongholded.
Where can I check the side effects please?

Thanks
Theresa

Have a look at this thread Theresa: Our puppy has mange.

Interestingly, when we took my bracco in with mange, I asked the vet if we would use Stronghold on him too and he shook his head and said that the wash would be better. This may have been because I had just bent his ear about what I had found out about *Revolution*. Maybe he thought I *knew* to much, but looking at the warnings on the wash ... there wasn't a lot in it :rolleyes: My main gripe with him was that he should have told us, what we were using. Especially as we had discussed the *negative* sides to the washes and had opted for the stronghold, because I assumed it was safer.

Leigh

Hi Leigh, heres a couple of links for homeopathy/alternative treatments. Hope you can find something.
http://www.altvetmed.com/allergic.html
http://www.cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/skin.htm
I have another link but I can`t find it but I`ll keep looking & when I do I will put it up.
Christine, Spain.

Thanks for that Leigh. A while ago I asked my vet about trying 'Revolution' and he said 'Good Lord, NO!' and handed me the usual Frontline. Now I know why :).

Leigh, don't forget that good old benzyl benzoate works for mange as well as cheyletiella!!

I had forgot! Thanx for the reminder Val :-)

bringing to the top

Hi Leigh. Very sorry about your puppy, I don't know if you remember but my first post as a guest was "allergies in black lab" He is now 20 months old and we just try to manage his problems as best as we can. The vet has said he will always have a problem of one kind or another. He has only had the skin scrape and hair test sent to the lab. but the vet said he is sensitive to just about everything. He suffers anal gland, skin and ear problems and is regularly sick. He is sensitive to almost all antibiotics apart from Marbocyl and other treatments such as eardrops,ear washes and shampoos help when used for a couple of times but then make matters worse. Even the more natural, like aloevera only seem to help for a few times and then he reacts to them. After just short periods of exercise or excitement his blood overheats and he gets very hot.This seems perculiar as in spite of this his favourite place is in front of the Parkray. He also has contact and food allergies, atophy(inhaled) and is sensitive to the staph bacteria which I understand is present on skin.He would eat grass continually if allowed and also mud. Although he loses hair and nearly always has one or two places (mostly armpits, belly or groin) that look like cigarette burns. his coat although sometimes scurfy, shines like velvet. We also have to go careful with sprays, cleaners and perfumes etc. it seems like he has an addiction to smelling these which I put down to the chemical allergy.
I did ring the homeopathic vet whom we have used before, but the nurse didn't sound very hopeful as she said when they have multiple allergies they develop more. In spite of this he is a very happy dog and loves everyone but he misses out playing with other dogs as I am worried about fleas etc. Sorry this is long but I wouldn't keep dosing her with anything until I was sure it wasn't her reacting to the chemicals. When I asked about dilute cider vinegar for his ears the vet said "everything is a chemical" Sorry if this sounds full of gloom, it is heartbreaking at times but you still love them and I think our Lab is one of the rarer cases. We had him at 101/2 weeks and I kept telling our vet something wasn't right but he said I had forgotten what it was like to have a pup but you just get that feeling which you sound as though you have. Something you can't put your finger on. Just hope we are all wrong and she's ok. tangle

Hi Tangle, thank you for taking the trouble to post :-)

I do have a gut feeling and I suppose time will tell if I am right or not. I hope it is mange and then I will feel silly at panicking :D It had occured to me that it might be *to much* for her. She is only 5 months old (today) and I think she has had more chemicals on her ~ in her ~ around her, than the rest of them put together!

But, I am jumping the gun here. It could still be mange or the side affects of mange. I do have another dog with an immune skin problem, but his presents in a totally different way to what Lawrie has at the moment. I could be panicking over nothing at all :-) but she is my baby and I am worried.

Thank you all for your concern and help.
You always come through for us and we really appreciate it :-)

Hi Leigh. Could have added that Bingo was dosed up a lot too. Took him to the vets the day after we got him, he had worms and earmites. The worms took a lot of shifting and he had to have more tabs than we or the vet liked to give. tangle

Hi Leigh, heres the other link. Might be good for anyone else interested in homeopathy.
http://www.irishwolfhounds.org/homeopathy.htm#top
It gives a basic rundown of all the remedies so you can see which might be the right one to use.
Christine, Spain.

Leigh

There is a blood test to test for mange mites, it will come back either negative, showing exposure to mange mites in the past 3-6 months or positive.

Theresa :)