Hi,
I'm posting to ask if anyone has any good advice on contact allergies (skin). I have an eight year old yellow lab boy, Parker. He came to us from Lab Rescue Northwest, in a poor state having been picked up by a stray kennel. He was slightly underweight and had scabs and sores all over him, the worst sores being primarily on his head and his feet / lower legs.
While in kennels and since coming home with us, he has done well, put on weight and his scabs have largely cleared up.However, he's been home with us about 6 weeks now, and only in the last week he has started to lick two places on himself (testicles and a tiny wart on the bridge of his nose) until they are bleeding. He has also started licking at the bald patches on his legs and feet, where previously although hairless, the skin was dry and unbroken.

The vet thinks it is a contact allergy, as only hairless areas are being affected. Parker also has a long term ear problem, probably related, caused by the skin of the earflaps and ear canal having been inflamed for years and the ear canal closing up. The vet's advice is that his hearing loss is almost total, with the ear canal being one tenth of the normal diameter. He is advising surgery within the not too distant future to ensure that wax doesn't build up below the narrow part of the canal and cause a serious infection.

Regarding his diet and general environment, he is eating (everything!!) well. He is fed 3 times a day with a good tinned food and mixer. He has sunflower oil on his food and oily fish as extra treats. He gets the regular dog treats, hide sticks, shapes, etc and he also gets a Kong with peanut butter or cheese regularly. I supplemented his food with a working dog complete mix (using instead of mixer) for the first couple of weeks to help him build up his weight, but he's now having just normal mixer biscuits. He does have lots of treats and leftovers, but nothing to excess. He gets a drink of fresh goats milk daily, which I've heard is good for eczema.
He lives on a farm, mixes with cats, another dog, cows, horses, goats and chickens. Just now, it's very wet and muddy out, his legs get muddy at least 4 times per day and is either hosed down or taken through a fresh water pool. He goes in hay and straw a lot in our buildings, not much really long grass at the moment but mostly ankle high. He went to the beach last week and swam in the sea, wondering if this or some kind of pollen allergy has triggered it.

Inside, his bedding is a poycotton covered duvet inside a rigid plastic bed, but he he spends equal amounts of time on the carpets and on the sofas (cotton washable covers, thank heavens!!)

Our other boy, Jack, also from rescue  is fine. He is very well generally, although does have bald elbows which are regrowing hair now, and he has not suffered from any irritations.

I've posted on Lab Rescue's site, and they are doing all they can to help, but have suggested that I also post on here to see if anyone has any words of wisdom. Parker has been put on a course of Prednisolone and Amoxypen for 2 weeks. It seems to be calming the redness of his ears, but he is licking and reopening the scabs daily in the affected areas. Can I put anything topical on them to help them heal, and any ideas what might have caused it to suddenly flare up in the first place? As far as I'm aware, nothing about his environment or diet has changed significantly in the last 4 weeks, he is looking and feeling well in himself and is good humoured as usual.

Thanks in advance

Anne

Hi - can't help you much on the allergies question, I'm afraid, but I'd just like to say that it sounds as if Parker has found Doggy Heaven with you!

Someone (probably many) will come along and offer you good advice soon.

Regards - Margot

Why not register and then you can ask more questions, and also be able to help others who may be in the same situation as yourself and Parker.

Thanks Margot, our two boys do seem happy with their new life - we try to be good parents:)
It's specially nice that they are both on their 'second chance' homes, we fully intend that they will be healthy happy lads here for the rest of their lives (if we can get to the bottom of poor old Parker's problems, that is)

I've done as you suggested and registered, it looks like a good site with some very helpful folks on here.

Best,

Anne
(Windydog)

Hi Anne, sounds like he`s got a few health things to deal with. I`d be loathe to offer any advice apart from taking him to a homeopthic vet, other than that cutting all his treats out & stopping his drink of milk. Try keep his food to only a few sources just in case it`s not contact allergy. Calendular cream is good for sores, as is aloa vera gel ointment. I`ve put a link on where to find h/pathic vets thruout UK. Hope he gets sorted out soon.
http://bahvs.com/vetmfhom.htm
http://www.homeopath.co.uk/pages/directory.html
http://www.natural-animal-health.co.uk/findvet.htm
http://www.pethealthcare.co.uk/allpets/vetdirectory/dogs/

Christine, Spain.

"Bump"
Anyone got any more advice to help Parker?

Hi Anne,
Nice to see you on here. :-)

Kath and Bess. x

Hi Kath,
thanks for the welcome and the 'bump'!

Anne
x

Heres a link with info about allergies, h/pathiy & some things you could try. Allergies are a sign that his immune system isn`t function rightly & that needs to be dealt with, steroids suppress it rather than adressing the real problem & only give immediate relief.
http://www.caninecaregroup.net/index.htm Click on holistic health at the top :)
You can get a really good neem shampoo from the link below, it`s not on the web site phone no. is, you just ring them & they make it up for you. I`ve used it & it worked on my dogs.
http://www.wykken.co.uk/
Have you given any thought about taking him to a h/pathic vet?

Christine, Spain