seeknoxrun
Well-Known Member
Some of you have seen me post about Roux's (5 month old female EM) relentless itching, hair loss, and dry, flaky skin. Our regular vet has done two separate skin scrapings and ruled out mites, topical parasites, mange, and scabies. We both agreed that it was probably an allergic reaction. I've been super careful about the food/treats I give her - all natural, grain free, novel protein sources, etc - but that hasn't seemed to help. Also, topical solutions usually make her more itchy and offer little to no relief. We tried Benadryl for 10 weeks (started out at 1mg per pound, made our way up to 2mg per pound) to no effect. She also doesn't seem to have any positive reaction to salmon oil or milled flax.
So, we had our first visit with the doggie dermatologist today. She also did a skin scraping (came back negative) and threw around the ideas of a short stint of steroids to break the itch cycle. I requested that no steroids be given at this point, and I would rather get on with allergy testing and trial/error to determine the cause first. She explained that dogs that show symptoms to allergies this young are usually reacting to a food allergy, and she insisted that the best course of action would be a prescription hypoallergenic kibble trial (Iams Kangaroo something or another at $80 for 25lbs) for at least 8 weeks. I told her, in detail, about Roux's current diet and how I'm very careful about what I feed her (no grains, no common protein sources, as natural as possible) but she said it doesn't matter because that kibble is likely processed in the same plant / on the same equipment as other formulas, and it may be contaminated with an allergen not listed in the ingredients. Is that very likely? I feed Earthborn Holistics and rotate between the lamb meal formula and the herring meal formula. Also, I mentioned attempting raw again, and she was very against that idea. She couldn't really give me a good reason as to why not, and just said that dogs that are on a raw diet are at risk for passing salmonella to other household members. She also said that a dog will be just as allergic to a protein source in its raw form as it is in a kibble form. True or not true? Is there any research or any articles that discuss this issue?
Ugh, my head is spinning! But at this point, I can't watch Roux tear herself up anymore. Any suggestions, advice, insight, firsthand experiences??
So, we had our first visit with the doggie dermatologist today. She also did a skin scraping (came back negative) and threw around the ideas of a short stint of steroids to break the itch cycle. I requested that no steroids be given at this point, and I would rather get on with allergy testing and trial/error to determine the cause first. She explained that dogs that show symptoms to allergies this young are usually reacting to a food allergy, and she insisted that the best course of action would be a prescription hypoallergenic kibble trial (Iams Kangaroo something or another at $80 for 25lbs) for at least 8 weeks. I told her, in detail, about Roux's current diet and how I'm very careful about what I feed her (no grains, no common protein sources, as natural as possible) but she said it doesn't matter because that kibble is likely processed in the same plant / on the same equipment as other formulas, and it may be contaminated with an allergen not listed in the ingredients. Is that very likely? I feed Earthborn Holistics and rotate between the lamb meal formula and the herring meal formula. Also, I mentioned attempting raw again, and she was very against that idea. She couldn't really give me a good reason as to why not, and just said that dogs that are on a raw diet are at risk for passing salmonella to other household members. She also said that a dog will be just as allergic to a protein source in its raw form as it is in a kibble form. True or not true? Is there any research or any articles that discuss this issue?
Ugh, my head is spinning! But at this point, I can't watch Roux tear herself up anymore. Any suggestions, advice, insight, firsthand experiences??