We have an appointment to see Doctor #6

[Archer]

I am so glad you got in with them. I hope they help. Agreed that if after the initial visit nothing had improved, an allergy test should have been done next. It’s actually subjective whether or not the intradermal (skin prick) is better than the blood test, but the Intradermal is gold standard and what the accredited Derm Vets pushed when Fae and Archer were tested. It runs about $350, which includes antijen, but that was a few years ago

Does he have hives or anything else, or is his skin just flakey and itchy? I have had success treating itchy dandruffy skin with a spray down of 50:50 Listerine (the brown one) to water. Sounds weird, but works like a charm. Also Omega-3 and Onega-6 fatty acids are gonna be your bestie for any skin related issue.

Keep in mind that you need to do one thing at a time when trying things orherwise you risk not being able to isolate what he responds to. You also need to give things a few weeks to work before moving on.

If this is allergies, it’s lifelong and symptoms will wax and wane over his lifetime. You just have to find a regime that works for your dog and every dog is an individual. Things like Apoquel take a few weeks to months to work. Allergy shots take weeks to months to build up as you are basically making the pet (or human) immune to what they are allerfic to by injections of the things they are allergic to. It’s like a vaccine in theory so stay patient

Please keep us posted on how his appointment goes and we are here to vent to and offer support when needed. Sorry again you are going through this

 

[Doberman Gang]

Thank you for your kind words, here is a picture taken Dec 23rd to give you an idea what we are dealing with.

Looks similar to our dog Redmans flakes. He has allergies and I give him shots a few times a year, he also goes on and off different meds depending on what time if Year it is. He also is a very neurotic dog, if he gets over stressed it makes it work. We have tried many things through our the years including medicated shampoos and different oils. He would actually blow his entire coat every spring when he was younger. It has seemed to get better over the years, now he just flakes up and gets itchy from time to time. Actually just gave him a shot yesterday. He is almost 10 years old now.

 

[C908]

I am so glad you got in with them. I hope they help. Agreed that if after the initial visit nothing had improved, an allergy test should have been done next. It’s actually subjective whether or not the intradermal (skin prick) is better than the blood test, but the Intradermal is gold standard and what the accredited Derm Vets pushed when Fae and Archer were tested. It runs about $350, which includes antijen, but that was a few years ago

Does he have hives or anything else, or is his skin just flakey and itchy? I have had success treating itchy dandruffy skin with a spray down of 50:50 Listerine (the brown one) to water. Sounds weird, but works like a charm. Also Omega-3 and Onega-6 fatty acids are gonna be your bestie for any skin related issue.

Keep in mind that you need to do one thing at a time when trying things orherwise you risk not being able to isolate what he responds to. You also need to give things a few weeks to work before moving on.

If this is allergies, it’s lifelong and symptoms will wax and wane over his lifetime. You just have to find a regime that works for your dog and every dog is an individual. Things like Apoquel take a few weeks to months to work. Allergy shots take weeks to months to build up as you are basically making the pet (or human) immune to what they are allerfic to by injections of the things they are allergic to. It’s like a vaccine in theory so stay patient

Please keep us posted on how his appointment goes and we are here to vent to and offer support when needed. Sorry again you are going through this

I have been reading about food allergies and food intolerance.He has multiple symptoms that are mentioned. Angie only feeds her dogs Fromm Adult Gold so that's what we continued to feed him. How could it be possible for him to be OK on that when we first got him and then shortly after start having reactions to it ? He has only been on the Royal Canin since Feb 11th and it took me 3 days to transition him 100 percent. When I spoke with Dr Senter's tech she told me to keep him on it.I also read where it is highly unlikely for a dog less than 1 year old to have environmental allergies. Dr. Groh made the statement "Preacher hasn't been on the planet long enough to have environmental allergies." I really don't know about Dr Groh, he seemed like a nice guy and his credentials look outstanding but he dropped the ball and did not help us.

 

[maddie9955]

I have been reading about food allergies and food intolerance.He has multiple symptoms that are mentioned. Angie only feeds her dogs Fromm Adult Gold so that's what we continued to feed him. How could it be possible for him to be OK on that when we first got him and then shortly after start having reactions to it ? He has only been on the Royal Canin since Feb 11th and it took me 3 days to transition him 100 percent. When I spoke with Dr Senter's tech she told me to keep him on it.I also read where it is highly unlikely for a dog less than 1 year old to have environmental allergies. Dr. Groh made the statement "Preacher hasn't been on the planet long enough to have environmental allergies." I really don't know about Dr Groh, he seemed like a nice guy and his credentials look outstanding but he dropped the ball and did not help us.

My male didn't start to show any signs of allergies until he was a year old. We tested for thyroid and it did come back that he needed meds for that. Still did not help skin so we did the allergy test. And he also has environmental allergies to grass, oak trees and tons of other things.

 

[My2Girls]

My male didn't start to show any signs of allergies until he was a year old. We tested for thyroid and it did come back that he needed meds for that. Still did not help skin so we did the allergy test. And he also has environmental allergies to grass, oak trees and tons of other things.

Sorry to hear that.

So how are you treating it?

 

[maddie9955]

Sorry to hear that.

So how are you treating it?

The outside things don't seem to bother him that much. If he rubs his face in the grass it just makes his face itchy. I do allergy eye drops if I need to.

 

[C908]

I have been reading about food allergies and food intolerance.He has multiple symptoms that are mentioned. Angie only feeds her dogs Fromm Adult Gold so that's what we continued to feed him. How could it be possible for him to be OK on that when we first got him and then shortly after start having reactions to it ? He has only been on the Royal Canin since Feb 11th and it took me 3 days to transition him 100 percent. When I spoke with Dr Senter's tech she told me to keep him on it.I also read where it is highly unlikely for a dog less than 1 year old to have environmental allergies. Dr. Groh made the statement "Preacher hasn't been on the planet long enough to have environmental allergies." I really don't know about Dr Groh, he seemed like a nice guy and his credentials look outstanding but he dropped the ball and did not help us.

I went back and reviewed pictures I have taken at different times. I enlarged them so I could get a close up of his coat. It looks like the first sign of small welts starting to show on his back was Aug 4th. This was a week before he turned 6 months old. I believe from this point his skin condition slowly started to worsen. It was probably around first to mid Sept when the dandruff started to appear. He was first seen for skin problems Sept 25th. So looking back we made it from the day we got him on May25th until the first of August without any skin problems.

 

[MyBuddy]

I went back and reviewed pictures I have taken at different times. I enlarged them so I could get a close up of his coat. It looks like the first sign of small welts starting to show on his back was Aug 4th. This was a week before he turned 6 months old. I believe from this point his skin condition slowly started to worsen. It was probably around first to mid Sept when the dandruff started to appear. He was first seen for skin problems Sept 25th. So looking back we made it from the day we got him on May25th until the first of August without any skin problems.

I haven't dealt with any allergies with any of my dogs but I just wanted to say, what you just did with pictures was a good thing. I would keep a log from the very beginning. Pictures, vet visits, comments, prescriptions, everything. It's so important when you're dealing with something that has gone on for this long. Sometimes you start out and think, eh, no biggie. And then it goes into 6 months! It's nice to have a log to look at and compare. We always think we'll remember, but we don't. It's nice to have it right there in front of you. Perhaps you've already done that, since you've been to so many vets. If so then that's great!

 

[strykerdobe]

@C908 "I also read where it is highly unlikely for a dog less than 1 year old to have environmental allergies"

Not if a dogs underdeveloped immune system is bombarded with multiple 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8way vaccines. Also Topical and Internal Flea and Tick meds can put stress on the immune system.
Once again These don't cause allergies but can trigger them.

Also antibiotics and prednisone which cause a disruption of gut bacteria. 70-80% of the immune system is located in the gut.

 

[JanS]

Agreed that if after the initial visit nothing had improved, an allergy test should have been done next. It’s actually subjective whether or not the intradermal (skin prick) is better than the blood test, but the Intradermal is gold standard and what the accredited Derm Vets pushed when Fae and Archer were tested.

That's exactly what I was going to say too. Atticus had terrible problems but after the specialist ran the skin prick test they figured out his allergies and gave him a regimen of allergy shots, avoidance to those things and some sort of meds that I can't remember the name of now.
I went through the allergy testing and shots several years ago, for many years but it definitely helped when I tested positive for 30+ allergens and it was in the high range for most of them.

Good luck with this vet and let us know how it goes.

 

[My2Girls]

Thinking about you guys. Any updates? Did you see Dr #6?

 

[My2Girls]

Thinking about you guys. Any updates? Did you see Dr #6?

Just re-read your original post - The appointment is in March. Please let us know how things go.

 

[C908]

Just re-read your original post - The appointment is in March. Please let us know how things go.

I'm a little confused as to weather our Mar 11th appointment will be worth while. My understanding is they really can't do any testing until Preacher has been off of the prednisone for 3 to 4 weeks. His last pill won't be given until Mar 22nd and then the 3 to 4 week wait period would start. On one hand I want him looked at but on the other hand I don't want to waste $120.00 office call just to be told to come back later. We have already spent about $1200.00 out of pocket with no results. I called Vet #6 Thur morning when they opened and left a message for the tech to call me. Mid afternoon she had not called so I left a 2nd message. After 2 full business days still no call back, not a good way to impress a new client. We had faxed 7 pages of records, I wanted to make sure she received them. I called the State of Kansas licensing department and checked out this VADC Veterinary Clinic to see if there had been any complaints filed against them. They checked out OK so maybe they were just super busy and didn't have time to call me back. Still disappointing for them not to have the courtesy to call. Maybe they have so much business it doesn't matter. I hope that is not the case because I have little patience with that kind of arrogance.

 

[MyBuddy]

Still disappointing for them not to have the courtesy to call.

Yes! Frustrating and would put a bad taste in my mouth for the vet too. I hate when someone can't give you the time of day.

Maybe they have so much business it doesn't matter. I hope that is not the case because I have little patience with that kind of arrogance.

Me either! I'm great in giving the benefit of the doubt in a lot of instances. But once that is proven wrong,

Let's hope they get back to you.

 

[Archer]

I have been reading about food allergies and food intolerance.He has multiple symptoms that are mentioned. Angie only feeds her dogs Fromm Adult Gold so that's what we continued to feed him. How could it be possible for him to be OK on that when we first got him and then shortly after start having reactions to it ? He has only been on the Royal Canin since Feb 11th and it took me 3 days to transition him 100 percent. When I spoke with Dr Senter's tech she told me to keep him on it.I also read where it is highly unlikely for a dog less than 1 year old to have environmental allergies. Dr. Groh made the statement "Preacher hasn't been on the planet long enough to have environmental allergies." I really don't know about Dr Groh, he seemed like a nice guy and his credentials look outstanding but he dropped the ball and did not help us.

It is very possible for a 10-18 month old dog to have environmental allergies. Both of my allergy dogs had diagnosed environmental allergies prior to 12 months. When their hormones change so can their allergies which is why you could see a change in how he reacts to food if he has a food allergy. They can be ok with a food one day and not ok several months later. That’s how I am with my food allergies. Finding things I am allergic to as an adult I wasn’t reactive to as a child. There are no black and white answers when it comes to dealing with immune systems and their responses. Not every dog/case is the same. Any Vet who treats them as the same from case to case isn’t doing their patients any favors.

 

[WiglWerm]

I just saw the picture of the dandruff. Looks just like my Ruby when we were fighting it. I stressed out big time with that. She was not itchy just full of greasy type dandruff. Raw brought it down to a minimum. Prior to raw we went to multiple vets and used many different shampoos. She looked great the first day and then was a flaky mess by the second. We have tweaked our raw diet. Mine are now on a quite high fat raw plan and the changes in the coat have been nothing short of Fantastic. Neither Spike nor Ruby have dandruff, their coats are sleek and glossy (even when brushed NO dandruff comes up). Fat is tricky though, feed to tolerance only. If you give too much they'll paint your walls. I know how stressful skin issues can be, I hope you can find an answer.