Oreo off to the vets again today - suspected allergies

[Oreo]

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Last night Oreo snook into a corner of the room and licked the top of one of her paws.

Now previous to this she has only ever bitten her back paws however last night she targeted just one.

She has caused a hot spot in beween her toes.

We thought we were managing it quite well and this is her first serious go at her feet since we've adopted the head collar and new food route.

I am 90% that this is not now a food allergy. We have tried all sorts of different foods and all had different effects but none stopped the biting.

I am not a vet but judging the way she is her back end is pretty uncomfortable. She is either biting the base of her tale or trying to lick her bits. She also scoots alot across the floor.

So it could be an anal gland issue possibly.

There are other issues that could be assosiated with the licking and chewing, like airborn allergies, but she has been on a course of antihistamines which didn't have an effect. Or even something a little more serious like hip problems or thyroid issues.

Simple fact is we don't know, so were taking her for a third opinion.

Poor girl I just wish I knew what the answer was for her.

 

[lurcherman]

feel so sorry for you bud, your doing everythink and more, the licking of the rear end and scooting about does seen anal glands but the vet would pick that up easy, if your dogs poops are soft then that dosnt help, my black dog bracken had that but ive sorted it now he now poops bullets lol let us know what vet says asap.

 

[murphyrules]

Cadac, Have you been referred to a veterinary dermatologist at one of the specialist centres and find out what they can do to get to the root of the problem once and for all, no offence to general vets but they have limited options to treat Oreo if she does need something like autoimmune vaccines made up to sort her skin. Good luck I hope you do get to the bottom of this as you are trying everything and more to help you wee girl. :luck:

 

[Oreo]

Thanks for the responses and support it means a lot.

Firstly, we were referred to a £200 per hour 'specialist' in glostershire by our previous vets. I had to book a day off work as they only worked between 10am and 2pm Mon-Fri and my partner doesn't drive. They cancelled on the morning of the appointment (twice) and I insisted that my vet referred me to a specialist that can actually keep appointments. Six weeks later we moved vets as we heard nothing from them despite chaising them several times.

Perhaps we wasn't pushining it enough but our vets were charging nearly twice what other vets did and also we were waiting nearly an hour every time dispite having a time booked. In the end we got fed up with being messed around and voted with our feet and moved vets.

This is the first time we've been to the new vets with Oreo's allergies. We have been once before for her jabs and were told that we were doing a good job of managing it and if it were to flair up again to go back and see them. Which we did yesterday.

He spent about 20 minutes talking to us and what we had done with her etc while checking her over, he was very good actually.

He explained that a lot of allergy work is trial and error however he was sure based on previous notes and also what we had told him that this isn't food related.

He checked her backside and ruled out any problems with her hips or joints again based on previous notes and what we told him.

He checker her anal glads (which were full) which he emptied. Oreo didn't like that much but oh what a difference on the evening. You could almost see her more relaxed. He again ruled out this being the problem causing the biting.

My other concern was nails, he said that they were fine and perhaps need a small trim but they were not infected or the cause of the biting.

So this is all good news as far as i am concerned because this means we can manage it in the knowledge that she isn't in any pain. That was my main concern.

So, the vet thinks that this is some kind of airborn allergy. As she has had it all year he suspects it isn't the usual suspects pollen etc.

He has given her a dosage of steriods (which is a type she hasn't had before) and also a course of anti biotics for her feet as they're slightly infected again.

We are to monitor to see if the steriods help stop the biting.

We are booked in for two weeks for a follow up however the vet is not keen on treating this with steriods (which I do agree with). He mentioned (like the last vet) atopica and I explained my reservations about it. He explained that atopica is probably a last resort and that we will look at other options before we go down that route.

In regards to the vets, he was very good and it was a much better experience than my previous vets. It was ontime and also the cost was a lot lot less than expected (almost half the previous vets).

I suspect we will end up being referred to a specialist eventually but I really am concerned with putting Oreo though any more vet trips and really considering the atopica route just to give her a rest.

 

[lurcherman]

on the anal glands issue it will no doubt fill up again, i was spending 40 pound a time so i said to the vet show me how so he did , i did it better each time and was doing it every week for 6 months until found a food that hardend his poops and touch wood three years have passed, lets hope one day it will be sorted :thumbsup:

 

[Oreo]

Yes he did show me. However, we have sorted the hard poo problem out so i am hopeful that it won't fill up too quickly this time.

I have this morning contacted a holistic vet in regards to costs. I know it's not the conventional way of doing things but maybe they can offer alternatives before I decide to go down the atopica route. I'm just waiting to find out if my insurance will cover it.

Has anyone any experience with a holistic vet?

 

[Shamrock]

Have you tried Dermacton cream?, it is great for skin promblems

 

[Oreo]

No, I haven't heard of it.

Just doing a quick search and it seems they do a spray also. Have you used it?

I have used various creams and such and she just tries to lick them off. She even likes that bitter apple spray! Strange dog.

I'd be interested to know about Dermacton though.

 

[murphyrules]

Glad to hear you are happier with your new vet, hope this continues. Can I ask why you have such reservations about using Atopica to treat Oreo?

 

[Shamrock]

cadac21, I bought some last year when Lily chewed her back leg (harvest mites i think) it worked a treat, a lot of my doggy friend swear by it.

 

[Oreo]

Glad to hear you are happier with your new vet, hope this continues. Can I ask why you have such reservations about using Atopica to treat Oreo?

Yeah of course.

I first heard about this drug last year. I was told it would be a last resort type thing and that, that particular vet hadn't had much experience with it.

I had to research the cost as my insurance wouldn't be able to confirm if they would pay for the drug etc so I was trying to sorce a cheaper drug elsewhere (which I did).

When I did the research it turned out that there were a lot of reviews. Mixed reviews really, some great some awful and some inbetween.

I then looked at the figures and around 40% of dogs who use atopica develop some kind of secondary problem. Be it sickness or lazyness or dizzyness etc.

I thought that while I was controlling the itching it wasn't worth using the drug.

However, looking back perhaps it's caused Oreo mental problems as it must be horrid having a constant itch.

The more I read about it the more I don't want to use it. My vet last night was very understanding but couldn't offer anything in terms of advice that made me think otherwise. Other than he would use it on his dog.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

[hanneroon]

how long had you been on the new grainfree diet? did you try the lemon juice rinses or thornit powder (which is a similar thing)? Do her paws still smell? Did you ask him about yeast? Those articles did say that the itching would get temporarily worse after a few weeks as yeast dies off on a grainfree diet, and releases toxins, and not to give up!

 

[Oreo]

She's been on grain free dry for just under a month and wet for two weeks before that.

Her feet don't smell now but the biting has moved from the bottom of her feet to the tops of her feet (still inbetween her paws).

Vet said it wasn't a yeast infection (however i am not sure how he'd know without doing tests), and because i did a food elimination diet of three months last year it was unlikely to be the food at this point, but did suggest I stuck with it.

The rinces I am doing with salt water which seem to be helping a little, but the thornit doesn't have any affect other than offering a funny smell for a while lol.

My head is bouncing and really am struggling on what to do next.

The steriods this time seem to be helping as she has gone for her feet a lot less the last 24 hours and last night she went straight to bed to sleep which she never does. She does look a lot more relaxed and I am seeing a slightly different dog.

But I am not sure if that is the affect of the drug or the relief of the drugs or having her anal glads expressed.

 

[TTT]

Have you tried your dog on a raw diet and keeping its weight down?

 

[Oreo]

She is a very lean lab and as a result I don't want her to loose any weight. We haven't tried raw with her however it's not something I have researched in great detail.

Oreo has been scratch and bite free now since Wednesday, which is great!

She was put on Steriods (which she had her first dose on Thursday morning). However her anal glads were expressed at the vets also.

Having done a bit of reading it seems that biting back paws can be a sign of blocked anal glads. Aparently, when they become blocked they become uncomfortable and eventually painful. They then resort to biting other parts of their body as a distraction.

I am really hoping this is the case and it isn't the steriods. Although we won't know until she comes off the steriods in a few weeks.

Steriods have not worked in the past so I am really hopeful that the anal glads were the problem.

I'm not getting to excited as it could easily change but we even managed to pop out to Sainsbury's for half an hour yesterday and she was left without her buster collar with no chewing or red paws!