I'm at my wits end here.

I have a much-loved mutt, about the size and shape of a Westie but
stockier. He's longhaired, and very much a terrier. He's 8 years old.

For years he's suffered from a skin problem, and it's getting worse.
The symptoms are increasing pinking of the skin, especially on stomach
and back legs, and a host of warts, which increase year by year in
number.

The condition is very distressing - he hurls himself about whining and
scratching and pulls great clumps of hair out. It usually dies down in
the winter, though the warts remain.

I've tried everything I can think of - in fact, I've spent a fortune.
He's had steroid injections (to which he had a reaction and nearlyu
died); holistic, gluten-free, non-allergenic food;
antihistamines;extremely expensive oils added to his food - I'm
beginning to lose track.

I should add that he is bathed in non-allergic shampoo perhaps every
couple of months (being a terrier he does get very grubby), and I cut
his hair regularly to a couple of inches.

If it gets much worse he's going to have a miserable life. Can anybody
suggest something else I could try?

"Pete" wrote in message
...
For years he's suffered from a skin problem, and it's getting worse.
The symptoms are increasing pinking of the skin, especially on stomach
and back legs, and a host of warts, which increase year by year in
number.

The condition is very distressing - he hurls himself about whining and
scratching and pulls great clumps of hair out. It usually dies down in
the winter, though the warts remain.

........sounds like it's a seasonal allergy. Might be allergic to grass. Do
you live in a place with a cold winter?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 10:01:02 GMT, "buglady"
wrote:


"Pete" wrote in message
.. .
For years he's suffered from a skin problem, and it's getting worse.
The symptoms are increasing pinking of the skin, especially on stomach
and back legs, and a host of warts, which increase year by year in
number.

The condition is very distressing - he hurls himself about whining and
scratching and pulls great clumps of hair out. It usually dies down in
the winter, though the warts remain.

.......sounds like it's a seasonal allergy. Might be allergic to grass. Do
you live in a place with a cold winter?

buglady
take out the dog before replying


No, not really - south east coast of England, right by the sea. How on
earth do you tackle an allergy to grass, or any other airborne spore??

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:30:34 +0100, Pete
wrote:

I'm at my wits end here.

I have a much-loved mutt, about the size and shape of a Westie but
stockier. He's longhaired, and very much a terrier. He's 8 years old.

For years he's suffered from a skin problem, and it's getting worse.
The symptoms are increasing pinking of the skin, especially on stomach
and back legs, and a host of warts, which increase year by year in
number.

The condition is very distressing - he hurls himself about whining and
scratching and pulls great clumps of hair out. It usually dies down in
the winter, though the warts remain.

I've tried everything I can think of - in fact, I've spent a fortune.
He's had steroid injections (to which he had a reaction and nearlyu
died); holistic, gluten-free, non-allergenic food;
antihistamines;extremely expensive oils added to his food - I'm
beginning to lose track.

I should add that he is bathed in non-allergic shampoo perhaps every
couple of months (being a terrier he does get very grubby), and I cut
his hair regularly to a couple of inches.

If it gets much worse he's going to have a miserable life. Can anybody
suggest something else I could try?

P.S. Thank god for killfilters. Who the hell is this puppywizard
moron?

"Pete" wrote in message
...
No, not really - south east coast of England, right by the sea.

........Hmmmmmm, well what happens in winter? Does the grass get brown? Do
things only bloom in the summer?

How on
earth do you tackle an allergy to grass, or any other airborne spore??

...............wipe them down with a damp cloth when they come in from
outside. Does your dog chew feet or everywhere?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

check here under
"skin" and allergies"
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/

P.S. Thank god for killfilters. Who the hell is this puppywizard
moron?

A moron.

Might be a combined food and seasonal allergy. Have you tried feeding Hills
Z/D?

-Sharon

Pete wrote:

holistic, gluten-free, non-allergenic food;


Being "holistic" and gluten free is not likely to help at all IF the
problem is a food allergy. I suspect that food is not the issue because
it sounds seasonal in natgure. Pure coincidence can be a player as
well. If you changed food the same time as the seasons changed I
suppose.

The term "holistic" is completely meaningless so you can ignore that
one. Dogs are not commonly reactive to "gluten" unless it is wheat. You
might consider talking to your vet about a truly hypoallergenic food,
there are three different ones on the market which are composed of
hydrolysate proteins and thus cannot induce an allergic response. It
won't cost you more than six weeks worth of the food to find out if
that is the problem.

It is possible that your dog is reacting to a number of different
antigens, a food allegy, flea, dust, grass, or any combination of the
above and others. Sometimes removing one source of antigens is enough
to permit the dog to overcome the others. There is a kind of
"threshold" at which point the dog may not react. I'm trying to think
of a way to explain this - suppose the threshold is 100 (purely
arbitrary meaningless number just for example) Your dog has a reaction
to some food and picks up 50 points, a reaction to dust and picks up 25
points, a reaction to grass and picks up another 35 points - now he's
over the threshold of 100 and the immune response kicks in. If you
remove any one of the problems he dips back below the threshold and
there are no visible or clinical signs or symptoms.