My mother has a beagle about 8 years old with the following symptoms:
itchy flaky skin, inflamed ears, excessive licking of the front paws,
major swelling of the paws and a irritated and swollen rear quarter.
She has taken him to 2 vets and they don't seem to know what to do with
him. They think its a fungal infection but they are not sure. They
have tried antibiotics but that doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have
any suggestions? Thanks

My mother has a beagle about 8 years old with the following symptoms:
itchy flaky skin, inflamed ears, excessive licking of the front paws,
major swelling of the paws and a irritated and swollen rear quarter.
She has taken him to 2 vets and they don't seem to know what to do with
him. They think its a fungal infection but they are not sure. They
have tried antibiotics but that doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have
any suggestions? Thanks

Three things to ask the vet to consider:

1. Skin scrapings to confirm or rule out fungal infection

2. Food allergies and/or environmental allergies. Both can come on at any
time.

3. Auto immune disorder

Thanks for the reply. Auto immune disorder is a strong possiblity. How
is it treated?



Sharon too wrote:
My mother has a beagle about 8 years old with the following symptoms:
itchy flaky skin, inflamed ears, excessive licking of the front paws,
major swelling of the paws and a irritated and swollen rear quarter.
She has taken him to 2 vets and they don't seem to know what to do with
him. They think its a fungal infection but they are not sure. They
have tried antibiotics but that doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have
any suggestions? Thanks

Three things to ask the vet to consider:

1. Skin scrapings to confirm or rule out fungal infection

2. Food allergies and/or environmental allergies. Both can come on at any
time.

3. Auto immune disorder

wrote in message
ps.com...
My mother has a beagle about 8 years old with the following symptoms:
itchy flaky skin, inflamed ears, excessive licking of the front paws,
major swelling of the paws and a irritated and swollen rear quarter.
She has taken him to 2 vets and they don't seem to know what to do with
him. They think its a fungal infection but they are not sure. They
have tried antibiotics but that doesn't seem to help.

..............If they think it's a fungal infection, they should do a fungal
culture. Antibiotics won't fix a fungal problem. Even if it's Staph, which
is bacterial, long term antibiotics are sometimes needed to see results.
Both of these should be ruled out.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

It would be a good idea to ask your vet about the possibility of
allergy testing. This could tell you alot about what your dog might be
allergic to if it is in fact allergies.

Though the tests for food allergies are extremely costly and not always
reliable. Best to go on an elimination diet to find this out. Ask about (for
example) Hills Z/D *exclusively* for up to 2 months. That means no table
scraps or treats - just the Z/D. If there is a relief of symptoms, it's
pretty telling. Fnd out how your vet diagnoses and treats food allergies and
what food he/she recommends.

First of all, that person who posted before is crazy!!!

I suggested that maybe you try allergy testing after you have ruled out
any food allergies. I know that food from your veterinarian can be
costly. However, the costs are so worth the results when you find the
magic food that makes your dog feel better. I am sure that your vet is
not trying to rip you off in any way by selling you science diet food.
That food is specially formulated and tested for situations like yours.
If you do not feel comfortable with your vet then I would suggest that
you choose another that you can trust to not rip you off.

Hopefully the z/d will work for you as it has for so many other dogs.
Good luck again!!

wrote:
First of all, that person who posted before is crazy!!!

I suggested that maybe you try allergy testing after you have ruled out
any food allergies. I know that food from your veterinarian can be
costly. However, the costs are so worth the results when you find the
magic food that makes your dog feel better. I am sure that your vet is
not trying to rip you off in any way by selling you science diet food.
That food is specially formulated and tested for situations like yours.
If you do not feel comfortable with your vet then I would suggest that
you choose another that you can trust to not rip you off.

Hopefully the z/d will work for you as it has for so many other dogs.
Good luck again!!

Sorry i meant to write some of that to another topic. If you rule out
that the problems are from food allergies then I would recommend
allergy testing. They will test for any environmental allergies and
hopefully make you dog feel alot better.