Allergies

On Mar 3, 6:00 am, "buglady" wrote:
"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message

...

I guess I'll start it in June ...

.......It takes a few week for nutrition to make a difference, I'd start
earlier and see if you can skip the *itch season* entirely!

buglady
take out the dog before replying

If it is mostly paw irritation.. do you treat your yard in the summer
months with anything? My miniature poodle has had testing for
environmental allergies. The dermatologist said the ones for food are
not reliable. He is allergic to most grasses and blooming trees.
Spring is pretty bad for him. He is on allergy shots every 5-7
days..it does help but it takes a few months before you notice that it
is helping. The food that helps the most is hills venison and potato.
He has been on z/d. Dexter is 15.5 now.

The derm did recommend wiping his feet with baby wipes after every
time he came in... any place that touched grass.. snout etc. It is
hard because he is also a grazer...loves grass! we had a mini
drought this summer and that was the best he had been in years.

Do you have a teaching hospital near you? i would see a specialist

good luck... I know what you are going thru!

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 06:00:27 -0500, "buglady" wrote:


"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
.. .
I guess I'll start it in June ...

.......It takes a few week for nutrition to make a difference, I'd start
earlier and see if you can skip the *itch season* entirely!

That was my original intention, but I'd hoped to get some direction
about what to feed from the blood tests.

Would you start with a non-allergic diet? Grain-free diet?
Something other?

Thx,
Peetie

On Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:53:04 GMT, "Dale Atkin" wrote:

I honestly don't know about the tests. Some people seem to have had some
luck with them, others don't believe they work.

Cutting-edge technology, I'd wager. Nobody's responded with info on
the Spectrum Spot tests, so it's not likely in wide usage. I'll have
to pass on that unless I can find a vet recommending/using them.

Not sure why you'd have to pass on them. If you're interested, you should do
it, regardless of what your vet thinks about it. Tell him you'd like to try,
and see what they come up with (get them to draw/prepare the blood for you).

He does busines with VARL allergy tests. If he can't price Spectrum, I
can't hire him to test with Spectrum. I don't even know if Spectrum
would run tests for a non-vet (myself). Kinda doubt it.

Peetie

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:49:15 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Mar 3, 6:00 am, "buglady" wrote:
"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message

...

I guess I'll start it in June ...

.......It takes a few week for nutrition to make a difference, I'd start
earlier and see if you can skip the *itch season* entirely!

buglady
take out the dog before replying

If it is mostly paw irritation.. do you treat your yard in the summer
months with anything?

No. We are in a dense urban area. Yard is small with grass and some
flowers. For some reason rabbits love to roost and defecate at night:
yard is full of droppings. I have to run the rabbits off before
letting the dog out, so she doesn't chomp a snoozing hare.

My miniature poodle has had testing for
environmental allergies. The dermatologist said the ones for food are
not reliable.

Interesting.

He is allergic to most grasses and blooming trees.
Spring is pretty bad for him.

Sorry to hear, but glad you mentioned it. Mine is not so bad
in spring but really a mess by July and Aug. Maybe inhalants are not
99% of the problem. Seems to build as the season progresses.

He is on allergy shots every 5-7
days..it does help but it takes a few months before you notice that it
is helping. The food that helps the most is hills venison and potato.
He has been on z/d. Dexter is 15.5 now.

The derm did recommend wiping his feet with baby wipes after every
time he came in... any place that touched grass.. snout etc. It is
hard because he is also a grazer...loves grass! we had a mini
drought this summer and that was the best he had been in years.

Do you have a teaching hospital near you?

Not to my knowledge.

i would see a specialist

I may have to before it's all over.

good luck... I know what you are going thru!

Thanks. Glad to hear you have it under control.

Peetie

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
news
.......It takes a few week for nutrition to make a difference, I'd start
earlier and see if you can skip the *itch season* entirely!

That was my original intention, but I'd hoped to get some direction
about what to feed from the blood tests.

Would you start with a non-allergic diet? Grain-free diet?
Something other?

...........Don't know what to tell you. If food is irritating the system
theoretically it could be anything, from a specific protein, dyes, additives
to grains. My personal take would be to dump grains and make sure the GI
tract is in tiptop shape. I'd run a stool test just to be sure there's no
parasites. If you have the inclination it might be a great idea to prepare
the food yourself, so you know exactly what's going into it. Has this dog
been on courses of antibiotics thru the years? What does he eat now? And
is it a food he's been on for a long time? Are there any other skin things
going on at other times of the year, like dryness or flakes? Is he
hypersensitive to fleas and does the peak flea season coincide with the
itching? How are the stools?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:27:23 -0500, "buglady" wrote:

Would you start with a non-allergic diet? Grain-free diet?
Something other?

..........Don't know what to tell you. If food is irritating the system
theoretically it could be anything, from a specific protein, dyes, additives
to grains. My personal take would be to dump grains and make sure the GI
tract is in tiptop shape. I'd run a stool test just to be sure there's no
parasites. If you have the inclination it might be a great idea to prepare
the food yourself, so you know exactly what's going into it.

That's a last resort.

Has this dog
been on courses of antibiotics thru the years?

No. She has been mostly healthy.

What does he eat now?
And is it a food he's been on for a long time?

I fed her Eukanuba for years. She's now getting Canidae All-Life-
Stage, G/C, salmon oil, Missing Link (since about June, '07).

Are there any other skin things
going on at other times of the year, like dryness or flakes?

Not in previous years. This year she had black (elephant?) skin
inside her hind legs. I treated with Eucerin, seems to be going
away.

Is he
hypersensitive to fleas and does the peak flea season coincide with the
itching?

It's close to coinciding. Fleas are worst in Sept. But I watch like a
hawk for fleas, especially in Sept. Turn her upside down, give a
tummy-rub, brush teeth, inspect pooch. I find evidence of fleas
maybe once a season and treat immediately.

How are the stools?

Firm and dark-brown.

Peetie

He does busines with VARL allergy tests. If he can't price Spectrum, I
can't hire him to test with Spectrum. I don't even know if Spectrum
would run tests for a non-vet (myself). Kinda doubt it.

Peetie


No harm in asking. I can understand why he wouldn't want to bother dealing
with a new company though.

What I might try (if I were interested in the test) is talking to Spectrum,
and see if they will do it for you, and send the results to your vet, and
talk to your vet and ask if he'll draw and prepare the sample for you. (Just
make sure you have specific instructions on how they want the sample
prepared/stored).

If he won't do that for you, then I'd be looking for a new vet. Even if he
thinks the test is a waste of money, its your money to waste.

Dale

On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:06:19 GMT, "Dale Atkin" wrote:

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
.. .
Given that the allergies don't much bother her Nov.-March, is there
any rational expectation that a g-f diet might help?

There might be some. I know one of my guy's brothers has some seasonal
itchiness. Tended to go bald on his flank when ever he shed his coat.
Eventually the owner found a food that worked for him. I believe it was a
product called "Wellness" that had 5 ingredients in it (total). I wouldn't
automatically pin it to grains though. Could be just about anything.

I have also heard that the Ultimate Allergy Screen SPOT panel from
Spectrum Labs (www.vetallergy.com/pages/testingpanels.html) can
be very helpful in identifying allergic substances. Such tests
are run from blood samples only. It might help a great deal if
I could learn what substances are causing the problems. Of course,
if they're all inhalants, I'm out of luck.

When I ask my vet (who uses VARL tests), he tells me:

a.) It is not possible to test blood for food allergies.

How did you approach him? What exactly did you ask? There are a lot of
people out there who will believe everything they read (far, far more than
will actually critically evaluate what they read).

I called and asked if I could stop by, wait until he could spare a
few minutes. They nixed that and I left my phone #. It was over
the phone.

My own approach would be "Some recommended this to me: I think it looks
interesting. What do you think?"

Pretty much what I tried on the phone.

...


Should I think about finding a new vet?

Do you trust his opinion? Do you trust him to recommend what he thinks is
best for your animals? If yes, then stick with him. If know, then I'd go
looking elsewhere.

He's rendered good care and advice in most instances. But not all.

He recommends annual DHLPP, which I'll likely refuse this year
unless it can be justified. Had it last year.

He did give me a price break when I brought a foster to him. Points
in his favor.

....

Re info on the "net": there was a lot less BS back in the Bitnet days. :-)

Thanks,
Peetie

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
...
He recommends annual DHLPP, which I'll likely refuse this year
unless it can be justified. Had it last year.

..........What month did these vax happen last year?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 05:02:38 -0500, "buglady" wrote:


"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
.. .
He recommends annual DHLPP, which I'll likely refuse this year
unless it can be justified. Had it last year.

.........What month did these vax happen last year?

Mid-June. A Lepto, a DHPP, and a 3-yr rabies.

She was already itchy, but the vax could have exascerbated
the problem, which was worst about 4-8 weeks later.

To my knowledge she needs -no- vax this season.

Peetie