My dog and the dog days of summer

[chrisinhouston]

I always know when we officially get to the dog days of summer here in Houston. It's usually in August when the temps are the hottest and this year they are really bad with a drought to boot.

That's when my dog, Vesta decides that her skin is in need of scratching and her compulsive behavior starts up full speed. She looses all self control and is constantly chewing on her back hips, always the same areas every year. Once she gets going the hair thins and her skin gets scabbed which only makes her want to do it more. I check her for fleas or other critters which she never has. Her diet is the same as always, no changes in brands and really no changes in her environment like chemicals on the lawn or new bedding or anything that could cause dermatitis. She is mostly an indoor dog and going on 11 she is not as active as she used to be. And she never chews or scratches once she beds down at night, sleeps soundly without waking up to scratch. It's like a psychosomatic infliction.

And if I take her to the vet he just prescribes a form of steroid, lots of pills that I have to shove down her throat 3 times a day because she won't eat them in her food. I've tried hiding them in a wad of bread or cheese or even a piece of meat and she still gets the treat and spits out the pill. And I hate having to push them down her throat, my hand comes out all slimy.

So, welcome to the dog days of summer at my house. They have arrived!

[Undertoad]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Do...han_Collar.jpg

[Nirvana]

Collars are nice but they do not solve the problem. If the diet has never been changed then whatever you are feeding is suspect. Most dogs that do this are sensitive to the feed grains in the dog food they are eating. Some dog food companies use moldy feed grains. [not supposed to] Dog foods that are inexpensive that do not have feed grains like 4 Health, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Nutro Natural Choice Grain Free, can help eliminate this problem.

It will take 6 weeks or longer to notice a change. The toxins in some feed grains have to come out of the body somewhere and the skin is where when their body is overwhelmed. Veterinarians are not nutritionists as a rule and they are like Drs they ease the symptoms without going after the underlying cause.

I am not a raw feeder or over the top health nut tree hugger. I just know what works from over 20 years experience, with several dogs and several breeds. Prevention is cheaper than a vet bill. Most of my dogs eat Purina Dog Chow. The ones that cannot eat it I feed the grain free.

Another cause of this condition is yearly vaccinations other than rabies. They are totally unnecessary [IMO and others] and could compromise the immune system. Here are some articles on that subject.

http://www.drbeckersbites.com/pet-vaccinations


I know you did not ask but I cannot help myself. I hope your doggie gets better.

[morethanpretty]

Della gets real itchy skin during certain times of the year and is mostly inside too, the appropriate amount of benedryl or zyrtec seem to help her tons so that she hardly ever gets "hot spots" due to the irritation. Just regular 'ol human benedryl (kids chewable) 2xs a day or half of a zyrtec 1x a day which she eats happily stuck in some canned food. She's under 20lbs. If you don't think that will help, the inflatable collars are great to keep them from biting and still pretty comfortable, just keep in mind that they don't do so well against scratching, a traditional cone is best if they're scratching from what I understand from the online reviews I read at least.

I do feed Della grain-free Blue Wilderness, but she seems to suffer seasonal allergies. I get her all the vac's, partially because most groomers require they have them and I'm truly worried about what would happen if I did not, with the time she spends around strange dogs at the groomers and park. I also worried about the vac's causing cancer like they did with a friend's cat though...its something I'm still torn on.
Her vaccines ARE spread out though, so she's not getting them more than 1 at a time.

Edit: I said "all the vac's" but I guess I just meant all the ones recommended by the vet, not all the ones on the site Nirv posted. Rabies is every 3 years (which she got last year), and I got her Bordetella based off of the groomer's requirements, but other than that I think the only vac the vet recommended she get this year was distemper and he did a heart-worm check which is just drawing blood and testing it. I didn't look at the list on Nirv's site before this, but I know for a fact she did not get all of that.

[TheMercenary]

Just dealt with a huge skin issue on our cattle dog. Turned out to be a staph infection all over his underbelly that was misdiagnosed for about 4 weeks until I sent my Vet brother pics and he told me what to do. I was surprised at the dose and length of the antibiotic treatment, 1000mg Keflex 2 times a day for three weeks. Day three and it is almost cleared up.

Our Rhodesian has chronic skin problems and we finally had him allergy treated, turns out he is very allergic to dust mites, which you can't get rid of. Now week keep his allergenic expensive dry dog food in a freezer and give him allergy shots once a month so summers are not as hard as they have been on him as they have for the last 6 years of his life. A pain, but worth it.

[chrisinhouston]

Thanks for the suggestions. We are starting the Benedryl and Zirtek otc remedy and will see if it helps.

Since she was 6 months old she has been on Science Diet Lamb and Rice and has always done fine and we are halfway into a bag so it's not like the start of a new bag. And the fact that I can never find any kind of insect on her. She is spoiled, mostly in the house except for a few times a day outside for business. She never gets bathed, just never have had to do it as she keeps herself clean. And she never scratches once she goes to sleep (next to my side of the bed so I would hear her).

Come to think of it, when August comes here in Houston, I am so sick of summer I get a bit depressed. Maybe that is what she is doing.

[TheMercenary]

After years of dealing with it we finally took the plunge and had her blood drawn and a laundry list of allergy tests done. I think it cost us $350 or something but his quality of life is better for it. You might want to consider it. And strangely enough it was only bad in the hot weather, hardly a problem when it was cold out. Good luck.

[Nirvana]

I was so trying not to come back to this but I had a feeling your dog was on Science diet. .........Never had any luck with that dog food and I am always surprised that vets carry it except maybe it keeps them in business. All of this is JMO. Only the diets that they have for very sick animals may have some benefit. Their regular food has always caused skin problems in dogs. Lamb is not a great food for dogs. All JMO again. Disregard at will.

[Nirvana]

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

Lots of info on dog food and the ingredients in dog foods.

[ZenGum]

This is what Clod would have been like if she was into dogs.