Allergy questions...sigh....Dixie again....
 She has been doing so well for weeks....
Last nite she starting scratching again, and scratching and crying, and scratching. I got up several times to sooth her, and pat her, hoping she would sleep through it. She was scratching under her jaw, around one of her prior hot spots. I rubbed it and it was sticky with blood. 
We cannot put a collar on her, as it would be right where the lesion is. She has a sore about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, totally raw, with all the fur scratched away...So, having gone through all this for months we know the routine....keep it clean, I have some anticeptic spray, saline solution, maybe some Surolan if required....If it gets infected she's have to go back onto antibiotics that we finally got her weaned off of 3 weeks ago. So I am watching, and cleaning etc. etc. What happened? I asked all the household members and nobody gave her anything extra to eat except her veggie cookies. Did she get into some popcorn when son had his buddies over? No, she was upstairs with us...Hmmmm. What did she have to eat or where has she been different? Then it hit me....On Thursday for the very first time I took her down to the stables where I ride. She was only there for around 10 minutes, as I took her into the stable, she sniffed noses with a horse, hung around me for a bit then we left. She may have stepped on some hay or dried horse manure...or maybe the dust from the barn? So my question is......could she be reacting to the horses in any way? And if so, how long would it take before she gets the reaction? She was fine Thursday nite, but just last nite, Firday, she started up really bad......  |
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| If she has allergies to something in the enviroment, it could definitely be the trigger that caused this episode. I'd give her a good bath to make sure nothing remains that might have caused the flare and follow the path that worked before.
Allergies are very frustrating... Darby's been on allergy shots since September and no longer requires any antihistimines to control the symptoms so they've worked for her. Panda will start shots in the next week or so and we'll hope for the same results. While we wait for the serum to be made she's taking Tavist twice a day to control the itching/licking/chewing. |
| I dont have anything to offer...but Panda and I send her kisses for her boo-boo. |
| Have you tried an antihistamine?
That can even just avert the episode from becoming worse and would at least alleviate the itch while you apply whatever works to heal it. My golden Sam had hot spots often, and we used to put wet tea bags on it and just hold it there for a while. It worked really well and they seemed to heal up a lot faster. I've used the generic Chlor Tripolon on Panda, you can buy it a lot cheaper and it's the exact same thing. The doseage is quite high for dogs though, I gave Panda 4 mgs but she is only 55 lbs. It seemed like a lot to me, but the dose for dogs per lb is higher than for humans. They're just little yellow tablets, I dropped them down her throat and got her to swallow by rubbing her neck. LOL |
| Dixie gets 2 50mg capsules of generic Benedryl each day to manage the itching, so I'm not sure where this new itch is coming from. Shouldn't the Benedryl supress the reaction from a new allergen?
Now I found a dead bird in my yard, so maybe it is the fledglings that are causing the problems,,,but you would thinl that the Benedryl would do it! |
Actually, antihistamines are only effective for 10-30% of dogs... so sometimes trying a different kind of antihistamine does the trick... and sometimes it doesn't... but it's worth a try  |
| The 10% or so is increased if the dog is also on Omega 3's etc. which Dixie is on...She has been doing great until now...
That is why we suspect a something new and environmental has been introduced. In a couple of days if nothing changes we will do something. But tomorrow she gets a full bath, like Jaclin suggests. |
| Awww poor baby, she was doing so well too.
If you are going to bath her all over try and use a shampoo with oatmeal in it, very soothing on the skin and might give her a bit of relief. Hoping all will settle for dixie and those darn allergies subside  |
Darby was on 100mg of Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and 50mg of Hydroxyzine Pamoate every 8 hours and it just didn't work for her. Tavist was the only antihistimine that cooled the itch and gave her peace. I cringe when I think about how hard she was scratching... her feet and legs had stained from all the chewing/licking 
At 63 pounds Darby received 2.68mg (two pills) every 12 hours of the Tavist. Tavist (Clemastine Fumarate) Exerpt- "...Clemastine fumarate (Tavist) is one of the more effective antihistamines albeit relatively expensive. Its efficacy makes it a common first choice for itchy skin. It has found to be helpful in at least 30% of itchy dogs and 50% of itchy cats. Other studies have found higher percentages. Clemastine fumarate is probably the most reliably effective antihistamine for itchy dogs of all of the antihistamines available..." Source:http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_tavist.html |
| Sorry to hear that Dixie is suffereing again. Do you think she may have gotten a flea bite? I know that some dogs are really allergic to just one bite. |
| The spot she scratched raw was one of her prior hot spots. She had several of them all around her next so we couldn't put a collar on her when she was really bad. Just this one spot is the agrevation right now.
She had a nice bath with some prescription shampoo ( has oatmeal in it), and I put some salve on it. She seems to be much better, and the lesion has started to firm up again. It is about the size of a silver dollar and goes right to the end of her mouth corner, so she scratches her bottom lip, too. 
Here's hoping we have a quiet nite tonite, but she is resting comfortably right now. If it was the horse and dust etc. it is all gone now, and I hope the itching has stopped. The Bemedryl she takes daily has always worked before, so I don't want to change it at this point. She's so cuddly when she is nice and clean  |
| Wow - poor girl. She sure has gone through a lot with allergies, and I hope this latest episode clears up quickly. |
| Oh, poor Dixie! That poor little thing has been through the wringer. And poor Nicole! Bless you for taking such great care of her! And just WHEN are you going to admit that she's YOURS????? |
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