When we brought Lita home she was already on a high-quality (no fillers!) diet at the shelter. It was a chicken, lamb and rice kibble and we brought a bag home with us from the shelter. She had some patchy bald spots on her coat, but the first vet visit revealed the usual shelter dog ailments--icky skin, ear infection, multiple intestinal parasites. We came home with medicated shampoo, ear cleaning products and treatments for the parasites. No big. When the first bag of food ran out--probably about 4-6 weeks later--I found a local shop that carried it and bought another bag. Spoke with the very knowledgeable staff about our new addition. Because Lita was a shelter dog, who we know had been through at least one shelter previously, they recommended a course of probiotics and enzymes to "re-balance her system" or something like that. I honestly thought it sounded a bit kooky, but picked them both up anyway, figuring it couldn't hurt and if it helps so much the better! I also bought a bottle of salmon oil which is supposed to be great for coat conditioning.
Somewhere along the way, the girl started getting what we thought were blisters between her toes. They'd get swollen a little. She'd lick them. They'd burst. I'd clean them. And they'd generally go away. She was getting weekly baths then too.
By the time we made it to our third bag, the blisters were gone, but she had gotten these bumps on her back. They seemed like pimples to me. They were red and swollen around the hair follicle. They'd get big and burst and ooze a little (lovely, I know). We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection and we were told that it was likely that she had a food allergy that was the primary cause. She was put on 2 weeks worth of antibiotics (can't remember what kind, bad mom!). They got worse rapidly and to the point where there would be several of them clustered and her hair would actually fall out at those places. I continued baths and after about a week and a half on the meds they started going away. We changed her food at this point too, for the allergy issue--from chicken, lamb and rice to duck and potato. All her treats were tossed. No more rawhides either. No more salmon oil. We actually managed to find several duck-based treats, including duck jerky!, and that's all she got.
Soon she was done with her antibiotics, the bumps were gone!, the blisters were gone! and her "course" of probiotics and enzymes was out as well. I didn't think we'd need to give her more.
A miracle! We made it to her second bag of duck and potato and all seemed well. Then she got hives all over her belly and back legs. We called the vet, not the same kind of bumps as before. Maybe it's an environmental allergy. We haven't really changed anything, but we washed all her bedding (none of it was new) in hypoallergenic detergent, upped her daily dose of benadryl to 3 tabs (25 mg) 2X a day, and applied hydrocortisone religiously.
Eventually, the hives mostly went away, but she was still itchy and had blisters on her toes again. My mom did some digging and finds Nzymes. Supposedly the symptoms of yeast overgrowth can very closely resemble allergies. She has a lot of the symptoms:
SKIN AND COAT (X) Rashes and Itching(X) Hives (X) Draining Sores (X) Body Odor (X) Face Rubbing (X) Acne ( ) Eczema (X) Oily, Greasy Skin (X) Dry, Flaky Skin (X) Excessive Shedding ( ) Discolored Skin (blackened skin) (X) Thickened Rough Skin | GENERAL HEALTH (X) Fatigue( ) Poor Appetite ( ) Overweight ( ) Nervousness ( ) Anxiety (?) Allergies ( ) Environmental Sensitivities to pollens, weeds and grass ( ) Frequent Infections (X) Dull rough hair coat | SCORE RESULTS 0 = excellent health 1-2 = mild dietary change and nutraceutical/herbal support needed. 2-5 = moderate dietary change and nutraceutical/ herbal support needed. 5+ = marked dietary change, nutraceutical and herbal support and time needed for your dog or cat to cleanse, detoxify rebuild his or her immune system and replenish missing food nutrients not available from previous diet. |
| EARS (X) Ear Infections ( ) Increased Discharge (X) Ear Itching (X) Ear Scratching / Rubbing | EYES (X) Itching Eyes (X) Red, Irritated Eyes ( ) Cloudy Eyes ( ) Excessive Tearing ( ) Dull Appearance to Eyes | MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM (X) Limping and Stiffness ( ) Joint Pain ( ) Arthritis ( ) Backaches ( ) Stiff Neck |
| DIGESTIVE SYSTEM (X) Bad Breath (X) Smelly Bowel Movements ( ) Indigestion ( ) Frequent Episodes of Vomiting / Diarrhea ( ) Constipation ( ) Malformed Stools (X) Anal Gland Irritation | UROGENITAL SYSTEM ( ) Bladder Infections ( ) Bladder / Kidney Stones ( ) Increased Urination (X) Irregular Heat Cycles ( ) Vaginal Discharge / Infections | RESPIRATORY SYSTEM ( ) Wheezing ( ) Coughing ( ) Asthma ( ) Nasal Discharge (X) Reverse Sneezing (X) Itching Nose |
It was like a light was shining down upon us. Part of me thinks it's crazy again, but at this point I was willing to try anything. We bought the kit. We started her on it 2 weeks ago. And have been giving her twice weekly baths. The blisters have gotten worse. The bumps on her back are resurfacing. I'm at my wits end!
I've done a little bit of research on her skin condition and if I had to guess I'd say it's pyoderma, a bacterial infection of the skin, which is exactly what they told us last time. Supposedly, it's quite common for it to re-surface if the antibiotic course is not long enough. "They" recommend 3-4 weeks, we only did 2. But the question still remains... what is the underlying cause? Allergies? FOOD allergies? Yeast overgrowth?! ARGH!
Other random facts:
~She has been on and off benadryl pretty much since we brought her home. We thought it was seasonal allergies for awhile so she was on it for much of the fall. And then again when she got the hives. Not sure if it ever actually *helped* or not. Luckily, they never really seemed to zonk her out at all. :)
~Yes, I checked the box for irregular heat cycles. Yes, she's "spayed." But she went into heat in September (about a month after we brought her home). We had her estrogen levels checked. They were at zero. ZERO. So she's "spayed," but there must be just a little bit of something left in there to cause a mini-cycle. She went in again at the beginning of the month. We haven't done anything about it yet... the only thing we could do is an exploratory surgery the next time she cycles. I'm not sure we want to do that. Maybe if we get her other issues figured out.
~And I also checked the box for anal gland irritation! TMI! She has had her anal glands "expressed" twice since we adopted her. The first time was when the bumps were checked out the first time. And the second time was just a few weeks ago, after the hives, before the bumps returned. :)
~She has been on the Nzymes for almost 2 weeks now. No improvements, obviously. But all the literature says that it's likely to get worse before better. Maybe this is the worse? We still need to take care of those bumps if it's an infection. Which will mean more antibiotics, which cancels out the probiotics and enzymes... Do we change her food again?! Or give the antibiotics and essentially start over with the Nzymes. I have no freaking clue.
We have a vet appointment on Saturday to have her checked out again. Hopefully, this doctor will listen to the whole story and help us formulate a plan. That's all I want: a course of action. It would help us so much to know her history, but there's no chance of that. THIS is the danger of adopting a mutt. Not the fact that she is a mix of breeds, but the fact that she has no history! I probably would have taken her anyway, but at least if we had known about these issues, we would have been better prepared to deal with them. I just need someone to help me figure out what to do.
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