Lita update.

On 2/20 we did go to the vet as scheduled and boy, am I glad we did. We saw the same doctor this time as we had for her initial visit right after adopting her. He knew of the issues that we had been having and spoke some magical words, "I'm fairly certain that she does not have food allergies." He came to this conclusion basaed on the fact that she had been on a duck and potato diet (strictly!--no rawhides, only duck and potato treats) for over 6 weeks and had not shown improvements. The chances of her being allergic to duck or potato are slim.

Additionally, skin scrapes of the *ahem* affected areas only revealed bacteria, no yeast, which means she does not have systemic yeast overgrowth either! Yay!

Diagnosis: canine atopic dermatitis caused by an unknown (or multiple unknown!) environmental allergens (likely dust mites, molds, etc.), with secondary pyoderma (a bacterial infection affecting the skin).

Treatment: 3 weeks on simplicef, the same antibiotic as last time, because 2 weeks cleared up the problem, but didn't completely get rid of it, hence the relapse. Also, a new allergy medication called Atopica. Begin with daily dosing for a month and then re-evaluate. Atopica is a trade name for a cyclosporine-based drug for dogs. It is a mild immunosuppressant, which is supposed to help prevent the dog's immune system from "over-reacting" to allergens. These buggers are expensive. But, honestly, if it works I don't care! I'll pay it, just keep them coming. Also, keep up the Nzymes program because even though she does not have a systemic yeast infection the antibiotics are going to destroy her system. Any help she can get here is good. Finally, to help ease her blistered and aching feet, twice daily foot soaks in warm water with epsom salts.

While we were there, we also had her thyroid levels checked. Thyroid issues can also be a cause of a number of skin conditions and I didn't want to take any chances. It came back normal! Yay again!

We are now nearly two weeks into treatment. Her skin has cleared up nearly entirely. Her feet look MUCH better, not entirely cured, but definitely improved. We had some initial side effects from the Atopica (vomiting is the most common side effect, but our girl just got nauseous) and some *ahem* loose stools. But no accidents in the house, just several early a.m. potty requests--what a good girl!

We are going to keep everything up for now. And will probably head back to the vet in another week or so for a re-check and to decide on whether or not to continue with the Atopica and whether or not to change the dosage. I'm leaning towards yes and hoping we can move to every other day dosing, but we'll see.

Here's hoping that we truly have found a solution. If she continues to do well, we'll even get to start introducing other foods again. I'm sure she'll be excited to get some rawhides back on occasion.

I promise that the next update will be about our training progress. We've come a long way on that front as well. Lita continues to impress. Hopefully that trend continues tonight as we head to our 6th training session!!!