new member w/questions about itchy skin and stripping

[ziyakr]

Hello all,

I'm just starting to read through the health area of this forum, and realize there are ALOT of questions and threads on this topic...so I hope you will bear with me.

I adopted Calvin (now 3 years old) just over a year ago from a rescue group, and he's (mostly) a joy...my scruffy little terrierist. He's the first terrier, or wire haired dog I've lived with (grew up with Dobies, Poms and Borzoi) and he's a great, energetic, happy little boy who gets along with the cats (learned fast not to chase them, unless invited) and all the other various dogs in my family. I've tried to learn how to strip his coat, not to bathe him too often and to be very careful of his teeth when he's excited.

However, he's now been treated twice for skin and ear infections, had 3 courses of prednisone and is STILL scratching and biting himself bloody if he's not actually on steroids. The vet recommended trying Benedryl after the last course of antibiotics and pred, but he slept all the time..except when scratching. So we stopped that and went back on pred, which (almost) entirely stops the itching but I worry about the long term effects of pred on his system (I learned alot from living with two Addisonian dogs, though only some of that exp seems useful here). We've tried various foods, he's currently on Natural Balance Lamb and Rice (one of their limited ingredient foods), thinking it might be a food allergy but to no obvious effect. It doesn't seem to be seasonal allergies (grass or other plants) since the first problem was in december, and it never seemed to clear up entirely. Guess that leave things like cats, dust, mold to be allergic to. The vet is recommending we try Atopica next, but I am leery of putting him a something that will suppress his immune system so much (according to what I'm reading about it online). Has anyone else used this medicine with their itchy Cairn? I'm still working my way through the posts on this subject but if anyone has any recommendations or anything else to try I would greatly appreciate it...I hate to see him suffer, and can't hold on to him ALL the time (which does stop the scratching *grin*).

I've fully stripped his coat twice since he came to live with us, sounds like some of you think not enough stripping could be responsible for the skin issues so I've started going over him again. Since I've never had a wirehaired dog before (it's so different from grooming Poms or Borzoi) I really hope I am doing it correctly. Can anyone recommend a way for me to see an expert do it (I've watched a couple of youTube videos but they didn't help), to make sure? My mom says take him to a groomer, but I keep reading that many groomers won't strip and I don't want him shaved or clipped...there is already so little fur to protect him from the sun.

I found you guys in a funny way...a coworker and I were talking about his Scotties, and I mentioned I have a Cairn and he said "oh yeah, they all have skin problems" without my ever mentioning Calvin's difficulties. Made me think for the first time that this might be a common problem with Cairns not just this specific dog.

I've tried to upload a pic of Calvin (and yes I have an orange tabby named Hobbes, just couldn't resist) since I've really enjoyed seeing pics of all your little ones!

Thanks so much for your patience,

Ziya and Calvin

[Shazza]

Ahh, the age old question

It could be anything from food to grass or sprays you use around the house. When you've tried the different foods, how long did you leave Calvin on it? I've heard they recommend at least 3-6 months to see any real difference. In between the 2 times you completely stripped him down, do you brush him weekly?

Do you clean his ears out on a regular basis? I wouldn't recommend a groomer, they are not taught how to groom cairns, so Calvin would end up looking like a westie most likely

I'm not sure where you live but search on the internet for breeders of Cairns in your area, contact them and see if they would be willing to show you how to groom your little guy. That's what I did, we actually had a session and she showed me how to strip, trim nails (with a cordless dremel), trim hair inbetween paws, brush them weekly with a spray bottle mixture of part listerine and water. It was money well invested if you ask me, I sort of did my own grooming after taking our female to a groomer, who gave her a westie cut. Stripping gets rid of the dead hair which could be causing the itching and a good brushing once a week helps their skin and fur.

We had our female on Prednisone for a short period of time, then I decided I didn't want any long term effects. How much Benadryl did they tell you to give him per day?

He's a real cutie! I hope you find a cure for his itching.

[little feet zip]

I am using Atopica on my Cairn & westie with good results. My Cairn Zip started scratching in Dec. and got worse over the next couple months,we are down to one pill every 10 days and still dropping. Coconut my Westie is down to every 4 days. It worked good for me to get them relief and to then possibly find what is causing it.

Rich

[BetsyNoodle]

Our little two year old Cairn, Murphy, developed itchiness, redness, scratching, paw-licking and hair loss about three months ago, in the spring. The single course of prednisone our regular vet prescribed for Murphy helped a bit, but caused significant weight gain. He also developed a skin infection due to the excessive scratching and prednisone's suppression of his immune system.

After the prednisone was tapered, his atopy came back with a vengeance. We took him (and our Lab, Gracie, who also has atopy) to a veterinary dermatologist. She did skin scrapings, drew his blood, and prescribed Atopica (cyclosporine), hydroxyzine (an antihistamine), fish oil capsules every other day, and an antibiotic (she found staph in the skin scrapings). She also prescribed weekly baths with medicated shampoo. She told us one has to use a mutimodal approach to controlling atopy (not just cyclosporine alone), and she was correct. He is doing much better on this regimen, and did not have the nausea/vomiting or diarrhea that can sometimes be a temporary side effect of cyclosporine. His itching and scratching has dramatically improved, and his hair is growing back in on his paws, chest, and axillas. We will likely go to a lower dose of cyclosporine in two weeks.

Gracie is a different story. She was already on immunotherapy (allergy shots) prescribed by my general vet when we took her in. They were NOT effective for her at all, but she was not skin tested for allergic responses prior to the shots, she was blood tested which isn't as accurate. Well, the dermatologist told us if the allergy is year round, she rules out a food allergy. So, Gracie is currently on a food elimination diet. The dermatologist said, contrary to what most people think, protein is usually the culprit in canine food allergies, as opposed to grain. So, when they do food elimination, she has the dog on a "novel" protein such as rabbit or venison. Gracie is eating Royal Canin Rabbit and Potato kibble for eight weeks (the length of a food trial), and can have baby carrots and green beans for snacks. During this trial, she cannot take her fish oil capsules as they are gelatin and can interfere with the elimination trial. She also has to take the Heartguard pill as the chew has dyes in it.

I hope this information helps you.

Best wishes,

Melissa

[Scruffys Mom]

He is adorable. I recently went through an unknown case of the "itchies' with both of mine. I cringe at steroids and topicals, but understand they have their place. I agree that it may be a reaction to lawn chemicals. I live in a condo and I can not control the chemicals they put down. I used to go to a local dog park and they actually had work release prisoners laying the chemicals in the dog park and the guy putting the chemicals down warned me he was told by the county to use 4x the recommended amount. This prompted a full scale inquiry by me to the county and to the pesticide company....Needless to say, no more dog park and limited walks in the common area in my condo. I walk them on sidewalks or asphalt and only let them on the grass when needed. I also try to balance their diets with fish oil. Sardines, tuna, salmon, they love them all. I really cut back on bathing as we no longer go to the dog parks. As a last thought, I have 2 cats and my husband (the saint) is allergic to the cats. Any possibility the pup is allergic to the kitty? Where si the dog scratching? My vet can usually tell just from where the site is if it is a food reaction, checmical or lawn, flea etc.