rash

[Guest]

:? My Cairn has a terible crusty itchy rash on his belly. The vet thinks it may be an allergy, says it's a staff infection (bacterial). He's put my dog on several medications which are dehydrating him and making him suffer the indignity of "going" on the floor. One of the medications is Predisone to relieve the itching. The rash is not getting better. He wants to put my dog through allergy testing costing us hundreds of dollars.....I just wondered if there is an allergy Cairns are prone to. Has anyone else had this problem? He is 4 years old. My poor buddy is not happy, and I just want to help him get some relief.

Thanks,

Cindy

[Guest]

Hi, Boy, that can be a vexing problem but you are in luck! Allergies are prevalent in some breeds, to include terriers. There is a new INEXPENSIVE (hooray!) 5-minute in-clinic lgE detection test called Allercept E-Screen. This was developed by a company called HESKA. If your vet won't do it, go to site: www.allergyvet.com. They probably have a vet who will advise your vet. If your vet still won't cooperate, I'd seriously consider finding a vet who will do it. I've been breeding for over 30 years. This test is a welcomed weapon against rash. Good luck........

[Guest]

Thanks, Sheila, I'll pose it to the vet tomorrow!!!!

[chichi3]

There is a new INEXPENSIVE (hooray!) 5-minute in-clinic lgE detection test called Allercept E-Screen. This was developed by a company called HESKA. If your vet won't do it, go to site: www.allergyvet.com.

Hello , I'm new here so I thought I'd like to post our little story. We have our boy AMOS now for 7 weeks. He's 14 weeks today. He started itching a little while ago ,so I thought foods right away so I've switched to Innova, then Wellness (can and dry) pedigree lamb and rice canned adding LINATONE at each meal and no changes. Finally decided to try plain boiled chicken with some veggies added . It's not drastic (no pulling out hair or bald spots) but still I've hated to see him suffer. I read the quoted post about ALLERCEPT and asked our vet. Well sure enough they had the test available . It was simple(just drew a little blood) and 5 minutes later we had results. There's good news and bad. The test eliminated allergies. It came up negative. I guess that's good. The bad(I guess) is that we still have not pinpointed the cause . Now we're trying OMEGA 3 Fatty Acid liquid to see if that helps. The vet now suggested going back to a regular diet (Innova , or Wellness ) with the addition of the OMEGA 3 to see what results. I'll post as we see results.

[CallisMom]

chichi3 - how long have you left your Cairn on each diet? When we got Calli - she was scratching like she had fleas. It took a good two weeks on the Wellness before she stopped the scratching (I *believe* she has an allergy to wheat). If it IS a food allergy she might need to be on the diet for at least two weeks. Goody luck!

We now have a different problem. When I took Calli to the kennel for 3 days this summer she developed a bloody rash on on her underside. It has YET to really heal. All I know is that it didn't exist before the kennel. I am going to have to bring her in - perhaps it is a staph infection?

[Guest girliejr]

Jack also has allergies. I took him to a vet specialist (by my vet's recomendation) and just the office visit alone (along with some special shampoo he is supposed be bathed in once a week) was over $200! They wanted to allergy test him but that would have been another $600!! They did recomend Benadryl and told me that this is very common in terriers. They also put him on an antibiotic which cleared up his skin rash, but they said it would probably come back.

I am going to try the Benadryl for now and keep my fingers crossed! The big clencher is that even if I got him "allergy tested", then he would have to take allergy shots and those aren't cheap either!

This little guy is getting expensive! Good thing I love him so much!

[chichi3]

Callismom,

I think part of my problem is being over anxious to see results. I've not given ANY food long enough to work( I guess) before switching. Now I'm staying with wellness and the OMEGA 3 liquid for a while to see what happens. At 1/2 a pump per day 8 oz will last a long time. Surely long enough to determine if there were benefits. The ALLERCEPT test (only $25.00) showed negative for any allergies at this time.

Girliejr:

I HIGHLY recommend you ask your regular vet to use the ALLERCEPT test. You can read more about it al ALLERGYVET.COM . Then you can be prepared to discuss it with them. It was only $25.00 and is an excellent preliminary test to determine allergies. Of course if the results prove positive there would have to be additional testing. Perhaps try a switch in foods to WELLNESS or INNOVA . But be more patient than I've been. As callismom said, it would take at least 2 weeks until you possibly see results.

hoping for good results to you both.

[Guest girliejr]

Thanks Chichi3.

Jack's regular vet didn't even offer any tests. He just refered me to the specialist. Both agreed though that his allergies were probably airborn and that his diet probably has nothing to do with it. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try though!

I am willing to try anything to keep from having to give him allergy shots every few months!

[chichi3]

I just read about "SKIN-EZE" online at allergicpet.com. I'm going to order some to give a try. Also I might try from homeopet.com their "skin&itch " formula. I can buy that locally. I'm going to discuss antihistamines with the vet next visit but I prefer non medicine solutions if at all possible. Will keep you posted.

[chichi3]

Here's our little boy "AMOS" laying on my wife's bed keeping her company. He's all of 14 weeks and runs the house. My wife(Elaine) is a quadraplegic so she really treasures these moments with Amos on the bed with her. Of course, for his safety I stay real close by so he doesn't fall off.

[CathyAnn]

Oh my!!!!!!!!! Is Amos a cutie pie or what!!!!

You need to start a new thread with his pic so everyone will get a chance to see that adorable little face !!

Cathy