Bad Mom

[ajcooksey]

Sigh, I should have listened to my husband. I decided to switch Turner from TOTW to a holistic limited ingredient food that was similar but had healthy grains in it to see if he was allergic to grains and chicken. He was on this new diet for about six weeks when we found his first hot spot and his right ear flared up. This is when we decided to take him back to natural balance limited ingredient grain free diet and we plan on keeping him on that now. However since we only made that switch last week he is still going through the allergic reaction symptoms and now has a hot spot the size of a softball on his back He is miserable and literally crying out when he tries to scratch it and running to his crate because he is afraid of us touching it. I called the vet to see if they would just write me a prescription for his antibiotic so I don't have to take him in. I feel so bad, is there anything you can recommend to help ease his pain? A medicated shampoo I can get for him asap? Or something I can put on it to help him? He hasn't had one this bad in over a year.

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

We had FANTASTIC success with the listerine/gold bond combo last year. Elvis got his very first hot spot and everyone on here recommended it, so we tried it. His was under his ear so while I could shave some fur away it was still covered by his ear and not really open to air.

Anyway, we put some regular Listerine on a paper towel and I wiped it gently around the hotspot. Then I tried to pat some on it but Elvis didn't like that too much. My husband held his ear up and I shook some gold bond powder on it. I was amazed at how much better it looked after just two applications.

 

[ajcooksey]

Thank you he is so miserable he literally is staying in his crate and only coming out to go outside and eat and he is super leery of us touching it. I think it is worse because he can't see it. This one is between his shoulder blades.

 

[MMtnmom]

my vet gives me a tiny bottle of s ome type of powder, I think it may have some prednizone or lidocaine or something in it. You just puff a light covering on and apparently it stops the discomfort...pain or itching.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Have you tried Genta spray? Vet needs to prescribe. We usually spray and try to keep her still until it dries, sometimes even take a blow dryer to it. I've also heard some use hand sanitizer and some use tea bags. You should be able to search on here about them both.

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

I spray with Listerine then use Gold Bond powder. But this sounds like he may need an antibiotic also. I hope he feels better soon.

 

[ajcooksey]

He is definitely going into the vet tomorrow. It has grown so much in the last 24 hours and it was bleeding tonight from his scratching. He spent the entire night in his crate except for his dinner and going out once which is highly unusual for him. The vet opens at 9 so I'm going to be there when the doors open without an appt. This is by far the worst one he has ever had and since he can't see it he is so freaked out about us getting near it. Wish us luck tomorrow it is going to be an interesting day.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I'm sorry, we've had some serious doozies over the years. This year Myra played connect the dots. It was about 10" long right in the crease of her rear leg, hair is just starting to come back Best of luck!

 

[ajcooksey]

Ouch poor Myra that sounds terrible! Well we had an interesting trip to the vet to say the least. Since we didn't have an apt we had to see another vet than we usually do and she was OK but not the best. What really got me though was that because we have not had Turner allergy tested and because he exhibited symptoms before he was a year old she was not buying that he has allergies....He was fine on his old food and once we put him on one with grains in it his skin and ears blew up. She however does not believe that dogs are allergic to grains and that it's only mainstream beliefs that dogs should be on a grain free diet and then proceeded to tell me to put him on one of their recommended brands. She listed them as Science Diet, Purina One or Pro Plan and a brand called By Nature. I was angry to say the least, people assume because I'm younger that I have no idea what I'm doing and just bought the pretty package at the store or something without looking into it at all. She lectured me like a child who bought a puppy at petland and feeds him dog chow. Needless to say I will never let her see my dog again and I am thinking of switching vet practices after the information she tried to shove down my throat today. If I want nutritional advice I would come to Newf net for it, and there is no way I will ever feed my dogs science diet.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Did you ask for some Genta spray? What did she do for you???

 

[DAWNMERIE]

And Alexis....maybe go the cheaper route with allergy testing and do the saliva test, through Hemopet and Dr. Dodds. I think Brandy did it for Maggie with good results. I think that test only does the food and not environmental testing.

http://nutriscan.org/

 

[ajcooksey]

I think we might have to do the saliva test soon and yes she gave us genta spray and a script for an antibiotic.

 

[Ginny]

Neo predef is the powder mentioned. If the spray doesn't work get some of that. Different things work on different hot spots. They are extremely painful so you might ask for pain meds. Also put an e-collar on him. If he continues to lick, it will never heal.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Now I have never had a hot spot on Snuffles that really seemed super painful to him, and generally after I start treatment he seems to leave it alone. But last December, Snuffles got a real bad one that would not heal. Genta spray wasn't helping He would not leave it alone either. We started oral antibiotic and the vet sent me home with a tube of Tritop that I gather is like a stronger version of Neosporin with a topical anesthetic in it. That made the difference, and he left it alone and it started to heal.

 

[MC Sullivan]

Wow! Change vets now but don't expect your new vet to understand nutrition any better than the last. I got my best nutrition information from a newf breeder. Plus I did a lot of independent research because I had a Berner that ended up being sensitive to salmon, chicken and grains. Once I got her on a diet free of those her hot spots disappeared. I used a limited ingredient sweet potato venison dog kibble. I also stopped using vet prescribed medications for her ears and switched to keeping her ears clean with apple cider vinegar and water. 3 parts water to 1 part apple cider vinegar. I do the same with all my other dogs now. Clean their ears once a week with cotton balls and put a couple of drops down the ear canal and massage it in gently. You can also spritz it on their feet if they are foot chewers. Good luck!

 

[ajcooksey]

Wow! Change vets now but don't expect your new vet to understand nutrition any better than the last. I got my best nutrition information from a newf breeder. Plus I did a lot of independent research because I had a Berner that ended up being sensitive to salmon, chicken and grains. Once I got her on a diet free of those her hot spots disappeared. I used a limited ingredient sweet potato venison dog kibble. I also stopped using vet prescribed medications for her ears and switched to keeping her ears clean with apple cider vinegar and water. 3 parts water to 1 part apple cider vinegar. I do the same with all my other dogs now. Clean their ears once a week with cotton balls and put a couple of drops down the ear canal and massage it in gently. You can also spritz it on their feet if they are foot chewers. Good luck!

That is great advice! And our normal vet is good but his partner is who we had to deal with yesterday and she was a nightmare which makes me question the practice.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

And Alexis....maybe go the cheaper route with allergy testing and do the saliva test, through Hemopet and Dr. Dodds. I think Brandy did it for Maggie with good results. I think that test only does the food and not environmental testing.

http://nutriscan.org/

I did this and it provided pretty good information. I can send you our report if you want to see it. Our results pretty much mean that kibble is out of the question for Maggie, so we do homemade now.

I hope Turner feels better soon!!! If he's still scratching at it, you might try putting booties on his hind legs. Then he can scratch but the claws won't tear it up more. Maggie had a terrible area on her whole back and we had to do booties + a light cotton tshirt over it when she wasn't supervised to let it heal.

 

[ajcooksey]

Brandie that would be great if you could send me the report and the booties and t shirt are a good idea for at night or when we are working.

 

[KatieB]

Alexis our vet is extremely knowledgeable about nutrition and actually promotes a raw diet and many high quality foods. He's also very holistic and does not rush into prescribing medications unless absolutely needed and uses many chinese herbs to help with healing and balancing health. If you want his info just let me know. He's near Polaris.

 

[ajcooksey]

Katie I absolutely want his info I was thinking of sending you a pm to find out.