pabusinesswoman
New member
To save time/ space I'll start with the NN posts for his history... this link has both his post and when he came home...
http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=100103 highlight=Solomon
Personality wise.. he is doing excellent! He is a sweet, loving boy that has come out his shell greatly. He now LOVES car rides (when I brought him home, I had to lift him in the car) and has also learned how to play retrieve soft balls. I have been working him in basic obedience here at the house (sit/ down/ wait.. heal is DEFINITELY next), but since he has many days he is not feeling well, I have not been able to put him into a formal obedience class as of yet. He and Sadie play daily and now fall asleep “touching” each other. He’s fit right in.
Fast forward.. he is still getting bathed weekly.. max biweekly (a rarity..last week it rained all weekend and he will not do stairs to the tub) with medicated shampoo. We've tried head and shoulders, selsum, lyme sulfur dip (NASTY stuff), coal tar based shampoo, Malseb (vet), Tropiclean with Neem, Mane and Tail Protect… I think I'm missing another.. you get the idea.
He's had Benadryl and Zyrtec to see if we get any response on allergies. There was no visible improvement by adding allergy medicines. He gets 10 Million CFU probiotics daily along with fish oil. Food is grain free, Acana- Pacifica (http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/show-product.php?formulation=pfd) so, most grains have been ruled out. The ingredient list is at the bottom of the page.
Interestingly, his topline has a nice full coat, yet as you work your way down his coat, it gets thinner and thinner.
We just finished our 3rd round of antifungal and antibiotics which clear him up temporarily and he will slowly start getting "greasier" quicker and will start to get spots on his skin (staph) at that point we're back to the vet before he breaks open and gets sores.
Since I'm to the point of pulling at strings... the vet was looking at allergies, but the fact that he had no positive response to either Benadryl or Zyrtec made me scratch my head. I also had a Chow chow of 11 years that had bad allergies to the point she had to get injections. She at least showed a slight response to the meds. He does not have any of the same symptoms that she portrayed.
Though we’re not sure he even has them but considering his background, he is currently getting injections of 1% ivermectin biweekly on the slight case he may have had mites (sarcoptic) (both dogs are getting treated just in case.. and they will be through the treatment by the NN gathering). We’re not seeing improvement here either.
After speaking to a few folks with wonderful suggestions, it was suggested I get a thyroid panel done by Jean Dodds. I figured it did not hurt to get it checked before we go the allergy route. So, a thyroid panel 4 plus was sent out. Today, I received his results that thyroid is in good range. For most values, he was right in the middle. GGT and Total Bilirubin were at the bottom of the spectrum, yet still in range. Creatine was slightly elevated and CPK was just a little low.
Sooooo… I guess we’re now going to a limited ingredient dog food for 8 weeks to see if he improves. Since I just received the results today, I will have to go and get him an allergy food with limited ingredients to see what helps and does not.
If anyone has had a dog depicting similar issues, I’m open for suggestions. I hate to see this poor boy continuing to suffer. I’ll be doing some research on foods in the next day or so.
On a good note, it’s been an educational journey
http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=100103 highlight=Solomon
Personality wise.. he is doing excellent! He is a sweet, loving boy that has come out his shell greatly. He now LOVES car rides (when I brought him home, I had to lift him in the car) and has also learned how to play retrieve soft balls. I have been working him in basic obedience here at the house (sit/ down/ wait.. heal is DEFINITELY next), but since he has many days he is not feeling well, I have not been able to put him into a formal obedience class as of yet. He and Sadie play daily and now fall asleep “touching” each other. He’s fit right in.
Fast forward.. he is still getting bathed weekly.. max biweekly (a rarity..last week it rained all weekend and he will not do stairs to the tub) with medicated shampoo. We've tried head and shoulders, selsum, lyme sulfur dip (NASTY stuff), coal tar based shampoo, Malseb (vet), Tropiclean with Neem, Mane and Tail Protect… I think I'm missing another.. you get the idea.
He's had Benadryl and Zyrtec to see if we get any response on allergies. There was no visible improvement by adding allergy medicines. He gets 10 Million CFU probiotics daily along with fish oil. Food is grain free, Acana- Pacifica (http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/show-product.php?formulation=pfd) so, most grains have been ruled out. The ingredient list is at the bottom of the page.
Interestingly, his topline has a nice full coat, yet as you work your way down his coat, it gets thinner and thinner.
We just finished our 3rd round of antifungal and antibiotics which clear him up temporarily and he will slowly start getting "greasier" quicker and will start to get spots on his skin (staph) at that point we're back to the vet before he breaks open and gets sores.
Since I'm to the point of pulling at strings... the vet was looking at allergies, but the fact that he had no positive response to either Benadryl or Zyrtec made me scratch my head. I also had a Chow chow of 11 years that had bad allergies to the point she had to get injections. She at least showed a slight response to the meds. He does not have any of the same symptoms that she portrayed.
Though we’re not sure he even has them but considering his background, he is currently getting injections of 1% ivermectin biweekly on the slight case he may have had mites (sarcoptic) (both dogs are getting treated just in case.. and they will be through the treatment by the NN gathering). We’re not seeing improvement here either.
After speaking to a few folks with wonderful suggestions, it was suggested I get a thyroid panel done by Jean Dodds. I figured it did not hurt to get it checked before we go the allergy route. So, a thyroid panel 4 plus was sent out. Today, I received his results that thyroid is in good range. For most values, he was right in the middle. GGT and Total Bilirubin were at the bottom of the spectrum, yet still in range. Creatine was slightly elevated and CPK was just a little low.
Sooooo… I guess we’re now going to a limited ingredient dog food for 8 weeks to see if he improves. Since I just received the results today, I will have to go and get him an allergy food with limited ingredients to see what helps and does not.
If anyone has had a dog depicting similar issues, I’m open for suggestions. I hate to see this poor boy continuing to suffer. I’ll be doing some research on foods in the next day or so.
On a good note, it’s been an educational journey
