Dogs With Allergies
by The K9 Guy, 12-03-17It's been a little over 2 years since we adopted our last dog from the Franklin County Animal Shelter. He came to us with a bit of a rash on his belly, and at his initial Veterinary appointment was prescribed antibiotics. Unfortunately that rash kept recurring over many months, necessitating visits to the Vet every 6 weeks. It became apparent to us that our new dog had skin issues that would be ongoing.
Over the course of a year, our regular Veterinarian prescribed many medicines, ointments, and eventually a Limited Ingredient Diet (LID). While our pup's skin would have periods of improvement, there were still persistent flare-ups and problems. Overall, during our first year, his skin was getting gradually worse.
At this point we were referred to a Dermatologist at MedVet. Our dog's clinical history suggested environmental issues, since most of his break outs were on his underside, paws, and would improve with regular water rinses - plus original LID trials weren't helping. However, initial skin testing at the Dermatologist's office found no allergic responses. Surprised, we were back to thinking this was a food sensitivity, and the Dermatologist prescribed LID Venison and potato for our dog.
After 6 months of some improvement, our dog had another nasty flare up requiring more antibiotics (see photo to right) - this after modest progress on the LID. At a follow-up visit, the Dermatologist recommended an ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) test. This blood test actually had numerous "hits" for environmental allergies. Within 2 days our dog was prescribed SLIT (sub-lingual immunotherapy) which required 2 allergy drops be given under our dog's tongue twice daily. The concentration of allergens in the drops is gradually increased over the course of 3 bottles. Since each bottle lasts about 10 weeks, it takes about 5 months to reach peak therapeutic levels.
Our dog has been on SLIT for only 4 months, and he's already improving each and every week. He's also been able to get back to a mostly normal diet, although we are still stepping old foods into his routine gradually (just to be safe). For the first time in the 2 years that he's been with us, his skin is actually looking "good" (see photo to left)!
The point of this article is to simply share our experience in the hope it might be useful to others. This has been a 2 year journey for our dog (and us), and we've only been seeing progress in the past few months. With the benefit of hindsight, here are some thoughts to share . . .
Our Allergy Lessons
- I wish we had consulted a Dermatologist sooner. We spent 1 year and probably over $1K in visits/drugs that were only treating symptoms.
- Be aware there are different allergy testing options. While skin testing is generally considered more reliable, for our dog it sent us down the wrong path.
- Our Dermatologist had us using a topical antibiotic/steroid ointment for flare ups that was far more effective than prior oral antibiotics. I also feel that topical agents have fewer risks and side effects.
- There's a lot of information online that might NOT be helpful. Any search I did pertaining to our dog's symptoms lead to diet issues and yeast infection treatments. At Dermatology visits, the Vet was able to test skin samples and rule out yeast as an issue immediately. Stains and a microscope are a lot more effective than guessing.
- We started with LID trials as they are essentially a "no cost" option which many Vets will recommend. When our Dermatologist also wanted a LID, it was really brutal. It can be done, but it's hard for owners and their dogs. No flavored bones, no treats, only 3-4 food items. This is a very time consuming and tiring process, it's hard to stick with, and it can take a year or more to get through. It may be the answer for many dogs, but I was thrilled when they found some environmental allergies and SLIT began working.
- Our dog also had many other tests along the way to rule out any health issues. While necessary, most skin issues boil down to environmental allergies, or food sensitivities. As mentioned above, a few Dermatology visits can save a lot of time and headaches in getting to the bottom of things.
In our information age, a lot of people rely on information gleaned from the internet to make their own diagnoses for many things. For us, paying for the assessment and advice of a Dermatologist was money very well spent.