Having a bad time in the midwest

Welcome to i-dog bailsmom!!!

My . . .that is quite a long list. I am so sorry to see so many allergens! Do you have a picture to share with teh group. . .i-doggers love to see pictures!

Welcome and I am glad things seem under control for the time being []

   

Do you have a picture to share with teh group. . .i-doggers love to see pictures!

oh-oh.  .my bad! For some reason your pic in your avatar didn't load on my computer when you first posted.   Bailey is a pretty pup! []

Thank you JJ!  Yup, I just put up my little girl in my avatar.  Much easier to do here than other forums. 
 
I remembered, she's also allergic to yeast.  Oy vey...my poor baby.

Thank you JJ! Yup, I just put up my little girl in my avatar. Much easier to do here than other forums.

It took me 2 months to figure out! [sm=rofl.gif]

btw- I like the blue sweater![]

Thank You!!  I made it for her.  (I'm a knitter)  I thought it would look perfect on her and boy was I right.[]

  Welcome to idog bailsmom; Your dog looks so cute in the sweater. Tavist was the best of the OTC antihistamines that I tried for Jessie; she now takes a prescription antihistamine called Doxepin but I'm thinking of going back to an OTC antihistamine because I recently learned that Doxepin can suppress the thyroid and cause problems with heart rhythm in people. It's a shame the immunotherapy shots didn't work for Bailey; they do help about 70% of dogs. I'm interested in what you said about steroids not helping; steroids should have helped for environmental allergies but they may or may not help for food allergies, so it's possible that your dog was allergic to something in the food she was eating while getting the steroid injections. It's great that you have found a dermatologist to work with; Jessie goes to one too. Did you learn about Bailey's food allergies by experience or a blood test? Most veterinary dermatologists don't consider the blood test for food allergies reliable. Food allergies are supposed to develop to an ingredient in a food that a dog's been eating for a while. New things are being discovered about allergies all the time and it may be that a dog can be allergic to a food it hasn't eaten, but that's not what is generally believed by veterinary dermatologists. They're also improving the blood tests and may eventually have one that's reliable for food allergies. I hope the ear flare ups stop soon.

  I'm not cooking Jessie's food but if this doesn't help I'll cook her pork and a carb. I wouldn't be able to afford venison even if I could find it. I chose this food because it doesn't have rice, flaxseed or chicken; the only other things she may be allergic to in it are the barley and oatmeal. We aren't giving her anything but the food though; I've stopped giving her fish oil supplements too.
   My vet doesn't think blood tests are reliable for food allergies but he said companies are trying to develop more reliable tests. They're learning more all the time; who knows; maybe it is possible for a dog to be allergic to a food it's never eaten?
   I'm glad the TWO bison is working for you; papillon's dog had loose stools with one of thier formulas too. Got to get some sleep; talk to you tomorrow.

Hi Jessies mom,
 
I forgot about her thyroid too, and she also has a mild heart murmur.  We had an ultrasound done this past spring because she was becoming winded after just a short walk.  Turns out she just needed to have an extra half of her thyroid pill and now she's been doing great.  I'm glad we did the ultrasound anyway, because everytime we took her to the vet they of course checked her heart and it took them so long to hear it and then I start to panic[8|].  I'm such a mother sometimes. 
 
The steroids did help, but since the long-term side affects aren't great on her liver the doctor felt since she had been on them for 4 years that we should try the Tavist and thank god its worked.  And yes, she does have quite a few food allergies as I've written in the past posts.  Poor baby.  We figured out her food allergies just by trial and error.  The allergy test did show her being allergic to certain foods but we did try them on her just to rule them out.  And so far chicken is the winner.
 
Yeah, her ears are still bugging her and I'm just about to go to the vet to ger her meds.  Talk to ya later!1

I remembered, she's also allergic to yeast. Oy vey...my poor baby

 
I'm not sure this is relevant, but Sassy also tested positive to a multitude of environmental allergens and yeast.  I'm using Atopica which does seem to be helping but the vet told me that it wouldn't help with the yeast issue.  Perhaps that's the case with something like Tavist too.  We're using a combo of Atopica and Ketaconazale to battle any and all of the potential problems and it seems to be working.

I'm such a mother sometimes.

 
 I think most of us on this forum are the same way. It has to hard finding food for her with so many food allergies; thank goodness the chicken and rice works. Apparently the blood tests were reliable for food allergies in Bailey's case; the lab that my vet sends blood to for allergy testing has recently developed a new blood test for food allergies that is supposed to be accurate. If that's the way of the future, it would make it a lot easier to know what foods a dog's allergic to. I hope the meds help your dog's ears; let us know what the vet says.

I'm glad the TWO bison is working for you; papillon's dog had loose stools with one of thier formulas too.

Not sure if it was papillon. .  .but someone posted the elk gave them problems too.   I hope you don't have to home cook. Let us know how it is going.  I really hope that a change in jessies diet will help her right now.
 Keeping fingers and paws crossed! []

Keeping fingers and paws crossed!

 
  Thanks; I usually cook Jessie's lunch; a low calorie meat like a fish filet or some lightly scrambled eggs. I know it sounds like she's spoiled but I believe it's a good idea to feed a dog some whole foods, and the EP is a little low in protein at 22% so the low cal high protein noon meal is for supplementing her protein.  She's getting a half can of NV Venison for lunch now. I wouldn't mind cooking all her food for a while but right now I just want to eliminate rice to see if that helps. It sounds like jj has a sensitive stomach; is that typical of greyhounds? About how old are they when they retire from racing?

It sounds like jj has a sensitive stomach; is that typical of greyhounds? About how old are they when they retire from racing?

JJ's is a bit senstive, but nothing like my old greyhound gumby. Everything gave her diarrhea! Greys sometimes are more sensitive.  They were fed raw meat (sometimes diseased) until they come off the track (between ages 18 months- 5 years) and so they actually have horrible looking teeth and many are full of worms. [:'(]

I agree that it is good to give your pup fish and eggs and stuff. That is why I crockpot for them.  Jessie spoiled???? No way! [] 

That is why I crockpot for them. Jessie spoiled???? No way!

  Sounds like we both spoil our dogs. [] Actually, books written by holistic veterinarians like Martin Goldstein recommend feeding dogs raw or cooked meals, or at least adding some fresh food to thier kibble. I like the compromise of feeding a premium food and adding fresh foods. I've heard of racing greyhounds dying from "Alabama rot"; it's horrible that they suffer bad teeth, illness and worse because of human greed. Jessie has been doing better this week but I notice when she goes out to potty she scratches so I think her problem is allergies to something in the air or perhaps there's fleas in the yard. We do have a baby possum coming in the yard at night, so maybe it's bringing the fleas. I asked the vet if it could be fleas but he didn't think so because he couldn't find any sign of fleas on her, but I'm picking up some Adam's Flea mist and treating the yard this weekend just in case.

Sounds like we both spoil our dogs. Actually, books written by holistic veterinarians like Martin Goldstein recommend feeding dogs raw or cooked meals, or at least adding some fresh food to thier kibble. I like the compromise of feeding a premium food and adding fresh foods.

That is exactly why I don't want to feed a food that is really high in protein for all his meals because I like to add in some whole cooked foods (chicken, beef and sometimes veggies).  I am very pleased with the amounts in TWO being in the 26% range so that you can add in more protein without it being too high for my 7 year old JJ.

Alabama rot is terrible [:'(]  Have heard of a few dying at our rescue from it
Teeth can definately be a problem and you really have to stay on top of it with them beacsue until they come off the track they have never had anything hard to chew on...some of them have the teeth of a 10 year old by the time they are only 2 [].   they also can get valley fever from the soil. That is one of the things they test for when they come off the track.
Some of these dogs just look terrible when they coem into the rescue and they literally soemtimes have 100's of ticks on them []

So sad. . .an yes all due to human greed [:@]

Maybe it is fleas. . . seems a strange time for allergies so maybe it is the possom???

SO is she getting any kibble or just the NV venison??  JJ LOVED when I fed him NV after I first got him. It is good stuff!