New here! Have a question about NZYMES

Welcome Houndlady!
Our dear departed Aggie used to get hot spots and my sister recommended that we try the Nzymes. Which we did, 2 big bottles and they didn't make any diffference as far as we could tell. Each dog is different though and maybe its worth a shot.

Just a thought here....if her allergies are seasonal, could the alfalfa and wheat germ possibly be making them worse? Am thinking that maybe if shes allergic to grasses than maybe it could be these things too?

Perhaps someone on the board has a good dog shampoo suggestion that might help with her itchy skin. We used an oatmeal based shampoo that seemed to help reduce itching at least temporarily.

We gave them to our Ollie when he was having horrible skin problems. Another poster on this forum used to use it for her Dane for doggy acne.    Linda Arndt (the Great Dane Lady) is nutritionist and has raised several generations of Danes and now other dogs,,,says of Nzymes: I back up the immune system of the dog with powerful nutritional support, specific antioxidants such as [linkNzymes[/link]>http://www.nzymes.com/]Nzymes[/link] and Vitamin C, to detoxify the body.
If you are trying things,,,I would certainly give them a try.  I believe you can get a deal by purchasing 2 or 3 bottles at a time and that would give you a fair amount of time to give them a try.

Just a thought here....if her allergies are seasonal, could the alfalfa and wheat germ possibly be making them worse?

I wish it could be the cause but these are very recent additions to her diet - that I added.  I was reading that these things may help.  But as of now they aren't.  She has only been taking them about 2 weeks THOUGH it is a good thought and I will keep an eye that they don't make her allergies worse!  Thank you for mentioning that.

I did read the story about the Great Dane lady there was a link. 

This is just really breaking my heart with her suffering.

I don't think I understand why you ruled out allergy. It sounds like allergy to me.  Allergies are a product of a weakened immune system. In our Ollies case we believe that he has a weakened immune system from his vaccinations.  Vaccinations cause problems in many dogs and there isn't probably a lot of vets that are going to admit to it either.
Either way, building your dogs immune system is something that you should do.  Supplements can help that. That is why I would try the Nzymes for a few months...it would probably  take that long to be able to tell if they help or not. But you have to watch out also that you don't give too much of one thing,,,not enough of another.  I remember giving Ollie some expensive oil from the Natural Pet Store (the lady there was trying to help us cure Olli) but in the end  I spoke with a nutritionist that told me that I could be making things so much worse with this oil by knocking things out of balance.
We spent a lot of money on Ollie, running back to the vet, changing vets, putting him on antibiotics for skin infections,,prednisone and others....eventually we figured that he was getting worse by all of these drugs...as the time in between him getting them was getting shorter.  My son (Ollies Dad) took him off of all of the drugs, took him to a skin specialist and they blood tested him and found him to be allergic to dust and grass.  He got allergen shots for a few months and is now fine,,,hardly scratches at all now.    He doesn't get any more vaccinations though,, but he is inside most of his life. He eat premium food with real meat on top for added protein and gets raw eggs on his kibble in the A.M.   and he gets a probiotice on this kibble.

I don't think I understand why you ruled out allergy. It sounds like allergy to me. Allergies are a product of a weakened immune system.

That IS why I think its allergies!!  I do agree about the weakened immune system too.  Though everyone else thinks I am crazy-LOL!  This is why I started doing homecooked food and supplements to try to build her immune system back up.

The problem went 100% worse AFTER her Vacs this year too.  So I agree on the overuse of vaccinations.  We had finally gotten a handle on the Spring start of it BUT then (stupid us) went to the vet and had her vacs done again. 

We would have had to anyway since we just got a puppy BUT from now on this is a NO Vaccination house since it triggered it last year and again this year.  We are able to somewhat control it til she gets those stupid vacs.  Which I also agree (with your example of Ollie) of why I am doing everything possible not to get her on allergy shots or pills.  The vet is really pushing it.

I finally broke down with the Benadryl since her eyes were puffed up (bad) and she is really chewing her feet.  But I am so afraid of giving her more chemicals I won't even put frontline on her.

sorry to take up space.  I want to see of the pic I put in works.

it works!

Awe,,,,,,,,how cute...wish the pic was a little larger though!
I am sorry, I guess I misunderstood as I thought in your first post that you ruled out allergies. I think you are doing everything right,,hopefully it works.
If this did indeed start after vaccinations two years in a row,,, I think you are lucky that you at least have a clue as to why she is having trouble.
Your lucky that Benadryl works for you, it didn't for Ollie. 
 

You may try a few weeks without any supplements. The wheatgerm comes to mind and the flax. Wheat can be very allergenic and sometimes allergies are cumulative, meaning the thresh hold. One or two allergies may be tolerable but add another to the mix and the immune system is on overload, whereas eliminate a few and the body may be able to cope better.

My vet said to cut out all supplements at the very beginning. I had her on fish oil and he said some dogs are very allergic to it. We kept her off of it for many weeks and returned it eventually as she was fine with it. As for the wheatgerm, well wheat can be a problem. Strange enough, even the gelatin capsules, the outer capsule, can be an issue if it is beef gelatin and not cellulose of any supplement. Even the alfalfa, just a thought, maybe far fetched but if he has environmental allergies, ingesting alfalfa may not agree with her. Allergens come in contact with mucous membranes and that can be anything from the eyes, nose, lungs to digestive tract. The digestive tract is actually the largest immune organ in the body. So unless you've tried this already, gone bare bones, I would strip down her diet to only the essential for a few weeks, even if you don't feel it's food allergies. It may not entirely be, but they could be compounding problem of environmental allergies.

I'm in the same situation and only have a few suggestions.  If you haven't done a true elimination diet, you might think about that.  You'd give absolutely nothing but a protein and carb for a full 8-12 weeks.  In my case, I used pork and buckwheat.  The protein and carb must be something never eaten before.  During the trial period, you don't give any supplements, even fish oil is a no-no.  If the problem resolves at all, you know you have some food allergies.  In my case, it didn't appear to change a thing, but at least I was able to finally rule out the food allergy question.
 
The other comment I'd like to make is that while I appreciate and fully understand you wanting to avoid chemicals (and I totally agree on the vacs issue), in fairness to your dog, you need to consider her comfort.  Benadryl is really considered a safe antihistamine and could be providing relief until or if you find the underlying problem.  I can't imagine my allergy lab without using it.  She'd be miserable.  It's not just about comfort either, at least in my case.  Every one of the flare-ups leads to other skin problems and infections.  If those then need to be treated with antibiotics, you've gained nothing anyway.  Anyway, just something to think about.  If your dog has fleas and you don't treat with something like Frontline or Advantage, you may be creating more of a health problem than you're avoiding.

in fairness to your dog, you need to consider her comfort.

We have been giving her benadryl when the allergies flare up.  I don't have a problem with giving her things when she needs them - its the way the vet just wants to give her a shot or pill without reallly trying to determine the problem.  Everything I have learned about allergies has been thru my own research with no help from the vet.  The vet hasn't even considered doing any kind of testing- just wants to give her stuff to relieve the symptoms.  Personally I would rather find the source of the allergies and help her that way.  I do not think the vets way of doing things is much of a service to me or my dog.

Neither dog has fleas.  They are checked on a daily basis.  If I even thought she had fleas something would be done.  They are also checked for ticks daily as well.

We have done everything but put the dog in a plastic bubble-LOL.  We have changed her food, changed laundry detergent, changed her bedding often.  We bathe her once a week and wash her feet everyday (sometimes several times when allergies are worse).

If the vet would at least work with us on the allergy issue that would be most helpful.  But since they won't I am doing the best I can.  I just can't bring myself in believing it would be helpful to give her something that is known to cause liver/kidney damage- therefore we aren't giving her pills/shots.

Have you been to a dermatologist vet?  If you want the allergy testing done, that's probably your best bet.  If they find that she's allergic to say, trees or grass, then the next recourse would likely be allergy shots.  I'm not saying that negatively, and if my vet thought it would help (she's not optimistic), I'd have done the testing already.  The other option is to find a holistic vet and try some homeopathic remedies.  Like I said, I understand how frustrating this is and I hope you find some answers.

I wish I could find a holistic vet in my area.  Seems everyone I meet go to 2 different vets (one being mine).  I am still new to this area and am not sure how to go about finding a holistic vet or a dermatologist vet.  I know the other vet people go to has the same practice technique.  This is a large area I live in too.

Is there a website that might have them registered by state or something??   I have been thinking of getting a new vet just for this reason.

If anyone knows of a database please share!

I think the vets are like most doctors,,,they would rather cover up the problem than to find out what it is..  Maybe it would take too much time to find out what it is,,or maybe they know they might fail at it. Who knows. 
Here is a couple of links that might be able to help you find a holitic vet in your area. Good luck.

[linkhttp://www.alternativepethealth.com/holistic-vets.html>http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/vetlist.htm#usa]http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/vetlist.htm#usa[/link] http://www.alternativepethealth.com/holistic-vets.html