jimtewv
Posted : 2/2/2009 8:04:41 PM
"My new puppy may have allergies. He has weepy eyes that I have to clean several times a day and scratches at his paws. It seems like the hair on his nose is even thinning out a bit. He hasn't been too bad w/ his paws lately, so that is encouraging. He is 13 weeks old, 15lbs, will reach about 50-60lbs. Right now he is on Purina Select for puppies. This is what the breeder recommended when we got him. I have known from the start that I want to change his food, however wanted to let him settle in before I did.
Before I take him to the vet, I want to see if it is possibly food allergies or even just the winter that is making his skin dry. We are located outside of Chicago and it has been an extremely cold winter. There is a possibility that these symptoms are due to the cold or just him acclimating to this region.
I am considering some different foods that seem to be a little better, however had heard that you have to be careful with the protein/calcium/phosphorus levels in food for a growing puppy. I have also heard that going grain free is not good for a growing puppy. Can anyone assist in recommending the most natural, healthy food for a potential allergen sufferer out of the list below or add to it?
◦ Blue Buffalo
◦ Orijen
◦ Innova
◦ Eagle Pack
◦ Canidae
◦ Nitro Maintenance
Thanks!!"
First, and foremost, take your puppy to the vet. Puppies have fragile, immature immune systems and infections can get out of hand very quickly. I am not a vet. I have three dogs and during my lifetime have had many. I’m on the board and volunteer at a shelter and have worked with hundreds of dogs, many of whom were not healthy. I’ve seen a lot of companion animal ailments and discussed their treatment, diagnosis and prognosis with our staff vet, my own vets and other vets who are personal friends. I spent 25 years in the human healthcare industry. I read and study a lot. I have some insights but that’s all they are, “educated” guesses.
First, food allergy is far less common than most people believe and the “pop diagnosis” of food allergy is unlikely since true food allergy presents itself less than 30% of the time---if that. Dogs develop allergies as we do. Many are inhalation allergies, some are contact allergies, some are a combination of both but the most often present as skin issues even if the allergen is inhaled.
The single most common cause of itching in dogs is fleas. If a cat is present and not treated for fleas and the dog is not treated for fleas---it’s generally fleas, regardless of the time of year. We have used Frontline for dogs for flea prevention for as long as it has been on the market and have never had a flea issue even when living in Florida and Georgia. Our shelter uses Frontline as does every vet I have ever known or worked with.
Take the pup to the vet…sorry to be harping on this issue. Expect the vet to take samples from the affected areas (tape or scraping) and determine what might be present, e.g., yeast/fungus or bacteria. Itching and licking almost always result in some sort of fungal or bacterial infection which makes the itching worse. The possible infection has to be dealt with before it becomes chronic. Determining the underlying causes of the itching is almost impossible once the secondary infection takes hold. Don’t be surprised if it is both bacterial and fungus, both of which need to be treated.
One of the most common causes of winter allergy symptoms called atopic dermatitis in dogs is dust mites---after fleas. Remove the source from the bedding, the house and the puppy.
Allermyl shampoo by Verbec is rather expensive but correctly used extraordinarily effective in reducing itching caused by atopic dermatitis in dogs. It has virtually eliminated the need for Prednisone with our nine year old double coated Chinook who had had seasonal allergies for years---but it required bathing her every other day during the critical spring and fall allergy seasons in our area. It is not “medicated”, i.e., it doesn’t contain anything that will deal with an infection. We’ve tried them all: oat, aloe, tea tree oil, etc., and nothing works like Allermyl and I’ve found nothing generic like it.
Food: while food allergy in a young puppy is less likely, there are lots of foods on the market better than Purina. I’d pass on the Nutro; it’s not much better. Of the others you listed, Orijen is the best in my opinion, followed by Canidae, Eagle Pack, Innova and Blue Buffalo but there are certainly many other top quality foods.
In general it takes about two years for a dog’s immune system to reach maturity. During that critical two years the dog develops immunities to a host of organisms which, as some others have pointed out, makes treating a dog under two for possible allergies very tricky because we don’t want to inhibit the body’s natural progress in acquiring and developing immunities to a number of common ailments. An example:
Up until recently, vets seldom saw canine viral papillomas (grey, cauliflower-like warts on the lips, eyelids and mouth) in dogs over two years of age because the very act of getting the papilloma stimulates the body to develop immunity---if the papilloma was allowed to run its normal six to twelve week course. But, they’re kind of ugly and some vets really like to make money so they would remove them prematurely (not necessary unless the dog has lots and lots of them, or they become infected) before the body developed the natural immunity.
In summary, allergy testing in a puppy is virtually useless. Treatment with antihistimines is questionable because it can inhibit the body’s normal immune response. The more serious atopic dermatitis meds are either steroidal (e.g., prednisone) or immune suppressive (e.g., Atopica) and a very questionable choice for a puppy. On the other hand if infection is present---it has to be dealt with. My choice would be to deal with it topically initially with a medicated shampoo which contains both an antimicrobial (e.g., Chlorhexidine Glucanate) and an anti-fungal (e.g.,Miconazole)---a product such as Malaseb ™.
Depending on the severity of the infection your vet may prefer to initially treat with oral or injection antibiotic and/or anti-fungal---or recommend a combination of oral, IV and topical treatment.
If you are not comfortable with your vet’s approach, ask around and for goodness sake, switch to another vet. If you vet office has several doctors, try to ensure that they all see your pup at least once.
Over decades of having multiple dogs, I’ve gained the experience to make a rational judgment as to when I need to take an animal to the vet and when I can do just as much for the pup as they would do but I always err on the side of caution and if anything unusual occurs that doesn’t respond within a day or two to “home care”---we’re in the car.
After some trial and error we are fortunate to have found a vet with a wonderful office staff and a splendid mix of experience and education. If I send them an email tonight describing the condition, I’ll have a call back with a appointment scheduled in the A.M. for the next day. The four primary partners have a combined 100 years of vet practice experience. They don’t mind sitting on the floor to examine a 130 pound dog. They all have multiple dogs and do lots of pro bono work for shelters and rescues. They’ve actually heard of Canidae. One of them is on the board of directors of one of the top vet hospitals in the country (and can get us a consulting appointment with the chief of surgery there within a day). The office staff actually remembers our name and our dogs’ names.
If you are not getting that kind of service---switch. Interestingly, they are not remotely the most expensive vet in the area.