Allergy shots
He goes back next week for skin testing. (has to be off Benadryl for a week) If the test has postive results they are recommending shots. The antigen shots are given daily for the first couple of months and then weekly for a year. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this and what kind of result you had. |
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| I did three years of allergy shot for Tasker without any noticeable improvement. I spent a TON of money not to mention time for no results.
I understand some people have had great results but we finally stopped last summer after it was pretty clear he wasn't benefiting. |
| What kind of allergies does Tasker have?
We have done different diets to rule out food allergies and are now on the RAW diet. Although Mojo is dramatically better then a year ago, he still itches all the time and breaks out in sores and gets skin and ear infections. |
| There was a list and I cannot remember exactly..... Corn was a biggie as well as some environmental things (dust mold etc). His allergies are worse in the Fall and winter and mainly skin problems. Although they did tell us his chronic ear infections are most likely due to allergies.
A lot of peole swear by the shots, I guess it depends what tha allergies are. |
I've given them for 2 1/2 years to Darby and maybe 1 1/2 years to Panda. I can't say we've gotten big results... I am afraid to take them off the shots just in case it actually is controlling symptoms.  I'd have to restart them gradually again.
The Heska serum is around $150 per vial and two different serums are required due to the allergens... they couldn't be mixed. Mine started out with shots ever 4 days for a set period of time... then every 7 days... next every 14, then every 3-4 weeks. The amount of antigen was gradually increased as time went on. I'd be interested in hearing what mfr. handles the testing/serum if MoJo receives shots. We did RAST testing... it's best to do skin testing but no one in north of Lansing does it. Testing indicated molds and dust/dust mites. We retested last August when Darby's symptoms reappeared for the 3rd season. That last RAST test indicated Darby was allergic to cat spit and cockroaches but we had neither around... we hadn't had a cat in maybe 7 years? My son got a cat in December and he's been staying in the house for days at a time now and she's shown no reaction to him. Needless to say I lost faith in RAST tests. There seems to be something in our area that starts around late August and lasts through a hard freeze... maybe nettle? ragweed? Getting the yeast controlled helped with the itching... yeast and allergies often go hand in hand. I use K9 Ear Solution and it's prevented problems- http://firstchoicenaturals.com/Index/sh ... d-16?gid=7 Please keep us posted? I'm always eager to hear how other allergy pups respond to testing/treatment. Good luck! |
| Hi Angel.
Sorry to hear that Mojo has allergies. Our first sheepie, Quincy, had allergies, and, after testing, I did the Heska serum series of shots for 2 1/2 years. I am sorry to say that they did nothing discernible to improve Quincy's skin issues. He took Benadryl every day, and he was on Cephalexin every weekend to control the recurrent skin infections. Plus, I bathed him once a week in Chlorhexiderm or Sebolux. In my opinion, the shots did not help at all. Like Jaci, once I started, I was afraid to stop as I didn't want to do anything that might possibly make things worse, even though I could not detect any improvement at all - so Quincy had allergy shots until he passed away. Jaci (6Girls) and I are on similar tracks with our pups, as they have suffered many of the same problems. I would echo her thoughts on yeast. Your vet can do a simple stain on a sample from Mojo's paws or ears, and if yeast is an issue, there are some good topical products that might help (KetoChlor, Malaseb, etc.) Also, you might want to look into holistic options as well, something to boost Mojo's overall immune system. Both Jaci and I take our dogs to holistic vets, and they have helped us tremendously. I hope Mojo finds relief! Laurie and Oscar |
| I have been debating about getting N.A.E.T. (a type of holistic muscle testing for allergies) done.
I hate the thought of having to inject Mojo with something that he is allergic to. Especially since I don't think is as successful as it is touted to be. I am going to call the vet in Indy that does it and see what all is involved. |
| My Mom's Tibetan Terrier received allergy shots for at least a year. She was allergic to the environment just like me! After 13 years of allergy shots, I decided to quit. I don't really think I feel anyh worse ...always crappy |
Unfortunately our holistic vet retired earlier this month.  If you want to see what we tried last fall, you can visit this address- http://oesusa.com/DarbysAllergyMeds.htm We weaned Darby off most of the antihistamines from our conventional vets and put he on holistic supplements. I'm NOT recommending that you actually try these things... only some possible things to consider if you can't get the itching under control.
We were to the point of having to go down to MSU for skin testing... the approach above was just after the new positive RAST test results for cat saliva and cockroaches (and a tree) We were to add a new serum because Darby was going nuts for the 3rd consecutive season despite allergy shots Come August, we now keep a shirt on Dardy or she'll lick her legs... even with this approach and we keep boots on her to act as a barrier when she goes outdoors... EVERY time.
About the possibility of yeast... just go to the next post if you've heard this all before  I just don't want another dog to suffer like mine did because of lack of knowledge.
As Laurie mentioned, we both found that yeast can accompany allergies. One of Diane's (3Shaggies) sheepies has had yeast challenges too. The shampoos recommended work well... we use Malaseb... I've got KetoChlor in the cupboard too. When a dog licks, the area is left damp and there's bacteria from the dog's mouth. If the dog is continually licking, it makes for perfect conditions for yeast to grow. You'll often see the reddish brown staining... as Laurie stated, a simple swab will allow the vet to either diagnose or exclude it it as a cause. MY vets missed it completely. In all fairness, vets sometimes do miss this and my vet later took a seminar on yeast... he agreed I had "hit the nail on the head" about yeast being the cause. Anyway, Panda was chewing her feet until they were sopping wet... http://oesusa.com/Yeast/1.jpg . I asked one of our vets if it could be yeast and he said no. The other treated the foot chewing as allergies, eventually prescribing a 22 antihistamine PER DAY "cocktail... we gave them to Panda one day, decided it was nuts and followed a plan to get rid of the yeast that I came across online (after first verifying it's safety with our vets... they said it would get worse before it got better). This is the plan we followed... it sounds hokey but it actually worked (see foot pictures below). http://nzymes.com/Articles/Instructions ... ctions.htm This is what yeast on the feet looked like on two of mine. Panda was the worst because she received numerous antibiotics over several months to treat recurrent urinary tract infections caused by a bladder defect (surgically corrected almost a year ago). http://oesusa.com/PandasFeetComparison.jpg http://oesusa.com/DarbysFeetCompared.jpg Here's an article I found later that also explains reddish brown staining and yeast- http://www.esracarolinas.com/7062/7117.html . An important thing to note is that you can get yeast under control but it can come back. Darby started licking her pads the other day so again shaved between her pads down and started spraying Nzymes Ox-E drop 2% solution on her feet again. I keep the hair between the pads trimmed very short... it allows for faster drying and better air flow. One last thing... then I'll finally shut up. Hot Spots... If anyone has problems with hot spots, I came across a good article a few weeks ago about Neo-Predef powder- http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dehotspot.html . Good stuff! We thought Darby was developing another histiocytoma... this time it healed fine. We had been told to use Panalog cream but it hadn't worked the two previous times we tried it. The panalog cream stayed wet... this powder dries it up nicely. http://www.pfizerah.com/PAHimages/compl ... liance.pdf Darby's Foot- http://oesusa.com/DarbysToe.jpg http://oesusa.com/DarbysToe11207.jpg So sorry to be so long winded...  |
| Thank you all for the information.
In October of 06, when Mojo was at his worst, I asked the vet about yeast. I had been searching the net and it seem to me that was part of the problem. He said no, it was allergies and to just stay on the diet. We battled the problem for almost another year until I found a vet who practices both traditional and holistic medicine. The very first thing she said was the he has a bad yeast problem!!! She started him on the raw diet and the Myconazol shampoo. Although he showed great improvement right away, he still had two flare ups in three months. That is when I asked about testing. We talked about both kinds of testing and I don't know why I went to see about the traditional. I practice mostly holistic for myself and my sister is an acupuncturist! I guess old habits die hard. |
Quote: We battled the problem for almost another year until I found a vet who practices both traditional and holistic medicine. The very first thing she said was the he has a bad yeast problem!!! OMG. From what I've read, yeast is often missed by conventional vets. That's why I feel like I've got to be a bore by being one of the unofficial, unpaid yeast-spokesperson.  Quote: I practice mostly holistic for myself and my sister is an acupuncturist! This was my first time searching outside the conventional-medical-approach-box... so I was leery. But we were out of options... the next step would have been to add steroids. The frustrating thing is, all those antihistamines you give to a dog with yeast does nothing to fix that particular problem and often doesn't help with the itching anyway except to make them sleepy. Quote: Although he showed great improvement right away, he still had two flare ups in three months. That is when I asked about testing. We talked about both kinds of testing and I don't know why I went to see about the traditional.
I've never heard of N.A.E.T. testing... interesting. I'll have to investigate One thing our holistic vet mentioned was that he had seen allergy shots work on some dogs (we get the serum from our conventional vet)... on others, they failed. When I asked him if we should discontinue the shots last fall, he said to keep everything the same for now because we were in the middle of a very bad time again and trying to get Darby's itching under control.
This is Darby this past autumn before our first visit with the holistic vet and into her "bad time of the year"- http://oesusa.com/Page115.html http://oesusa.com/Page116.html http://oesusa.com/Page118.html I think that frequent bathing helps to sooth the skin and trying to avoid the allergen if at all possible. The air purifier we added to the central furnace/air conditioner and another type to the bedroom seemed to have helped some too. The boots may have also made a difference?? It all seems to be a lot of trial and error. Best wishes to you with Mojo. If you find some supplements, meds, treatments that seem to help, I hope you'll share them with the rest of us.  |
| We had a Brittany when I was growing up with allergies to weeds and grasses. Pretty bad news for a hunting dog!
I don't remember the testing done (as this was 30+ yrs ago), but I know he got allergy shots and he had NO problems, and still went hunting in the fall. So at least one success story, anyway. Yeasts are super common with bassets. They have an oilier coat and dependent ears that are perfect places for yeast to grow. Our vet sees quite a few of the rescue bassets that come through our rescue, and they are really on the lookout for yeast. Maggie, Todd's coonhound is being treated right now for an ear infection with yeast. The cytology test is real cheap -$18. She is on Tri-Otic ear drops. I plan on getting her on an earwashing regime after this clears up (she has a recheck on the 30th.) A good one for yeast is the blue power earwash. It does have gentian violet, so it could stain the coat. The wash I have is made by one of the basset breeders I know - she sells it and donates all preoceeds to the rescue. It is in one of those plastic mustard squirt bottles! Blue Power Ear Wash -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Power Ear Wash INGREDIENTS: 16 Oz. Isopropyl Alcohol 4 Tablespoons Boric Acid Powder 16 Drops Gentian Violet Solution 1% Mix together in alcohol bottle and shake well. Please shake this solution every time you use it to mix the Boric Acid Powder. Either a baby ear syringe or a plastic squirt bottle work well for putting the solution in the ear. DIRECTIONS FOR USE: Evaluate condition of ears before treating and if the are inflamed and sore do not attempt to pull hair or clean out ear at all. Just flush and then wait until inflammation is gone, which will be about two days. Warm the solution and shake the bottle each time before using. The dogs will accept the treatment much better if you warm it up for them. Flood the ear with solution (gently squirt bottle). Massage gently, wipe with 100% cotton pad. On first treatment: flood the ear twice, wipe with a pad, and leave alone without massage. The dog will shake out the excess, which can be wiped with a tissue. (Note: the Gentian Violet does stain fabrics so you're best to do this outdoors.) Treat 2x per day for the first week to two weeks, depending upon severity of ears. After the 2nd or 3rd day you can clean out the ear with a tissue or cotton pad. Treat 1x per day for the next 1-2 weeks. Treat 1x per month (or even less frequently, depending on the dog). |
6Girls wrote: One of Diane's (3Shaggies) sheepies has had yeast challenges too. The shampoos recommended work well... we use Malaseb... :
Hi Y'all Yes...we feel your pain
The curse of allergies & the yeast  monster that
is always around the corner The minute we think awwww feet look pretty good now Back it creeps! Malaseb shampoo has worked the best for Beebles' feet!! We keep the hair between the pads trimmed close & try to keep the feet dry! The Malaseb spray & the Pledgets are in our arsenal as well but washing those paws ever 3-4 days works the best & then drying with the powerful Commander! Beebles also gets yeasty ears...we are just getting over one
Hate the greasy RX. I am switching to the K9 Cleaner (Thanks Jaci) Maybe if I am more proactive...story of my life lately Beebles will be more comfortable! Our dry summer here has helped...lack of rain kills our grass but keeps the feet less yeasty I feed only the Eagle Pack Holistic (kibbles & cookies)& supplement with 3V caps, Vit E & Missing Link Beebles had the RAST test...came up with high # for molds, pine & salt grass! We give antihistamine for the feet itches but would prefer not to! I really love my vet Dr. L >>>she caught the yeast early on BUT I'm researching/searching for second opinions....maybe a Holistic vet Thanks to all of you for information... Jaci & I have bonded
What would I do without my "not a VET" on call Diane PS One more...we use the NYZMES spray...not regularly though Recently nothing was helping
It was a "now what moment" & the spray helped us turn a corner |
A. Yager wrote: What kind of allergies does Tasker have?
We have done different diets to rule out food allergies and are now on the RAW diet. Although Mojo is dramatically better then a year ago, he still itches all the time and breaks out in sores and gets skin and ear infections. and its not a recurring staph infection? |
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