My Poor Dog! Advice Anyone???

[Buick Electra]

Our Lab/Dobie mix (10 yrs) has severe allergies that, although he'll lick "hot spots," on his body - like his paws - it mostly affects his ears. The poor baby will not stop scratching and shaking, scratching and shaking due to his waxy ears.

We ran the gambit on medications. We found out the hard way he is allergic to any ear meds/drops that have ALCOHOL in them as it literally burns the inside of his ears. We used to take him into the vet twice a year, have him knocked out and have his ears drained. This seemed to help immensely but as time has progressed (or the seasons), well let's just say he had his ears drained in July 7th and is now miserable again. I don't know how he maintains such a sweet personality as he rarely sleeps because he's always shaking, scratching or running his head along surfaces because the itching is bad.

We had the most comprehensive allergy tests done but I'm sure our living on a farm in Central Illinois isn't helping. Here is what he's allergic (shows positive) to:

Under Grasses
Bluegrass/June Grass
Fescue
Bermuda
Redtop
Ryegrass

Weeds
Ragweed
Pigweed/Careless Weed
Marsh Elder/Poverty Weed
Dock/Sheep Sorrel
Russian Thistle

Trees
Box Elder/Maple
Oak
Elm (Boarderline)
Walnut
Birch

Fungi
Pennicillium
Rhizopus
Curvularia (boarderline)

Housedust

Foods
Soybean \ Though he's not eating this, we live on a farm and are surrounded by this
Corn /
Peanuts
Flax
White Potato
Alfalfa
Carrots
Duck

Indoor
Orris Root

Insects
Cockroach

My husband has bad wax build-up in his ears and he has to go to the doctor every 4 months where they shoot warm water down his ear. He also uses those candles specifically for ears where you lay still, stick a candle in your ear, light the wick and it draws out a tremendous amount of wax. (I just don't see Mr. Scardy Cat being able to be held still with a lit candle in his ears).

We're going to try a warm water flush with him today when my husband gets back from town with this giant syringe, but I was wondering if ANYBODY has had this problem with their dog and found anything to have helped in drawing out or getting rid of the wax buildup.

[Barnhse]

Tea tree oil has helped one of our german sheps somewhat. You can get it and other remedies at http://www.onlynaturalpet.com

Hope that helps,

Veronica

[Skytalker]

Our Lab/Dobie mix (10 yrs) has severe allergies that, although he'll lick "hot spots," on his body - like his paws - it mostly affects his ears. The poor baby will not stop scratching and shaking, scratching and shaking due to his waxy ears.

We ran the gambit on medications. We found out the hard way he is allergic to any ear meds/drops that have ALCOHOL in them as it literally burns the inside of his ears. We used to take him into the vet twice a year, have him knocked out and have his ears drained. This seemed to help immensely but as time has progressed (or the seasons), well let's just say he had his ears drained in July 7th and is now miserable again. I don't know how he maintains such a sweet personality as he rarely sleeps because he's always shaking, scratching or running his head along surfaces because the itching is bad.

We had the most comprehensive allergy tests done but I'm sure our living on a farm in Central Illinois isn't helping. Here is what he's allergic (shows positive) to:

Under Grasses
Bluegrass/June Grass
Fescue
Bermuda
Redtop
Ryegrass

Weeds
Ragweed
Pigweed/Careless Weed
Marsh Elder/Poverty Weed
Dock/Sheep Sorrel
Russian Thistle

Trees
Box Elder/Maple
Oak
Elm (Boarderline)
Walnut
Birch

Fungi
Pennicillium
Rhizopus
Curvularia (boarderline)

Housedust

Foods
Soybean \ Though he's not eating this, we live on a farm and are surrounded by this
Corn /
Peanuts
Flax
White Potato
Alfalfa
Carrots
Duck

Indoor
Orris Root

Insects
Cockroach

My husband has bad wax build-up in his ears and he has to go to the doctor every 4 months where they shoot warm water down his ear. He also uses those candles specifically for ears where you lay still, stick a candle in your ear, light the wick and it draws out a tremendous amount of wax. (I just don't see Mr. Scardy Cat being able to be held still with a lit candle in his ears).

We're going to try a warm water flush with him today when my husband gets back from town with this giant syringe, but I was wondering if ANYBODY has had this problem with their dog and found anything to have helped in drawing out or getting rid of the wax buildup.
Upon my brother's death I inheritied his lab. Sweet boy but his allergies were terrible. He constantly itched and had dots all over his body and losing hair from scratching so much. His skin was sick and he too always carried an ear infection. I would use large cotton swabs and lift out a lot of crap. I took him to the vet. He was put on Cipro, given an ear wash, skin shampoo and a prednisone shot lasting a month. He is doing great but we must keep the shot going monthly until, well I don't know. But he is not scratching and his ears are clean. Just puts on some weight from the shot and dranks a lot of water and pees alot. Love him though. Has you dog tried a monthly shot?

[Buick Electra]

Tea tree oil has helped one of our german sheps somewhat. You can get it and other remedies at http://www.onlynaturalpet.com

Hope that helps,

Veronica

Thanks Veronica. Yes, I have tea tree oil and tried it but it has done nothing.

[Buick Electra]

Upon my brother's death I inheritied his lab. Sweet boy but his allergies were terrible. He constantly itched and had dots all over his body and losing hair from scratching so much. His skin was sick and he too always carried an ear infection. I would use large cotton swabs and lift out a lot of crap. I took him to the vet. He was put on Cipro, given an ear wash, skin shampoo and a prednisone shot lasting a month. He is doing great but we must keep the shot going monthly until, well I don't know. But he is not scratching and his ears are clean. Just puts on some weight from the shot and dranks a lot of water and pees alot. Love him though. Has you dog tried a monthly shot?

Bless your heart for taking in your brother's dog. My deepest sympathies on the loss of your brother.

The vet tried the prednisone shots on Chance about 4 years ago. It didn't help. We're just so screwed out here surrounded by corn and soy and have lots of Maple and Oak tress on the land, not to mention the rye, fescue, and June grasses. I'm wondering if they make liveable bubbles for dogs.

[gardengal]

Oh, that poor puppy. Years ago I had a sheltie/collie mix. We got him in Colorado where the humidity was low, no fleas. Then we moved to KY. We got here in the fall and he was ok through the first winter, then came spring. We had a terrible time with his ears, many trips to the vet, drops to put in. Finally the vet did a surgery to reshape his ears so they were open to the air more. Problem solved. Since your boy is part lab, does he have floppy ears? or are the more like the doberman that stand up? Our Happy was also allergic to fleas and then found out he was hypothyroid. Cortisone shots damaged his tendons and joints and set off arthritis. I could use a topical cortisone spray sparingly. I'd spray it onto a cotton ball and dab his ears and other itchy spots. Also, before he had his ear surgery, one of the things he was constantly treated for was a fungal infection in his ears. Might want to check that out. Don't know if any of this helps.

gardengal

[Just Kate]

We have a dog that has allergies.

We use for all four dogs this product:

http://www.dinovite.com/index.php/products.html/

You can find on website that is helps numerous problems, allergies is one.

I highly recommend this for all dog owners and everyone that I have recommended it to that has tried it, raves about how much it helps.

Our dogs have the healthiest coats I have ever see. Plus they never have health issues unless they have been fighting with each other :?

Our vet even now uses it :mrgreen:.

This product is a enzyme for digestion and smells like crushed oyster shells. It has wonderful natural ingredients. A few things it helps with besides Allergies is: shedding, the teeth have no plaque, ear infections or just bad ears (always getting gooey), no bad breath and so on.

It is expensive, but the recommended dosage of 1 scoop per 10lbs of dog is not necessary.

We have 4 dogs, combined weight of 200 lbs plus and I just use 4 scoops per day, mix it into the wet food and divide that by 4.

It will take a few days to see a difference but you will start to see a difference. Highly recommend just adding a little bit at a time to the wet food not the dry. Somes dogs do not initially like it but they will eat it and then it is easy.

Sorry to go on, but this product is wonderful. Recommended to a friend whos pug had chronic mange, meds were not helping, now with the meds and this product the mange has disappeared.

It also helps dogs to heal when they have surgery and/or have a wound.

Our dogs are our first line of defense and we plan on keeping them healthy so we have this item in our preps. It is that vital.

In summary, I think this may help you with the allergy issue. We also give the one dog who as allergies as a supplement one benedyl night and one in morning. That also keeps it under control.

Good luck as I hate to see dogs suffer.

PS...the ears were a problem before we used this product for 2 of our dogs, no problems at all, I do not even have to clean them.

PSS...minor side effect will be a little "dog pooting" for a few days until the system gets used to it. Just an FYI

[momof23goats]

A COUPLE OF MY POMS GET A CAPFUL OF THE CHILDRENS BENADYRL when needed. works wonders for them.

[burrito]

My boss has a lab that had problems like this too. It was the food he was feeding it!!! Lab's are allergic to corn so make sure the food doesn't have any in it. Hope that helps!

[cache]

A COUPLE OF MY POMS GET A CAPFUL OF THE CHILDRENS BENADYRL when needed. works wonders for them.

You should check with your vet to see if Benedryl or another antihistimine can be given. Poor baby does have alot of allergies! They even make a liquid Benedryl that is dye-free for people that have reactions to artificial colorings.

[Ms. American]

I agree with the antihistamines. They can help a lot. You might need to change his diet, and if you can't find anything commercially, you CAN custom make good healthy, well balanced dog foods using meats/grains/oils and strained baby veggies that agree with him. So, don't dispair on the food end.

I've heard mullien oil is good for human ears, but I'm also wondering if he has access to water so he can dive into it and cool off...like a kids pool, or a lake where he can go swimming. This will help cool him down, and because he's a lab, he's a natural water lover. Getting water in his ears can help soften the wax, and of course he'll shake his head to clear the water which might help dislodge some of the wax.

I'm known to use peroxide in my dog's ears. But, he doesn't usually get build up unless he's exposed to mites. When that happens, I use some Adam's flea soap, a few drops right in the ear, and rubbed in (has pyrethrins in it as an insecticide). I squish his ears to get it in well, and then 24 hours later, I swab his ears out with a q-tip till they are clean. Peroxide helps reach down deep, and bubble the stuff up.

Best wishes for your sweetie dog. I hope something here helps!

[onelove]

Hey Buick! I'd suggest colloidal silver. You can also try MMS (miracle mineral supplement). Both are great for animals as well as humans. Good luck! And let me know how things work out. :-P

[Buick Electra]

We have a dog that has allergies.

We use for all four dogs this product:

http://www.dinovite.com/index.php/products.html/

You can find on website that is helps numerous problems, allergies is one.

I highly recommend this for all dog owners and everyone that I have recommended it to that has tried it, raves about how much it helps.

Our dogs have the healthiest coats I have ever see. Plus they never have health issues unless they have been fighting with each other :?

Our vet even now uses it :mrgreen:.

This product is a enzyme for digestion and smells like crushed oyster shells. It has wonderful natural ingredients. A few things it helps with besides Allergies is: shedding, the teeth have no plaque, ear infections or just bad ears (always getting gooey), no bad breath and so on.

It is expensive, but the recommended dosage of 1 scoop per 10lbs of dog is not necessary.

We have 4 dogs, combined weight of 200 lbs plus and I just use 4 scoops per day, mix it into the wet food and divide that by 4.

It will take a few days to see a difference but you will start to see a difference. Highly recommend just adding a little bit at a time to the wet food not the dry. Somes dogs do not initially like it but they will eat it and then it is easy.

Sorry to go on, but this product is wonderful. Recommended to a friend whos pug had chronic mange, meds were not helping, now with the meds and this product the mange has disappeared.

It also helps dogs to heal when they have surgery and/or have a wound.

Our dogs are our first line of defense and we plan on keeping them healthy so we have this item in our preps. It is that vital.

In summary, I think this may help you with the allergy issue. We also give the one dog who as allergies as a supplement one benedyl night and one in morning. That also keeps it under control.

Good luck as I hate to see dogs suffer.

PS...the ears were a problem before we used this product for 2 of our dogs, no problems at all, I do not even have to clean them.

PSS...minor side effect will be a little "dog pooting" for a few days until the system gets used to it. Just an FYI

Thanks JK. I tried that about 3 years ago and it didn't help his allergies. But my other dogs (and cats) eat it and they have great looking coats and are very healthy!

[Buick Electra]

My boss has a lab that had problems like this too. It was the food he was feeding it!!! Lab's are allergic to corn so make sure the food doesn't have any in it. Hope that helps!

I know. Before we had the expensive allergy test, complete with a years' worth of shots, we were trying food like crazy. $$$ There's only one food that has nothing in it he's allergic to and it's made by Black Gold, their "Performace Blend." If they go out of business, I'll be cooking up chicken breasts!!

[Buick Electra]

Oh, that poor puppy. Years ago I had a sheltie/collie mix. We got him in Colorado where the humidity was low, no fleas. Then we moved to KY. We got here in the fall and he was ok through the first winter, then came spring. We had a terrible time with his ears, many trips to the vet, drops to put in. Finally the vet did a surgery to reshape his ears so they were open to the air more. Problem solved. Since your boy is part lab, does he have floppy ears? or are the more like the doberman that stand up? Our Happy was also allergic to fleas and then found out he was hypothyroid. Cortisone shots damaged his tendons and joints and set off arthritis. I could use a topical cortisone spray sparingly. I'd spray it onto a cotton ball and dab his ears and other itchy spots. Also, before he had his ear surgery, one of the things he was constantly treated for was a fungal infection in his ears. Might want to check that out. Don't know if any of this helps.

gardengal

Humm...never thought of ear surgery. Here's my giant Delicate Flower...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/classiccars/Chance.jpg

[cache]

Awww! What a pretty dog! I can see the dobie in him!

[Sunflower]

I have a german shepard with similar issues. Just started giving her a tablespoon of organic coconut oil in her food. It kills yeast in the body which causes a lot of the problems with some pets...ie...ear problems, scratching, hot spots. I have been also rubbing it on her skin/fur. Amazing results! I bought some organic coconut oil (no fragrance, no preservatives) in the grocery store, but just ordered some online at tropical traditions.

Your dog is a beauty....:-D

[daisy_dukers]

I have a gsd that has really bad alergic reactions to any sort food that has artificial coloring or flavour added. We feed her Healthy vitality now as it does not contain any added coloring or flavours. We tried the whole gammat of brands and prices before we found one that worked

Watch out for the head scratching and shaking, eventually your dog will probably develope a blood blister in the ear which MUST be dealt with ASAP. I spent 900 bucks on mine for surgery to remedy this problem. My original vet had told me in the past to just let the blood blister (hematoma) go down on its own...The problem is the dog will continue to get them in the same spot and it will keep getting bigger and bigger. Our current vet told me that they now reccomend surgury and the sooner they get in there, and clean out the old blood clots and button the ear up with stitches the cheaper and easier it is on the dog.

I do weekly ear cleaning on sunday mornings and monday night she gets a dime sized drop of otimax in her ears (unlimited script from the vet now). The cleaning flushes the beginings of any wax buildup, and the otimax pretty much keeps her ears from getting itchy and prevents any inflamation from setting in. Vet reccomended this treatment and it definately works.

The biggest problem is when people bring over treats such as beggin strips etc. that are full of dye and artificical flavours, within about 6 hours of eating a single piece her ears flare right up. We tell people not to give her anything but every few months someone doesnt listen....

[Sugaree]

You have a beautiful dog, Buick. Sorry to hear about all the allergy issues, sounds like the experts here have some good ideas. Hope he gets all better soon!

[paint]

Thanks JK. I tried that about 3 years ago and it didn't help his allergies. But my other dogs (and cats) eat it and they have great looking coats and are very healthy!


don't use dinovite (all filler)
it doesn't actually have any nutriants

use the Avodrem (http://www.breeders-choice.com/avoderm.htm), it's excellent.

also if it's a food allergy try switching to a grain free food it does wonders.

taste of the wild (http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/)is excellent
as is Evo (http://www.naturapet.com/).

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free

do NOT feed science diet , purina or Iams, benniful ect..

[paint]

other suggestions for that laundry list of allergies..
tea tree oil shampoo baths and coal tar
might help sooth his skin.


benidryl.
defiantly give him benidryl

you can't OD on it but it might make him sleepy.

[Tesla'sMom]

Buick, your baby looks a lot like Tesla! I got him as a pup in the shelter and his mum was there too tending the nine puppies- she looked like a brown border collie mix. No idea what the male looked like- i just call him mixed lab. He must have some big dog in him because he's aging pretty fast and he's only 8. Very gray, bad hips and I think he's going blind. I had a blind dog before and it seems to bother the people more than a dog.

Vera is our second sharpei, and like the first, has skin and ear problems. If she gets bad, I bite the bullet and take her to the Vet because she probably needed oral antibiotics for her skin. I give her Nature's Recipe Venison Rice for her kibble and I make a "doggie stew" with lamb. I just boil some inexpensive neck bones or a blade chop. I'll add a little sweet potato, barley, peas and carrots (no corn!) and sometimes white potato and put a little of that warm stew on the kibble. She's underweight and always zipping around and Tes has a habit of sneaking in and stealing all the food. I'm trying to offer her something more appealing than dry kibble so she'll pay attention and eat before Tes steals it all!

Some of the SharPei owners swear by an ear medicine called Zymox- it's got an enzyme in it to help clean the ears. i haven't had much success. I have a bottle of Keto flush and try to catch her for a good ear cleaning one a week- just tip the stuff in the ear canal and let her shake out some. Then I wipe the outer ear ridges with a cotton ball with the cleaner on it. Trying to keep the ears clean seems to help more than over the counter stuff.

Oh skin- she gets more baths than the big black dog- I strive for once a week. I use medicated shampoo- Malaseb is a good one. When she really gets to scratching I give her oral Benadryl- 25 mg, the people dose! I can only take half a pill because it knocks me out, but I can give that little dog 2 pills a day. I just do that when something is blooming, like ragweed, and there is a whole lot of scratching and licking going on. You'll have to ask the vet what the dose would be for your doggy!

Good luck! Dorie (Tesla's Mom)

[Wise Owl]

Skin and ear problems are food caused issues. Once you change the food to a better diet, the issues will stop......

When the body has toxic things in it, it will push those toxins to the outside thru the skin. Grains in the diet are a HUGE factor. Some or should I say MOST dogs can not digest grains and they develope yeast infections that can go full system.

Put your dog on a raw meat/edible bone/organ diet and you will see results in about 2 weeks.

I have seen dogs with sores all over their bodies cured in a matter of a month.

Take a look at this link for info on making the switch to real food. You will also find other links with more info.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com

Our dog has been raw fed since 3 weeks old. No stinky ears or skin problems, EVER...
I would never feed her dog food. She is a carnivore, and needs food that has real food value in it.

[packyderms_wife]

Are you feeding the dog raw by chance? If not maybe you should try it and see if it improves his condition.

K-

[RedTailHawk]

Oh, your dog is such beauty!!

We have 4 Golden Retrievers, which tend to be prone to allergy problems. Our oldest was having a terrible time of it, licking his paws all the time, ears constantly filled with nasty brown goobers, itching, etc. Here's what we did . . . maybe this will help in your situation?

1) We took our dog to a veterinary teaching hospital located in our state. The teaching hospital has specialists available, just like hospitals for us. We consulted w/a team of allergists and learned the following:
a) Licking of the paws and ear problem described above most commonly due to food allergies. Like us, our canine companions can be fine w/certain foods when they are younger, but develop intolerance to those same foods as they get older. We had tried some of the low allergen foods w/o success. The vet team recommended ZD Ultra, which is a specially formulated food, available only thru licensed veterinarians. It made a huge, huge difference. Keep in mind it takes 6 - 8 weeks for dogs to rid their systems of toxins that are causing the problem.
2) He was prescribed Animax for his ears which is an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal liquid ointment. Goldens are very prone to ear problems, without any allergen issues . . . so we keep a large bottle on hand and use it at the first sign of problems. We see remarkable improvement within 24 hrs, but continue to use it for several days to ensure the problem is cleared up.
3) Understand there are allergy shots available for dogs, just like people. We did not have to resort to this step, but know of people that have. Vets seem to recommend this only as an alternative AFTER food related allergy issues have been completely eliminated.

Hope this is of some help to you. We'll be saying some prayers for your buddy!

RedTailHawk

[Buick Electra]

Again I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, of which I tried many to no avail. One of the hardest things was finding a remedy that contained NO ALCOHOL!!!

About 3 weeks ago, I decided to try my collidol silver on him. I just coated a cotton ball with it, squirted some of it down his ear canals, and ran the rest of it around the inside of his ears.

I am happy to report the itching and smell has stopped! I only did an application like this 2 days in a row, 3 weeks ago and so far, he is a much happier, itchless boy!