Hello from Connecticut - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Mika2005 · 07-27-2012, 07:29 PM

Hi and we just found this site, as we were searching for information about skin conditions and allergies. We have a 7 year old Dobie girl who we adopted a few months ago. As soon as she is given the chance, she itches, licks, bites and chews on her legs or hips or butt. The vet used by the rescue states she has a nervous condition but I am far from convinced, I think it is physical and not in the dogs head. Looking for more info, will post more info myself in appropriate thread as well. So glad we found this site, so much info about Dobermans and so much to learn. Even though we had a dobie before, who we lost to Wobblers, there is so much more!

See you all around!!

**PatchworkRobot** · 07-27-2012, 07:38 PM

Have you asked a vet?

While I don't have any experience with it, I've heard that thyroid issues can be linked to skin issues. I'm sure others will chime in.

Zeusy Boy's Mama · 07-27-2012, 08:03 PM

Welcome fellow Connecticutian (I prefer that so much more than Nutmeger, sounds dirty).

My adopted boy, Mr. Thundergod, aka Zeus, has environmental (dust and storage mites) and food allergies (EVERYTHING). We did a blood test to determine this.

Below is his regiment:
75mg of Benadryl 2x a day,
Allerderm oil added to his grain-free, fish protein only diet, Wellness core
Allergen shots every 21 days (1 ml)
Bath once a week with Douxo Shampoo with stay on conditioner, Resicort

With all of this Zeus is about 99.9% itch free. He has fur on his nubbin, sheath, around his eyes and ears. I cannot tell you how much better he is from when we first adopted him 2 years ago! However, he is also highly sensitive to bug bites (gnats, flies, mosquitoes) and is allergic to most topical repellants, so in the summer his little nub does get a little raw since that is what they go for first, and he develops some minor lick spots on his hind legs, but this is again all of this is a FAR improvement from when we first got him.

Where in CT are you located? If you are anywhere near West Hartford I would HIGHLY recommend going to Veterinary Specialist of CT and asking to have Dr. Deidre Galbo as your vet. She specializes in skin conditions. She will also do a full thyroid panel to rule that out, as well as a full physical, etc. If not, I would still call her and see which veterinarian she would recommend in your area.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to send me a PM.

Best of luck with your girlie, and please keep us posted.

PS - Almost forgot, where did you adopt your girl from? I adopted Zeus for Doberman Rescue Unlimited up in NH, cannot say enough good things about them.

Welcome to forum!

KCFilley · 07-27-2012, 08:16 PM

I don't know what the problem is. I had a red male who was allergic to everything from beef, chicken, blue grass, corn, to dairy products. He ate duck and potato food plus I gave him two shots per month for about three years then said that's enough. Not sure why but after all the shots and finally stopping them, he was fine.

By the way, welcome to DT from Kansas City.

**MeadowCat** · 07-28-2012, 08:58 AM

Welcome to the forum!

I second the recommendations to see a specialist in skin issues as well as have a full thyroid panel run. Hopefully you can get the issues figured out so your dog can be more comfortable!

Mika2005 · 08-05-2012, 10:34 AM

Thanks and since my post we have been adding fish oil with vitamin E to her diet, she saw our vet yesterday, who ran a thyroid test (T4), which the vet called about this morning, it came back normal. The vet also gave her antibiotics yesterday, I recalled that the issues got worse when she ended her prior antibiotic treatment. He checked her for mites and red mange, and we will keep trying to eliminate different allergens through food. In a few weeks, after doing the eliminations here at home, and see if the antibiotics help, we most likely will do a full allergy test. She was on Benadryl but that didnt do anything for her, she kept getting worse. It is a lot of "trials" with this breed, but they are so worth the extra effort.

Mika2005 · 08-05-2012, 11:07 AM

Special thanks to Zeus mom, you just convinced me of the necessity of a full allergy test, we sure have enough dust around and also a cat, who knows, they sure don’t like each other so they are apart, but Mika can still be allergic to cat dandruff.

I am glad to hear you got Zeus problems under control, it is heartbreaking to have them scratch and be uncomfortable, and I suspect bug bites as well might contribute to Mikas problems. Í just switched her from a quite benign flea repellant to Advantix II, two days ago, hoping it will be more effective on the pests, and also hoping she is not allergic to the Advantix II. She is also on a grain-free fish diet since the past two weeks. When we first got her in our home, we put her on grain free diet immediately, mixed with raw food a few days a week, which she liked a lot. About two months later we hit a rough patch, cut corners with human food and dog food due to six weeks of missing paychecks and bought Pedigree… she had half the bag before we put an end to that and threw out the rest, that dog food is garbage and I strongly suspect it contributed to her problems. Never again, I rather eat rice and beans for a week myself and get the right stuff for the dog if need be.

We live in Terryville CT, not far from West Hartford, so I will definitely note your recommendation about Dr. Galbo. I have the highest respect for our vet Dr. Doyle who saw her for the first time yesterday, but if I sense that he is getting nowhere with her problems then I will contact Dr. Galbo. When Mika was first rescued she was treated thru the rescue person at another animal hospital, which I did not like. She had two surgeries where she bleed profusely and had to stay for days being monitored, and not until after all those troubles did they run a von Willebrands test (which of course came back positive). Even I as a layman know vWD is common in dobies and a factor to count with before performing surgery. I mean the vet didn’t try to hurt the animal of course but I felt their knowledge was under par. Being nice to animals and owners isn’t enough, I rather have more knowledge and less nice if I have to chose LOL.

The person who rescued Mika operates on her own pretty much, from what I have heard in order to be certain she is comfortable with where she places her rescued dogs and not pressured into accepting less than optimal conditions. She was very thorough and had a foster family for Mika (and other dogs) that was extraordinary good people. We still have play dates with the original foster family and their dogs, wonderful people. I have heard only good things about DRU, and during my dobie-less years, from July 2008 to spring 2012, I have frequented their website looking at the dogs available for adoption and been close to contact the organization more than once. Private matters have held me back though, and not until a few months ago were our living situation suitable for a dog with or without special needs.

Ok, this almost sounds like a novel at this point, I will stop my ranting and again thank everyone for useful input, and will post updates about Mika.

Stay cool (it is hot and muggy here today)
Anette

**dax0402** · 08-05-2012, 04:54 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Zeusy Boy's Mama · 08-05-2012, 06:17 PM

Please keep us posted on Mika. You can always contact Dr. Galbo for a second opinion, but it sounds as if your vet is trying to rule things out, which is a good thing. Skin issues do require lots of patience and diligence, so hang in there.

**EmilyB** · 08-05-2012, 06:23 PM

My girl had severe environmental allergies as well. A vet dermatologist did the skin testing and she was on injections for just over a year. No more itchiness, it worked wonderfully.

The only food connection with her was she turn up allergic to wool on the tests so we eliminated lamb from her diet.

Mika2005 · 12-05-2012, 01:52 PM

Three months later

. Mika is doing much better, I put her on 100% raw diet for about a month then back to 50% raw and 50% grain-free kibble. Right now she is on kibble only as I am trying to determine the connection with raw food and her improvement. She is still scratching in excess but not close to as much as before and the little bumps and irritations in her skin has faded away. The trials continues, just wanted to drop in with an update.

AlyssaN · 12-05-2012, 02:25 PM

I'm pleased to hear that she's doing better, however, a new member thread without pictures. How disppointing...

Welcome from Canada!

Pleeeease show us some pictures of your rescue lady!