Terrible itching.....
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Terrible itching.....
Submitted by mp5999 on April 21, 2010 - 12:31amTug has terribly itchy ears and we can't find the problem. He has been put on a steroid which we hate giving him but it is the only thing that seems to give him any releif. He also takes Benadryl twice a day as needed. The skin on his rear legs will also flare up from time to time and he either tries to chew on them or drag himself around on his belly trying to ease the itch.
We have tried everything from different soap/shampoo, fabric softeners, moved into a new home and anything else we could think of but nothing helps. He has good days and some really bad days but the problem never goes away. There are some nights that he wakes us up in the middle of the night rubbing his head all over the bed because his ears bother him so bad. One of us will get up with him and rub his ears trying to sooth him but it break our hearts to see him so miserable.
He has been on Iams but we are going to try something else, maybe duck/potato, fish/potato or something like that. Thought maybe somebody here might have had the same issue and could offer some guidance.
We started him on Natural Balance
duck and potato so we will see how it goes. Hopefully it will work so we can get him off the steroids. Does anybody know about taking him off the steroids, will we have to reduce them gradually?
I'm not sure if it works the same with dogs as it does humans but a family friend was on the same steroids multiple times and it was always a task getting her off of them as she couldn't just stop at once but had to reduce the dose over a period of time.
You gotta get him off the Iams...
and Royal Canin Bulldog formula doesn't work that great either. We had our Tiff on those at various times...total disaster! I recommend Natural Balance limited protein/carb...either Venison and Sweet Potato or Duck and Potato. Incidentally, lots of Bulldogs can't tolerate lamb either.
I pray that you'll find a solution to your darling's agony. It's horrible to watch them suffer...I know!
sound like a food thing
My Rocky has a hard time on commercail food too, I have just recently started home cooking for both my babies, they are loving it, Lily has stopped rubbing her face on the carpet now, and Rocky's skin and ears are improving daily, I know that it is the hardest thing to figure out, but for me homecooking is the way to go, to bad it took me so long to figure it out. good luck
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Yes, whether you do raw or kibble make sure that...
you do a grain free diet. There are a lot of good grain free foods, we feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream (salmon and sweet potato) and Natural balance makes some also, duck potato, and a fish based food. Grains are not necessary for a dogs healthy diet and when we put Chez on a food that had grain so that he would lose weight, he was miserable, losing hair, tear stains, tail gunk, etc. As soon as he went back to grain free, he was fine. It can take about 6 weeks for a food to make a difference, so make sure you give it a chance.
Kathy, Ollie and Chester
ears are......
the first indicator of food allergies according to raw belief...and i am a raw feeder....try going on a very bland diet like brown rice and cicken pork would be better for tree weeks and see ow those years clear up.....
yeasty ears are moist ears...i would vingear and water to try and dry out the ear...dont get any down the ear canal....just wipe the outside....on a coupe of rescues whos ears were horrible i use some pre h on the outside flap to bring down and sooth the swelling...just an idea...
you have to go off pred slowly.....
you cannot or should not just stop pred reduce slowly....