[P119Milo]

I have a 17-month old, 11lb Havanese (Milo) and he already has major allergy issues with ear infection, licking paws and belly. I have done the vet protocols of Apoquel pills and cytopoint shot, antibiotics, TemarilP and am now wanting to try a more natural approach. I have started shampooing him with Peace and Kindness coilloidal silver shampoo and may get the spray for his paws. If anyone has tried these products please let me know if they have worked for you. Also I am interested in hearing if any other natural products have worked such as Advanced Formula Winpro. I now have him on a prescription food DermComplete and enhance with Stella & Chewy freeze dried duck and turkey since he won't eat the prescription food by itself. I plan to have him tested for allergies with the Allercept program which is blood work defining exactly what he may be allergic to which provides injection or liquid of the allergens over a period of time. Please let me know if this has been successful since it is very expensive so I am delaying for now until I try the natural approach. I may also go to a holistic vet. If you have had success with this please let me know. As this is very expensive and can include alot of pills or powders. Since he is so young I am trying to get a treatment that will help him before it becomes too serious.

 

[Pucks104]

So Issac has been itchy and I have been doing several things to try to determine the cause. He is 5.5 months old. He had his puppy vaccines at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. I still have not let him have his rabies vaccine. Because we live where mosquitoes are bad, I gave him Sentinel heartworm preventive August 8 then September 15. In reading about these preventives excessive itching is one of the possible side effects. As time since the last tablet has increased beyond the effective period the itching has significantly diminished though not resolved completely. I also put him on an elimination diet of strictly Stella and Chewy’s freeze-dried rabbit. He will be on rabbit only until end of the year. This includes any treats for training. You have to be really careful with labels because things like fish oil or other proteins are frequently included. He gets blueberries daily. I was doing other supplements including probiotics, vitamin C and a couple others but have stopped all of those. He does get dried duck feet for chews. Both rabbit and duck were novel proteins for him prior to starting this diet.
I use Peace and Kindness shampoo for twice weekly baths and the spray sometimes on his belly. I follow with an Apple cidar vinegar rinse.
I use no flea or tick prevention but we don’t seem to have an issue with those pests in the places we go.
issac hasn’t had ear infections but I make a point of drying his ears thoroughly after each bath as being very careful to keep water out of the ears.
Issac seems most itchy now in the first hour or so of the day. He is no longer waking and scratching in the night. I don’t know if any of the things I am doing are helping or if it’s a result of him growing up some. It could be other environmental things and a changing of our seasons may play a role. It is so frustrating when they itch and can’t tell you what the issue is.
I would eliminate as much as possible for at least 3 months. Find a limited ingredient, novel protein food. Get him off any preventives if you feel safe doing so. See if the itching calms down. If so then slowly try reintroducing things that you eliminated one at a time. I decided I wasn’t going to let Isaac’s itching continue or worsen without a concerted effort to get to the bottom of it. I don’t know that it will be one thing only. I rather doubt it but hopefully I will be able to figure out things that work for him.

 

[mudpuppymama]

@Pucks104 Is Sentinel for heartworms only? I thought this is also used for fleas.

 

[Pucks104]

@Pucks104 Is Sentinel for heartworms only? I thought this is also used for fleas.

My understanding from my vet is that it has a small effect on fleas for 24-48 hours after the pill is consumed. Not really a good choice if fleas are a primary concern.

 

[mudpuppymama]

My understanding from my vet is that it has a small effect on fleas for 24-48 hours after the pill is consumed. Not really a good choice if fleas are a primary concern.

I guess what I am saying is if heartworm risk is high in your area and you want to reduce toxicity levels, could you switch to something like Interceptor where the sole purpose is to kill heartworms? I think some types of Interceptor contain additional stuff for other things but some do not. @krandall would know since she uses this.

 

[ER100]

Obviously I know nothing about your particular circumstance. I did have a cairn terrier years ago who had been biting and pulling his fur off his hind legs. The veterinarian tested him for a number of things and all came out negative. At one point they even thought perhaps he was lonely when I went to work. I got another dog then a terrific Maltese Oliver. But the behaviors continued and he had balding legs. I switched dog foods so both dogs would have the same food. Suddenly, he was fine. His fur grew back and he stopped biting himself. The vet then acknowledged somehow he had a food allergy which we missed.

Your situation may be completely different. Sometimes all you can do is try processes of elimination to uncover what exactly is the culprit.

Best wishes to you and Milo. I hope he finds relief soon.

 

[krandall]

I guess what I am saying is if heartworm risk is high in your area and you want to reduce toxicity levels, could you switch to something like Interceptor where the sole purpose is to kill heartworms? I think some types of Interceptor contain additional stuff for other things but some do not. @krandall would know since she uses this.

Yes, just the plain, regular Interceptor is all you need.

 

[ameliamont63]

Sentinel is also used for hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and flea populations based on what I've read online, and also I have used it on my dog who had flea problems. I also read about heartworms. It can be controlled naturally with citrus oils, cedar oils, and diatomaceous earth.

 

[Tere]

Do you use any air fresheners or essential oils in your home? If you do, it could make him itchy. Same is true with some laundry detergents, cleaning products. Switch to something like Purex Free.
Chicken is usually the culprit if it is food related and it seems that most dog foods contain chicken. Maybe try one that has another protein source.
Don't bath him too often and make sure he is really rinsed well.
I'm no expert but these were a couple things the vet said when I had an itchy boy.

 

[Melissa Brill]

Personally I feel that it's important to get to the heart of what's causing it before you work too heavily on figuring out how to treat it more naturally (eliminating the cause is the most "natural" method of all) - so I'd definitely do as much as you can with allergy testing, food sensitivity testing, etc. as soon as possible.

 

[krandall]

Personally I feel that it's important to get to the heart of what's causing it before you work too heavily on figuring out how to treat it more naturally (eliminating the cause is the most "natural" method of all) - so I'd definitely do as much as you can with allergy testing, food sensitivity testing, etc. as soon as possible.

Agreed! We are able to manage Kodi's allergies quite effectively. But it makes my cringe to think what his life would be like if we were still "guessing" at what his allergies actually were!