itchy cocker

[JennyBee]

Wainright's wet food is grain free and great quality, as is Lukullus. Brodie has been fed grain free wet food for quite a while now and it really helped her skin - unfortunately we haven't had the same success with her ears and one thing the specialist vet we saw on Monday has suggested is a home cooked diet of fish/pork and potatoes. Something I've still to look into.

We are still trying to find out why Brodie is getting recurrent ear infections. Sadly on Monday I learned that both her eardrums have been totally destroyed by the infections . The infection had moved into her middle ears which is why it's been so hard to shift it. They are checking her thyroid, and once we are sure the infection has totally gone then they will move on to looking at other potential causes such as allergies.

[john51]

I was just about to to suggest Wainright's too. It contains rice but then the BH has probably got rice in it. Which BH did you get?

Really sorry to hear about Brodie's ear problems. These things can be really hard to track down.

[dog22]

i got the one specifically for itchy skin and hot spots.its on offer atm so despite me losing my job i could do it 7.99.he has eaten it so thats good.i wish harringtons was ok because that is  really good price but it has maize in it.the treats are going to be the thing as bless him he does like his treats.he was underweight when i got him so he has been allowed what he wants.

[john51]

I guess you mean the BH Fusspot which is salmon, potato and oats and peas. That should be be a good choice because it is unlikely(?) that he has any of those in his current diet. The problem with adding meat is that you are increasing the number of proteins in the diet (canned meats may well have cereals in them as well) and therefore making it more difficult to identify the ingredient(s) that may be causing allergy. It would be even worse if you were to chop and change the meat you added and he had treats with other proteins as well! The objective of an elimination diet is to make sure that he only gets a small number of proteins and nothing else and to see, over 8 weeks or longer, whether the itching gets better.

I know it's difficult with an older dog so you will have to decide the best way to manage things.

Good luck!

[dog22]

i got the barking heads Good Hair Day with lamb.its a green bag.i got some wainwrights treats yesterday that doesnt have wheat or whatever.he loves them but they are  pricey so he has to be given less than when he was having normal treats.
is there any tinned meat that i can get from the supermarket or pets at home that i can give him with his barking heads just to keep the cost down a bit?

[Sula]

Ruben has been scratching his ears a bit lately and we just receieved the Thornits powder today, I was extremely interested to see about what to do if the dog also had itchy bottom and scooted even tho the anal glands were ok. It also went on about the paws and how the mites can spread there. They have instructions for both the anus and paws and I was wondering if it was worth trying that regime with your dog? Here is a link to Thornits and they have the instructions on this page.

http://www.thornitearpowder.com/

[jewels]

My older cocker had itchy skin and it only took someone stroking him roughly for him to shake his body and start itching, I put him on a raw meat diet (i.e.Natural Instinct this is raw meat and bone in it and it is of a high quality and human grade meat) and also raw free flow tripe.  His treats were raw carrots and apple (make sure you don't give the pips though) and he stopped scratching and itching.  Lots of dogs skin problems are due to commercial dog foods, i would urge you to try the raw meat diet, but you must be strict and give no other commercial treats. 
Good Luck, I hope it works out for you.

[dog22]

how do i know if its mites or yeast though?he is treated also with advocate.its a minefield to know what it is food or mites or both...

[Sula]

As far as the mites go if you treat with the Thornits and the itch goes then that would be an answer. If yeast or allergies are involved then it would make no difference, but at least the Thornits is a no risk medication (as far as I am aware - please correct me if I am wrong) and worth trying I think. I really hope it is something simple like that and what a huge relief it would be if it was.

[john51]

I'm not really sure there is such a thing as a no risk medication. The two active ingredients of Thornit's, iodoform and boric acid, are certainly toxic in dogs if taken in excess.The lethal dose for iodoform is high at 1000mg/kg, but it does have toxic effects on liver cells and other systems at much lower doses.

"Iodism has been known to result from continued or extensive application of iodoform to wounded surfaces; dogs and cats are said to be particularly susceptible to this form. Poisoning in these species is characterized by vomiting, muscular spasms, a lowered temp, cardiac depression, and drowsiness.
[Clarke, M. L., D. G. Harvey and D. J. Humphreys. Veterinary Toxicology. 2nd ed. London: Bailliere Tindall, 1981., p. 54] **PEER REVIEWED** "

If Thornit's powder is applied to to paws and other areas of the skin it is certain to be licked and therefore ingested by the dog as well as being absorbed through the skin. At least that is not going to happen when it is used in the ear. Although practically, the dose of iodoform and boric acid is likely to be be small if used sparingly and for a short time, people should be aware that these ingredients are toxic. That's one of the reasons I get so annoyed with statements like the one on the Thornit's web site that says: "There are no antibiotics in THORNIT, so it can be used in perfect safety." Are antibiotics really the only dangerous thing you can give an animal?

As to whether it's a good idea use Thornit's to treat for mites just in case, the OP has said that the vet put the dog on Advocate which controls ear mites. I would follow the vet's treatment plan and let the Advocate do its job and treat the dog for yeast infection with shampoo as prescribed.

[john51]

To try to answer dog22's earlier question, Lukullus do a lamb and poultry wet food at a good price but it seems to be available only at zooplus.co.uk. Apart from that, there is Arden Grange Partner tinned food which should be more widely available. They do a Lamb and Rice version which should go well with the  BH because it has mostly the same proteins in it. It does have beet pulp which has been associated with allergy in some dogs but if you are going to feed a wet meat it may be worth a try.

[dog22]

thanks for that.i will cook up some plain chicken for him to add to the barking heads.he certainly seems to scratch his actual body less now but his ears are still bothering him allbeit not that much i have to say so maybe they are just going to take a bit longer.he actually had runny poo this morning and went upstairs onto the cream carpet to do it!i now have a square shaped cut out that i will have to put a rug over!

[john51]

It's great news that he seems to be scratching less. Hopefully you will soon get on top of it by continuing the shampoos. I don't know whether you are doing it already but I would certainly clean his ears regularly using Sancerum, Epi-Otic or similar ear cleaner. This could be every day to start with - I've even seen recommendations for twice a day - then reducing as things improve. That could make a big difference to the speed of improvement.

Sorry to hear about the carpet!

[dog22]

i,m not didnt like it anyway!cream carpet in a family home not a good idea just needed excuse to get rid of it.he has seen off the rug in the frontroom and the carpet in the bedroom(grass eating and the results!)so all good on the carpet fron as dont like them anyway!
this diet is really helping and the shampoo.i dont think hes deaf at all i think his poor ears are in need of a clean as the drops already seem to be having some effect.