Atopic Dermatitis

[Berhep]

Hi All - new member here so first post from me :-)

I adopted an amazing working cocker called Ellie  , she wasn't well looked after previously and this has caused a few issues for her mainly with her paws.  After thorough blood tests, she has just recently been diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis.

I have her on a fish diet as its high fat and the vets said will help but she is basically allergic to the environment, not great for a working cocker!  I dip her feet after every walk in Hibiscrub and water and she has a spray from the vets that I use when it flares up.

Just wondering if anyone else's Cocker suffers from this and if you use any boots on their paws and if yes which ones?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance
Bernie

[Pearly]

I would have thought antihistamine such as Piriton would be better for your dog if its allergy related? Of course Piriton is seriously cheap and not as impressive to prescribe as special washes and creams 

I would be asking the vet to try Piriton before making a purchase that you may not need.  Hibiscrub whilst a very good antibacterial wash is quite drying which may be adding to her problem.

Putting boots on may cause gait issues, muscle strain or sores.

It sounds to me that you want the best for your girl and your Vet is following a protocol which is generic and may not be in the best interest of sorting your girls issues, quickly!

Jayne
Owned by five cocker spaniels and a guest springer

[ejp]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy your new friend.  Agree with Pearly, defiinitely worth trying an anti histamine.

[Berhep]

Hi Jayne,

Many thanks for the advice appreciate that.

I will definitely give Piriton a go although she doesn’t bite them and they aren’t itchy she just gets really red and sore between her pads but will definitely give it a go!

Thanks again,
Bernie

[sophie.ivy]

Hi Bernie,

My girl has (suspected) environmental allergies and is currently on monthly Cytopoint injections, which help a lot. They treat the itching and it's made a real difference to my working cocker, but I know it's doesn't work for every dog. She hasn't had the full allergy test yet as they asked us to wait until she was 18months and fully developed before doing it. She's booked in next week so hopefully we'll know exactly what it is she's allergic to, but the vet strongly suspects an environmental allergy. The Cytopoint injections are expensive (luckily, our insurance covers it) but we found the (cheaper) steroid tablets we tried first made her wee more and weren't that effective. We did give her x2 Piriton a day for a while until we moved onto the injections and they definetly helped, but lost effectiveness over time. We still give her a piriton every now and then when she's having an especially bad/scratchy day.

We also used to rub her down with a wet flannel after every walk, but she thought that was the best game ever and regularly used to try and grab it off me and dance around the house with it

I would talk to your vet about treatment options and the Cytopoint, but maybe try the anti-histamines first as the Cytopoint isn't the easiest/cheapest option.

I hope this helps!

[Berhep]

Hi Sophie,

Thanks so much for your reply :-)

Ellie is on the monthly injections already and they have helped massively she has been on them since December now.  She has also had the full blood and allergy tests and they did come back with a list as long as my arm on what she was allergic to, loads of trees, grass, plants etc. so basically anything in the environment!

She is doing really well though, she doesn't itch, bite or lick at her paws they just get red and sore in between her pads now and again if I don't keep on top of the bathing etc causing her to limp.

I think its probably from the years of neglect before she came to me last August, she was used as a breeding/working tool really and made to sleep in hay barns etc. so this won't have helped.

I am going to speak to the vet about the Piriton when I take her for her next injection a week on Friday, what I don't want to do is give her too much of something if she is already on the monthly injections, I know they are expensive but if its helping her then that's the main thing  I'll keep an eye on if they wear off though, thanks for the heads up on that!

Thanks again,
Bernie

[sophie.ivy]

Ah that's great to hear the monthly injections are helping your girl too. Maybe adding an occassional piriton will be a good solution.

The hay barn can't have helped, bless her, but sounds like Ellie has been very lucky to find you (or you finding her!)