Itch, Bumps, Lumps

[J20]

As some of you know Mabel developed allergies.
We had her tested and she is allergic to 12 things, some we can help with and quite a few we can't

I thought I'd pick some other brains (hope you don't mind )
She is on a course of injections to build up her immunity to these things but it will be at least 10 months before we will see If she is coping any better. This is the 4th month, and to be honest she looks worse. My other option is to put her back on steroids as she is tearing her self apart. We bath her, give evening primrose etc to help but we hear he squeal in the night where she keeps scratching and her face is blooded every day. :(

My vet said that taking steroids long term will shorten her life and can cause fits in some dogs. Have you ever heard of this as I am ready to throw the towel in and put her back on them? She is very unhappy and looks a mess, and the vet said that she has a
65% chance if this treatment works or it may just elevate the symptoms a bit. Normally test on dogs with these problems come back with 8 items or less, she is allergic to 12 things but thankfully not food.

Should I carry on with no gaurentee of success, or take a chance and make he life shorter but more bareable with steroids? :confused:

[J20]

As some of you know Mabel developed allergies.
We had her tested and she is allergic to 12 things, some we can help with and quite a few we can't

I thought I'd pick some other brains (hope you don't mind )
She is on a course of injections to build up her immunity to these things but it will be at least 10 months before we will see If she is coping any better. This is the 4th month, and to be honest she looks worse. My other option is to put her back on steroids as she is tearing her self apart. We bath her, give evening primrose etc to help but we hear he squeal in the night where she keeps scratching and her face is blooded every day. :(

My vet said that taking steroids long term will shorten her life and can cause fits in some dogs. Have you ever heard of this as I am ready to throw the towel in and put her back on them? She is very unhappy and looks a mess, and the vet said that she has a
65% chance if this treatment works or it may just elevate the symptoms a bit. Normally test on dogs with these problems come back with 8 items or less, she is allergic to 12 things but thankfully not food.

Should I carry on with no gaurentee of success, or take a chance and make he life shorter but more bareable with steroids? :confused:

Vet said to put a lamp shade on her to stop her scratching. I can see his point but as a person when you get an itch you would go mad if you could not scratch it. It's not an itch that goes away, so how can I keep a cone on her head for 10 months :( she spent her days smashing in to the walls. Any ideas :confused:

[mdenglund]

I'm sorry I can't help much with the allergies. Our Ruby has environmental ones and the best suggestion I could give would be to rinse her feet with cool water and wipe her face with a cool wet washcloth every night before bed. It soothes them and will get some of the allergens off. Poor little girl:(.

I asked the vet about the cone for ours and she was very against it. She said it is hard for frenchies to breathe in them, and they should never wear them unsupervised or for long periods in the summer. She is a well recognized frenchie vet and has written books on frenchies and I trust her judgement fully. I don't know how much this will help, just wanted to let you know the info we have received.

[J20]

I'm sorry I can't help much with the allergies. Our Ruby has environmental ones and the best suggestion I could give would be to rinse her feet with cool water and wipe her face with a cool wet washcloth every night before bed. It soothes them and will get some of the allergens off. Poor little girl:(.

I asked the vet about the cone for ours and she was very against it. She said it is hard for frenchies to breathe in them, and they should never wear them unsupervised or for long periods in the summer. She is a well recognized frenchie vet and has written books on frenchies and I trust her judgement fully. I don't know how much this will help, just wanted to let you know the info we have received.

thanks for that , i hate those cones. As you said I can not leave her with it on without us there, so i don't really see the point :confused:

[rebecca23]

Hi!

Jake also has allergies and was scratching and licking his feet in particular until they were red. We used the cone a bit, but the only thing that helped was when the vet prescribed antihistamines. They have pretty much cured his scratching. He'll be on them for 10 days to break the cycle and then i'll continue to wash his feet in dandruff shampoo and put drops in his ears, etc. (where his allergies manifested themselves). My vet also gave me an article on minimizing his exposure to allergens by keeping him inside during mid day when pollen levels are at their highest, not to vacuum with him in the room, to wash his bedding frequently, etc. There's no way to keep him away from everything and i'm not even sure of all of his triggers but the antihistamines have been a godsend. I'm not sure about long term use but I know they don't have near as many side effects as the steroids. Good luck!!
-Rebecca

[French Queen]

Hi there - you really need to discuses using steroids long term with your dermatologist first but what ever they say it's your decision at the end of the day.

If you can keep her comfortable until the injections are finished then see how she is. Using steroids long term should be only used as a last resort. Sadly for some dogs there are no other options.

At night you really need to protect her face especially if its bleeding, once they get a taste of the blood that's it they want more it becomes a vicious circle. To stop her scratching buy some veterinary sticky bandage from your vet & tape her feet up or buy some baby socks & tape them on, make sure there cotton so her feet wont overheat to much, plus the dog tends to concentrate on chewing the tape/bandage instead of chewing themselves to bits (well at least for a while)

I know you dont want to use a Elizabethan collar but is it because you think its cruel or does Mabel really hate it, you could try one of these new collars there similar to the Elizabethan one except there fabric, there called Comfy Cones, so Mabel will still be able scratch but not cause any damage to her face & remember it's not just her face she can damage, her eyes are at risk, those dewclaws can pierce their eyes & cause so much damage.

I can't remember if she licks or chews her feet, if she does then I would use an Comfy Cone instead instead of bandages/socks as their feet can overheat & sweat which will make her want to scratch all the more, you need to keep her feet as cool & as dry as much as possible.

I've had one frenchie who was on steroids long term & when I mean long term most of her life. So I do know how you are feeling. All I can say it turned our Fern's life around, the quality of her life was what mattered, my feelings simply didn't come into it.

Yes there are side effects but it becomes a matter of weighing the adverse effects of using the drug against the adverse effects of not using it. Whether I was lucky I don't know but Fern only had minor ones. I also knew four other frenchies who were on them long term, none of these dogs had any serious side effects & they all lived to a good age.

All the best :)

French Queen & the little clowns :)

[French Queen]

I've just remembered a lot of owners in the UK are using spinach for skin problems with good results, some of these dogs have been able to come off steroids. The only thing with spinach is that you should not give it to dogs that have bladder stones, so if Mabel doesn't have this problem then I would try it for a few weeks & see how she goes. Some owners have noticed improvements after one week.

For best results feed raw liquidised spinach, one tablespoon twice a day with food, the dogs dont seem to like the taste so you may have to start with a teaspoon & increase gradually, her poo may be green for a while too.

I'm not saying this will work for Mabel but it's worth a try anything has to be better than using steroids long term.

French Queen & the little clowns:)

[J20]

Sorry late in getting back to you. Thanks for the tips, i will try the spinach. She is not scratching her face quite so much but keeps rubbing her backside on everything. She now has a bald tail :eek: Her favorite place is the top of poor Monty's head, he will get a bald patch at this rate lol. I have a mild steroid cream that i have used but it does not make much difference.

Maybe the injections are starting to work a bit :confused: or one of the 12 things that make her itch is not around at the moment. she has gone from one injection a week to one every 3 weeks then it will be 1 a month until 10 months are up.

Will give the veg a go at the weekend :)

[lordloveaduck]

Hi i have an old fashioned type of tip for you. I have two frenchies also, but dont have these problems but we had a dog when i was young who licked his feet till they were raw.

buy listerine..the mouthwash,, the yellow one only not the green one. pour some in a bowl and bathe your frenchies feet in it. the antiseptic stuff in it helps their itchy feet, soothes them and they dont like the taste so they wont lick it off.. It actually helps to clear up the rawness too.:)

[French Queen]

HI there - so pleased Mabel's not scratching her face as much, as she is allergic to so many things just when you think you have won one battle another one breaks out somewhere else.

As for her bottom didn't she have this problem last year & fleas were the problem? Have you checked under her tail for any sores? it could be her anal glands but it's more likely her allergies are causing the problem.

As the steroid cream isn't helping I would give the vet a ring, personally if I didn't see any improvement then I wouldn't use it, did the vet tell you to use it sparingly? using this cream long term will thin the skin. I would try something like Aloe Vera gelly or Ekoneem Oil instead.

Good luck with the spinach; if she doesn't like it then try Dorwest Herbs they do a spinach, parsley & watercress powder called Easy Green.

Does Mabel always feel hot? our Fern was allergic to dust mites or their poo I should say, she always felt hot & constantly scratching so I tried her on homeopathic sulphur which helps to cool down the blood, it seemed to work for a while but gradually the scratching came back. Then I tried rock sulphur in her drinking water but I didn't see any improvements but I know it has worked for others . That's the thing with dogs/people just because something doesn't work for one individual it might work for another. If you decide to try any remedies only use one at a time as you wont know which one might help.

Going back to your original post about Mabel not liking the Elizabethan Collars, I purchased a Comfy Collar for Jade four days & it hasn't stressed her as much as the E collar did. Have a look at them & see what you think.

Poor Monty fancy Mabel sitting on his head, our boys do put up with an awful lot from our girls, well to be honest they dont have an option if they want a peaceful life :lol:

Has she seen a Homeopathic vet?

French Queen & the little clowns :)

Born free - Taxed to death

[J20]

Her parsons nose (that's what her tail looks like at the mo) :lol: is bald, no sores yet.
What we thought was a flea thing at the start was the beginning of every thing else.

Her feet have not been bad, and I took her to her 1st Frenchie ****** at the park on Sunday and she loved it. She suprised us, as she has never been off lead before and was very good. The grass did not bother her but maybe because pollen season is over :confused: She ran about with 16 other frenchies but was always looking to see where mum was :o ahhh

[French Queen]

Hi there - a parsons nose, I love it :lol: It sounds like you had a ball at the frenchie fun day, did you take Monty? We dont have any of these fun days where I live. Will we see any photos?

French Queen & the little clowns :)