My poor puppy has eczema.

marshmallow79

west_is_best wrote: »

Are you sure it is eczema??
Has it come on suddenly?
When you take him out, does he walk somewhere where there could be foxes about??

The reason Im asking is that there is a lot of mange about.

We've had him down the vets and he told us it was eczema, so we're pretty sure.

west_is_best

I dont want to worry you, but the vets told my friend that too about her dog..
After a lot of arguing with the vets he took swabs, and it was mange..

Just bare it in mind... poor love, I do sympathise with you, I have 3 labs and I would be worried sick too..

marshmallow79

west_is_best wrote: »

I dont want to worry you, but the vets told my friend that too about her dog..
After a lot of arguing with the vets he took swabs, and it was mange..

Just bare it in mind... poor love, I do sympathise with you, I have 3 labs and I would be worried sick too..

Does it have to be foxes? The reason I ask is I have cats that bring in mice quite a lot at the moment???

west_is_best

I dont know if mice would carry mange, but the problem is, if the dog has walked in a fox's trail the little one can pick it up.

Obviously there's more foxes about now, so mange is rife.

Kimitatsu

Did your vet test for mange? I had a dog that proved negative on the skin scraping but when we blood tested she definitely had mange

So its worth asking then to check, otherwise you could be there for ever treating eczema with it getting worse and worse. I have to agree with a previous poster, get them off Bakers ASAP, these companies have a bad habit of changing the recipe when they like which can trigger off reactions (just in case it is eczema!). I used to have a dog like thatm, so we put him on Autarky and he never looked back - he lived to be 16 and a half, not bad for an akita!

We used to use the powder on that the midwifes recommended for babies umbilical cords - cant remember for the life of me what it was called, but it was excellent for "wet eczma" as it dried it up and prevented it from becoming infected at the same time. You used to be able to get it from the pharmacy but my baby days are long gone, but I am sure someone will remember or be able to suggest an alternative.

marshmallow79

He was given cream by the vet to treat him for eczema and it cleaned it up really well so I'm thinking it is deafinately eczema and not mange. I'm feeling really sorry for him at the moment as we've put his cone back on him to stop him biting at it. My husband has managed to pick up some of the wellbeloved food on his way home so we'll try him on that for a few weeks and see how he goes.

pboae

As Roobee says supplements can help too, but those are pretty huge doses, you really would need to speak to your vet before you started that.

RooBee

pboae wrote: »

As Roobee says supplements can help too, but those are pretty huge doses, you really would need to speak to your vet before you started that.

By all means check with your vet but fish body oils and vitamin E sare very safe and there is no associated danger of overdose (unlike with cod liver oil, for example, which is toxic to the liver in high doses) so for a large breed of dog like a GR, these amounts should be fine as a therapeutic dose...it can be dropped to 1x1000mg FBO (still with 1 x 400iu of Vit E) per day for maintenance if the dogs condition is brought under control.

Re: change of diet...whilst I would usually be an advocate of Autarky, I would not recommend it for dogs with a skin condition. It has a high maize content which is a common allergen in dogs.

pboae

It is possible (although not easy) to overdose on Vit E because it's fat soluble. Fish Oils are high in Omega 3, but not 6, and they need to be kept balanced, in humans it's a 2:1 ration of 3 vs 6. Excess Omega 3 can lead to excess Vitamin D, which is toxic. Fish Oil also reduces blood clotting, which can be a good thing, but again in excess it can lead to internal bleeding.

I'm not a vet so I have no idea how these human issues equate to a dog's metabolism. But as a general rule it's always a good idea to tell your vet before embarking on a new medication or supplement, I'd imagine that becomes even more important with anything taken at high doses.

RooBee

pboae wrote: »

It is possible (although not easy) to overdose on Vit E because it's fat soluble. Fish Oils are high in Omega 3, but not 6, and they need to be kept balanced, in humans it's a 2:1 ration of 3 vs 6. Excess Omega 3 can lead to excess Vitamin D, which is toxic. Fish Oil also reduces blood clotting, which can be a good thing, but again in excess it can lead to internal bleeding.

I'm not a vet so I have no idea how these human issues equate to a dog's metabolism. But as a general rule it's always a good idea to tell your vet before embarking on a new medication or supplement, I'd imagine that becomes even more important with anything taken at high doses.

Just to clarify...

The supplements & doses I stated are what my vet recommended as a therapeutic dose but I agree that it would be prudent for the OP to consult her own vet.