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My dog has really bad allergies and from what I can tell has developed a yeast infection from them too.

The last few times I took him to the vet they said benadryl and steroid shots. The steroid shots are $100 each and he would need them at least 2x a month. I haven't been doing the shots because I can't afford it and they don't seem to help. The benadryl helps his skin from being hot pink, but it hasn't stopped the itching and the development of the yeast infection (which is now covering all 4 paws, in his ears, and his whole belly).

I've been researching Atopica. It seems tailor made for what my dog is going through. I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow but I'm predicting resistance from them since before they told me there's nothing to do but shots and benadryl.

Has anyone used it successfully so that at least I go in armed with success stories to help me demand they let me try it?

[This message edited by cayc at 1:43 PM, September 6th (Friday)]

My dad's boxer gets yeast between his toes. She has a spray that treats it. Perhaps your vet could get you something like that?

Do you know what the spray is? My vet literally said my ONLY options were benadryl and steroid shots. And that just doesn't sound right to me.

Here is a link that may help.

My dogs don't have this problem, but I feel for you and your dog.

http://www.nationalpetpharmacy.com/landing/DogYeastInfections.aspx

Btdt. Did not work for my dog. He got worse because he ended up with a bacterial infection too.

Ask for Gentocin spray. Ask for Temeril-p tablets. This is the only combo that has worked for us. Used in conjunction with special food (VERY limited ingredients) frequent baths with an anti fungal, antibacterial shampoo and conditioners.

Temeril is a combo steroid antihistamine. Take for several days and then switch to benedryl.

I should give seminars on this, we have spent a THOUSANDS to get to this point.

Eta. Just retread your post. Your vet is not up to speed with this. Do NOT keep getting the steroid shots.

((Cayc and puppy)

[This message edited by Pentup at 2:37 PM, September 6th (Friday)]

I use Claratin (NOT Claratin D, that will kill the dog)instead of Benadryl and it works a lot better. One of my dogs has severe allergies and gets yeast infections in her ears if I don't manage it and that's what was recommended to me by a vet.

My vet thought Atopica was a terrible idea as it suppresses the immune system.

This is awesome, thank you!

I'm going in with this entire list of options tomorrow morning & see what they say.

The other problem I've got is I'm going out of town for work for the next 3 weeks and have a friend taking care of my dog. Goodness, if I have to ask him to spray my dog down 3x a day for week ...!!! Idk how I'll repay him.

[This message edited by cayc at 5:52 PM, September 6th (Friday)]

Have you explored your dog's diet? I know that one of my dogs was very sensitive to corn. Almost all of her itchies went away when we started using Taste of the Wild dog food. I'm sure the more expensive grain free foods would have done, but this was a lot less expensive and my girls LOVED it.

Benadryl didn't work for my dog. He's doing much better with Zyrtec.

For yeast infections you can actually treat them as you would to balance the PH of a woman's va=jay-jay. Basically douche the areas - I had a chocolate lab who for the first maybe 5 years of her life got them in her ears. Bathe the pup in a vinegar solution and see if that helps. Maybe put it in a spray bottle too. I'd rely on apple cider vinegar.

Might also try monostat or other cream on the areas too for the yeast infections.

I had tried the apple cider vinegar wash but with no success. But it's not just his paws/ears. It's his entire belly/underside.

As for food, I feed him people food and soup bones. No bagged dog food or anything like that. The few dog treats I buy I make sure they have no corn in them, so I'm pretty sure it's not food related.

I'll be at the vet bright and early tomorrow morning and I'll let you all know what happens.

They give him Blue Buffalo food which she said has really helped. They use a steroid spray - gento spray -for his skin issues and a mal-a-let wipe for the yeast on his paws. She said its a microbial and anti fungal wipe.

She said def get a second opinion as steroid shots ate bad for a dogs longevity.

She said they used a special shampoo at first to kind of give it a kickstart,.

Good luck! Let us know how you make out. She switched vets due to this issue and are happy to have gotten answers that seem to have helped lick the prob.

Paws and belly? Maybe its something he's laying on thats causing it. Have you tried washing his bedding with a non allergenic detergent. Washing the floors and other surfaces with vinegar instead of cleaners may help.

When you say "people food", what specifically are you referring to?

He could just as easily be allergic to people food as any ingredient in a kibble.

I am really surprised your vet wouldn't try to find out *what* your dog was allergic to before saying there was only one way to treat it.

There's a number of ingredients other than corn that could cause a reaction. I would try the food angle first.

What kind of dog is he?

I've heard positive things about Dinovite.

Atopica is better than steroids. It is less immune suppressive than steroids are. Also you can order cyclosporine, which is what Atopica is, through places like 1800 pet meds and it is cheaper.

I used to work for a derm vet and this was all we dealt with pretty much was dog allergies.

If your vet is telling you that all you can do is steroid shots then you should find another vet. That is really a bad thing to do with your dog. A better thing to do if you are going the steroid route is to do steroid pills so you can give only the amount of steroid your dog needs. Pills are also much less expensive for you as well. Your vet is really not giving you good advice. Steroid shots can do major damage to the liver and kidneys, and it will lower the immune system and your dog will be more prone to yeast and bacterial infections. Eventually other things will start to happen as well.

The very best route for you to go is to find a derm vet to deal with the allergies, short of that, try to find a regular vet that gives you better advice. Or pm me and I will try to help you

Echoing Meta. I fed my dog a raw food diet, all organic, all made by me. He became allergic to turkey, chicken and beef. Also corn and possibly wheat. Now we are dealing with outdoor allergies. Some of this showed up in allergy testing, some did not. You can tell some of his allergies because if he were to eat a frito somebody dropped, nobody would sleep for 2 days due to the itching. Just an example.

Start him on a protein he has not had (vet may suggest strictly fish and potatoes. ) Nothing else for 2-3 weeks. Belly makes me think grass as well. Zyrtec may be an option. We have not used that. Get the anti fungal, antibacterial shampoo. Vet version is $30+ per bottle. PetSmart has a brand that is under $15 per bottle.

Atopica is an immunosuppressant. If he does have a bacterial or fungal infection, this has to be treated at the same time or your dog will REALLY have issues. When we tried it, our dog was on a strong antibiotic as well. Ended up with more issues.

Good luck tomorrow. Hope you both get some relief.

Edited to second Tired Girl. She is on the money. We have seen derm specialists, vet schools, etc. the shots given frequently are a very bad thing.

[This message edited by Pentup at 12:12 AM, September 7th (Saturday)]

I ordered some Dinovite last week (it hasn't arrived yet) and basically what I'm feeding him is a raw diet.

It's definitely not grass that's priming the allergy. There isn't any anywhere near me. I live in the desert, in Northern Mexico. It could be things like tumbleweed though. Or other pollen bc there are lots of desert "flowers" around me.

I'll definitely add asking about the special shampoos in the visit today too.

Ok, off to the vet!

Our last dog had food allergies. To get the skin issues under control we used a special shampoo and bathed him every other day for a week, and then every week until he was under control. I remember the shampoo was from the vet, and expensive, but it really helped get things under control.

As for food - are you feeding your dog any poultry in his raw diet? Because poultry is (according to our vet) one of the things he sees allergies to the most often. We ended up putting our dog on a special food called K/O that was made with kangaroo and oatmeal. It was specially formulated for gluten and protein allergies, and helped enormously. I think it was Science Diet, and you could only get it through the vet.

It sounds to me like it might be time to find a new vet that is more open to different treatments and working with you to figure out what's going on. For what it's worth, when we first took our dog to our vet (the fourth vet he'd seen, we were searching for answers) he said doing allergy testing would only give us limited results, that it was better to start off eliminating everything from his diet to figure things out. And a LOT cheaper, too. Good luck!