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Boyden is on steroids now


Miztiki
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Dr. Martin looked in his ears and said the yeast infection appears to be cleared up, but his ears are very red and inflamed and seem to be bothering him even more.

 

She suspects it's allergy related.

 

$435 later :eek: , we have a plan of sorts.

 

He got a steroid injection and he's to start taking the pill form tomorrow.

 

She took blood and is going to run allergy tests on him.

 

She said to stop medicating and cleaning his ears since the yeast infection is no longer there. He will be GLAD about that!

 

It will take a couple weeks to get the results from the allergy tests back. We can go from there.

 

She said the shot should give Boyden relief by tomorrow or maybe even tonight. Thank God.

 

I know this can be a long and complicated process, so any advice, suggestions, experiences, etc., would be VERY appreciated.

 

Oh, learned something new. Since I got him, the fur between the pads of his feet has been pinkish. Dr. Martin noticed that and says that's another sign of allergies. I guess there is some kind of chemical reaction of sorts when the fur is licked/picked at like that. I haven't noticed him picking at his feet but I'll watch for it now.

 

She told me to shave that fur. Anyone have knowledge about pink feet fur?

 

I hope my Boy feels better soon. He was such a good boy today. He let 3 little girls, one by one, come up and shake his paw, and they thought that was neater than heck. Boyden seems very comfortable with kids, though that's the most exposure he's had with them since I got him. I'm seeing good signs though!

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OUCH! :eek: - those ear things can be a vicious (and expensive) cycle. My "ear problem dogs" always over reacted to all the topical medication - so maybe just stopping that, along with the prednisone to reduce inflamation, will help him feel better soon. Be prepared for him drinking alot of water and needing to pee more when on the steroids...also, his appetite may increase. But all this is just a "patch" to the underlying problem. It will be interesting to see what he's allergic to. Did your vet suggest an elimination diet? That's when you eliminate everything he's used to eating from his diet. Then you start with one food, say ground beef, and then slowly add more items until you see a "reaction". Before the days of allergy testing, that's what we had to do. Like I said, my one dog was highly allergic/reactive to grain products, and even potatoes (another starch) caused her to have her "yeast problems". Wasn't til I basically put her on "Atkins" that she became healthy.

With Boyden, it could be an environmental thing, too. Especially since you don't know his history. Keep us posted.

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Dog food can make cause ear problems. My poodle and bc/mix both had ears infection for 3 months until I switched their food a couple years ago. My poodle has only had one since then.

 

I recently tried to switch the food I use and my poodle started to have some issues again but I was looking for it so caught it before it became an infection.

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I posted about this on the other thread.

I have a Yorkie with an allergy to cats. She'll chew her paws off without the steroids. The offending cat passed away last year (age 22 - on Christmas Morn- horrible holiday that year) and she is much better with the new crop of sleek & smooth kitties. Maybe your evil/darling cat has devised a plan to be rid of the dog that tries to play with him. My vet said dog-to-cat allergies were very common. I really hope its something else and easily fixed.

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Saliva will turn the fur between a dog's toes (and white fur in other locations too) pink, and chewing on paws is a common symptom of allergies. BUT other things can turn the fur pink as well, and dogs can chew on their paws for other reasons too. So the pink fur is an indication suggesting an allergy, but it's not conclusive. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on Boyden and notice whether he's chewing or compulsively licking his paws. If not, I would discount the pinkness as not being related to allergies.

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Agree about the ear problems and food. Ben had terrible ears until I cut the grains. He also chewed his paws and ripped out fur on his flanks.

 

One of the premium food companies is very close to coming out with a grain free kibble - if they haven't already. Meanwhile, there's already foods that use potato instead of grains - make sure you read the ingredients - there's lots of foods that claim to be alternate ingredient based and then you read the fine print and see soy or wheat or rice bran, arrrrgggh.

 

Or you can do your own. That might be a good test that doesn't involve a big investment in premium food.

 

Good luck - I feel your pain! Ben was Steroid Boy until we switched to the homeade diet.

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My Carlie dog has pink fur from saliva staining between her toes and my vet has asked about itchiness and allergies with her but I know what does it already. She chews rawhides and she holds them with her paws so the saliva on the rawhide gets on her feet and makes them pink on the bottoms. I think she's super smart and wishes she had thumbs! :rolleyes:

 

Maybe Boy is doing something like this if you haven't seen him licking or chewing obsessively?

 

Olivia

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All my dogs chew the ice and snow out of their paws this time of year. Everybody has pinky puppy paw fur right now. I don't know if you get snow in Texas (sleet maybe) but pinky paws alone wouldn't make me think of allergies. I'm going to take Tex & Sara big-ears off commercial dog food for a while. I'll keep you posted.

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Thanks for the comments so far.

 

I asked the vet if I should start doing something now (diet change, etc.) and she said wait. She'll call in a week to see how he's doing and we'll go from there. If all is better, then I think she wants to wait unti we get the allergy results back.

 

His back paw fur, on the bottom, is pink also. Been that way since day one. Eileen, what else can cause that? Really curious.

 

Boyden was recently transitioned to Chicken Soup and has a variety of training treats.

 

His skin and coat look really good.

 

Gotta go.

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My Gren is predominantly white and the fur his belly and between his toes has always been pink - but there's no licking that would indicate allergies (or other signs of allergies, for that matter).

 

I think it's worth considering allergies as a cause of the ear problems (my GSD's ears improved 100% with periodic dosing of Benadryl alone), but for people who ONLY have a dog with pink paws, I wouldn't get concerned.

 

Kim

 

Kim

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Labs are notorious for having allergy problems. Our Lab developed something called atopy. In him, it manifested as a huge blood blister between 2 toes. He never licked his feet, though. He also had nasty, smelly ears with a brown discharge that would then get infected. After fighting the battle with pred (which I HATE to use) daily doses of Benedryl and antibiotics for nearly a solid year, I said ENOUGH!

 

We took Bailey to a phenomenal veterinary dermatologist that is here in the Dallas area. We did skin prick allergy testing, exactly what they do for people. It is much more accurate than blood testing for allergies that is usually done on pets... more expensive, too.

 

We found out that our poor pooch was allergic to all types of grass, weeds, trees, dust mites, and pollen :rolleyes: His yuchy ears were also a symptom of allergies. The infections were only secondary.

 

He now gets allergy serum injections every 10 days. I can give them myself. The serum has resolved nearly ALL of his ear infections, as well as the bloody blister. No more antibiotics, no more pred. Benedryl is only needed for a couple of weeks in the fall, when his allergies are the worst.

 

If you can afford it, this kind of testing sure as hell beats trying to figure out on your own whether it is an environmental or food allergy. Bailey was allergic to SO many things that we would never have figured it out ourselves. I am so happy that he doesn't have to have all those antibiotics & prednisone!

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If he DOES have allergies (which is quite possible), and if the blood tests don't offer much help, then I'll do the skin test.

 

Boyden's on Dexamethasone instead of Prednisone. [edit: the shot was Dex, the pills are Pred.] That's some strong stuff. I know because I had to take it before.

 

Well, I think it's starting to hit him. He's got the munchies BIG TIME. :rolleyes:

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Lily's got mild allergies and mild atopy, she got diagnosed with it about two months ago. I noticed she was starting to sneeze and cough, and bite and scratch furiously at her body, especially her paws and tail.

 

She is on 25mg Benadryl 3x a day and I also changed her food to Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula. Those things along with keeping her brushed regularly and bathed once a week with special shampoos have helped get it under control.

 

The vet thinks it's just enviromental allergies but I changed her food anyway, and it's helped her at least as much as the Benadryl. Her allergies right now aren't severe enough for blood or skin testing, especially since they are controlled by her meds but if they worsen, I will have her tested.

 

I once saw this GSD on Animal Planet who was being skin tested for allergies that I felt so so sorry for. He was tested for I believe 25 different common allergens and was allergic to all of them.

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Just a thought that I forgot yesterday... I am lucky to have a local vet specialist to do the skin testing. I know that many of you might not have a vet who does this kind of testing, but consider it.

 

It is unhealthy for an animal to be on constant antibiotics, Benedryl and pred. Those meds suppress the body's natural response to allergens. Fighting against the body's natural defenses on a long term basis is terribly damaging.

 

Of course, short term or seasonal use of pred & Benedryl to resolve a specific, short term issue is NOT the same situation!

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