German Shepherd Forum

[FloridaGSD]

This dog has been a baptism of fire. The worst problem I've ever had with dogs were fleas and ticks.

I picked up Frenzi from a German showline breeder when she was 12 1/2 weeks old. The day I looked at her I noticed her ears were arrestingly filthy, as though they had never been cleaned in her life and they had an odor,, not horrible, but definitely an abnormal smell. While there looking at her, she also had the stinkiest poop I think I've ever smelled. Like it came from a large farm animal.

The breeder told me it was due to her eating a rawhide. I immediately thought it was worms, which didn't deter me as she was exactly what I had been looking for, and seemed like a nice dog. The breeder performs x-rays, obtains breed surveys, and titles the dogs. We thought about it overnight and decided to take a chance and buy her. I did get a bottle of Chlorhexadine shampoo to use on her underside for some skin eruptions and redness. On the way home she had another "farm animal poop," and continued to have sloppy stools when we brought her home.

Since we got home on a Saturday, the soonest vet appointment I could get was on Tuesday. By Sunday the poop situation was pretty bad and she seemed somewhat listless so I took her to an emergency vet. He gave her a shot and sent me home with some anti-biotics. The breeder told me the regular vet might want to do a giardia test and give her Flagyl. Tuesday we saw our vet, who ran a fecal that was supposedly negative so I didn't get that medication. The problem didnt' go away, of course, so back to the vet. This time I got the medication and the breeder sent me additional doses since the vet gave me only one week. This cleared up the stool issue.

Shortly afterwards, I noticed what I thought was asymmetrical pattern developing under her eyes. I commented on it to the vet tech, but she didn't look at it. Over the next week it seemed to be enlarging, so I studied it close-up. The reason her "coloring" was changing was actually due to loss of fur! I did a little Internet research and was fairly horrified when I thought she had mange. Another trip to the vet who did a scraping and said she had demodectic mange. I was given Neem oil and a food supplement to build her immune system. A month later the vet did another scraping in the same spot and said it was clear. However, they ignored my pointing out that there seemed to be another spot developing over one eye and several on her muzzle. I was told those were hair follicles.

Another month goes by and I've had it watching this poor puppy get worse and worse. Her hair is falling out like I feed her Ol Roy when she is on a raw diet. Back to the vet who tells me her crazy shedding is normal and clearing up mange takes time. Her hair loss was bad and I also reported feeling creepy crawlies on ME which the vet also dismissed by telling me it was impossible with demodectic mange. I KNOW what I'm feeling so right then and there I decided to get a second opinion.

The second vet , after hearing my story, examines her for about 3 minutes and tells me she has sarcoptic mange not demodex. I was given 3 treatment choices: a dip, Ivermectin, or Revolution. I chose the Revolution because her MDR1 test result hadn't come back yet and I didn't want to cause more problems if she had the gene. She had been on Sentinel, which apparently doesn't do a thing for sarcoptic mange.

She's had her 2nd Revolution treatment and it has worked wonders. I also have her on Benadryl twice a day to help with the itching and subsequent scratching. Her fur is a mess, although there is a lot of new fur growth on the really big bad spots, and her skin seems really dry despite the fact she's getting 2000mg Salmon oil every day. I'm considering adding Flaxseed oil too.

I'm quite frustrated as it seems to me ALL these issues, stinky dirty ears, giardia, and sarcoptic mange point to unsanitary kennel conditions. I wonder now what would have happened to her if someone didn't buy her.

Is there anything I can do to relieve the itching besides Benadryl.

I bought a spray by Richards Organics called Incredible Skin Spray and put it on all the areas where fur is sparse or she has chewed it away. I'm not sure if it's helping or not yet.

I had enrolled her in puppy class but we were only able to attend 3 of 6 sessions due to her giardia issues. The instructor very generously let me come to a 2nd session without charge and we we able to make 5 out of 6 sessions, with a 2 week break due to the mange. Next week we're starting the class that will hopefully result in a CGC. Oh, and July 3rd I broke my ankle so training has become a joke! What next, huh?

Her 3rd Revolution treatment will be in a week and a half and hopefully that will wrap up the problem. How long does it take for the fur to come back?
Also, her fur has gotten dull - is that due to the mange?

I guess I just need some encouragement. Sorry this is so long winded, it's been a long 5 months.......

[Hawiian2]

wow, thats a real handful. So sorry to hear of all this. No puppy deserves it.
I am glad to hear the Revolution treatment has helped out a lot.

You might want to ask around about Gold Bond medicated powder
(Or do a search on here for more info)
Maybe it would help out for a while
Mike
_________________


When I die I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather -- not screaming like the passengers in his car.

[VTcoach]

Don't worry about the fur coming back. Just dropping the coat periodically, which all sheps do, can take months for the new coat to look pristine again. Get all the buggies cleared up and the rest will take care of itself with some time.
Sounds like you are on the way to recovery.
Good Luck.

[FloridaGSD]

Thank you both for your responses.

I did look up the Gold Seal Powder and a few other recommendations. In doing some additional searches I found reference to canine dermatologists and looked them up through their certification organization.

Well, I found one only 1 1/2 hours from me so I made an appointment. This should be much better than a general vet and I'm sure the poor puppy will finally get some much needed relief.

In some areas the fur is coming back. I certainly don't care it is short or how long it will take to fully grow out. The good news in those areas is simply the fact it is growing back. Other spots are new and some due to excessive chewing. Those are the ones that really disturb me and the Benadryl doesn't give enough relief.

I'm actually excited to take her to this specialty vet.

[eichenluft]

wow is all I can say - but no suggestions - only a comment that you have gone far and away all you can do already - far more than most people would have I'd guess. Good for you, you are doing everything right, sorry you got a bundle of health problems all at once but in the end the dog of your dreams will emerge with a new coat and new health, and will be ok due to your care and action and smart choices. She is a very lucky dog you decided to take home that day.

molly
_________________
Eichenluft Working German Shepherd Dogs
home of V-Eagle v Eichenluft Schh3, FH,IPO3,KKl-1lbz,OFA Good.
4 Eichenluft Dogs competed in 2005 Schh3 National Championships!
Over 40 working-titled Eichenluft dogs.
http://workinggermanshepherd.com

[link]

wow, that is alot to deal with.Sounds like you are working it out tho,and thats great.Good luck at the specialist.My Link scratches and nibbles on himself alot also.I noticed it at the breeders when we went to visit.I thought it was probably fleas.I had him treated at 10 wks old.He continued to scratch.I looked him over and could not find a flea.I called the vet,told him that and he told me to take away any treats that have wheat,gluton,meat by product,ect. anything that wasn't all natural.He said these things could cause allergys in dogs,and therefore scratch.We also gave him benadryl, which did not help. He has not had anything but beef or chicken rawhides for a month and a half or so and he still scratches.....I know german sheps. have sensitive skin,so maybe thats why.But what is causing the skin to be irritated to make him scratch???? The vet also said he could just be allergic to something,we may never figure out what, we can just put him on a med to control it.Dogs can develop allgerys just like people.But im not one for meds unless its really last resort and he is not scratching out his hair or anything, so we will give it time and see.Hopefully its a puppy thing and will go away.

[FloridaGSD]

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Fate must be on this puppy's side, for I was able to secure an appointment with the veterinary dermatologist unusually fast, the normal appointment wait is at least 2 weeks. 5 minutes before I called there was a rare cancellation and of course I gladly grabbed the appointment slot.

It was a great appointment too. This vet, as does any good Dr. LISTENS. That's always a good start. I found out it's possible for a dog to have both demodex and sarcoptic mange at the same time. However, and I don't know if it's conclusive, but 5 scrapings over different areas did not reveal any demodex. The vet feels very confident that the Revolution (3 doses,, 2 wks apart) will take care of the sarcoptic mange.

Based on my input regarding what I have seen with some food, she feels pretty strongly that we are dealing with food allergies on top of everything else. When you fill out all the paperwork detailing background prior to these types of visits, something always pops into your mind that you forgot about. For me, it was the fact that frenzi had "weeping" eyes when I saw her. Not gunky, but like clear pine sap that ran out of her eyes consistently enough that there were wet rivers of this stuff from the corners of her eyes down her muzzle.

I had completely forgotten that switching her from whatever kibble she was being fed to raw completely cured that problem. So it must have been food. I don't know what kind the kibble was, but it was something NOT chicken or lamb. That stuff is always lighter in color, right?

Also, she was extremely thin. Not lean, thin. So, I'm thinking that she probably had food allergies from the very beginning, wasn't eating well due to the giardia, perhaps cleanliness wasn't the greatest, and her immune system wasn't strong enough to overcome all of this.

The vet wants me to switch her to a novel protein and pick a carbohydrate. I have been looking at rabbit, but wow that's really expensive. I'm starting to call meat shops today.

What I had done when I realized she had problems with beef, especially beef liver, was to switch to another protein, but buy the premade. My thinking at the time was the premade would be more consistent and thus easier to figure out food problems. But the problem with that is perhaps something else in the premade is unknown to me and is causing issues still. Whew, this stuff gets complicated

So, I'm going to simplify her diet even more and just wait it out. There are no quick answers with allergies. I do think the mite problem is on the mend. I got some ResiCORT to put on her after I give her a bath with Pyoben. Baths once a week until I go back in a month for a follow up visit.

In the meantime, every night I mix some ResiCORT half and half with water and basically get her skin wet all over. Oh, the vet also switched her to Claritin instead of Benadryl and I can see already this is much better.

All of you are right - we'll get there! And then you'd better get ready for the photos, because she is a beautiful girl. She's a long coat and I told her this morning that when you've got that much hair on your face you've GOT to look good.

Thanks for listening.