# steroids?



## tiny- dog- luverr (Oct 28, 2005)

someone at the dog park yesterday who had the exact same problem as minnie with her dog suggested it,since the problem cleared up really quickly, she had spent thousands on skin tests etc etc... I dont havre thousands.... im likely going to go deep in the red due to my last vet vists....*sigh* has anyone else here had chis with this problem and done that ? what did you do with your chi when it had that problem? why did it take 2 and half years of minnies life to develop this problem? im wondmering if there are any other nasty suprises to come since horrible things seem to happen later in life! which makes it very hard to know whether you have a healthy puppy or not.


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## Katie (Apr 9, 2005)

they usually used the steroid prednisone to get their immune systems back in order. Our cocker would take it from time to time when he would have allergy flair ups. He would chew himself raw until he bad no hair and was bleeding and it was the only thing that seemed to work.. obviously only temporarily. But I think there may be other alternatives before taking that route like different shampoos, different diet and maybe some kind of multivitamin and fish oils etc


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## usi2004 (Jun 27, 2006)

Malachi got a steroid shot due to his allergies. It helped him get back on track , now he takes allergy medication if he's having a bad day or if I know we'll be outside a lot. I would see what your vet thinks, tell him you dont have 1000's to spend on tests and see if he thinks it will work.


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## tiny- dog- luverr (Oct 28, 2005)

" i love my cheese " thats eaxctly to a tee what is happening to minnie!!!. im hoping the antibotics will work plus im using the medicated shampoo. she has a cone on her head again for a while. im giving her a diiferent diet of royal canin potatoe and duck. as oppossed to pedigree dry. im hoping it will clear up. multivitmans and fish oils? hadnt heard of it ,where do i get some and what type and how much should i give? is it pricey?


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

fish oil capsuls can be bought from any health food store, you dont need to get dog specific ones. i use 1 capsule per dog, i dont remember the mg but its the typical people dose...
we give 3 times a week as a boost cause it makes the coat soft and shiney. just pop the liquid cap and squirt it onto her food.
most dogs love it but be aware, it will give fishy breath lol.

you can get doggy multivitamins from most health food stores.

the most common allergens in dogs are corn and chicken and pedigree has both, so the RC potatoe and duck should help too!

a hydrocortisone creame like benadryl shoudl help any itchy spots.


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

Deedlit has allergic dermatitis and it is mostly enviromentally factored, it doesn't bother her much in the winter but summer is here and now she is itching and making the hotspots. When we lived in SC it was really bad and she actually made bloody sores and had to be on antibiotics they were so bad. The vets there did get me to give her an allergy shot (steroidal) but I really didn't like to, steroids have been known to cause side effects and even major problems if used over a long period of time. IMO the allergy shots helped Deedlit somewhat, but always temporary, so I chose to keep her off them when we moved back to IL and to just try to keep her comfy during the summer months which is is when they flare up. Hers started when she was about 2 or 3 years old too. Things that can help are switching to a good food (NO CORN), using a medicated or soothing shampoo, giving baths more often, I usually only bath my chis once a month or so but with allergies it can provide relief to do it more often, and also a fatty acid supplement or oil for her food could help. Allergies are a bath thing to fight, this is going on three years now with Deedlit but I think we're finally getting to a control point. Hope that's helpful.  

Here is a site with some good info:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1587&articleid=137


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## tiny- dog- luverr (Oct 28, 2005)

ooh thats wonderful advice from you all!!!! im so happy that it is so informative and its nice to know that its not just my poor furbaby thats suffering too,altrhough id love to wave a magic wand and vanish all our furbabys allergies. * hugs everyone*


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