10 mon.old GSP- skin irritation...

[Mayfly]

Hello,
Newbie to the GSP scene and have a 10 month old GSP that has skin irritation that he licks and scratches alot. It started under his front armpits and now has moved to the back legs and belly. Its still winter here in Alberta and was wondering if it was food allergies. Took him to the vets and had him checked for mites and yeast infections and both came back negative. She said it could be something outside that could be causing it. Lately he has been tearing it up in the cattails around our frozen pond and thought this could be causing the irritation.
His food he has been on since 8 weeks has been Purina Puppy Chow which we tried switching to Orijen Puppy and that was unsuccessful as only a few kernels and he would have the runs instantly. I know he is over fed as he gets 6 cups total per day and thats my fault, but he looks really good and weighed 64 pounds and has been this weight for last couple months. His energy level is high and try to get him out 3 times a week for a run and puts on 4 to 10 km's at a go.
I noticed that his nose is swelled under his nostrils and he will do the carpet slide at times to relieve his itch.
I was hoping that all the expert advice on this site would give me some insight to what could be possibly causing this...
Vet gave us some anti-bacterial soap to place on affected area (Hibitane Skin Cleanser 2%) and corticosteriod and antihistamine pill (Vanectyl) to treat him with the inflammation.
Thank you.

[Sharon]

Welcome to the forum.

Those are common areas for an allergy to appear. One of my dogs is allergic to freshly cut grass oil so has those same symptoms from June to Oct.
I use Benedryl.
Step I is to think of any changes around the house - different detergent for cleaning bedding ? etc.
Some think grain- based dog food is a culprit. I don't know. You can buy grain -free dog food.( He doesn't need to be on puppy food any more. If you are feeding 6 cups a day , and pup is not fat , then you need a dog food higher in protein and fat.)
After that only allergy testing will tell you what you need to know. Good luck.

edited for spelling

[Mayfly]

Thank you Sharon.
Greatly appreciated.
A month ago I had to shock our water well to be rid of the foul smell and discolour. We gave our dogs bottled water for a time till the chlorine smell was gone and began giving them tap water, maybe it was too soon? They our back on bottled water to see if that will help. Our other dog, a dumpster rescue mutt seems to be unaffected.
The cattails are my guess cause they were rolling around in them, eating the fuzz. I had that area fenced off with electric fence and had shut it off for the winter and so they are back in it again. will make that area off limits for the time being and see if that helps.
Lorne

[luvthemud]

I feel your pain. I struggled with an allergic dog for over 2 years...it is frustrating. I tried everything imaginable to pinpoint what the cause for my dogs allergic type triggers were.

With that said, if I were to go back in time I would simply have gotten a complete blood panel done and did the allergy test. Would have saved so much time, money, and frustration. The dog ended up passing away, so I feel his issues weren't allergy related at all. Blood and skin allergy testing would have been a good idea I guess.

Good luck.

[marysburg]

Could this just be simple frostbite? Our GSP wears a coat outdoors when it is very cold or there's a big windchill, and sometimes she seems itchy where the coat doesn't cover her. I know my ears and face feel like that if they get nipped by frost, sometimes even a little swollen. Just a thought.....

[DudeRN]

I doubt it would be frostbite, since the armpits would be one of the warmer places on a dog, much more likley on nose, ears, toes just like in people. We have had a few other people here with similar issues, and most often it sounds like something plant/environment related, something that is coming into contact with those areas like poison ivy but just about any type of vegetation your dog could be sensitive to. I assume you have ruled out fleas, right? good luck

[Mayfly]

Thanks everyone with the prompt replies. I am leaning towards the cattails, they really flattened them out and spread them everywhere. Time will tell as I turned on the electric fence to keep them out.
I don't think we have fleas as my long haired dog doesn't scratch at all. I bought him a Filson Coat but lasts about 2 minutes before he rips it off and drags it around. He doesn't go outside for very long when it is cold.
Lorne

[Sharon]

What flea control do you use?

[Vman]

Try this, www.fido-vite.com I have seen it fix all of what you have described. I have several customers that spent hundreds of dollars at the Vet trying steriods, different feed, antibiotics, allergy tests yada yada yada and once they got the dog up and going on Fido-Vite the dog no longer showed those symptoms. It is not some miracle cure or snake oil remedy. It simply gives your dog what it needs to strengthen the dogs immune system allowing the immune system to ward of these skin irritations. It is a cheap try and you have nothing to loose. The stuff is awesome and I am a very hard sell.

[luvthemud]

Another one that people have had success with:
http://www.nzymes.com/ppc/best_suppleme ... oCp4fw_wcB

[MikeB]

Mayfly,

Sent you a PM.

[Mayfly]

What flea control do you use?

No flea control as we have never had an issue with fleas this far North and our other dog doesn't itch.

[luvthemud]

Any updates?

[Sharon]

What flea control do you use?

No flea control as we have never had an issue with fleas this far North and our other dog doesn't itch.

Are you in Alaska because Northern Ontario has lots of fleas and ticks. I don't know of any State that can get away with no flea/tick control.