Black lab issues

[poptart84]

Hi, lurker to this board and was hoping someone would have an idea.

We have a 6 year old black lab named cash. This last year we have been battling skin and itching issues. He developed bumps on his feet, doctor Google and a talk with his breeder, we changed foods. Those went away with a good change for quite awhile but then he started getting dry patches and really itchy on his face. He would itch so much he had bald spots on his nose and mouth. Took him to the vet, they gave us a prescription and shampoo. The bumps came back on his feet, one is huge. We are now back in nutrisource hoping it helps but will see the vet if it doesn't get better within the week.

If you read all that, thank you. Does anyone have any ideas what could be going on?
And here is a pic of the fur ball

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[kelley182]

My neighbor friend's black lab has been dealing with itchy skin for most of this year. Unfortunately, my neighbor hasn't been able to find anything that really helps except for Benadryl.

Have you thought of switching to a raw dehydrated food? I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes in a lot of dogs. I wish you were here in Colorado so that I could send you to the pet food store that I go to. The folks there are real experts in dealing with things like this.

[kris356]

Our lab had seasonal allergies which were a lot like you described. We would treat him in the spring and fall (which is when they occurred). We would treat it with Temaril-P because that was what worked for him. We would start off daily, then taper the dosage down after two weeks. He would get yeast infections, and hot spots from rubbing on the carpet which would also have to treat if we didn't stay on top of it. Poor dog had lots of shaved spots over the years since it is the only way to treat the hot spots and get them to dry out. We also switched to feeding grain free and that helped a ton. We had to stop treating his allergies when he went on Rimadyl at 13 but by that point he wasn't spending as much time outside anyway and we could keep things mostly under control with skin supplements (we used these from Dr. Foster & Smith)

[poptart84]

Sept 11, 2015 13:58:31 GMT -5 kelley182 said:

My neighbor friend's black lab has been dealing with itchy skin for most of this year. Unfortunately, my neighbor hasn't been able to find anything that really helps except for Benadryl.

Have you thought of switching to a raw dehydrated food? I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes in a lot of dogs. I wish you were here in Colorado so that I could send you to the pet food store that I go to. The folks there are real experts in dealing with things like this.

We have done the benadryl, it's helps only minimally. I have never looked into dehydrated food, actually have never heard about that , it would take a lot of convincing I think to my Bf for switching to a diet like that. Thanks!

[poptart84]

Sept 11, 2015 15:46:15 GMT -5 kris356 said:

Our lab had seasonal allergies which were a lot like you described. We would treat him in the spring and fall (which is when they occurred). We would treat it with Temaril-P because that was what worked for him. We would start off daily, then taper the dosage down after two weeks. He would get yeast infections, and hot spots from rubbing on the carpet which would also have to treat if we didn't stay on top of it. Poor dog had lots of shaved spots over the years since it is the only way to treat the hot spots and get them to dry out. We also switched to feeding grain free and that helped a ton. We had to stop treating his allergies when he went on Rimadyl at 13 but by that point he wasn't spending as much time outside anyway and we could keep things mostly under control with skin supplements (we used these from Dr. Foster & Smith)

Thank you for the info. I'll have to look into it. The last time he was in, the vet suggested the dog getting tested for allergies by their dermatologist... So that may be the next step

[poptart84]

His front paw today

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[kris356]

Benadryl never did anything, our vet said it only works for about 20% of dogs. They suggest it because it cheap and easily available. Temperil-P was a god send for Murphy. It isn't great for long term use but it worked.

Good luck, it broke my heart when he was so miserable. I hope you find an answer soon.

[escrow]

Poor pup We have a four month old black lab who seems top be itching way more than normal. The vet said for such a young dog they would not suspect allergies, but who knows. I need to give her a bath, but I am scared. Puppy claws HURT!

[hokiegirl82]

My black lab is incredibly allergic to everything outside, she's been under the care of a dermatologist (in addition to her regular vet). She gets allergy shots at home every 3 weeks, plus Apoquel and Nizoral daily when she is having a flare up (which happens a lot this time of year). She also gets otomax in her ears for yeast. She has no food allergies, but her new vet suggested trying a cooling diet (meaning fish or turkey based instead of chicken or beef based) to see if it will help, plus she gets bathed with prescription medicated shampoo. All I can say is we've spent thousands and thousands over the past 7 years because of her allergies and they are never truly gone but we've managed to keep her sane. Before going under the care of a dermatologist she would scratch so badly that we came home to blood splattered walls one day and she had a staph infection on her mouth from carpet surfing.

[poptart84]

I ended up taking him back into the vet. They took a slide impression of two paws, which both had a bacterial infection. Most likely be transferred it from one paw to they other from locking. They gave him a steroid and antibiotic shot plus prescription pills for both for the next few weeks.

It's been four days and there is already a change in the bumps. They are going down, no bleeding, less licking. Fingers crossed this solves it. Darn expensive dogs lol

[gourmoo]

Poor guy! Hopefully the steroid and antibiotic helps. If not, I'd definitely look into a diet switch.