Dealing with a severely allergic/yeast dog

northernwitch 3/25/2011, 4:47 pm

I'm posting this again for the new folks dealing with allergic/yeast dogs. This is about my struggles with Tank--now almost 12. He had years and years of skin issues and likely has systemic yeast. We've treated him with long courses of cephalexin (6 to 8 weeks) and that has helped a lot. However, we hit a plateau and I sought out the advice of a homeopathic vet and that took us to the next level of recovery. He and my shih tzu, Theo, both have significant allergies to food, as well as contact allergies and seasonal allergies. Neither can eat any kibble of any sort due to their multiple allergies.

Tank's Yeast Journey:
This is the basic outline of my battle with Tank’s yeast/allergy issues starting Feb. 2008 up to the present—2011. He is currently in great shape and vastly healthier and happier than upon admission to rescue.
I took Tank to a homeopathic vet for a fresh perspective on his various issues. Tank came to me at age 8.5 with hypothyroidism, a history of severe allergies, yeast infections and on massive doses of prednisone (20 mgs a day at one point). He had improved, but we still struggled with ongoing yeast infections and lately, with staph infections. Before going on to using something really dramatic like Itraconazole, I wanted to eliminate all of our other options first.
He is currently on 1 mg of prednisolone (Medrol) every other to every third day. Given his years of massive prednisone doses, we suspect that his adrenals are ruined so he'll never be off of pred completely, but it's significantly reduced and prednisolone is less harmful to his liver. We tried milk thistle with him to reduce liver damage, but he reacted to it. We may at some point try SAM-e, but it's overkill for now.
* asterisks are updates on what we’ve tried and how it’s worked
She feels that all of his issues are likely immune mediated. Increasingly, vets are thinking that most if not all thyroid issues are immune mediated. She also felt (and this was news to me) that his thyroid level of 33--which is smack in the middle of normal--is too high for a dog his age. She said most vets would be happy with that, but she feels and specialists she consults confirm this--that a hypothyroid dog his age should be in the 20s rather than the 30s. I don't have any further explanation for it, but she said that at some point, we may wish to reduce his meds for thyroid to get him into the 20s but wanted to wait (since it's not urgent) until we'd done some other things first.
*his thyroid levels have lowered and we are leaving his dosage as is for now.
She also wants to try him on lactose free Prozyme (a digestive enzyme supplement). She feels that for a lot of yeast dogs a big issue is the gut and says that she has found doubling or tripling the suggested dose of Prozyme often solves or significantly reduces yeast in dogs. We will start very slowly and see how he does since we know he can be plant sensitive. While she'd love to get him off of pred altogether, she said that the dose he's on is so low (1.25 mgs every third day) and given his seasonal allergies, that complete removal of pred may not be possible. As mentioned above, we’ve put him on prednisolone at 1 mg.
*We tried the Prozyme, but unfortunately, the first ingredient is rice starch and he reacted to that so we’ve stopped the Prozyme. Not sure what we’ll try next—maybe bromelian.
**We’ve started bromelian and so far he seems okay with it. I still use the bromelian occasionally, but he has responded well to Holistic Blend Seagreens Powder. I add it to his meals every other day.

She would also like to try him on an immune support supplement which does not boost immune, but supports it. She didn't have the name off the top of her head, but will let me know. Again, it will be a go slow deal with him.
*We are going to try him on a Centaur VA product called Immuno-support.
**Due to the onset of his seasonal allergies, we waited to start him on the Immuno-support till his seasonal stuff settled down as I wouldn’t be able to tell what is seasonal and is reaction to the immune-support. We use the Immuno-Support three times a week, ½ capsule. So far no issues.
She wants him off of all dairy--said that yeast LOVES dairy and that any benefit a yeast dog gets from the acidophilus is lost by the dairy aspects. She says that dairy is not part of a dog’s normal “wild” diet and so they often aren’t able to use it appropriately so she never recommends anything with Lactose in it. So he's getting a dairy free acidophilus made by SISU. Any meds he gets in a capsule, she wants removed from the capsule as he could be reacting to the capsule. She has also asked that he eat NO fruits at all and no vegetables that are glycemic--pumpkin, sweet potato, turnip, etc. Carrots he can have for although they are technically sugary, they aren't high glycemic vegs. His treats from now on in are raw vegetables ONLY--she suggested green beans and zucchini. NO commercial treats no matter how high quality. She also suggested that he not get any dehydrated meats--including any of my home made ones.
* I have reintroduced single source protein treats--both home made and commercial, but am careful about ingredients. One of my local pet supply places has a wide selection of single protein treats that have been successful with Tank.
She found it interesting that his ears, nose fold and feet aren't yeasty. And wondered if some of his issues are contact based. She wants him not to be in a harness that covers much of his neck or chest and suggested that I throw out his puppia as she feels the artificial fabric doesn't breathe and can't be cleaned sufficiently to be safe for a dog as compromised as he is (YIKES--of course, I just bought him a new one a week ago.) She suggested that the less fabric touching him the better so she'd prefer he not have coats, sweaters, or lie on any dog bed that is made from "chemical" fabrics--she did say that there is a remote possibility that he might be allergic to cotton--we know he's allergic to wool.
*I am currently using a Walkeez harness with him that has worked well and can withstand multiple washings.
I am also to clean and wash ONLY with baking soda--no vinegar and no borax. She suggested that I only clean my floors with boiling hot water--and maybe some baking soda--as she's seen dogs react to vinegar. I'm to watch how he lies on stuff and see if the fact that his neck, chest and belly are the most hairless and itchy may be related to where and what he is lying on. She also told me to get rid any fleece type things that he might lie on. We'll start with cotton only fabrics with him and see where we get from there. It’s also possible that he’s not reacting to the “fake” fabrics, but that they don’t let his skin get as much air so encourages yeast growth.
I’ve also taken to drying his face and neck after drinking water as he dribbles it down his neck and given his folds and dewlaps, the water just sits there.
*His itching seems to be most intense right after he gets up from a nap—chest, neck and arm pits especially. Given the way he sleeps, his arm pits and neck are often “sweaty” when he gets up so that may be part of the problem. Dr. Benson thinks it may be contact allergies, but might be that the fabric is contributing to his itchiness. We can’t clean the fabrics he lies on sufficiently to kill the yeast and other bacteria without using harsh chemicals, so we are going to try changing his bedding frequently and throwing out or boiling what he’s lying on. I’m trying 100% cotton crib sheets and washing them daily.
*The daily bedding change helped alot and I now only change the bedding twice a week on the dog beds. I have been able to reintroduce washing them in the washing machine as opposed to boiling them on the stove (thank God). I do use borax now to wash his bedding and some bleach. We’ve had no further staph infections since starting the bedding change.
She wants all bathing stopped and he's not to go swimming at Canine Wellness any longer. She says she doesn't want him wet. Period. She said that if I feel he needs relief from the itching and must bathe him then to let him soak in a dilute caffeine free green tea solution.
* I do still bathe him occasionally when the yeast smell is high. I use Nizoral shampoo and it helps. But his bathing is infrequent—4 to 6 times a year. The green tea soaks do work when he’s itchy and I also apply the wet tea bags directly to specific itchy spots.
She'd like me to switch his fish oil from salmon to herring as she wonders if he's become sensitive to salmon.
*he IS sensitive to salmon. We’ve had a decrease in itching since ditching the salmon oil
She thinks that his weight gain is partly due to his metabolism having slowed down tremendously. And thinks that a digestive enzyme may help him process food better and increase his metabolism to some degree. She feels that given what he's eating, the weight gain indicates poor usage. So we may reduce his intake marginally or spread his current intake out over three meals rather than two. She thinks that might also help kick his metabolism into gear.
*The three meals a day DID work and now we’ve had to kick up his portions as he’s gone from putting weight on at the drop of a hat to losing it pretty quickly. I’ve increased his portions and reduced him back to 2 meals a day.
I ended up putting him on a whole carcass diet (Carnivora, formerly Urban Carnivore). He eats that for 75% of his meals. His other 25% are the regular raw with botanicals or veggies. I’ve been using Tollden Farms which has been okay with him. There has been a reduction in smell and itching with the switch to primarily whole carcass.
What has been most impressive (if I do say so myself) is how much pink has come back to his skin. Upon arrival at my house his belly was totally black as was his neck. The belly is now more pink than black and the neck, while still mostly black, does have some pink showing through.