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Hello All.

I'm reaching out to the Setter World to get some feedback.  Carly, my 11 y/o Setter has serious skin allergies, and is chewing, obsessive-like & non-stop on her skin.  We (her vet Dr. Gotler & I) believe it is FAD, Flea Allergy Dermatitis -She has never had fleas before, yet my cat brought them into the house this Spring 2012 (there is a very serious problem here this year in New England, so I'm told by Dr. Gotler), and since then Carly has been bitten several times, I'm sure.  As of last week, I believe I have gotten rid of them due to an oral monthly pill, and a serious application of in-home flea deterrent; at least my fingers are crossed, as I have not seen any on Carly for a 4 days now.

As I understand it, the FAD takes time to go away, and the incessant chewing only aggravates matters with secondary infection - She is going nuts with this skin problem, and now so am I, as I can't stand to see her suffer so.  We have tried Benadryl, topical sprays, antibiotics, and we are on the leading edge of giving her a steroid shot to calm the situation (which I really don't like the idea of).

She has always had very sensitive skin allergies that come and go, but this is now a full-blown problem which is very draining for both of us. She is exercising normally, eating normally, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had to deal with these skin allergy issues, and what you might recommend, either medically, or holistically.  Carly is a cancer survivor, a real brave girl, and we will get through this, however we welcome any and all suggestions form fellow Setter Lovers!

Much Thanks from Tom & Carly!

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First question...... what is she fed?

Hi Fran - She was eating Purina One for Mature dogs, and we converted over to California Natural, which she loves, about 12 days ago, as we agreed that may be one solution - I really don't think this is the issue though, I could be wrong, however the skin issues started over a month ago with the flea allergy reaction - I may have her get a Cortisone shot today or tomorrow depending on how she is doing - she seems a little better today - These allergy issues are difficult, and moving targets, so to speak.  Thanks for the feedback!

Hi Tom. I would get her on a good quality (and emphasize) a good quality meat and bone diet.  I would also really go to town and address the possibility that fleas are still playing a part here. I would do the house as well as the dog. I am now using diatomaceous earth on my dogs coats for fleas and it works! It has to be human grade diatomaceous earth too.  Fleas are the biggest cause of skin irritation, and if there is just one lurking around then my Barkley is going to suffer, whereas the girls don't.  If you are 99.9% certain that there now aren't any fleas around, I would have her thyroid checked to see if there is now something going on there, but as she has been treated with Cortisone, that will have to come right out of her system before doing a thyroid check. I personally wouldn't have allowed a Cortisone injection before other things had been eliminated, as Cortisone doesn't come without risks, and more risks that you (and possibly your vet) even realize. A skin scrape and culture would have been a better option, but now it's done that means other things are going to be difficult to look into. A lot of foods cause issues, because of the poor quality, and species inappropriate ingredients affect the immune system.  If the dog has a real healthy immune system it ought to shake most things off.including skin irritations.  In the UK at the moment, harvest mights are on the increase and these are making a lot of dogs over here very very itchy. They are difficult to spot unless you know precisely what you are looking for,.  They are so tiny, and hard to see in red coats.  They can be picked up in skin scrapes if vets don't initially spot them.  There are lots of other mights and nasties which can get in too,   As well as putting her on a species appropriate diet to boost her immune system, I would also increase omega 3's in the form of krill oil.  Good luck.

I bet that was an over-zealous spellchecker, but just to aid googlers, they're harvest mites. I usually find them between my dog's toes after he's had a good nibble, tiny orange dots, like pollen.

Many allergies are caused by diet, that would be the first thing to rule out.  She could be allergic to pollen from trees and grasses.  Skin scrapes could rule these out.

Now this sounds strange but I knew a dog who was allergic to cats!  Whether it was the cat dander or the cat fleas I dont know, but this dog used to scratch like a mad thing after his owners brought a cat into their home.

I would give Carly a thorough shampoo using a natural TeaTree product.  She has a very heavy coat which might be harbouring dust, dander and pollen.  It might make her feel a whole lot better too.

Thanks Torie - Carly has always been fine around my cat, who is no longer with us.  I did bathe her twice with a special shampoo, but was advised not to do it too often as it can dry the skin - I honestly believe that the real issue is the allergic reaction to a flea bite - They are not present and I'm told that once theya re out of the picture, the healing can begin - it takes time though, and that is the frustrating part!  She seems a little better today! Thanks.

Glad to hear Carly is a little better today Tom....I hope she improves in leaps and bounds, it must be awful for her and I bet it is stressful for you too.

She's a tough gal Torie -She went through 4 chemos, and 8 operations for melanoma cancer, and is doing quite well  these many years later!!  I just corresponded with a Setter owner in the UK, who's Setter had the same flea allergy problems - She used Sudocrem on her girl, and it worked like magic to get rid of the skin condition - All other feedback for human skin conditions reported remarkable results too!  I've just ordered 2 tubs from Amazon, and will have it in hand by tomorrow!   We will beat this with no doubt -  She does seems better today, too!  Cheers!

Hi Tom...I hope the Sudocrem is the cure you have been looking for.  I look forward to hearing the results. It would be very useful to know that this product is the answer for many dogs with the same allergy as Carly.

Hello Fran, I am new to ES and hoped you don't mind me bothering you but I have food grade diatomaceous earth and am keen to use it on my red kids! How much do you suggest and is there any special precautions to take? Many thanks Dianne

My dog has horrific allergies.  Hers are to pollen and grasses.  I had read an article in the Whole Dog Journal awhile back on this issue.  There was an article written by a woman whose dog has bad grass/pollen allergies.  What she did was to add raw, organic honey which was produced locally where she resided into the dog's food.  The idea was to desensitize the dog

to the grasses and pollens.  We discussed this with our holistic vet.  She told us to go ahead.  It did help Belle Anne.  Belle used to get really bad skin infections from these allergies.  They were a nightmare to clear up. 

I've not had the experience you've had with the fleas.

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