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Allergy & Skin Issues

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Poor C3PO. I know food isn't the cure all, but wanted to see if that might be part of the reson..well it doesn't sound like it. I am glad you had his blood drawn so you might get an answer on his thyroid..

  • Did you have a full thyroid panel run? Pat is right that skin and coat issues including hives and rashes can be caused by a thyroid problem.

  • Yes, please make sure they rule out Thyroid with a full panel. Like I said, my OJ had horrible, horrible hives and it was his Thyroid.. once on the soloxine totally gone, never a problem again

  • Do let us know what you find out re your dog.

  • it could also be a topical yeast infection. omar had a 24 hour case of huge hideous hives followed by months of itching and scratching. he ended up bald on his sides and neck in places. raw chewed paws. awful to watch him suffer.
    we bathed him with malaseb - [rinsing VERY well] a few times a week. quite an effort with a water loathing dog. but it worked! you can go have a skin scratch test taken to see if it is yeast. very curable. but you have to be diligent.
    people think we are pathetic to take him to a doggie dermatologist/allergist. that's what we have insurance for!!

  • Let us know how he's doing…

  • Hi folks,
    My Kairo has bumps and rashs on is chest were the harness meets. Is it the nylon strap or the metel ring? I did change his food out w/ no corn ingredients and he has cleared up from that. So should i get leather?

  • My other dog, the dachshund had the same on his neck and throat area, I was told it was a nylon sensitivity, changed to leather and it is gone..so it might be worth a while..is the harness rubbing him to much?

  • I know some people have good results attaching felt or fleece to the back of their dog's harnesses to help lessen the rubbing and it seems to work. Sort of like using mole skin on your heel to prevent rubbing a blister.

  • I know it's been a couple of months but we did a full thyroid panel & thankfully it came back normal. As a result of his bad allergies he got a terrible ear infection & we put him on another steroid cycle :(

    The vet doesn't want to keep him on this at all….so she suggested putting him on Atopica (Cyclosporine) which basically attacks immune cells & blocks symptom causing effects. I've done some research & some dogs do well after a month & then you can taper to a maintenance level to keep the dog comfortable.

    Anyone use this drug??

  • Hydroxizine AKA Atarax is a great drug for treating severe allergies, it is by far the best antihistamine for reducing itching. It does have a high amount of sedation as a side effect and is also marketed as a sleep aid. OTC Zyrtec is a good alternative since it is a metabolite of Atarax and has less sedation. You may want to find a vet that specializes in allergy treatment and have the dog skin tested to identify exactly what it is and isn't allergic to. You could consider allergen immunotherapy to reduce and potentially eliminate the allergies.

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    @Crla Gosh I usually give links but I found it several places. The quote above from here: http://www.theinternetpetvet.com/apoquel-alert-serious-side-effects-of-new-dog-allergy-medication/ Another site: http://www.drugs.com/vet/apoquel.html In the 283 dogs that received APOQUEL, the following additional clinical signs were reported after beginning APOQUEL (percentage of dogs with at least one report of the clinical sign as a non-pre-existing finding): pyoderma (12.0%), non-specified dermal lumps (12.0%), otitis (9.9%), vomiting (9.2%), diarrhea (6.0%), histiocytoma (3.9%), cystitis (3.5%), anorexia (3.2%), lethargy (2.8%), yeast skin infections (2.5%), pododermatitis (2.5%), lipoma (2.1%), polydipsia (1.4%), lymphadenopathy (1.1%), nausea (1.1%), increased appetite (1.1%), aggression (1.1%), and weight loss (0.7)...... After completing APOQUEL field studies, 239 dogs enrolled in an unmasked (no placebo control), continuation therapy study receiving APOQUEL for an unrestricted period of time. Mean time on this study was 372 days (range 1 to 610 days). Of these 239 dogs, one dog developed demodicosis following 273 days of APOQUEL administration. One dog developed dermal pigmented viral plaques following 266 days of APOQUEL administration. One dog developed a moderately severe bronchopneumonia after 272 days of APOQUEL administration; this infection resolved with antimicrobial treatment and temporary discontinuation of APOQUEL. One dog was euthanized after developing abdominal ascites and pleural effusion of unknown etiology after 450 days of APOQUEL administration. Six dogs were euthanized because of suspected malignant neoplasms: including thoracic metastatic, abdominal metastatic, splenic, frontal sinus, and intracranial neoplasms, and transitional cell carcinoma after 17, 120, 175, 49, 141, and 286 days of APOQUEL administration, respectively. Two dogs each developed a Grade II mast cell tumor after 52 and 91 days of APOQUEL administration, respectively. One dog developed low grade B-cell lymphoma after 392 days of APOQUEL administration. Two dogs each developed an apocrine gland adenocarcinoma (one dermal, one anal sac) after approximately 210 and 320 days of APOQUEL administration, respectively. One dog developed a low grade oral spindle cell sarcoma after 320 days of APOQUEL administration. To report suspected adverse events, for technical assistance or to obtain a copy of the MSDS, contact Zoetis Inc. at 1-888-963-8471 or www.zoetis.com.<< Finally: What are the side effects: Apoquel may increase susceptibility to infection, including demodicosis. It may also exacerbate neoplastic conditions. Adverse reactions reported in a masked field study included diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia, new cutaneous or subcutaneous lumps, and lethargy. In most cases, diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia, and lethargy spontaneously resolved with continued dosing.<< http://www.1800petmeds.com/Apoquel-prod11700.html
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    One thing you can do to help his coat is to bathe him every 1-2 weeks with Murphy's Oil Soap. Use your fingers and gently "scrub" him while he is soaped up. (Murphy's does not produce much lather so don't expect it.) The massaging will loosen dead hair and help it fall out. This stimulates new hair to grow. Murphy's has natural oils including coconut that help moisten the skin and keep it healthy.
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    My older ones have quite a number of these. I just monitor them and have the vet check them when they are there. None of them have had to be removed. If any of them were at a location where they were bothering the dog, then I would probably have them removed. Jennifer
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    Hi All, Thought i'd give you a little update! My lil lady had her food changed from Eukanuba medium pup to Royal Canin Mini (she's a very small basenji and doubt she'll get bigger than 10k when fully grown so thought this one best) I also bought her a Pet Head shampoo 'Royal Treatment' with oatmeal and aloe. She loves her new food and never leaves a crumb now, has a bath once every two weeks (instead of every week) and has a treat of sardines or yogurt every couple of days. Her skin is much better, little flaking and her coat looks much better now. Thank you guys for all the advice!
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    We used to have a dog that had seasonal allergies with hives, every year, for about 2 weeks. We never figured out what it was, but our vet had us give 25 mg benadryl every 8 hours for a week, then stop. If the hives came back, we started again. He was funny, I always took him into the kitchen to get his pills. One night he woke me up in the middle of the night, when I petted him I realized he was covered in hives, when I got up he ran to the kitchen and waited for me, he related his pills to his itching…and to it stopping too, I guess. Of course that night I was out of benadryl, so had to run to the all night drugstore at 3 am! Definitely start giving benadryl and keep it up for at least a week.
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    If you can video her while she is doing this, it might help a vet to diagnose, if indeed it is small seizure-type activity.