Chaos was born in late fall 2012 so it was mostly cold for the first few months of his life. When he was about 4 months old Spring had started poking its head up and this is when I noticed a few little red spots on his belly. They went away but then came back and with a vengeance. Of course I flipped out and called the vet and made the first appointment I could get him to. They did a skin scraping and told me he had Demodex or Demodectic Mange. This is the non-contagious form puppies tend to get from having an underdeveloped immune system, but I'll discuss that further in a later post because Ares had this. I gave Chaos the medication just as directed but his belly rash only grew and spread to his chest and underneath his legs.
I explained what was going on to my mom, that it looked just like a rash a child might get and she said it was probably an allergic reaction aka contact dermatitis. This is what I told the vet at our second visit and she agreed that is what it seemed like. So they gave him a steroid shot, said it was probably a one time thing and sent us home. The rash quickly went away and I thought we were in the clear. By this time Spring was in full swing with everything blooming and the grass and tree leaves coming back. And then the rash appeared again. I called the vet distraught and brought him in for another steroid shot. The poor thing was itching his skin raw and I couldn't blame him, it looked terribly uncomfortable.
I knew this wasn't a one time thing now so the vet prescribed Prednisone pills, a steroid to suppress Chaos's immune system response to the allergens. Steroids are not a long term solution because they can cause damage to the liver so the next step was to take Chaos to a doggie dermatologist. I had no idea those even existed! The best part was that I found out the office was just down the street. I made an appointment but the earliest they could see him was about 3 weeks away. Prednisone has an unpleasant side effect of dry mouth causing a dog to drink a lot more water. And a lot more water means a lot more pee. Unfortunately that means pee on the floor and the rug and the couch and your friend who is sitting on the couch. So there was a lot of time spent cleaning up pee.
The dermatologist appointment finally arrived and I learned that allergies and other skin conditions are actually very common in Pit Bulls. Of course Chaos just had to be special and be one of the most severe cases the doctor had ever seen in such a young dog. Dogs develop allergies later on in life but luckily our doctor had a plan. We got new medicine to try while weening him slowly off the Prednisone. This was to test whether his allergies were strictly contact or if inhaling the allergens was really the root of the cause. This would have been the best scenario but alas, it did not work. So next up was a combination of 2 different medications we have become very familiar with: Atopica and Ketoconazole. These medications work together as a steroid would to prevent allergy symptoms but are not so harsh on the liver.
The problem was, fall allergens had arrived and these medications take a while to build up in the dog's system. Ultimately the goal was to get him off steroids completely so that he could have a full allergy panel to discover everything he is allergic to and then begin allergic injections. I felt so awful because he was scratching something terrible and was so very uncomfortable while the new medicines were building up in his body. I was not allowed to give him antihistamines either to help with the itching as this would affect the results of the allergy panel if they were not completely out of his system.
I was so excited when the allergy panel day came. They sedate the dog for comfort and do little pin pricks along the side to test each allergen. When I picked Chaos up his dots had smeared a little and it looked like he had gotten a tattoo! The tech went over the results with me: basically he's allergic to everything environmental from dust mites to tree pollen to grass pollen and even a little allergic to cats. We set up a time for me to come back and learn about the injections and how to give them once Chaos's blood test came back and we got the okay that his liver was healthy.
The injection solutions are premixed by the dermatologist techs in little glass bottles that have to be refrigerated. I had to go take a prescription to the pharmacy for syringes and then we were ready to get started. It takes several months to build up the injection solution, since essentially the dog is being shot up with what he is allergic to. Each week the dose goes up until the dog stops itching and then you know you've found the correct dosage. Every dog is different so it's very important to watch your dog closely during this time.
Flash forward half way through the injection schedule and I took Chaos to his check up with the dermatologist. I explained his itching had decreased but then increased significantly with the latest dose. She looked him over and shook her head and said he had gotten himself a staph infection. The itching and licking had caused this and then the injections had actually fueled the infection. So we took home some antibiotics and took a break from injections for a few weeks.
As of today I think we may have finally hit the right dosage..fingers crossed! Now we should be able to begin weening him off Atopica and Ketoconazole. His injections will continue to be once a week and maybe we will eventually be able to take him down to once every 2 weeks. It's been a very stressful and expensive year battling this with him, but one look at that face and it's all worth it.
The uncomfortable feeling of being itchy and being on steroids can sometimes cause animals to be irritable and take it out on their people or their brothers and sisters. We have been extremely lucky that Chaos has stayed as sweet as ever although I wouldn't blame him if he hadn't. Living with a dog who is allergic to many things can be a little difficult. The vet visits, tests and medications are costly and there is a lot of time involved. Including the medications, there are several other products we use and things we do to keep Chaos comfortable.
Because Chaos is allergic to dust mites I wash his blankets often. Really they can just be thrown in the dryer since the heat kills everything but I like to keep them fresh. I only wash his blankets and clothes with Downy Free & Gentle and use Bounce Free & Sensitive dryer sheets.
Febreze just came out with a new allergen reducer formula so I spray it all over the dog beds and furniture. I also keep a bottle of Vetericyn on hand. It's an antiseptic solution for animals that does not hurt and helps disinfect wounds and speed up the healing process. We get ours from Tractor Supply. Excessive itching can lead to some small boo boos so I spray it on and it really makes a difference.
It might sound silly to use baby wipes for a dog but they have come in handy after a long walk. Chaos is low to the ground so his legs and belly sometimes rub against grass and other plants. Wiping him down with baby wipes after coming inside helps to get a lot of the allergens off his skin.
Chaos's prescription medications are Atopica, Ketoconazole, his injection solutions and syringes. We also keep Benadryl on hand but haven't used it since we started the injections. It was a necessity last summer before we began Atopica and Ketoconazole to give Chaos more relief from the itchiness. The injection solution has to be kept refrigerated and comes in glass bottles so we have to be very careful as not to leave it out too long after using it so it does not get too warm or knocked over. The injections are easy to give because Chaos does not even feel them. Usually I'll try to catch him while he's already doing something else and just stick him quickly and give it a rub and he just thinks I'm petting him. We use the cheese to give him his pills. It's easy to squirt a little on the pill and he'll lick it right out of my hand.
And then there's always the option to get rid of the cats since he's slightly allergic to them.
Just kidding!
Do your pets have allergies? What changes have you made at home?
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