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Post by patty on Nov 16, 2014 22:56:29 GMT
Hi, Can anyone help!
My three year old black and white springer spaniel has a recurring problem with his coat - his paws, underside, the inside of his loins and the inside of his legs turn a red/brown colour and this causes him to itch. This does not affect his upper body. I have tried shampoos from the vet, tea-tree based ones etc. but none help. I thought it may have been pollen as we have him trimmed very short - however as winter approaches he's left a little longer and this is when the problem starts i.e. when he gets a bit of length on his coat. Does anyone know what this is - vet doesn't know.
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Post by orpheous87 on Nov 16, 2014 23:31:06 GMT
Hi patty, welcome to the forum. My Springer is the same. Hers was initially caused by flea bites, so definitely make sure he's flea free (and the house). However, my girl is still a bit pink/brown underneath and I believe it's down to an allergy. You can get allergy tests done by your vet - although I'm surprised they've said they don't know what the problem is as I asked my vet about it and she said that it's usually down to an allergy of some description. You can also get hair tests done here: www.holisticremediesuk.co.uk/hairanalysis.htm This is what I chose to get done for my Springer and I've been happy with the results. I'm cutting out what she's allergic to and she's starting to show improvements slowly. Another reason could be that he's licking at himself a lot? White hair tends to stain when it's left wet (think of Westies and their beards) and I think there's something in the saliva that adds to this. You could give him a wipe down when you come in from walks to try and take off any possible allergens that he's come into contact with on his walks. Dorwest Herbs do an oatmeal shampoo which is supposed to help with itchy dogs too, so could be worth a try?
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Post by scallywag on Nov 17, 2014 7:36:14 GMT
Licking definately turns fur pinkish, Beau has a place on his front leg thats the size of 50p piece hes always licking that spot. Not sure why, but on close inspection he has caught that leg when jumping from the patio onto the grass at some time as theres a small bald patch there when I spread outbthe fur. We used to get a shampoo from the vets for our previous Springer called Sebocalm, that was very good, hope you can get to the bottom of it Welcome to the forum too
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 9:57:24 GMT
Hi, Thanks for the replies - much appreciated.
Re. fleas - he's completely clear - treated every month with Certifect as we spend six months in France during the summer and the ticks are much worse than where we are here (does anyone else agree with me that Certifect smells revolting - even my dog tries to get away from himself!).
We thought it was a pollen allergy and always hose him down when he's been in the fields. However, it's the forest he goes in here and at present I wouldn't have thought pollen was high on the list??
He seems to be able to tolerate this until his coat gets just a little longer, then it gets discoloured and the itching starts. I've had allergy tests done a few years back with another springer we had - after many weeks it came back she was allergic to house dust mites which are impossible to eradicate!
However, the holistic testing site looks interesting and this may be of help - I think he has a fungus on his coat which is suppressed when the cost is short but as soon as it's longer it thrives. Question is what fungus!! The hair test may give info. on this. I'll give an update..... Meanwhile he's going into the shower when my breakfast has settled......
Have a good day although not the best for dog walking if you live near me - raining!
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 10:14:03 GMT
Just looked on the Holistic site and I see that Mark Pooley who owns it was trained/had close connection with Charles Barrett (Eire) - we used Charles Barrett many years ago when our other springer had the alleged house mite allergy and he was really good - especially as all the consultations were done over the phone!
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Post by scallywag on Nov 17, 2014 10:17:04 GMT
Good luck patty, keep us updated, come back and have a few chats wont you ? We would love to see photo's ! ? if you have the time this is a great forum to while away time on have a few laughs and crys etc LOL Blue skys and dry here this morning
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 10:22:28 GMT
Hi,
I'd love to put a photo on but I don't know how - could someone help please??
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Post by scallywag on Nov 17, 2014 10:24:24 GMT
Hi, I'd love to put a photo on but I don't know how - could someone help please?? Do you have photobucket ??
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 10:26:42 GMT
No I don't have Photobucket but I'm used to using a computer.
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Post by scallywag on Nov 17, 2014 10:30:20 GMT
ok google photobucket and join it is FREE then its quite easy to use, shout if you need help I will be back and forth just running payroll at the moment but didn't want to ignore your shout for help.
The link to copy is the 4th one down ( i.e the past one ) the IMG one xxx
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 10:44:57 GMT
Just joined Photobucket but will have to have a look later as I'm off out. Looks really good actually - have never bothered with it before so thanks!
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Post by orpheous87 on Nov 17, 2014 18:04:45 GMT
Hi, Thanks for the replies - much appreciated. Re. fleas - he's completely clear - treated every month with Certifect as we spend six months in France during the summer and the ticks are much worse than where we are here (does anyone else agree with me that Certifect smells revolting - even my dog tries to get away from himself!). We thought it was a pollen allergy and always hose him down when he's been in the fields. However, it's the forest he goes in here and at present I wouldn't have thought pollen was high on the list?? He seems to be able to tolerate this until his coat gets just a little longer, then it gets discoloured and the itching starts. I've had allergy tests done a few years back with another springer we had - after many weeks it came back she was allergic to house dust mites which are impossible to eradicate! However, the holistic testing site looks interesting and this may be of help - I think he has a fungus on his coat which is suppressed when the cost is short but as soon as it's longer it thrives. Question is what fungus!! The hair test may give info. on this. I'll give an update..... Meanwhile he's going into the shower when my breakfast has settled...... Have a good day although not the best for dog walking if you live near me - raining! I'm not 100% sure about pollen as I'm sure I saw/read something recently that mentioned pollen being a problem in autumn but I wouldn't have thought it'd be a problem now that it's getting colder. I have noticed that my Springer always seems much pinker when her hair is longer too. Not sure why this is, unless it's just because there's more hair? The hair test should definitely give you more of an idea. Pepper's test came back that she's allergic to all sorts of things such as ants, bees and mites - which, as you say, are impossible to eradicate. But the food that she's allergic to was what we expected as it shows that she's allergic to gluten as well as rice and oats. I can only speak from personal experience, but I definitely think the hair test was worth it as it also revealed that Pepper had inflammation of the sinuses. In hindsight, this should have been obvious because Pepper has a habit of sitting next to you like she's a human i.e. sat up on her back legs, leaning against the back of the sofa/chair and when she did this, her breathing seemed very laboured/heavy. Since we've given her the remedy that is included in the price of the hair test, the heavy breathing has stopped and she seems much happier in herself! So, for me, that's all the proof I need that the hair test isn't just rubbish. Do keep us updated if you go ahead with the test too. It'd be nice to see what results someone else gets. You just need to be prepared to have a wait for the results, unfortunately.
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Post by caz2golden on Nov 17, 2014 18:09:50 GMT
I agree with scallywag and orpheous87. Hair does change colour if dogs are irritated and wont leave an area alone (mainly licking). I would be suspicious of an underlying allergy. Like orpheous87 put I am surprised vets did not know reason behind it. Good luck getting to the bottom of the problem. Oatmeal shampoo is supposedly good to help sooth skin but only if you dont have yeast issue. How often were you washing your dog with vet shampoo?
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 21:51:09 GMT
Hi,
No - vet hasn't been able to help apart from giving me shampoos like Virbac Epi-soothe, Malaseb etc - I shower him with ordinary shampoo, then the prescription shampoo and leave it on for 10 mins - at first twice a week then once a week. No improvement at all. This summer I bought a good TeaTree-based shampoo off the Internet - again didn't help. I was undecided whether to go for the oatmeal one - however, from what you said Caz I did well not to as I personally think it may be a yeast /fungus and these - like athlete's foot etc are really difficult to get rid of and to stay rid! Thing is his coat is beautiful - no dryness etc. and really glossy. I have confidence the hair test may give me info. re. allergies etc but do you think they could pick up a fungus on it?
Another thing which I'm suspicious of is....... The dog treats like Rodeos, Smackos - he does have these......
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Post by patty on Nov 17, 2014 21:54:33 GMT
Forgot to add that he's always had Hills Vet Eesentials Diet - first the Puppy and now the Adult. Has no problems re. his stomach.
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