• Other Issues

April 2011

Canine Allergies: Most Common Causes, Best Tests, and Effective Treatments

Subscribers Only Maybe this has happened to you: You’re reading or watching TV or at your computer, and your dog is lying on the carpet near you. You’re absorbed in what you are doing, but all of a sudden, you realize that your dog is licking or chewing himself, or scratching his ear with a hind paw. “Hey!” you say to your dog. “Stop that!” Your dog stops, looks at you, and wags his tail. You go back to doing what you were doing – and a few minutes later, you hear the tell-tale sounds of licking or chewing or scratching again. Every dog does a certain amount of self-grooming to keep himself clean – and every dog owner should be aware of how much is normal, and how much is too much, because “too much” is often the first indication that a dog is having an allergy attack.

Corticosteroids: Lifesaver or Killer?

Subscribers Only There are almost as many opinions among veterinarians concerning the use of corticosteroids as there are veterinarians. Some feel that these drugs – prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone foremost among them – are invaluable to every dog who itches; some feel that corticosteroids ought to be used only as a last resort, and only for short periods and in small amounts. Still others regard them as verboten. Why are these drugs so controversial?

Food Elimination Trial: A Valuable Tool (When Done Correctly)

Subscribers Only A valid food elimination trial for the purpose of confirming food hypersensitivity consists of three phases: elimination, challenge, and provocation. In the first (elimination) phase, the dog is fed a diet consisting of a single protein source and a single carbohydrate source. Both of these ingredients should be completely “novel” to the dog – foods he’s never eaten before. (Thirty years ago, lamb and rice was the go-to food elimination diet, because those ingredients were not yet widely available in commercial pet foods. Because the diet was novel, few dogs had developed allergies to those ingredients, and “lamb and rice” gained an unearned reputation as a “hypoallergenic” diet.

When It Comes to Allergy Tests, Some Dogs Flunk

Subscribers Only There are a few different types of tests available that purport to identify the allergens to which a dog is hypersensitive; some of them are helpful, and some are a waste of time and money. Since all of them are commonly referred to as “allergy tests,” few people know which ones are credible, and which ones are not. The following is a brief description of the types of tests available for allergy diagnosis.

Other Conditions That Can Cause Your Dog's Itching

Subscribers Only Allergies are not the only reason that dogs itch. In fact, to properly diagnose hypersensitivity, one of the first things a veterinarian needs to do is to rule out other potential causes of itching. “Allergies are a diagnosis of exclusion,” says Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM, an internal medicine specialist with a consulting practice in Deerfield, Illinois. A dog’s medical history can sometimes help his vet identify the reason for the dog’s itching, but in other cases, the history may be lacking (such as with a shelter dog).

A Canine Allergy Glossary

Subscribers Only An Allergen is defined as a substance that causes an allergic reaction. Anything can be an allergen to a hypersensitive individual, even water. The term has meaning only in relation to an individual who is hypersensitive to that substance.

Behavior Modification
for Itchy Dogs

Excessive self-licking and chewing can be caused by a medical issue. It can also be a behavioral problem, a classic example of an obsessive/compulsive disorder. Either way, it’s annoying to the dog’s human companion, and dangerous to the health of the dog. Here are tips for dealing with dogs who self-lick and chew excessively. To begin behavior modification, determine your dog’s stressors and start eliminating them. Make a list of everything you can think that is stresses your dog – even just a little bit, even if the stressors don’t seem directly related to the licking. Your list might include thunder, small children, dogs on television, cats, riding in cars, visits to the vet, shock collars, medical issues, and many more. Most owners can identify between 10 and 20 stressors for their dogs.

Try Treibball! The New Herding Sport - No Sheep Required

Just when you think every possible canine sport has already been invented, someone comes up with a new one. This latest one is a humdinger, and it’s spreading like wildfire. If you haven’t already heard of treibball (pronounced “Try-ball” and also known as “Drive Ball”), you’ve been napping. Treibball is a terrific new way to play with your dog. The game consists of “herding” a number of large inflatable exercise balls into a soccer-like net. Of course the herding breeds come to mind, but it’s also great for many of the prey-oriented sporting dogs and terriers, and any other dogs who just like to chase things.

Help For a Dog With Car Phobia

Subscribers Only Behavior issues, from simple good manners infractions to the more concerning problems of phobias and aggression, appear in dogs both large and small. But while training to modify behavior issues might look the same regardless of size, in other respects, the bigger the dog, the bigger the problem. When a Dachshund has a lapse in housetraining, the cleanup process is significantly easier than if an Irish Wolfhound has an accident. If a Havanese frantically jumps up on your elderly Aunt Tilly, the collateral damage is less than if a Great Dane does the same. And if a Yorkie is terrified of riding in the car and refuses to get in for an emergency trip to the vet, he can be picked up and placed inside – not so when a Newfoundland steadfastly refuses.

It's OK to Get a Second Opinion Before Putting Your Dog Through Surgery

Subscribers Only Your dog is limping and you don’t know why, so you take him to your veterinarian. The vet pushes, pulls, and palpates and announces that your dog probably has torn ligaments in his knee. She says that he needs surgery, and she can take care of that. While you love your dog’s vet, you’re just not sure that you agree, and you’re also unsure whether surgery is the route you want to take. You feel uncomfortable thinking the thought, but wonder what another veterinarian might recommend.

One More Reason to Fight Flea Infestation

Subscribers Only In late February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report about two people who live in the same home in Lake County, Oregon, who were diagnosed with bubonic plague – the only two cases of the disease in the United States in 2010. Because bubonic plague is so rare in the U.S. – and potentially deadly – the victim’s county and state health departments, as well as the CDC, all participated in investigating how the patients contracted the illness. Eventually, all fingers pointed at a third member of the household: the family dog. More specifically, fleas on the family dog.

FDA Notifies Veterinarians of Phenobarbital Recall

On March 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) advised veterinarians about a recall of a human drug, phenobarbital, which is used extra-label for pets. On February 5, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals recalled certain lots of product that was labeled as phenobarbital – but was actually hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin).

Live and Learn

For months now, I’ve been planning and thinking about and making notes for “Itching to Be Well,” the article about canine allergies that I wrote for this issue. My last dog, a Border Collie named Rupert, has been on my mind as I’ve been working on the article. Rupe was itchy most of his life, and though I became aware early on that he had a severe hypersensitivity to flea bites – the bite of a single flea could turn him into an obsessively scratching, chewing, red, irritated mess within hours – it took me almost a decade to discover that he also was allergic to chicken.