Dermatology doctor for dog?

mel123

Can anyone recommend anyone good or someone similiar? Have a year and a half old boxer who has a constant itch. Have been to the vet many times, tried many tablets, blood tests etc and just cant find what it is. At the moment she is on steroids which help dramatically but not totally, and obviously i cant keep her on steroids for the rest of her life. Anyone know where i can go from here? My vet is extreamly good, but they cant offer me any more help, its up to me now how long i want to give her steroids for. I really want to sort this out now for her if i can.

anniehoo

Rory Breathnach in the UCD Vet College is a canine dermatologist and is brilliant, but your dog needs a referral from your own vet.

mel123

Thanks for that, feel a bit bad asking them to refer me when they have tried everything themselves already and said they cant find anything, but i have to exhaust every avenue!!

getz

my bulldog was always licking his paws,so they were red with no coat on them ,i took him to the vet who said he was allergic to some thing ,after many tablets and injections nothing improved ,so i checked out the bulldog web sites and i came up with this advice to put him on a low protine diet and wash his paws in sea salt water, it seams to be working ,he dose not lick his paws as much or scratch --worth a try [the dog food i have put him on is the james wellbeloved] he loves it

anniehoo

mel123 wrote: »

Thanks for that, feel a bit bad asking them to refer me when they have tried everything themselves already and said they cant find anything, but i have to exhaust every avenue!!

Dont feel bad, your vet should have no problem referring him on. It doesnt mean you can never go back to your own vet, all you want is an experts advice. He'll understand that his knowledge will be limited and should welcome help from a proper dermatologist.
Its no different than going to your GP and being referred to a specialist from there.

olaola

I assume you've tried the dog on a senstivity controlled diet?

mel123

olaola wrote: »

I assume you've tried the dog on a senstivity controlled diet?

No actually we havnt. We have changed her food but we never actually eliminated everything and built it up. Ive just printed stuff out from the interent on how to do it, and i am also going to get some dog food from the pet shop on the way home, rather than supermarket brands.

olaola

TBH I would have thought the first thing the vet would have done is change the dogs food. I know of at least 4 or 5 dogs with constant itching who were put on senstivity controlled foods. At the moment my PIL's Lab is on Royal Canin SC24. I would definitely ditch the supermarket brands ASAP!!

I'd try one of these:
Royal Canin
James Wellbeloved
Purina
Burns
Arden Grange
Nutro

I'm sure people here can reccommend others for you to try. Royal Canin seem to have the most specific formulas for different problems. You might not be able to get the one you want in the pet store, you might have to buy from the vet. Or from http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk

We tried a few before finding the perfect one for our dog - even within brands.

BTW our dog is on James Wellbeloved lamb & rice with great results after she had digestive problems.

teckster

A good holistic vet might be able to help you

doolin101

If you are planning on doing a dietary trial you need to move your dog toa noel protein source- ie something he has NEVER had before. A lot of the 'good' foods have the same protein sources as the cheaper foods so you are not truly completing a dietary trial. Talk to your vet about it- often you need a specialised diet such as Hills zd which comprise of novel micro proteins. Also when on a dietary trial you dog must get absolutly NO treats- these can really mess it up. you tend not to see major results in a dietary trial for at least 6 weeks so you have to be stringent about sticking to it. Also if you choose to see a dermoatolist you will have to take your dog OFF seteroids for a minimum of 6 weeks prior to the appointement as teh steroids will skew blood and skin biopsy results.... Skin probs are defo a headache!