Rottweiler help please, eczema ?

Speaking to a colleague at work last night and my heart was breaking. He told us about his dog, who is 7-8 years of age , was bought from a kennel in Bradford, is KC Reg, cost about £700 and was fine until he was 11 mths old . He went to a boarding kennel while they went on holiday. He said when they came back the dog developed a skin condition and has never recovered.

The vet said it is not something that the dog caught from kennels, did allergy tests and said that the dog is allergic to Chicken, Beef, Lamb , White Fish and wheat and that the skin condition is a form of Eczema.

Over the years the dog has been given steroids, tablets that he was on twice a day at a fiver each (don't know what these were) and antibiotics, also a cream for his neck area. Nothing seems to have worked long term, though the cream did give some relief.

The dog is now fed on JWB Duck and apparently is not keen on his meals.

His condition gets worse in the summer as he gets blister type formations around his eyes and some mornings his eyes have to be washed so he can open them.

His feet are badly affected also and this inturn means he doesn't like to walk far because of the pain.

All this said, the dog is apprentley happy and a much loved member of the family. To date he has cost his owners approx £8000-£9000 in treatments.

He goes to the vets every two months as the antibiotics he is on apprently require this by law. The vet checks him over and weighs him. He said he will bring the packet in tonight with the name on (I wondered if it was cheaper for him to buy it onilne).

They bath his feet in salt water and he is said to like this.

Basically my heart broke when he told me about his dog and I wondered if anyone had any advice? I know it is a long shot and the dog has had this condition for many years and perhaps I am clutching at straws, but I thought someone may have been through this before and know what to recommend.

Hi WW what a difficult situation the only thing I can suggest is diet related. I understand Burns now make a Pork and Potato food neither of which are on the list, someone else does Turkey and a couple of people do Salmon and potato,perhaps the dog would find this more appetising .

Also suggest the owner adds a little warm water to the food to make it smell more appealing.

If it was my dog I would feed it on a diet of fresh foods not on the list starting with a minimum of foods like an elimination diet then gauge the results . Things like rabbit/eggs/ oats/ veg/turkey/potatoes or the owner could try one of the above foods mixed with these.
It may not result in the perfect diet but if the dog is more comfortable it has to be an improvement.

For bathing, they could try running a muslin/loosely woven bag of oats under the tap. The milky residue is very soothing for eczema.

Thank you. I did mention BARF to him but I think it was a bit 'modern' , as it is for some people. He said he spoke to someone with a dog with a similar problem whos dog became a vegetarian, and the symptoms were greatly improved. This dog unfortunately does not like veg at all (I am not saying veg alone would be an ideal diet) unless they are covered in gravy.
He stopped feeding Turkey as the butcher told him it was the same as chicken?

Thannks I will pass this on xxx

This is so sad
Why not try just tripe and and a good wholemeal biscuit, I have alsorts of problems with my springer with itching and eczema and find this works a treat. He could get it from p@h or on line, ( but they do not do the bisciut, I find Foldhill terrier the best) but surely anything is worth a try.
Hope he can get some relief.

Thanks , all suggestions have been past on and greatfully received. I did touch on raw feeding and he actually said they had tried it , the dog loved it but had the runs.

Thanks, I mentioned the tripe suggestion also, he was worried that it was from a cow and the dog is allergic to beef, he didn't know if tripe would be diff because of the nature of where it is from?

The tablets the dog is on daily are CEPOREX 500mg , 1 tablet twice a day.

If the dog needs a completely meat/fish-free diet, there are some complete vegetarian dog foods out there. Here's a link to some - have a look through the lists of ingredients because some contain soya protein but there are wheat-free options too:

http://www.veggiepets.com/shop/veget...-dog-food.html

If he's okay with salmon, but the owners prefer not to have to buy fresh salmon and potato, here is a link to a complete salmon and potato food:

http://www.fish4dogs.com/Products/Sa...te-4-Dogs.aspx

Thanks Lucky xxxx