Originally Posted by
montysmum
I hope you dont mind me replying to this too - I dont know a lot about your history, but did have a dog that seemed to be allergic to almost everything, and had constant problems with ears, eyes, feet and skin generally. There were times when I really thought he was going to have to be put down because his skin was so sore he literally couldnt put any pressure on his paws at all because of all the cysts and abcesses on them.
Monty was on Piriton almost constantly - 6 a day (he was a Labrador sized mutt), which didnt stop the problem but did keep the irritation at a tolerable level for him, and I wa taking him to the vets daily for a long time to get a variety of injections, tablets, creams etc - all of which cost me a fortune of course.
Over the years I found a system that kept his problems to a minimum, and eventually I didnt have to take him to the vets because of his skin at all - it had practically cleared although never completely went.
I found that I had to keep changing his dog food every few months. I would change the diet, he would get less itchy, but then he would seem to build up intolerance to it over a few months and I would have to change it again.
The raw diet with mushed up veg he did well on for the longest and I made sure he did not get any extras or treats. I also added in some 'live' natural yoghurt
As for what triggered the problem - it was certainly worse in the Spring and Autumn, and I believe he was also allergic to cats (I had 3 at one stage) as his condition certainly improved as one by one the cats died and eventually I had none. He was also affected by wheat, any foods with soya, and when I tried to give him cod liver oil capsules that made things worse too.
As much as possible I tried to treat him with natural remedies. I gave him echinacea tablets to boost his immune system, vitamin C, stopped getting him vaccinated, used tea tree and natural anti flea remedies, nothing chemical at all.
As for his ears, I dont know if Montys problem is the same as your dogs, but he would get itchy muzzle and ears which he would scratch constantly, shaking his head and yelping when he scratched his ears too much. The inside of the ears would become red, hot and inflammed and get a stinky smell from them, and would show scratches where he had used his back leg too vigorously to scratch himself.
I found that if I used Johnson's Ear drops as soon as there was the slightest sign of redness or irritation it helped a lot, as did bathing the inside of his ears with a mix of yoghurt and aloe vera gel. Reading online I saw that a lot of people used diluted vinegar to bathe infected ears but I didnt as Montys ears used to be scratched and I thought the vinegar might sting.
I dont know which (or if any) of these measures had an effect, or if he would have outgrown the problem anyway, but eventually I didnt have to take him to the vets because of his skin at all, and the only medicine I ever used to give him was Piriton now and again if he started to get itchy. He stopped having to wear socks all the time, could walk fine (although I could never take him to the beach) and only now and again would he get an itchy ear.
Dont know if any of that helps but I hope you get something sorted for your doggie.