Hope Willow is feeling better

Princess (bichon) had a terrible time last year with allergies, fits of reverse sneezing, itching and hot spots. I changed her food to burns, make a stew to fill her kong with and add cod liver oil in her food every 2nd night. The change in her is incredible, no more problems. The only thing i have noticed is that she like to clean her face off the sofa after shes been fed.

I have no pet insurance (i know crazy since my vet calls cavaliers a vets best friend and bichons are noted for skin issues) but thats for another thread. I treat my pets like I treat myself and will try and find a natural/alternative solution if possible.

good luck with whatever solution you find.

Thank you all for your advice and kind comments. Willows skin is still rather oink, the steroid didnt appear to do anything to make it any paler..maybe its just her colouring?? She has however stopped shuffling on her bum, and no longer has smelly breath, so if she had an infection somewhere it appears to have cleared up!

Im still giving her her ear drops, and she is back at the vets a week on wednesday for a check up.

I feed her a hypoallergenic feed, with chicken. Im going to get some of the james wellbelloved treats, as she has had them before and really liked them.. Im going to start putting the oils in her feed see if that can help reduce the colour of her skin, but like has been said...this may go with time, she is only a baby still.. I hope so!

Will keep you updated though xxxxxx

Well this is a good start at least, hopefully you will see more improvements in time. If she is suffering from an allergic reaction to food, I guess it will take a while for the new food to reach her system and see the effects.

Marius had a reaction to some puppy food going back a while, he was very itchy. After two weeks of changing to James Wellbeloved he was like a new dog, no itching, much glossier coat and less poop. Hopefully it will be the same for Willow too. xxx

Glad to her some of Willow's problems have subsided a bit. Let's hope they stay away.

Although i've never seen her and i'm not a vet, I would still stay away from steroid injections for now.

Hope she continues to improve. Keep us posted.

Thank you, I agree, I wont be letting her have any more uneccesary treatments...I do feel the ear drops werent particulary needed, and I also think her shuffling could have been due to worms?? Im not entirely sure, but the steroids didnt make her skin any less pink??!!

Did the vet actually empty her anal glands? That could just be the reason for her bum shuffling, although you have said it's stopped. I'm just wondering.

The vet would know if she had worms. Has she been wormed recently? Dogs should be wormed every 3 months routinely, I think it's the same for puppies.

Defnitely try the hypoallergenic diet along the Evening Primrose and Starflower oils and washing her things in non-bio detergent and rinsing her with just water/ bathng her with Malaseb. I think you should see an improvement by doing this.

Keep her bedding clean and fresh as she could be sensitive to house dustmites.

Could you possibly post a very recent close up picture of her please?

Il try and get a photo of her tonight... Yeah the vet emptied her anal glands, and she was wormed that day too. I have been out this afternoon and bought some tablets with primrose oil in for her skin. Ive also bought some hypoallergenic treats and pouches.

She was rubbing her head alot last night and her skin did feel warm...I really dont think anything the vet prescribed or did has been of any benefit at all...

xx

Hope you have some success with the oils and the food.

It's beginning to sound to me like it's just a habit she's picked up Just make sure to tell her off when she rubs and distract her with a toy and/or treat.

If you think she's rubbing when you're not around aswell you could get a collar aka "lampshade" to put her while you try to get it under control. Just a thought.

Hi Carole - I have been looking into Starflower Oil for my itchy dogs, although can't find dosage anywhere on the net!

How much do you give Finn?

The capsules I have provide 110mg of GLA - I figured that would be ok for my 2 adults (both 25kg) but for my 10kg puppy I wasn't so sure?

What do you think?

Many thanks!

I used to give Finn these ones some of the time if they were on special offer. He used to get 1 a day which contained 220mg GLA

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/vf/labels/007730HB.pdf

For a puppy it might be best to ask the vet for the correct dosage.