My 10 year old black lab started in April of 2003 with...

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Question by jlinsey
Submitted on 4/10/2004
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My 10 year old black lab started in April of 2003 with red,itchy sore spots on his flanks,which then spread to his groin and chest. He lost a good deal of his fur and had a "musty" odor. He was very crusty and this would scrape off and leave a sore spot. Spent tons of money and months at the vets using antibiotics and steroids which gave a partial temporary fix. He thought it was a staph infection. Then thought it was ringworm. Treated it for that. Finally went to a new vet. Did blood work, skin biopsies, and skin cultures. By January of 2004, we finally found his thyroid level was low and started him on replacement. He had started to improve by December 2003-January 2004. Things were great until end of March when things outside started to green up. Now, here we are, second week in April, grass is green, trees are budding, and my poor dog is licking his paws, has crusty spots on his flanks, his groin is red, and he's starting to smell musty. Sounds like allergies to me. Does anyone out there have some thoughts on this? I would prefer not to go the dermatologist route as there is not one anywhere close to me. Thanks.

Answer by Dena
Submitted on 4/21/2004
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I wish I could help you.. I would also like the same help with my 6 yr golden retriever (Sadie). Tried almost everything. We finally conquered her food allergy this winter. She had 2 months of relief and then the snow melted and the fun begins again with battling her seasonal allergies. It also appears the benadryl isn't working well anymore, we've increased her dosage several times (per the vet) and she now gets 2 tablets 3 times a day with little relief. I have an appointment with the vet next week but I'm not very optimistic. I'm sure they'll just give her a course of antibiotics and prednisone again or suggest larger doses of benadryl. I certainly don't want her to overdose on benadryl. Also would like to know what I can put around her eyes to help alleviate her misery because she insists on rubbing her eyes and ears on the the carpet until her eyes are swollen and the hair is gone. Thanks-

Answer by Chimene
Submitted on 9/6/2004
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My puppy, Sophie, is half black lab & half weimaraner and everytime we put her outside for any length of time she would come in scratching and she would get red bites all over. We treated the grass. We treated her with flea preventer. She would and still does sometimes scratch her eyes until they are raw and finally crusty. She looks like she has white circles around her eyes from the loss of fur. When it got really bad earlier this summer and after skin grafts, my vet put her on prednisone & antibiotics and an antibiotic cream which worked for awhile but the prednisone has such bad side effects. Now she's not as bad, but we don't let her stay "inactive" in the yard and we bring her in asap. I use tea tree oil on her belly area and to clean her ears and the antibiotic cream on her eyes (which she tries to take off with her paws) I bathe her in the shower with an oatmeal shampoo and conditioner and rinse with the shower massage. I give her Benadryl, (2-3 pills) twice a day with peanut butter. (I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem!) Sophie's about 70 lbs and will be a year old on 9/20/04. Good Luck!

Answer by hamc
Submitted on 8/23/2005
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We are having the exact same problem with our chocolate Labrador. We got him in December at eight weeks. As soon as the grass greened up, he developed the sores as described in previous postings. I was scared for him because of the number of them and how red and painful they looked. The vet gave me steroids to help in healing because they were so awful, and antibiotic to help the "staph" infection go away (that's what they called it). It cleared up like a dream and I was a happy; but just two days after the medication regime was over with it came out in full force, worse than before. I purchased a book called "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Dogs and Cats," published by Rodale and on page 25 when talking about allergies and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) it says, "The typical dose is one to three milligrams for every pound of pet, but you should ask your vet for precise dosages." I called my vet and he said 80 milligrams. My dog is 80 lbs. and anything over that is overdosing. My question, if anyone has the answer I would love one, is this: Why such a range and disagreement between vets over those doses? I tried 2 pills with my pup, no luck, I tried 3 pills with my pup, no luck. I got tired of playing the game and gave him 6 pills, the red pustules are down to a low roar and he isn't developing any new sores. Now, do I listen to my vet and drop the dose and risk re-inflammation or do I just keep giving him 6 pills twice a day? What are the long-term, ill side effects of too much Benadryl?

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Answer by GClare
Submitted on 7/13/2004
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I had a black female retriever that had the same type of problem. After many vet trips and bills, we finally figured out that she was allergic to fleas. I did not ever see even one flea on her and doubted this diagnosis. But we began treating her regularly with Frontline pray (the drops do not work) and she had a much better summer every year. Every year as soon as the grass would begin to turn green Sheba would begin to scratch, we would pray her and she would return to normal. Hope this helps.

Answer by klipi
Submitted on 5/7/2005
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I have a nine month old black lab who would always itch and I did the benadryl route but was not crazy about giving her meds every day so I started giving her flax seed oil every day to moisturize her skin and she does not itch anymore(thank God)But it does sound like one of you has a dog with severe allergies that needs to be tested.GOOD LUCK!

Answer by Anna
Submitted on 3/6/2006
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Is it Cushing's disease?

Answer by tb
Submitted on 9/22/2006
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To jlinsey, I would highly recommend seeing a vet dermatologist for your lab. They have much more knowledge about allergies and endocrine diseases than general practitioners. It is important to work these dogs up properly to treat them instead of placing on thyroid supplementation or using steroids for a quick fix. I would go to the vet derm website www.acvd.org to locate a dermtatologist near you even if you have to drive a distance the visit will be worth it for your dog.

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