Posted by: "Jan Hodges" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hi Janet,
I got lost in your web page, it is really fun.
Greta has serious allergy related skin problems, up to and including mast
cell. We did all kinds of things with my conventional vet, short of
steroids. Injections of Ivermectin will get rid of Demodetic mange if they
have that. I don't know if it is worse than the dips or more benign.
However, we think Greta developed an allergy to it, and we don't think she
had mites. She just kept getting worse, she really was dying. She can't
take Heartgard anymore, but is okay with Interceptor. That is critical
around here, if the dog doesn't get the meds it does get heartworm. I think
conventional veterinary medicine recommends routinely treating all skin
conditions as if they are mites regardless of whether they can find them in
a scraping or not. They never could find them with Greta.
I got her to a holistic vet in March, and she is a lot better now.
Unfortunately she is getting mysterious Chinese herbs and I don't have a
clue what they are, so I can't tell you. I think they are primarily blood
cleansing herbs, so things like red clover and burdock might do the same
kind of thing of the european herbs (I know a lot more about european herbs,
although that doesn't mean a lot) She was on DES for incontinence before
that and has not needed it for 6 months. Her allergies are not gone but
under control mostly, she isn't literally eating herself anymore, and her
coat is grown back, I think nearly half her hair was gone. She had a fever
all the time and sweated a lot (still sweats but not nearly as much). She
oozed black goo out of her pores while she was starting to get better (still
does but not nearly as much), I think her body was full of toxins, she
doesn't drink enough water, although we push it, so stuff doesn't flush
through her kidneys like it will with someone who drinks a lot of water. It
is a long term thing to deal with a severe skin problem like this, I don't
think Greta will ever be completely over it. Some things besides the herbs
that she gets are local honey, fresh vegetables in her food (20% by volume),
yogurt (I make it and use organic milk), Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate), and
vitamin e (800 mg a day for the first two months, 400 mg now). Also really
high quality food of course.
I think it is genetic in the sense that this is the way she reacted to toxic
food. (I didn't know enough to feed them well enough until the last couple
years, they ate Dog Chow for a long time.) I think Sven reacted to it in
other ways, he never had allergies, but he died of sarcoma.
I don't know if this helps at all, if you can find a holistic vet I highly
recommend it. I would not do the mite treatment first, unless they can
actually find mites, and then might try the more natural treatments people
have been talking about on the list first. These dogs are clearly already
compromised in the immune system, more poisons are not a wonderful idea.
The lumps need to come off if possible.
A wash made of a decoction of burdock, goldenseal, chickweed, and myrrh
might help. Or they might be allergic to some of those. I have to be
really careful with herbs with Greta. It would be best to try one at a
time.
Jan
New Mexico
>Posted by: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>Hi listers...
They say it is hereditary. I don't get
>it....it seems to me their problem is from very unsanitary conditions and
>poor nutrition. --- One Dane went to his new home this past week,
>the vet has put him on Sulfa 960 and hytroxyzina 50 mg and wants to dip him
>every 2 weeks in Mitiban dips. I'm not a big fan of this. I'd like some
>homeopathic remedies or suggestions if possible.
