Labrador female dog allergic to chicken/eating chicken poo..../UPDATE

[crazy huhn]

Hello everyone, glad to be your newest forum member.
Here is already my first question: We have chickens for a year now. Our Labrador is very friendly with them, eats the chicken poo - eww...Even though my vet says it is not the chickens and $2000 later in different tests without any results, I have the suspision that she has developed an allergie since last fall against the chickens. She has itchy skin with outbreaks. We cannot do an allergie test, because she gets Prednisone. Devils circle: because the Pred suppresses the immune system she gets staph infections once in a while and that means Antibiotics...Hope I do not have to choose between chickens or dog. Anybody had a similar problem and suggestions what to do?

Dec.9, 2008
Update: I followed all your suggestions. Kept her away from the chickens, fenced the chickens in (99.9 %), Natural Balance Food, Zymox, Allergie Test and shots. She was better for a while, got worse a month ago. Staph infections again. This time antibiotic did not do anything. Skin biopsies were performed and she was diagnosed with pemphigus foliaceus. Does anybody have any experience with that? Back she is on immune suppressive meds like Prednisone, Azathioprine and antibiotic Ciprofloxacin. She is slowly getting better and the vet wants to lower the dose soon. However, she probably has to stay on that for the rest of her life (she is only 6 ys old). I am extremely concerned, because of all the possible side effects of long term use. Is there a holistic approach? One holistic vet in my area charges $2.50 per minute for the initial phone call after reviewing prior doctors notes and after that $160 for the first initial visit. Odd or shall I go for it? Any other ideas?

 

[lemurchaser]

Try keeping her away from the chickens for a month, walks instead of being around the chickens. It will probably not be fun, but at least then you can figure it out. You could also put a basket muzzle on her when she's outside to prevent her from eating the poop.
I would doubt it is the chickens. Dogs develop allergies, and especially labs, to all sorts of things. What is most likely is that she is allergic to the corn in the chicken poop. Corn is a very common allergen.

 

[crazy huhn]

Good idea. Thanks for your reply.

 

[apbgv]

My guess is she has inhalant allergies-called atopy. Very common in certain breed of dogs, instead of"hay fever" like people dogs generally get itchy skin. common allergies are dust mites and pollens from plants. Food allergies are generally very severe and generally caused by proteins in the diet(won't go into the long and boring details)

May want to look into a shampoo called zymox and see about adding an antihistamine along with the pred. Sometimes you have to try different antihistamines, they can be on those all year long.

 

[jeaucamom]

We JUST went through this.... we were pet sitting my friends black lab Wanda. She was so sweet and docile, she even left the chicks in tupperwear containers alone that were in the living room. BUT she ate all the poo and chick startere she could get her hands on. She wound up having horrible bloody diarrhea, and ear infection and barfing. She had a history of wheat and other food allergies. So the vet puts her on a bland diet to give her tummy a rest. And silly me chooses chicken and cottage cheese. The next thing I know, she is after the chicks and the grown hens. I think she could smell her next meal!! So off Wanda went, back to my friend

 

[HatTrickSilkies]

Is she by chance eating the chicken feed? That in itself can be the cause of the allergic reaction.

 

[lemurchaser]

If the pred is for allergies, I would really work on getting her off that. Antihistamines are much safer. You could also take the time to get her off pred so she can get the allergy testing (and probably the allergy shots after that). It might mean multiple baths a week (to wash off allergens), being mostly inside, and careful monitoring.

My dog was have skin issues, we did the testing and she's allergic to 53 things, including human dander. I did the allergy shots for 3 years and now she is symptom free. I probably spent $1200 total from testing to shots to follow up appointments, all with a veterinary dermatologist. Well worth it, seeing we were have $400 bills every month or two for skin issues.

 

[crazy huhn]

No, she is not eating chicken feed, the chicken try more to get her dog food, but thats another story.....We have tried antihistamines, like Benadryl and so, but no success with those. I have carefully tried to taper her of the Pred, but back it came......Now she is on 10 mg every other day and still not 100% OK. Will try all your ideas here with the shampoo and will mention the allergie shots to my vet next time. Thanks everyone, YOU GUYS ARE GREAT HERE IN THIS FORUM!!!

 

[WisconsinChick]

Its probally her food that she is allergic to, not the chicken poop. You might want to try switching her to a type without corn or soy for awhile.

 

[halo]

I was going to mention the same thing, what kind of dog food are you feeding her? Ive had to switch to dog food with no corn or wheat for my shelties, and they are fine now.