Female Cairn

Question
QUESTION: Hello, about a year and a half ago my mother rescued a cairn from a puppy mill along with her friend who runs the animal shelter in our town, she soon found out her new dog was pregnant, and when her dog had puppies I adopted two of them. They will be two this January! Since they came from a mom who had horrible living conditions, we don't really know what their background or anything about their fathers health. Recently my little girl dog, Nattie, has been ripping her hair out at the base of her tail and on the back of her hind end. She sort of jumps and then flips around and starts biting at her tail, and kind of runs to a corner with her tail tucked between her legs, as if something bit her. I always apply Frontline once a month. I have checked her for fleas and flea droppings, and have found nothing. I haven't used any new food, detergents, perfumes, treats, or shampoos on her since i adopted her. I have changed her bedding, vacuumed and basically cleaned everything she might lay on or come in contact with. I am not sure why she is doing this. I don't over bathe her maybe every four weeks or so and never the week before or after I apply her Frontline because, I don't want to wash away the Frontline or the natural oils on Nattie that it needs to work. I took her to the vet and they gave her an allergy shot (which has not worked). They also asked if she had been scooting on the floor and she hasn't but they emptied her glands anyway. This has not worked either. I am running out of ideas of how to help her, and her hind end is beginning to look very sad. Please help! Do you know why she might be doing this?

ANSWER: Sarah -

Despite the shot not working, my very best guess is an allergy of some kind. Cairns are particularly prone to them, and they can be very debilitating.

The first step is to eliminate allergens from her food. I recommend kibble that contains no by-products, no corn, no wheat and no soy.  Surprisingly, after a couple of weeks on a food like this many many dogs will regrow coat and stop having such terrible reactions (watch for things like toe chewing too).

The shot they gave her is most likely a steroid, and they just don't work for some dogs.

There is a skin care routine that was developed by the cairn rescue group I foster and mentor for, and I strongly recommend it.  It will bring her some comfort and relief while you give the change in food a chance to work.

If you are, however, already feeding a food that does not contain these ingredients, let me know and I'll make some additional recommendations.  I say the food first because it solves about 80-90% of the cases I have known about.  Remember - in all their training vets are only given one short class on nutrition and it is often sponsored by one of the large dog food manufacturers !

It may be seasonal, just like people, and the skin care regimen will be helpful for that.

Here's the link for the skin care program:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/docs/SkinCareRegime.htm


Let me know if you have any more questions !  Best luck to you and your poor kiddo !

-Beth

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have placed them on Iams lamb and rice formula because it says that it is for sensitive skin and stomachs. They have very very sensitive stomachs and this is the only formula that I have been able to keep them on that keeps their stomachs settled. Their mother (which my mom has) is also on this formula an is the only one that has kept her stomach settled. The ingredients are:  Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Grits, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Dried Beet Pulp, Fish Meal, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Caramel, Choline Chloride, Flax Meal, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Monosodium Phosphate, Rosemary Extract. Do you think that I should switch from this formula? Thanks you again for all of your help!!!

Answer
Sarah -

Yes you should switch. Iams spends a lot of money on advertising and would have you believe it's one of the best foods you can buy (Science Diet is no better), but just look at the ingredients.

Dogs with sensitive stomachs should also have no corn, and this food has 2 different kinds of corn and also has by-products (which is just plain gross if I explained it)

I recommend brands that you can't get in the grocery store, and in fact not in many of the big name chain pet supply stores. There are any number of brands - Wellness, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, By Nature, Merrick, Innova, California Natural, Nature's Variety, Timberwolf, Blue Buffalo, etc.

I personally feed Eagle Pack Holistic Select - the sardine formula.  It has no gross ingredients in it, is very easy on tummies and does a wonderful job on dogs with skin problems.  It is also very highly palatable.

Hope this helps

-Beth