Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2 year old German Shepherd/Rottweiler. Every since I rescued him from the shelter I noticed missing hair on his tail and eventually he developed blood blisters on it. His skin is very itchy and he's been on many medications such as: Amoxicillin (which he is currently on to fight the infection in his tail causing the blisters), Prednisone, Cephalexin, Clindamycin, Ketoconazole, as well as some Vetalog injections. Nothing has helped. He is on Blue Buffalo Large Breed Adult food and I don't want him on all those meds. I want to take a more holistic approach and help him get healthy. I started reading up on Probiotics, Multivitamins and the apple cider idea. I'm planning on adding apple cider to his water but I'm not sure what I should do about the rest. Probiotics sound like a good thing for him considering the cause of all his issues are all the meds and toxins built up in his body. But once all that is out, should he be given a multivitamin? I don't want to overdose him or do more damage then good. I really need some help, please.

I'm going to add what I forgot to add in my first post, here. He's 98.2 pounds and he gets 3 fish oil pills a day. 1200 mg. Brand: Natures Made. He doesn't get them all in one time. He gets one in the morning, afternoon and at night. I've seen an improvment with his itching and inflammation but he still continues to scratch and he attempts to bite at his skin. I've read many things (bad) about Prednisone so I flushed those down the drain. I do give him the Amoxicillin due to the fact that I'm not exactly sure what I could give him that could allow him to fight this so called infection in his tail causing the blood blisters. He started those on the 13th of this month. He gets 2 a day. 12 hours apart.

I read that allergies (which is what the vet said he has) is caused by a "leaky gut" and that probiotics work to correct issues and flush the toxins out of his body. I'm not sure if I should get human ones or the dog ones and if I should give him a multivitamin with the Probiotics. I heard that human vitamins are toxic to dogs so if anyone knows any good brands that are dog ones please reply. I'd appreciate it and so would Zeus! Thanks!

Skin infections, whether bacterial or fungal, are generally secondary to other problems. If your vet has not done so, have him check for mites and run a thyroid panel. It is always a good idea to feed a raw diet, along with a probiotic and omega-3 fatty acids. Instead of the capsules, I would suggest a tablespoon of cod liver oil twice a day.

So you don't suggest a multivitamin then? And concerning the Probiotics is there anything I should be looking for when getting them. I found two bottles at the Petsmart..and I'm not sure which one to get. And how long should he be on it? Just until he's done with the bottle or 1-2 weeks.

Here are the two links to the bottles of Probiotics that I found in Petsmart. Maybe you'll be able to tell me which one I should get. http://www.probios.com/tabs.htm (It's the first bottle on the page) and http://www.nutri-vet.com/c-28-digestive-support.aspx (the first bottle as well)

I'm not a Dr. so take Dr. Tobin's advice first, but I use probiotics when my dogs are "off." I dont' use them constantly, I kind of use them as a "reset" for when they get into something that doesn't work for them. Some dogs I know need to use them constantly though because their systems are delicate.

I would recommend you find a decent holistic vet and work with them to get everything tweaked out for your dog and your dog's issues. Diet therapy is wonderful, but it's very specific to the individual animal and what works for one doesn't work for another- even of the same breed. For example- I have two shibas and one is recommended not to be on raw right now (the goal is to get her able to tolerate it some day). There's a lot of things that play into these decisions. Findind someone in person to help you out can make a huge difference.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

That's what I plan on doing. Finding a good holistic vet for Zeus. To be quite honest, the first I ever heard about Probiotics is when I read about it online. So, I wasn't really sure if it was something that HAD to be long term. I was looking for something more like what you do with your Shiba Inus. Just something to get their system going and having things back to how it should be. I hate seeing him so stressed and itchy! If I may ask though, what Probiotics do you use, Chelle?

Be sure that the probiotic you buy is refrigerated, and then keep it refrigerated. A health food store is more likely to have this than Petsmart. I give my Standard Poodle multidophilus plus. At first I started when he was on antibiotics for an ear infection.

I have found that my dogs and cats ALWAYS need probiotics=friendly bacteria when they have antibiotics. The friendly bacteria are so important in a dog's intestines, because things move through there faster than they do through human intestines. Our intestines are longer than theirs, and our upright stance also slows things.

But this Standard Poodle has very good stools when on probiotics, and not such great ones when I discontinued the probiotics. So for now, he's on them all the time I give one multidophilus plus in the morning and one at night, both with meals. They are in capsules, but the stuff tastes good and he eats the capsules. I also give him two Pet Tabs plus a day, a dose of sodium ascorbate (ascorbic acid can cause problems for dogs--needs to be FULLY buffered), and about a tablespoonful of extra virgin olive oil. He has a wonderful coat.

I use the friendly bacteria sold at the health food store for humans. It's not cheap, but it works great. Through trial and error over the years, I have often found that they need higher doses than I would think. I have seen it work so many times now that I just automatically start giving it whenever a dog goes on antibiotics. I truly wonder if some cases of bowel problems in dogs could have been prevented by these friendly bacteria.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thank you so much for all the replies and suggestions. I really appreciate it and so does Zeus!