Signalment
- Species: dog
Disease Notes
- Certainty: confirmed
- Comments: Ford is one of my technicians dogs - she is a breeder and currently has 4 Basenji's. There are 2 dogs that are older and one younger than he is. The owner does trick training, agility, nose work, and barn hunting with him though this past year that has diminished greatly due to COVID related travel restrictions. Four basenjis makes for a stressful household.
Currently his diet is Primal Raw and Primal Freeze dried beef or rabbit, but he does get a variety of grain free kibble for training treats, an Honest Kitchen dried fish skin daily to chew on, and some of the Honest Kitchen premix Preference with added meat.
As a puppy Ford experienced car sickness and was a little fearful despite a lot of socialization and training. Before the age of one he started scratching - mainly his lateral shoulders, flanks, and armpit areas. With kinesiology I identified intolerance to dairy (was eating cheese for treats) and the pruritus diminished for awhile after eliminating this from the diet. As time has gone by we identified poultry intolerance also. The pruritus is worse in the spring and summer but occurs year round and now he is on Apoquel daily and still has some itching which varies with intensity on a daily basis. There was a period of time last spring when he was frequently getting hives along the trunk - he became extremely itchy and one dose of Prednisone seemed to resolve them. I performed allergy elimination technique as outlined in Nutrition Response Testing protocol on multiple food and inhalent allergens and since that time he has not developed hives, but he has waxing and waning itching constantly. He has never had an ear infection, never a pyoderma, and the skin never looks red and is without any flaking. He does chew /scratch enough to break off the hairs and cause some minor alopecia along the GB channel (flanks/lateral shoulders, sacrum, hips). He occasionally gets some conjunctivitis which is short lived without medication. He has always had a ravenous appetite, does not gain weight well, has soft voluminous stools (sometimes with mucous), and has intermittent issues with vomiting/regurg and colitis. He is progressively getting more irritable and picking fights with the other dogs as he ages. He is skittish and is frightened by things that never used to bother him. The owner is afraid it is the Apoquel but I am not sure. We both want to get him off of it. We have done full thyroid panels annually which were all normal, he is not anemic, and his albumin and globulins are normal. All liver values are WNL.
He has been on supplements since he was a puppy. Always on enzymes, a lot of liver support with herbs and Antronex (Standard Process), probiotics, fiber, omega 3's, homeopathic lymph drainage, and different flower essences.
His tongue is moist, lavender, and fits in his mouth.
In Nov. after the conference I felt he fit the Shao Yang disharmony and started Benefit the Hips/Knees - I did not realize I could have used the non-modified Minor Bupleurum. He got more itchy so owner stopped.
I am wondering now since things started so early in life if I should have chosen Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang - especially with the hive history. He has no fatigue, great stamina, and no loss of appetite though.
Sorry for such a long post - I am new at the herbs and posting!
Thank you,
Holly - Final Status: briefly better as of day 54 of treatment
Treatment and Outcome
Treatments
Notes:
Since starting the YGJ and XCHT in early Feb the pruritus went from a 6-7/10 where 10 is severe to a 1-2/10. Owner stopped the Apoquel and noted that his nosework training also improved. Several weeks ago owner mistakenly gave him some kibble for training that contained ancient grains and the itching went back to a 6-7. She has given several rescue doses of 5mg Prednisone to calm him down since then. She immediately stopped that food but the itching has not changed. He is ravenous and thin despite owner giving him more food (this has always been his tendency). He seems to need some kind of grain to maintain weight but his body does not tolerate - stools are soft again and large with slight mucous sheath. It may be the time of year that has caused this flare rather than the food? This pack of Basenji's really do not like each other - there is always stress in the household. The scratching is along the GB channel and includes the ears and eyes. Other than eye redness the skin is not crusty or inflamed. He is now itching overnight which he was not doing before, and dreaming a little more. His irritability ranges from 2-3 to 6-8 depending on which dog is around him. It certainly sounds like he is becoming more damp and not digesting well. Not sure if I should add in SMS or CSWLT to help with this?
Thank you!
Holly
Diet is largely raw