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Another Florida Itchy Dog

by lsargent - February 19, 2010

So I have a question about a case rarely seen in Florida-itching! Just kidding, this 9 y/o F/S chocolate lab came to me two onths ago for horrendous allergies. They manifested in chronic ear inflammation, R>L, toe sucking of the front feet R>L, obesity, red eyes, the works. She was 8/10 on the scale fro pruritis and spent most of the first exam chewing her toes. Her pulses were deep and gently raised the finger with the R deeper than the left.
So we chagend her diet to home cooked veggies and a raw chicken wing interspersed with sardines. Her weight was 78#. I also started her on SMS.
She improved for about 6 weeks and when I saw her yesterday, she is attacking her toes again, ears are inflamed again, herbs are finished and she is down to 69#. Her pulses however, are easily palpated, equal and gently running past the finger but not lifting hte finger up which I interpret is an improvement. Over the past two weeks we have been experiencing very cold weather, low's in the 40's, with strong winds from the north.
Since this appears worsened by wind, should I change the formula to include something to treat more wind-invasion than damp? When lyng on the floor her abdomen is soft, should I support the Spleen? Her stools are good and she is a happy dog although her owner describes her as an old soul.

Thanks for all your guidance,
Lois

by naturevet

February 19, 2010

Sometimes when skin problems are worse in cold, it signifies a Blood deficiency component. It shows up when the cold dries the skin, or when it produces vasoconstriction that allows inflammatory mediators to start accumulating in the skin again. The first thing I'd try is to add a little Dang Gui to SMS.

Another option is to start warming the dog and supporting cutaneous circulation by using Chu Shi Wei Ling Tang. SMS and CSWLT, when used together, often do a good job of resolving skin complaints. If the dog strikes you as Spleen Qi deficient more than Blood deficient, I'd go that route.

Hope that helps,

Steve

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