Chronic Hot Spots
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 3:04 pm
Hi everyone,
Long-time lover of chow chows and chow chow forum , first time poster =) Our two year old chow chow, Aslan, suffers from chronic hot spots on his tail, lower back, and hip area. We have no idea what to do! It seems he gets severe hot spots at least once every other month, no matter the time of year (so not seasonal), and this has been happening for the past 18 months! We've tried changing his diet (limited ingredient, as well as home prepared), his flea and tick medications (frontline, brewers yeast, bravecta), supplementing with fish oil to help with inflammation, etc. We've tried bathing him frequently (twice a month), and less frequently, and neither seem to help with his itchiness. We've also moved three times, and clean his bedding frequently, so I don't think it's necessarily something in the house. We live in the SF Bay Area, and all the vets tell me that allergens here are especially bad for many dogs. Prednisone helped, but obviously cannot be a long-term solution.
We recently changed vets, and she recommended using Apoquel and having the groomer keep him shaved on his lower half. Does anyone else have experience with this? I would love to hear how other people have done using Apoquel, but am also interested on getting feedback re: shaving him. I hate the idea of shaving him, especially his tail, since I know chows' coats are not only beautiful, but serve to protect the skin from sunburn and insulate them from heat.
We are at the end of our rope! It's awful to see him constantly going after himself (he's never able to relax), and also awful to see those vet bills pile up. Please help! Thank you!
Long-time lover of chow chows and chow chow forum , first time poster =) Our two year old chow chow, Aslan, suffers from chronic hot spots on his tail, lower back, and hip area. We have no idea what to do! It seems he gets severe hot spots at least once every other month, no matter the time of year (so not seasonal), and this has been happening for the past 18 months! We've tried changing his diet (limited ingredient, as well as home prepared), his flea and tick medications (frontline, brewers yeast, bravecta), supplementing with fish oil to help with inflammation, etc. We've tried bathing him frequently (twice a month), and less frequently, and neither seem to help with his itchiness. We've also moved three times, and clean his bedding frequently, so I don't think it's necessarily something in the house. We live in the SF Bay Area, and all the vets tell me that allergens here are especially bad for many dogs. Prednisone helped, but obviously cannot be a long-term solution.
We recently changed vets, and she recommended using Apoquel and having the groomer keep him shaved on his lower half. Does anyone else have experience with this? I would love to hear how other people have done using Apoquel, but am also interested on getting feedback re: shaving him. I hate the idea of shaving him, especially his tail, since I know chows' coats are not only beautiful, but serve to protect the skin from sunburn and insulate them from heat.
We are at the end of our rope! It's awful to see him constantly going after himself (he's never able to relax), and also awful to see those vet bills pile up. Please help! Thank you!