Question:
I have an 11-year-old female (neutered), wirehaired fox terrier. She is a great dog, but I feel she must have come from a puppy mill because of all her health problems.
- Problem No. 1: She had a severe bout of pancreatitis a few years ago. Our veterinary hospital saved her, but it was very expensive. She has to eat a prescription diet low in fat.
- Problem No. 2: She developed seborrhea oleosa early in life. She exudes oil and is rather smelly. She has to be bathed at least once a week. Could this be due to the pancreatic problem?
- Problem No. 3: She has allergies and is itchy. I tried various shampoos to alleviate this, but to no avail. She is allergic to cedar trees. Also, prior to her pancreatic problem, whenever she ate any chicken, she exhibited allergic symptoms, i.e., itching, biting and scratching. Even with these problems, we love her dearly. What do you think?
M.B., Whiting, NJ May 17, 2009
Answer:
Your poor dog has certainly been through the mill in more ways than one. I am baffled that while she is known to be allergic to chicken, she is being prescribed a "digestive low fat" dry dog food loaded with chicken and chicken fat. In the other ingredient list (for canned food that you enclosed with your letter), aside from fish being the first ingredient, meat byproducts come third -- and I would never feed that to a dog. "Meat byproducts" could be almost anything from diseased animal parts to rendered roadkill. Try my home-prepared recipe using lean beef, turkey or fish, and give the dog a few drops of cod-liver oil in his food every day. Giving the dog digestive enzymes and probiotics -- about which your veterinarian should advise -- are additional steps to better health, along with a good-quality vitamin and multimineral daily supplement.
Bathing too often is not advisable -- ideally, no more than every two weeks until her condition improves. Selsun Blue shampoo will help the seborrhea (as should the fish oil). Cut back on the fish oil if her stools become loose, pale and greasy-looking, and use a little flaxseed oil or oil of primrose instead.
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