Snowie had the works
- Thread starter M.F.
- Start date
@UncleBob @Mrs UB Thank you for posting the photos of Harv and the info about the treatment. How does the therapy work? Does it reduce Harv’s immune response to those specific allergens?
Snowie’s paws looked remarkably similar but unfortunately I never took clear, closeup pics. The underside of his paws, between the pads, were raw. I’d been saying it’s the reason for his limp for over a year, but either the vet didn’t properly explain how we should treat it (he did say we must use infection control) or we misunderstood that we must treat between the upper side of the toes because that was what was causing the pain. Meanwhile, it was the underside—clearly pointed out to us by the holistic vet—who said they had to be thoroughly kept dry. And the ophthalmologist vet said we had to really clean inside all the crevices, which we’d never done. Seems so obvious now!! Duh!!
I’ll ask the holistic vet about the immunotherapy. Because while the shampoo and powdering has absolutely improved Snowie’s paws, his ears still need the ear antiseptic treatment squirted into the ear canal, and Snowie hates it!
Snowie’s paws looked remarkably similar but unfortunately I never took clear, closeup pics. The underside of his paws, between the pads, were raw. I’d been saying it’s the reason for his limp for over a year, but either the vet didn’t properly explain how we should treat it (he did say we must use infection control) or we misunderstood that we must treat between the upper side of the toes because that was what was causing the pain. Meanwhile, it was the underside—clearly pointed out to us by the holistic vet—who said they had to be thoroughly kept dry. And the ophthalmologist vet said we had to really clean inside all the crevices, which we’d never done. Seems so obvious now!! Duh!!
I’ll ask the holistic vet about the immunotherapy. Because while the shampoo and powdering has absolutely improved Snowie’s paws, his ears still need the ear antiseptic treatment squirted into the ear canal, and Snowie hates it!
- Location
- SW London UK
I really hope that the immune therapy works. Allergies can cause such havoc. Thinking of you and hope Snowie can enjoy his mountain walks again soon. 
Big hugs.
Big hugs.
I'm no scientist but ... Mr Google is! The published article "Quality of Life of Allergic Dogs Treated with Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy—A Retrospective Study" covers it far better than I could!
Lisa
Moderator
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
Ugh it’s all so awful! Poor Snowie and poor you. To be honest I’m not sure I would do that jaw surgery at any age but that’s just me. Obviously it would depend on a lot of factors but that sounds torturous. Truly hope these new treatments can give him some relief.
We are back from the follow-up vet visit. Snowie had the stitches taken out. He was such a good and patient boy (except when he barked deafeningly for treats!!). I commented to vet how well she’d stitched up his head spot. She said that was glue!! Lol!! It took a bit of fiddling to get the eyelid stitches out. They were fine threads and difficult to see. I’d like to have videoed Snowie’s patience, but I was holding his head steady on my lap. I couldn’t bear to watch the scissors (blunt tipped, mind you) so close to his eyeball!! His eyelid looks good, not perfectly smooth, looks like a nick taken out. She said that will smooth out.
She was very happy with his paws and ears. We have to keep up the paw shampoo and powdering, and ear cleaning. We will see the homeopathic vet soon, too. Amazingly the rawness between his pads has diminished and is growing fur!
I asked about immunotherapy. She said blood (I think?) is sent to the UK and the allergies are worked out against your allergens there, so it’s a bit difficult to get it right for our dogs here. Then the injections are made up in the UK and sent back here. It’s not done here unfortunately against our allergens, and we have the biggest floral kingdom in the world! She said she has seen good results here when the allergen was identified as a food. We’ve tried food elimination with Snowie, and that didn’t seem to make a difference.
Here’s the only pic I snapped of her removing the stitches from his side where she removed a warty lump.
She was very happy with his paws and ears. We have to keep up the paw shampoo and powdering, and ear cleaning. We will see the homeopathic vet soon, too. Amazingly the rawness between his pads has diminished and is growing fur!
I asked about immunotherapy. She said blood (I think?) is sent to the UK and the allergies are worked out against your allergens there, so it’s a bit difficult to get it right for our dogs here. Then the injections are made up in the UK and sent back here. It’s not done here unfortunately against our allergens, and we have the biggest floral kingdom in the world! She said she has seen good results here when the allergen was identified as a food. We’ve tried food elimination with Snowie, and that didn’t seem to make a difference.
Here’s the only pic I snapped of her removing the stitches from his side where she removed a warty lump.
Lisa
Moderator
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
Glad that it was a good visit! And that things seem to be improving! 
What a love! Such a good boy.
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
Awww gorgeous boy 