We have a great dane with severe skin problems. We taken ...

I would see a veterinary dermatologist and consider doing the allergy testing.
As antihistamines have not worked the Atopica might be a choice to use while continuing to try to find the cause of the problem.
You can read about food allergies here
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/food_allergies.html
As most of the prescription diets contain preservatives and grains that may make allergy issues worse I'd suggest trying a minimal ingredient food like California Natural Lamb, a grain free food like Innova Evo, or an alternative formula food such as Eagle or Wellness rabbit, duck, venison, or fish diets.
These foods are also careful about preservatives which can be an issue in some dogs.
Make sure to review his treats too as they can trigger allergies. I've known of dogs who had a problem with their heartworm med because it was in a flavor treat and swapping to a different med helped them.
If you have a cedar bed for him try getting rid of it. Many animals are irritated by the cedar oils. Wool blankets can be an issue too.
Look at the things you use in the home - enzyme based detergents, scent dispensers, carpet cleaners - things the dog comes in contact with all the time and consider changing those to see if that helps.
I think if with all the vets you have seen you have not seen a veterinary dermatologist you should try that.
Oh and sometimes in the rescue danes I've had over the years skin issues cleared up when we wormed using Panacur - apparently even a light infestation of worms such as whipworms can seriously impact skin and coat.
Hope this helps you!

Edited by NHolmes on April 24 2006 at 11:00am

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Can you explain more about whipworms and Pancur? That is one option that no one has ever mentioned. And, at one point, we did take him to a vet dermatologist. A local vet referred him to the UT vet hospital, where he did see a specialist. I think perhaps they recommended allergy testing, but overall they were not that helpful. I think ultimately we will have to do that, but I just read an article that said the success rate was about 60% and that it could take up to 9 months.

I did Great Dane rescue for about 20 years and often saw dogs with skin issues ranging from hair loss to ear margin dermatitis. Of course the rescue dogs coming in got put on a new diet, got plenty of exercise and training but I also learned early to eliminate parasites early on. I found that dogs with skin problems seemed to really do lots better once they were wormed. Panacur is just a typical wormer to use to get the maximum worm species. I don't know if its the nutrition the worms 'steal' from the dog, toxins or proteins they give off that bother the dogs etc. But considering all you have been through its worth a try. In the same way bedding, detergents, other household chemicals are worth looking at.
Thing is it might be he has an allergy to house dust mites say - and a hepa filter air cleaner will help him. That's what you hope to find out of the allergy testing a clue about the direction to go in.
This site goes over testing
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&articleid=504
You might want to use the atopica if you can while waiting for test results. The goal being to see if that will keep him comfortable while you figure out what is wrong.
Another avenue would be seeing a holistic vet
http://www.holisticvetlist.com/#search
and see if that might offer you a different approach.
If what you are doing now isn't working you need to change something. I do know of one dog for whom the solution was a climate change. He was fine here in New England, was terribly ill in the southwest and when his owner moved away from the desert plant he was allergic to into a more northern western state he got all better.
Hopefully that won't be the problem with your dog!



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Well, he is not a rescue dog, although I'm sure the worms might still be an issue. We did treat him recently for tapeworms, and it seemed to make some difference. However, we were also giving him antibiotics and antihistamines at the same time. The improvement was negligible though. We actually do have a hepa filter in our house.

I have read that when allergies start at a young age and are not seasonal, that is often an indication of food allergies. I am wondering if we should attempt another food trial. My husband did the first one before we got married so I wasn't around to observe.

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