Minne Monday: Atopic Dermatitis

A few weeks back we realized that Minne's white paws and belly kept looking more and more pink, her hair loss was getting worse and her mood wasn't her happy go lucky self. We finally bit the bullet and decided to take her to the dermatologist. After the first consultation visit we were out $500 and we had to schedule another visit which was going to cost us close to $800.

Yeah yeah we know it sounds really expensive, believe us, after just buying a house and the holidays, it was really expensive. But you know what else is expensive? Every time Minne would have a bad allergic reaction, we would have to rush her to the vet, where they would run tests and then inject her with steroids.

Do you know how much that costs? About $150 (sometimes more) every time we went. In the summer, some months we had to take her to the vet 2 or 3 times a month. Poor Min. After doing the math if these bills were a one time thing, and if the dermatologist was able to diagnose her, we would only be paying $70 a month for shots (the first 2 months of shots would actually be included in the $800 of the 2nd visit). Long term, it looks like we could save money and have a happier dog and since she isn't even 4 years old yet, it was time to bite the bullet. We also learned that the steroid shots that she was getting every time she had a bad reaction were part to blame for her hair loss and they also effected her anxiety and mood overall. Enough said.

So over the holidays I took a morning off work to take Mine to the dermatologist. There, the doc took her from me for an hour. They shaved her and marked her and injected her with little amounts of antigen. Afterwards, they observe the surface area to determine if she was allergic to any of the agents they gave her. This is called Inradermal Skin Testing. It's the same practice that is done on people.

This was taken a few hours after her tests. As you can see, there are a lot of red/discolored marks showing everything she is allergic to. Ready for the list?

• Kentucky Blue Grass
• Anything sheep related, especially wool
• Tobacco, all things smoke related
• All bugs that bite (from flies, mosquitoes to tics)
• Mites
• 3 kinds of trees
• 2 kinds of weeds

and more that weren't ranked as high, but these are the majors.

The result is she has Atopic Dermatitis, which is essentially environmental allergies. This is common among people and pets, who knew? The solution - The vet spent some time building some formulas based on Mins allergies and they packaged them into these cute little viles. I take these files and that I inject the formula into Minne on a scheduled basis. I was a little worried about having so much power of these shots in my hand. I mean, I didn't want Minne to hate me every time I gave her a shot and I didn't want to hurt her. Luckily, 3 shots in, she doesn't seem phased. We'll see how she's doing in a few months, as the doctor said it can take awhile for the shots to build up her immunity to all her allergies and we may not see results for up to 9 months.

MORE ON ATOPIC DERMATITIS via WebMD

• Susceptible breeds include Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Lhasa Apsos, Wire Fox Terriers, West Highland White Terriers, Dalmatians, Poodles, English Setters, Irish Setters, Boxers, and Bulldogs, among others, although any dog may be affected. Even mixed breeds may suffer from atopy.
• Atopy begins in dogs 1 to 3 years of age.
• In early canine atopy, itching is seasonal and the skin looks normal. Dogs scratch at the ears and undersides of the body. The itching is often accompanied by face-rubbing, sneezing, a runny nose (known as allergic rhinitis),watery eyes, and licking at the paws