Neena's Story

allergies, itchy skin, scratchy

Nena's
Story

Hi, my name is Nena and if you are on my story page, you probably have a little dog
with some pretty bad itches. My mom asked me to tell you how I got my severe
allergies under control so that maybe you can help your little dog.

My family adopted me in June of 1996. I was two years old then. Right off the bat,
my mom and dad noticed that I scratched a lot. The hair on my hind end was matted
and the skin was pretty red and there were sores in some places. At times, I would
itch so badly, I would pace back and forth underneath the coffee table scratching my
back on the bottom of the table top. It was very upsetting to my family - they knew
I was miserable and frankly, they were miserable too. There were nights when none
of us slept much at all.

My family took me to the vet and he gave me a shot of steroids. That made me feel so
good - all the itching stopped and I got to rest and so did they - for about a month,
then the itching and scratching started all over again. Of course, I couldn't go right
back for another shot, so I was miserable again for several months and then back to
the vet and another shot of steroid. This went on for four years. Until one day, my
mom met a new vet that told her it was very, very bad for me to be getting steroid
shots every three months. Evidently, there has been some tentative research that
leads people to believe that repeated shots of steroids might be the cause of Cushings
disease and organ failure in older dogs. So, my mom started doing research into how
to fix this problem for me without ultimately killing me. Here's what she found.

In general, the symptoms seen in little dogs, like itching, scratching and chewing holes
in our bodies, are most likely caused by a messed up immune system. This can be
caused by bad nutrition, neglect or just the fact that many of us live in
highly-polluted cities. So, the first step my mom took to get my itching under control
is to start building up my immune system so my body could handle those itchy things
that get into my nose or on my paws. She started by switching me from that nasty
grocery store dog food to an all-natural, high-quality kibble. She chose Precise
Sensicare, but there are over 20 brands of extremely high quality food that you can
eat - here are the things to look for. First, the food should have no dyes or
preservatives. If there are long, chemical-sounding words listed in the ingredients,
they're probably not all that good for you. Second, we little fluffy dogs don't really
need a lot of grains in our diets. In fact, most of the dog food manufacturers add lots
of grains, especially corn, just as filler - we really need lots of protein and veggies -
just like you!! In particular, we don't do well with corn, wheat or soy. So avoid those
ingredients in the kibble you get your little dog.

Finally, we need supplements. As hard as the dog food manufacturers try, they cannot
get enough of the supplements we need cooked into food. In fact, many of the
supplements we need are spoiled by the cooking process. So, just like you take
vitamins every day, we need supplements too. My mom gives me lots of vitamin C and
Omega 3 in EACH meal. (I get two yummy meals each day). When I first started, my
mom got a special doggie version of Vitamin C from www.belfield.com (it's called Mega
C Plus) and gave me three times the recommended dosage. She also got a yummy Omega
3 supplement, The Missing Link, and gave me three times the recommended dose of that
also. (Oh, you might get a bit of diarrhea at first with the vitamin C and Missing
Link, but it usually goes away in a few days and it's worth a little discomfort to get
the itching stopped.)

Here's the punch line: within THREE weeks of eating premium kibble AND Vitamin C
AND Omega 3, I stopped itching. Almost completely stopped itching. And, in fact, I
haven't had a steroid shot since November of 1999. I now have long, shiny hair and
feel as soft as a bunny. I'm now on a maintenance dose of both vitamin C and Omega
3 and will be for the rest of my life. She even gives my supplements to my healthy
sisters. There are several places to get good supplements - in addition to
www.belfield.com, you can get Bertes brand at www.b-naturals.com. Of course, the
very best food you could give your little dog is a raw meat and veggie diet.. Check it
out at www.bones2go.com.

The Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue (LSSTLAR) is an all volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue,
rehabilitation and re-homing of abused, abandoned and neglected Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apsos. We are a 501(c)(3)
charitable organization which means your donations may be tax deductible.

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Lone Star Shih Tzu &Lhasa Apso Rescue