A little help with our dog?

No, Bruno is not trying out for a lead in a future Jimmy Neutron movie, he’s being protected from his own desperate chewing.

In order to truly appreciate the skin issues we have with Bruno, you have to know his past. Bruno spent the first three (3) years of his life with a woman who didn’t care for him. I’m being kind – there are better words to describe the kind of neglect this woman subjected my dog too. She kept him in a small 4×4 porch enclosure and did not tend to his medical needs beyond the initial puppy vaccinations and check-ups.

By the time Bruno was turned over to the Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue he was a mess. The rescue volunteers were up at PetSmart on an Adoption Day when the owner walked Bruno in, without a leash or collar, and turned him over to the rescue. I was told that everyone stopped and stared at poor Bruno, who was a mere 80 lbs, eaten alive with yeast, sores, and infection. He hardly had any fur left on him and what was there, was tightly matted. After the lady left, the rescue group received one of their largest targeted donations, specifically for the needs of Bruno. The very next day he began treatment for heartworms; he was very, very sick for a long while.

The woman that fostered him, Cindy, literally nursed him to health, taking him everywhere she went. He was spoiled and loved and I’m so thankful for her. Cindy lives on a few acres and has fostered several Great Pyrenees through the years.

A few months after Bruno was released to the rescue, the kids and I happened to be at PetSmart on an Adoption Day. I called Jeff to tell him about this amazing breed of dogs that stood as tall as a miniature horse and were absolutely beautiful; I knew I wanted one. I applied to be a foster dog-parent and Cindy, Bruno’s caregiver at the time, came to inspect my home, bringing her dogs with her.

In walked Bruno, and he layed down across my kitchen floor, all sprawled out and comfortable. I hadn’t expected I would adopt Bruno, I just knew I was requesting a dog to foster so I could get to know this great breed. Seeing we had 3 kids and one other dog, Cindy suggested we foster Bruno, because he was such a gentle dog. She later told us her hope was we’d fall in love and adopt him, which we did within 2 weeks. He has been quite a handful with his treatments, but he is a precious dog with a huge heart and we adore him.

That was in 2005 – he’s been with us nearly 3 years now and weighs in at 119 lbs.

A good fit.

The only problem? We’ve never been able to heal his skin issues. He does not have fur on the underside of his belly, right beneath his neck, and on the upper forearm area. The vet said he’d never have fur there; the follicles died due to untreated infections. Those areas that don’t have fur are always somewhere on the cycle of getting infected or healing, depending on whether or not he is taking steroids. I HATE giving him the steroids because it upsets his stomach and makes him lethargic and vomit. However, when we don’t keep him on the steroids, he is uncomfortably itchy, constantly chewing on himself, and he gets bright red, rash-looking infections running under his belly, back and around his rectum, and under his neck; basically in the ‘hot’ areas.

So, I’m hoping maybe one of you has a Great Pyrenees, or issues of the same kind (which I’ll detail below) with another breed of dog, and could open our eyes to something we haven’t tried yet.

What we (and the vet) have done:

1. As mentioned before, Bruno has been on a cycle of antibiotics, then steroids, off and on for three years. We realize this is not a healthy long-term way to manage his itching and infections, but it gives him the highest level of comfort and relief.

2. We have separately tested every food on the market – from cheap to expensive – from wet to dry – from non-allergenic to full throttle Old Roy. Seriously, EVERYTHING.

3. We have tried a RAW FOOD (and I do mean RAW food) diet.

4. We have tried supplemental powders atop the MANY different types of foods listed above.

5. We have shaved his fur down close (we’re in Texas and the summers get hot) and kept him shaved close through our Texas summers. Of course he PREFERS to be indoors and stays layed-out on the cool tile in an air conditioned environment with me and the kids all the live long day.

6. We have bathed him reguarly, and then, we have selected NOT to bathe him regularly (trial – maybe he was overbathed?). We have tried every shampoo known to dog and man…oh, and cat.

The vet says we are most likely dealing with allergies, but NOTHING we change ever really works for him. The vet also mentioned it might be a local or regional allergy or even a ‘heat’ issue (maybe even a combination). He asked if we had a relative in a northern state because he has had more than one dog be ‘moved’ and discover that the issue was not at all related to food, but instead HEAT or REGIONAl allergies.

If we had a family member or friend who could take him for a few months in a northern state we’d better know if that was the issue, but this isn’t an option for us right now.

I might have forgotten something, but maybe your suggestions will trigger a few memories.

We just want to get him better – he has a number of years left with us and we’d like them to be quality years since his first few weren’t so nice.