Hi everyone! I want to start off by saying I’m so happy I found this group!

At the start of the pandemic I moved back home after 10yrs in LA. That’s when I discovered that there was something seriously wrong with my parents dog Coco (Maltese).

He spins around in circles multiple times a day, just ripping his fur out 😥. There’s nothing I can do that makes him stop, and it sounds like he’s in pain. He has almost no hair left on his lower body/tail. About 15-30mins after eating he is guaranteed to start spinning.

The first vet genuinely thought it was anxiety/OCD, so that’s where we started. He showed no improvement. Tried what was referred as a steroid shot? We did not see improvement. Tried an elimination diet and he also showed no improvement.

After 4 visits with the first vet, my friend recommended another local vet. This vet definitely listened to me and I thought that we would find the right treatment for Coco. More anxiety medication ❌another steroid shot❌Cytopoint ❌Apoquel❌. He showed zero improvement. The vet was really surprised, but told me they couldn’t do anything for him and suggested a specialist.

Because of the pandemic, we were put on a waiting list in March 2021. We still have not been able to get him seen. Another local pet hospital advertised dog allergy testing, when I called and asked for the total cost they said it would be $2000. After finding out we were not regulars, they told me they could not see him as they were prioritizing their regular clients.

Fast forward to last week, and I was finally able to find a vet that could do allergy testing. The vet prescribed Coco Temaril and Ketoconazole, to get this under control before starting immunotherapy. I believe the company doing the testing is called Nextmune. Total cost was about $700, and includes treatment. Should get results back in about 3-4 weeks.

I desperately want him to start feeling better. I’m nervous about the idea of giving him daily injections, and have no clue how I’m going to manage. If anyone has any experience with Temaril or immunotherapy I would greatly appreciate any insights you may have.

update Went in for a follow up to check his kidney levels (test came back normal, he was probably just dehydrated during our initial visit)

Apart from that the rest of the visit was horrible. We saw a different vet at the same place, and he was incredibly dismissive. He barely looked at his chart and told me flat out that my dog doesn’t have allergies and just needs to be trained 😕.

I should have his results in the next 5 weeks so I’ll post an update then.