Fuji's Story

We have a Shiba-Inu named Fuji. He’s our little prince.

Thankfully, he's both healthy and happy. But it wasn’t always this way! About 5 years ago as Winter changed into Spring and then into Summer, we noticed that Fuji was doing an awful lot of scratching. He just seemed uncomfortable all the time - he'd never had any problems before.

Finally, he started biting himself right at the base of his tail - It was like a chewing frenzy. He chewed all the hair off, and was beginning to chew right through his skin.

It happened so quickly - literally overnight - that we had to rush him to the vet that morning. It was very scary - we had never seen anything like it before. And Fuji was obviously suffering terribly.

He just couldn't leave that hot spot alone. He just kept digging and digging at it.  

Our vet was very nice and seemed to know right away what was wrong with poor Fuji. He told us the hot spot was likely due to an allergy of some sort, but to find out exactly what he might be allergic to would be very time-consuming and expensive.

He prescribed antihistamines and steroids. They did work alright - the hot spot was becoming less "hot" - but the side effects were awful. Fuji just had no energy - he would lie around all day - completely lethargic. He had no interest in his toys - even his favorite treats didn't have the excitement they once held. This went on for approximately 6 weeks. By the end of his treatment, he had gained weight from lack of exercise. It took a few more weeks once he was off the pills before he was his old self again.

Then as summer started changing to Autumn along the Jersey Shore where we live, Fuji started licking that hot spot again. "Oh no," we thought, "not again." We really didn't want to see him on steroids again - I know they are not good for his overall health, but that was just what the vet prescribed again. So there we were... giving our Fuji these pills that literally suck the life out of him. Then we did some research on our own. We discovered a product which was formulated for human consumption, but was absolutely safe for animals as well. We decided to give it a try. It was truly amazing! Within the first week, Fuji seemed less and less interested in his "hot spot". Within 4 weeks, the hot spot was completely healed over. Within 3 months, there was not even a sign that it was ever there! He never lost his energy or enthusiasm - if anything, he had more energy than ever. Fuji was his old "young" self again. It's now been 4 years, and we've never had a problem with "hot spots" or allergies again.