Anyone dealt with canine allergies/skin problems?

[vettechick99]

Our 3-yr old Basset has been having skin problems for about 6-9 months. Her abdomen in red and itchy and she licks and scratches constantly. We aren't sure what's causing this - she's on Frontline, so it's not a bug thing.

The vet put her on Prednisone, which takes care of the problem, but she isn't supposed to be on it long-term so we have to find another solution. Our vet suggested we put her on a strict diet of just one protein, so we can rule out food allergies, but she really doesn't think that's it. She's never suggested any sort of skin testing. Why - it is not possible?

Should I find another vet or try the food route? Anyone have a similar problem with their doggies?

TIA!

 

[disneymcgraw]

My brother has a Golden Retriever and the poor dog has terrible skin trouble. The took her to a dog dermatologist and he prescribed some medicine that seems to help.

I know they also rub her with baby oil on a pretty regular basis. Good luck to your dog, hope you find a solution.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have had goldens, and let me tell you..until you've been owned by a golden, you haven't experienced skin allergies Man, they're bad. Anyway...my current golden has only one protein in his kibble...either venison or lamb. Never any chicken. No corn either. So, that has worked pretty well for us.
The one thing I do to address any skin itchies is to give him some benedryl. Your vet can tell you the exact amount for your dog since it varies according to weight. My golden, at 80 lbs, gets one tablet/capsule twice a day if he has the itchies.
Perhaps your pup has had a reaction to something on the grass? Maybe a new fertilizer or such? I know that my dog can sit and lick his paws for hours if he walks on certain lawns along his walking route. I would think about maybe hosing hime off several times a week. Good luck to you and your pup!

 

[alabamaalan]

Allergy testing can be done with canines.

We had an Australian Shepherd tested several years ago and had to give him monthly shots.

For the most part, he was allergic to anything outside.

 

[damo]

We have our cocker on a low dose of antibiotics that seems to help a lot. The prednisone just makes him pee all over the place.

 

[clutter]

Mine's not totally similar, but our dog's bee to a dog allergist!

She constantly licks her feet, which is a sign of inhaled allergies. So off to the allergist. She now gets shots, and also has to take a med similar to Nizoral (?) to control the licking. Apparantly from the licking, she's developed a type of dermatitus. However, I have to get the med from the allergist because he said that regular vets don't prescribe it, only allergists and dermatologists.

Btw, I love love love bassets! Smelly, but wonderful dogs.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It is probably from the food or Frontline. My dog is also suffering from allergies. I am considering trying the BRAVO diet.

Right now our vet told us to give him Benedryl. So we will see.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

We have a Golden...

Although she's sensitive, she doesn't break out badly now. When she was a puppy though, it was awful. The cleaners on the floor were making her react terribly. Of course, this was training stage so we were washing the floors a lot. What and how often do you wash your floors? Can you let them go for a little bit and see if anything improves? ETA: For Casey, she got terrible pussed-filled bubbles on her belly and any other area that didn't have hair to protect her (paws, too).

What about your dog's bedding? To wash her stuff, we have to put it through the washer with whatever chemicals and wash it again with just water in the machine. No dryer sheets, either.

The other problem we have with her is if she's washed too often. We take her swimming a lot becuase there's a beach on her walk route. She loves the water. A lot of times, we just bring her in from her time on the beach, let her get in the tub (yes, she puts herself there), and just run a shower on her. We left her towel and air dry to avoid the dry, hot air from the hair dryer, too.

If you're applying Frontline, could that be the problem? Ever since they started with the topical application pesticides, more and more dogs seem to have skin trouble- lesions, cancers, etc. We stick with the oral monthly pill to avoid that mess. So, although it's not a bug problem, could it be a reaction to the medication? I understand it's the opposite side of the body though. Thinking out loud more than anything....

ETA: I was just thinking about this again and something dawned on me. My mom has had to take one of her cats and one of her dos into the vet this year for allergies. With the cat, it started out as a watery eye. She took her in and gave her the medicine as directed. After abour 4 days, my mom woke up and the poor cats eyes, nose, and ears were inflamed. We happened to be in Disney when this happened and went with her to the vet that day. Cat has been fine since. She also took the dog in last week for allergies- wheezing, runny eyes, and, you guessed it... skin irritation to the point he scratched himself until he would bleed. While the cat is an indoor-outdoor, the dog spends most of his spoiled life indoors I am wondering if there's a link between all these recent animals with terrible allergies over the past half year or so. Are they using a new fertilizer in the grass or something? or have all these food manufacturers starting doing something....?

 

[puggymom]

Pugs are notorius for their allergies. The one on the left was given to rescue, partly because of his allergies. In addition to his skin his ears were a mess. My other guy on the far right was very itchy and I had the allergy testing done and it was a combination of inhaled and food. I have both of them on Nature's Variety Grain Free Raw Instinct kibble and it has made a world of difference. No more yucky ears and much less itching. For the one with inhaled allergies I use an oatmeal based shampoo from the vet. When he gets real itchy I give him a bath (there is also a spray that is the same as the shampoo that I use as needed).

Another thing to try is a little flax seed oil dribbled on their food. I get it at the local health food store. I can't believe what it has done for their coats.

 

[Tinkin]

I know what you're going through, I have a 9 yr old rottie with bad allergies.

When she was 10 weeks old, before she had her 1st set of shots, she contracted parvo and corona. She spent 2 very scary weeks in the animal hospital hooked up to IV's to keep her hydrated. They kept telling me she wasn't going to make and I was delaying the inevitable, well they were wrong! She pulled through unfortunately, because of this, her immune system is shot.

Soon after she was home the itching got my attention. I took her to the vet (probably 5 months old at this time) and they gave her a cortisone shot which seemed to help for a while. She went in for a cortisone shot about every 6 weeks, but each time it was less effective. At about a year old she had open sores all over her body from itching so much.

The vet ran some routine blood work to see if showed anything wrong with her, when it came back normal he suggested having her allergy tested. We were hoping to avoid the allergy testing because of how expensive it was (I was still paying off her hospital stay so this was a fun thing to explain to my husband).

When we got the test results back we found out she was allergic to everything.....most positive reactions are between 400 - 600, she didn't have a reaction below 3000 most of them were between 5000 & 6000 positive.

Not only is she allergic to normal things like grass, pollen, etc. She is also allergic to everything they use to make dog food...rice, barley, wheat, lamb, beef......well you get the picture! Purina used to make a dog food just for allergic dogs and you could only get it from a vets office, however they discontinued that about a year after she stated using it.

I spent weeks looking for a replacement and I finally found Bill-Jac, the only product in this brand is Chicken, one of the few things she is not allergic to. I absolutely love this dog food! I have 3 dogs total and they all eat it. As for, Savannah she hasn't had a cortisone shot in 6 years! Sure her allergies stiill act up now and then when the seasons change but she is an inside dog so she's not exposed to the outside irritants any more than I am.

Good luck with your puppy, I hope you find something to help him out.

 

[Magickndm]

Greys are also known to have skin problems, especially in the winter months. I give mine a product called Missing Link and switched his food to Pro Plan for sensitive skin and stomach. It has worked wonders!
Here's a write up on Missing Link:

The Missing Link® food supplements are formulated with the highest quality, all-natural whole foods, "superfoods" and herbs carefully chosen for their nutrient profile and synergistic effects. The formula is rich in flaxseed, the richest vegetable source of Omega-3, providing 1000 mg per tablespoon, plus lignans, protein, and fiber. In addition, the formula delivers "living molecules" naturally occurring in whole foods, and often "missing" from our diets, such as enzymes, friendly bacteria, and phytonutrients (disease-fighting, health-benefiting, naturally-occurring plant molecules such as pectin, carotenoids, glucarates, flavonoids, terpenes, liminoids, lycopenes, coumarins, and phenolic acids). The Missing Link® comes in a powder which is added to your pet's food.

 

[PlutoPony]

If you're close to an animal dermatologist I'd definitely try going that route. You don't want a dog to be on steroids any longer than necessary and a doggie dermatologist is likely to be able to zero in on the real problem much more quickly than your regular vet. They see such a variety of skin problems on a regular basis, things that some vets only rarely see let alone diagnose correctly. Plus they're much more familiar with the drug therapies available.... We have a lab with inhaled allergies (controlled by shots) as well as reoccuring yeast infections on the skin and various other skin problems (darn purebread ). We've been working with a dermagologist for several years now - the "regular" vet realized early on that our dog suffered from allergies and let us know up front that we need more expertise than she could give us. Don't expect one visit to take care of your problems however - even if the first diagnosis is spot on, there can be a lot of trial and error to get the right solution. This is THE worst year the dermagologist has ever seen for allergies and our lab has been miserable. We just started him on Zyrtec (in addition to the other stuff) and it's made a big difference thank goodness.
Clutter - wonder if we go to the same dermatologist? Do you go to Springfield??

 

[bianca]

We have a cocker that suffered from allergies for years. He had been on prednisone, allergy meds and antibiotics. Finally, we changed vets. New vet said "I can do allergy testing, but first try putting him on lamb/rice dog food only." 3 years later ...... he is still fine and allergy free from just switching his dog food. I would suggest trying that first.

 

[twojo21]

has she had a thorough check up, did you get a second opinion? we had issues with our dalmation's skin & allergies for 3 years until we got a second opinion & tests she had a thyroid issue which was causing the allergies, etc. she know sees a different vet, is on medicine & doing very well.

 

[janey99]

My 7 yo boxer is the queen of allergies - she's been tested and is allergic to dust mites and aspergillus mold (I know I probably spelled that wrong!). We control her itching and ear irritations/infections by giving her a prescription medication called Temeril-P, which is an antihistimine mixed with a low dose of pred - she tolerates it very well. Additionally, she eats Hund N Flockn Solid Gold Holistic Blend dog food.

Amusing aside - she is one of two dogs, and she looooves being afflicted with something - it makes her feel like a princess who gets extra attention. Every morning we call out "B - time for your pills!" She comes running, snarling the whole time at our other dog, who's sprinting alongside her to the pill staging area, like maybe if he gets there first, HE'LL get pills one day!

Best of luck - you feel so bad when they're in distress and you feel like you can't help!

 

[luvwinnie]

We've had success with Science Diet limit Ingredient food: Duck and potato. We also bathe Winnie with EpiSoothe shampoo.

 

[SleepyMom]

We've been dealing with this as well these past few months. Dash would get nasty red spots and was losing hair around his eyes and on top of his head.

We changed his food to Natural Balance (duck and potato) and took out all other treats. He was on Prednisone for a short time, which did help clear it up. We also use a special shampoo for bathing. For now he is getting an antihistimine for the summer (twice a day) and he hasn't had any troubles since starting on that. He also has a vitamin every other day that is for the coat, to keep it healthy.

He will be a year old this week so the Vet wanted to wait for testing, she said most won't do it before 2 years of age. Hope yours is feeling better soon, from recent experience I know it's not fun for them.

 

[Libby X 3]

My dog also had horrible skin allergies and eventually we found Limited Diet dog food. Her favorite was the venison and potatoe. The food helped so much that eventually she only had to take antihistimines as needed. Prior to that she was constantly at the vet for shots etc. She was an itchy mess. I would try the limiting food first and then go from there.

 

[phillybeth]

Definitely change the food! There are several brands available at PetSmart and PetCo that don't have corn or wheat- the number one and two allergens for dogs. I have my gang on Nutro and they have been doing great- even my old guy who would have a seasonal falre every spring has been bouncing around like a pup!

 

[Buttercup26]

We had this issue with our last dog, we eliminated chicken/corn/beef from his diet and gave him benadryl - it worked wonders - skin problems completely disappeared!