Hi, I have a german shep. mix dog who has severe allergies. We are not sure to what. She is miserable all the time. Her skin itches, and she schratces, some times to the extent of tearing up her skin and cause sores, and sometimes infections. We have been to our local vet many many times. They have offered us nothing to help. The only thing that works it steriods, which if given for long periods of times, have bad effects on the dog and the dogs health.
Are there any others out there that have a dog that has allergies? Any suggestions on what has worked for you? Do you have a good vet that has helped you?
Any comments and suggestions are welcome!
7/30/06
Thank you everyone for your replies. Things I didn't think to mention that we have tried, different foods, fish oil, amino fats, neem oil. We have also been testing for the mange.
I have located a speciality vet clinic in carrollton that has a dermatology dept. We have an appointment on Tuesday. Will post more after. Thanks again!
Thank you everyone for your responses.
We have been to the Animal Refferal Clinic in Carrollton and have seen Dr. Crow. We have had the allergy test and poor baby is allergic to MANY things inside and outside the house. 24 of the 34 things tested for came back positive. No wonder she is so miserable!! We will start giving her allergy shots next week. The bad news is it could take up to 6 months before they start to work. Until then we just keep managing her symptoms. She is already SOO much better since Dr. Crow gave us antibodic's for her skin infections. It was so simple I have a hard time understanding why our normal vet could not do this for her. But hopefully we are on the road to happiness!!
J.
I was going to say benedryl, but I read the other's comments, guess it doesn't work as well for dog's as it does cats.
Gosh,we too have been down this road before. Our spaniel mix is 9 years old and has had allergies since he was 6 months old. I wish I could be more positive, but I think in some cases severe allergies have to be managed with steroids. We have seen various vets as well as 2 veterinary dermatologists. We have had various allergy shot formulations, various food trials etc and nothing is beneficial except for steroids. We have tried various antihistamines too and do use one in combination with the steroid but honestly the steroid is the only thing that gives him relief. My recommendation is to go through the process, see a dermatologist make sure you exhaust the possibilities before you resolve that they will have to be on steroids forever. But if they have to be on them to be comfortable, it is not a death sentence. Buster has been on them since 6 months, we give him the miminimal dose possible to keep him comfortable and we keep his liver enzymes tested to make sure he is not having side effects. He is now 9 (in a few days) and is still on the steroids and doing fine.
J.,
I would also suggest looking at your dog food. The food you feed your dog should never contain corn. Many dogs cannot ingest corn. My beagle had severe reactions to the corn meal in his kibble similar to the things you are describing. Look for foods containing rice meal which is easier on their digestive systems.
Try adding 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to her food once a day. This will give her natural oils for her skin that she may missing.
The benedryl suggestion is great until you get it under control. Things that you should always keep in your medicine cabinet for dogs include benedryl for allergic reactions, coated baby asprin for pain, hydrogen peroxide to induce vomitting if something is swallowed and kaopetate for tummy issues and diahrea. I also keep a baby medicine dropper just for the dogs.
Lastly, find a new vet. Yours don't seem involved enough.
Good luck!!!!
Jodi
Hey J.
Sounds like you have had a lot of suggestions, so I will throw mine in here too because it is along the same lines as one of the others!
We too have 3 dogs and because they are like our children, we take their discomfort very seriously!! ( probably too seriously many times!)
Anyways�we got our 3rd dog last March and from the get go�she had some itching problem. We spent 3 weeks with no sleep because she would itch so bad she could not sleep and would cry about it. Truly heartbreaking! We started trying everything�changed detergents, did not clean the carpets with any powder cleaners, switched her food to food without corn, etc� We tried a couple topical things, that did not work. Benedryl did not seem to faze her�we were beside our selves! We had been on a waiting list for over a year for this dog and were so frustrated that she was now so miserable ( as were we with no sleep!)
The vet did some scrapings with no conclusion�finally she suggested it could be the sarcoptic mange. What she told us is that sometimes it is very hard to diagnose the mange�it does not always show up on a slide�so often this is diagnosed by process of elimination. So the gave us a spray that is often used for fleas�we sprayed her with it for a few days a week�and within a week and half we noticed a difference. ( it can take that long because dogs skin has about a 21 day cycle�so it can take a while to notice change) I am a doula and one of my partners is also a DVM�she backed this all up and said it sounded like this was really our last option. Sure enough after treatment for about a month�she was cleared up and we have not had a problem since.
We use the vets at Banfield Pet Hospitals through Pet Smart. We have always been pleased with them�they treat our dogs very well and we have pet insurance through them so it makes stuff like this not quite so painful financially!
Let me know if you if you have any more questions about what we used specifically-and I wish you the best! Happy dogs make for happy families!
L. Spradlin, CD(DONA)
Administrative Director
American Pregnancy Association
www.americanpregnancy.org
###-###-####
(800)672-2296
My dog has similar symptoms. We give him two fish oil capsules in the morning and one at night. It has nearly elimated the scratching. There is also dog food made with salmon (I think it's Purina One), that is supposed to help.
J....many people are right, many times it is the food you feed them. I agree with no corn in the food for dogs and I'd suggest you feed a higher quality food...a few good ones are: California Natural, Nutro Natural, Solid Gold, Flint River, Nature's Variety and Wysong. I feed Nutro Natural--this one you can find at Petsmart. The others maybe be harder to find. I believe Whole Foods carries Wysong and Solid Gold. What kind of food do you feed her?
Also, try contacting one of these vets. They are both very good and combine traditional veterinary medicine with alternative vet medicine(natural stuff), so they might have some suggestions for some natural things to help allergies without all the side effects. I personally give my dogs Fish Oils on their food and I do think that helps. I just put the big gelcap in their food and they eat it up like a treat.
Here are the Vets:
Dr. Trisha Ballard, Carrollton
Dr. Shawn Messionnier, Plano(Paws and Claws Animal Hospital)
Good Luck! I hope you find something to help your sweet girl.
N.
J.,
I have 2 labs who had allergies, along with other issues - one produced excessive wax - always infected and both had skin problems, itching, flaking, etc. I used special shampoos and medication from the vet. I don't care to medicate anyone unless my last result. After a lot of research and switching vets, I discovered that it was the food. I have been using the same dog food for about 6 years. The name is Solid Gold. It's maybe $2 more per bag, but my dogs are never sick and do not have any allergies - and compared to what I was spending on the vet and the medicine, it was an easy choice for me. Here's the web site - www.solidgoldhealth.com. I don't know where you're located, but depending on the store you purchase it from, the price can vary quite a lot. Let me know if you need additinal info - sometimes it's all about the food and snacks they are given.
Good luck.
Hi J.,
Don't fret, we were in the same position with our Golden Reteiver. We spent hundreds in vet bills every time she licked or scratched her skin raw. The many vets we talked to all suggested steroids and repeated shots of Cortisone.
When we moved to Texas we couldn't find the food that we normally fed our dogs. Instead we chose Purina One - you wouldn't believe the diofference! IN a few short weeks our dog had a beautiful full glossy coat and she has stopped her incessant scratching and chewing. To further help we switched her to K9 Advantix flea meds. They seem to work better than Frontline and Advantage.
Try the Purina One first -- it'll take a month to notice the difference, but all of the dogs will benefit and it's a lot cheaper than steroids!
E-mail if you have more questions or to let me know how it goes.
My sister has a bull terrier with very sensitive skin that would break out with rashes and was told to give the dog fish oil capsules just like we would take... she has been giving him regular fish oil capsules that you find in the vitamin section and her dog's skin has cleared up!
Steve Meyerdirk at Dove Creek Animal hospital (on Teasley Lane in Denton) may be able to help.
I'm so glad you got this figured out! Dr. Crow is great! We refer over to that clinic all the time and they have helped out so many of our patients! Sorry I didn't respond before but, I just joined the group and saw your question.
I just want to respond to some of the other responders...
NEVER GIVE YOUR PET "PEOPLE MEDICATIONS"!! Benadryl is ok (but always call your vet to get the dosage) and that's about it.
NEVER GIVE ASPRIN...EVEN SMALL DOSES COULD KILL YOUR PET!! ALWAYS CALL YOUR VET BEFORE GIVING ANYTHING...if you go regularly (for shots and well check ups, etc.) they can usually tell you how to handle your problem at home over the phone.
All-in-all it's good to hear that your puppy is doing well!
D.
Vet Tech Assistant
Mannatech has 2 products (in powder form) that you could put in your dog's food. They are called, Ambrotose and PhytoAloe. Mannatech also sells an amazing skin lotion, called Ambrotose, that might also help your dog. These products have helped many people and animals alike. You can order these products through me and check out the following websites: www.Mannatech.com
www.glycoscience.org
www.glycoresources.com
I can also send you information through the mail or talk with you by phone about the products, if you have any further questions.
A. Pomeroy
Nutritional Educator
###-###-#### (home #)
____@____.com
Our cocker, Cinnamon, has bad allergies too. We give her benedryl (the 25 MG) tablet about 2x day. You might try that. Also, your vet can take blood from your dog and have that blood allergy tested. That might let you know if your dog is allergic to certain foods, etc. Also, if needed, you put your dog on allergy shots (that you can admininster at home).
Hope that helps. We know how miserable that makes the dog and the family.
C.
My aunt had a shar pei that had skin allergies really bad and she used Avon's SKin so Soft on her...
my mom used to spray micitin (antifuntal foot spray) on her dog-- that was allergic to the grass.
:( Sorry for your suffering as well as your fur baby's... I'm about to put down my dog on Monday b/c of skin cancer... enjoy them while you can!
