We have a dog that during the summer has really itchy skin. She is mostly an outside dog and weighs about 100 pounds so for the most part, when she comes in and before we can get her to calm down it sounds like a horse running in the house! I feel like it's an environmental allergy maybe to grass or something that blooms but we also take her to the lake with us and there's no keeping her inside either place. She loves to romp, run, swim! I don't think it's her diet because it non-existent in the winter. I do not have the money to take her to the vet for doggie allergy tests and a series of allergy shots that are on-going. I've heard those do and sometimes still don't work well. I have switched to an oatmeal/baking soda dog wash and that does help. Any suggestions or home remedies that could help us with her would be greatly appreciated.
We do keep the flea meds on her once per month and she doesn't have any of those on her at all (thankgoodness!). We've kept her in more the past couple of days and it has helped along with some benadryl one day. I will definitely call and visit the vet if anything should worsen. It sounds like we might be with the others who have to use the prednizone (spelling?) to help their pets with allergies. Thank you for the suggestions and encouragement!
I had a dog growing up that had really itchy skin and had some allergies to grass and such. It really helped to put cod liver oil in his dry food. Also, give him a good brushing and wipe down once a day if you can. Hope this helps you!
Our lab is highly allergic in the warmer months, constantly licking her paws till they are raw. Our vet told us to give her regular benadryl pills (can give up to 6/day at that weight) or Claritin (NOT Claritin-D) twice a day. We have found Claritin (can buy generic) to work better - at least it seems to give her some relief. Also, wiping down her paws after being outside with plain water helps, too.
My dog has seasonal allergies... and they can get very bad. One year, we had to rush her to the vet er anher flare was so awful, the vet gave her steroids... prednisone. Whenever she flares up, I give her a pill and it calms down for a while. The visit and meds were about $75.. a lot to me, but worth it for her comfort over the summer. I only need to give her a pill maybe once or a week or every few weeks, then a children's Benedryl on other days if needed.
Also, shave your dog down a much as you can, it helps. and be sure to check for fleas.
If it gets really hot, maybe she's just sweaty and itchy.
My old family dog developed an allergy to grass as she got older. Pretty sure mom gave her some childrens Benadryl. You might check online to see what the proper dosage is for the dog. Also I don't know if you have her on a flea preventative, but a lot of them stop working after a while. Frontline and Advantage both stopped working for ours so we had to put them on Revolution.
Our dog is the same way! I try not to bathe him, that makes it worse a few days after, but when I do wash him I use Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo! That's the only thing that's gentle enough on him! In the meantime, he's a totally smelly dog, but whatever. My vet also told us you can give a 100 lb dog (which ours is) 1 Benadryl pill 1x per day to help when it's REALLY bad... we've only done that twice on the worst of days. Good luck!
Frequent bathing in an oatmeal alloe Shampoo, my dog has grass allergies and he gets bathed several times a week. Does she have fleas, fleas can cause severe skin reactions as well. We use Steriods on an as need basis.
www.earthclinic.com
I found this website when I got a puppy and didn't want to use chemicals to treat her for fleas.
It is a great webiste.
Good luck and God Bless
D.
you can actually give her childrens Benedryl, I have a friend that is a vets assistant she said a low dose of Benedryl will help. It wont hurt to try it.
Is the itching in one location or all over? Is she chewing on her paws at all? If the itching is centralized to her back end - around her tail, etc - it sounds like a flea allergy. Even if she is on flea prevention, some dogs are so sensitive a single flea can jump on them, bite them, then die, and they will react. If she is itchy all over its probably an allergy to grass or something else that is blooming. Since she is not itching during the winter you are probably right in saying it is not a food allergy. Try benadryl. Also try fish oil. And keep up the oatmeal baths. Do not over bathe her because that could dry out her skin and make her itch even more. If it gets really bad you may have to take her to the vet for prednisone. If you can, call them and see if they can give you advice over the phone. :) Good luck!
my dog has very severe seasonal allergies and I have done the allergy shots. They do help, they do make a difference. But if your dog is mostly outside there is very little home remedies can do to eliminate your problem.
You should have your dog inside more often
Use a damp cloth and wipe her off whenever she comes inside, make sure to get her paws really well.
Benedryl is ok to give your dog. There is another antihistamine that works better and you should ask your vet about it. It's affordable and works similar to benedryl.
You vet may want to put her on a steroid called prednizone. My biggest causion with this is that it can cause a dog to become aggressive.
Good Luck...it has been my exerience with my dog that each year the allergies get worse. She's 9 this year, 2 yrs ago before I started the shots she had chewed/scratched off all the hair on her legs, and most of her face, she had very thin hair on her belly and anywhere else her feet and mouth could reach to scratch. Since then with the help of the doggie benedryl and allergy shots we can manage it enough that she doesn't lose her hair now. She still is very ichy and scratches quite often...just not constantly.
I have one dog that has a sever flea allergy. If he has one on him, he is ready to gnaw his skin off. Is she on a flea preventative?
A Vet doing doggy allergy tests? From my experience the vet talked about the symptoms gave the doggy a look over and prescribed a medication, the doggy in question was allergic to grass, it was a golden retriever as far as I can remember ( this was my Uncles dog)
It never hurts to call your vet and ask for what something would cost ball park...I know critters can be expensive, but a lot of times I have been pleasantly surprised and I was worried about how much it would cost for nothing.
Try adding amino acids to her food! You can buy them at petsmart... not cheap but chaper than the vet (I thinkts like $25 for a large bottle... probably last a month) Put a few tablespoons on her food every time she eats. It will make her skin a lot more moisturized. It helps a lot with our boy's dander and shedding.
