nothing is helping with his allergies

There are other antihistamines to try also. Can you go to a dermatologist? That is the doctor to see for real help. Trudy had terrible allergies. I have a derm. and she had the skin testing, and now I give her a shot each week and she takes a antihistamine. She also eats Nat. Balance Fish. She is doing great now, but she was very bad for a while before we finally got the skin testing for allergies.
 
I hope you can find a good derm. Vet. They are great.
    

I agree with sallya, a diet change may be in order.  I have never tried Natural balance with my dogs, but, I've heard it's good.  At the grooming shop we recommend Natura's California Naturals as it is such a bland food. 

Another thing you may want to find is a holistic vet.  By teaching the body to unlearn allergic responses instead of supressing them you will notice a huge difference.  Our Newf Cassie was suffering from terrible allergies when she was younger.  We changed her diet to a bland diet, then slowly reintroduced different foods for variety.

We also used a variety of herbs to help support her immune system, plus different medicinal mushrooms, clean fresh foods perferabley organic foods.

Some books to pick up to help you through are:
Dr Pitcains book, he has recipes and step by step help for allergies.

Some other books to consider:

[linkAll>http://www.sitstay.com/cgi-bin/sdisp.cgi/BW02.lg.jpg]All You Ever Wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets[/link]
by Mary L. Wulff-Tilford & Gregory L. Tilford
 
[linkhttp://www.sitstay.com/cgi-bin/sdisp.cgi/BA5.lg.jpg]The Complete Holistic Dog Book[/link]
by Jan Allegretti and Katy Sommers, DVM
 
[linkHolistic>http://www.sitstay.com/cgi-bin/sdisp.cgi/BV2.lg.jpg]Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog[/link]
by Wendy Volhard & Kerry Brown, DVM








[linkHealing>http://www.sitstay.com/cgi-bin/sdisp.cgi/BP2.lg.jpg]Healing Pets with Nature's Miracle Cures[/link]
by Henry Pasternak DVM, CVA

With our experience with my sons Dane Ollie,,,I would suggest go to a  skin specialist.  With all the money and time that was wasted going from one regular vet to another,,,putting him on anibiotics, antihistimines and steroids... it would have been a whole lot less expensive to take him to the skin specialist like we eventually did and have him tested (Ollie was blood tested and found to have an allergy to dust and grass) and get him started on allergen shots.  
All of the drugs he was on helped while on them but the time between him getting back on them was getting shorter, my son said "enough, Ollie is not going to take those drugs anymore" and took him to the specialist. Lucky for him, it helped.  
We believe Ollies immune system was compromised because of vaccines. He does not get them anymore, he is on a good food (Eagle Pack) and a few supplements of probiotics.   He pretty much remains allergy free after being on allergen shots.

ORIGINAL: sallya

There are other antihistamines to try also. Can you go to a dermatologist? That is the doctor to see for real help. Trudy had terrible allergies. I have a derm. and she had the skin testing, and now I give her a shot each week and she takes a antihistamine. She also eats Nat. Balance Fish. She is doing great now, but she was very bad for a while before we finally got the skin testing for allergies.

I hope you can find a good derm. Vet. They are great.
   

 
what kind of antihistamines are you talking about. i have been always referred to benadryl for him. so do you mean like a human dermatologist or an animal dermotologist?? (don't know if there is such a thing.) as far as his diet goes, kenny is on nutro holistic so there isn't any by products or such in it. i didn't think it would be in his diet, but who knows.

We give Bogey Benadryl. She's 50 lbs and we give 50 mg. 2 x/s day and 3/xs on the weekends (as we're home). You give 1mg/lb of dog's body weight.  Any sleepiness will wear off in very short time.  You have to do this consistently and it takes a couple weeks to see a real difference.  Bogey was constantly itching, licking and gnawing at her pads on her paws and now hardly at all.  Every once in a while, but everybody itches sometimes.  Her skin on her belly is a nice light pink color instead of red and blotchy and scratched.  Use regular adult Benadryl and you can even get Wal-Mart's generic which is quite a bit cheaper. Just make sure the ingredients are the same.  I give Bogey her pills in a bit of peanut butter.  Make sure he/she just swallows it down.  Don't let him/her chew them as it gives them a "buzz" and causes them to be extremely hyper.  Good luck.  I've got an article I"ll post for you. 

Check out this link for antihistimines:
 
 
[linkhttp://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf]http://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf[/link] 

so do you mean like a human dermatologist or an animal dermotologist?? (don't know if there is such a thing.) as far as his diet goes, kenny is on nutro holistic so there isn't any by products or such in it. i didn't think it would be in his diet, but who knows.

 
  Sally means a veterinary (animal) dermatologist; You could ask your vet if there's one in your area or look in the yellow pages. Jessie was like your dog and we tried many different things but they didn't help. The veterinary dermatologist did an intradermal skin test to find out what Jessie was allergic to and a serum was made containing extracts of the allergens. She gets a shot once every week this time of year and once every 2 weeks in the winter and spring; it's called allergen immunotherapy and it helps about 70% of dogs that it's administered to. Sometimes she also needs an antihistamine. Jessie's derm vet is at a veterinary teaching hospital ( Purdue University);  if there isn't a derm vet in your area but there's a teaching hospital within a reasonable driving distance they will have a derm vet on staff. Another option which is less expensive and can be effective is for your veterinarian to send your dog's blood to a lab for allergy testing. In addition to the skin test, Jessie's blood was sent to Heska; [linkhttp://www.allergyvet.com/categories/allergy.asp]http://www.allergyvet.com/categories/allergy.asp[/link] . The skin test is more accurate and can only be done by a derm vet but the blood test is still a good option.
    Please try the antihistamines; they are safe and help sometimes. If you give a fish oil supplement too it will increase the effectiveness of the antihistamine. There are some shampoos that can help; NuSal-T by DVM is very good;  [linkrodID=1187]http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&rodID=1187[/link]  >http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&rodID=1187]http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&rodID=1187[/link]   I use a shampoo and conditioner made by Virbac but you have to order them online or get them at your vet; I use Epi-Soothe and ResiCort ( a leave in conditioner with a steroid) ;  [linkhttp://www.virbacvet.com/product_guide/allergicderm.html]http://www.virbacvet.com/product_guide/allergicderm.html[/link]   You need to bathe your dog weekly for best results.
   

Yes, a Vet. Dermatologist. They really are good and I wish I had gone right away. My vet just wanted to make sure it was all year allergies and he said the shots were effective for  about 70% of dogs. WOW, it sure worked for Trudy! I also wonder if the other dogs might get help, even if it isn't as great as the 70% that is helps so much. Allergy is so hard, but a good specialist is wonderful. Chronic allergy is SO hard on the poor doggies. I am thankful for modern vet care!

Can I ask how old the dog is??  One of the things that can often help enormously is getting the thryoid checked.  Now all these things -- a dermatology vet (which some folks have had great experience with and others of us have not) or a good holistic vet (and yeah, there are good ones and bad ones) -- having a thryoid test done and sent to either Dr. Jean Dodds or Michigan State University (which uses Dr. Dodd's protocols faithfully) can tell you if thyroid issues are problematic.
 
Any anthistamine (and dogs can take MANY different ones but they are all dosed completely differently) will make a dog sleepy.  Dogs tend to have to take more, on average, than we do simply because their metabolisms are faster.  It's one area where dogs are different than humans drug-wise.
 
But also -- yes, Benedryl can make them sleepy at first -- but it's a side effect they tend to get used to.  (far better than we do, actually) -- Benedryl is an easy one to try at first -- but you have to give it a GOOD try -- 3 weeks to a month usually.  That will get you to the place where the dog begins to get acclimated to it, and it will also work better. 
 
Dog allergies come out on the skin among other places.  BUT because of the Jacobsen's Organ (under the nose and above the roof of the mouth) often traps allergens and slows down the process -- you can't give allergy meds for just a day or two.  You give them to help the body cope with the allergens in the body already, but also to help the body cope with whatever is breathed in day by day.
 
The proper dose is 1-2 mg per pound body weight.  The over the counter Benedryl caps (or generics) are 25 mg.  So one OTC cap is actually a very very minimal dose -- and you'll need to give that at least twice or three times a day (benedryl = diphenhydramine and it only lasts 6 hours in the body). 
 
Sometimes if you see no improvement at all (and remember this may be high allergy season where you live) you can try other anthistamines -- I've seen vets prescribe everything from hydroxyzine to Claritin and Tavist (Tavist is actually supposed to be one of the best for dogs but it is a bit harder on the kidneys and has to be dosed pretty closely).
 
If you search on here for "allergy" you are gonna find a bazillion posts - it's a very very common topic on here and a lot of folks have posted their experiences.

Can  it be liquid Benedryl?

Can it be liquid Benedryl?

As long as it's the proper dose and only contains the antihistamine without a pain reliever or decongestant it's fine.

Benedryl - over the counter caps/caplets = 25 mg
Benedryl 'elixer' (liquid) USUALLY is 12.5 mg/teas.
 
If you are getting prescription Benedryl liquid it's stronger. 
 
My dogs would tell you cherry-YUCK.  It's yucky stuff.  (trust me - I took TONS of it as a kid).  Usually I slip pills in butter -- yep, plain old butter.  It's very digestible for dogs (far far better than margerine to be honest).  Ricotta cheese works great too.

I was putting it in banana or mashed sweet potato and then just tried tossing it in with his food - he ate it []
I was surprised but he does enjoy his food!

ORIGINAL: calliecritturs

Can I ask how old the dog is??  One of the things that can often help enormously is getting the thryoid checked.  Now all these things -- a dermatology vet (which some folks have had great experience with and others of us have not) or a good holistic vet (and yeah, there are good ones and bad ones) -- having a thryoid test done and sent to either Dr. Jean Dodds or Michigan State University (which uses Dr. Dodd's protocols faithfully) can tell you if thyroid issues are problematic.

Any anthistamine (and dogs can take MANY different ones but they are all dosed completely differently) will make a dog sleepy.  Dogs tend to have to take more, on average, than we do simply because their metabolisms are faster.  It's one area where dogs are different than humans drug-wise.

But also -- yes, Benedryl can make them sleepy at first -- but it's a side effect they tend to get used to.  (far better than we do, actually) -- Benedryl is an easy one to try at first -- but you have to give it a GOOD try -- 3 weeks to a month usually.  That will get you to the place where the dog begins to get acclimated to it, and it will also work better. 

Dog allergies come out on the skin among other places.  BUT because of the Jacobsen's Organ (under the nose and above the roof of the mouth) often traps allergens and slows down the process -- you can't give allergy meds for just a day or two.  You give them to help the body cope with the allergens in the body already, but also to help the body cope with whatever is breathed in day by day.

The proper dose is 1-2 mg per pound body weight.  The over the counter Benedryl caps (or generics) are 25 mg.  So one OTC cap is actually a very very minimal dose -- and you'll need to give that at least twice or three times a day (benedryl = diphenhydramine and it only lasts 6 hours in the body). 

Sometimes if you see no improvement at all (and remember this may be high allergy season where you live) you can try other anthistamines -- I've seen vets prescribe everything from hydroxyzine to Claritin and Tavist (Tavist is actually supposed to be one of the best for dogs but it is a bit harder on the kidneys and has to be dosed pretty closely).

If you search on here for "allergy" you are gonna find a bazillion posts - it's a very very common topic on here and a lot of folks have posted their experiences.

 
we think kenny is about 2 1/2 years old.