allergies are back?

Not sure how many vets do allergy testing..we had to take Ollie to a skin specialist. They did blood testing on him. Shows whether is an environmental or food allergy.   His was an allergy to grass and dust.   He was given allergy shots and is fine now.  We also had him on prednisone for a while,,and of course antibiotics were given as he got skin infections.    None of that helps in the long run...it took it away but it came back and the time inbetween medicine was getting shorter and shorter. We knew we had to do something else...and thats when the skin doctor came in.
Good luck! Hope you get your dog allergy tested,,,its cheaper in the long run.

If your vet wanted you to do a food elimination diet, then you can't "add" things now and again.  Nothing.  It has to be just that food (it's also a good idea to use a  "transitional" food first  -- I used Purina H/A for a one month period before moving on to the actual food that had never been given before), then a mix of meat, veggie, carb that has NEVER been given before.  (I am having to order rabitt from Wysong just for this purpose).  This should be one meat source, not two that she hasn't ever had.  Add in some probiotics (the expensive version of Culturelle - the expensive one is not milk based) to help heal the gut inflammation, and then you wait about 3 months.  Then you start testing ONE single item at a time.  See what reaction it brings.  Wait TWO weeks before trying another item in order to get any possible reaction out of the body before introducting another food item.

So, she can be sensitive to the types of meat the liver treats are for, or the yogurt.  (I don't think I would give pet milk at all).  And, she can "become" sensitive to the first foods you give for an elimination diet.  Basically, you really can't tell if she is having a food issue since you have mixed things up.  You have to be dedicated to this - no tidbits of other foods - and it takes quite a while, but it's the best way to go, IMO.

edited to add:  My girl did the same:  biting herself, and she has a muzzle and tummy that go from pink to RED according to how much worse she is doing at the moment.  I love to see tan on the belly and white on her muzzle.  We are getting there, but I have been amazed at how much better I am putting 2 + 2 together with what she has consumed and how she reacts.  Cat poop, for instance, isn't only disgusting to me, but it sets her system off as well.  I wouldn't have known that cat poop was a food "offender" if I hadn't started this strict food elimination diet.  It's only after you can really control the environment that you can start to know what really does have an effect on the dog.
 
edited again:::  you do have to give supplements.  Very important. Nutrients, calcium, etc.  It is wise to get a good nutritional / holistic vet to help you with this.  I travel out of town to see mine and get the advice I wouldn't have otherwise.

I would assume the dog is allergic to grains, which would be the rice.

Try fish and potato food.

Also, elimination diets consist of a strict feeding ritual.
No treats, no extras, no table scraps, no bones, nothing. Just their new food.

If it isn't also pollens, dust etc, I would get on a good fish food. I used Natural Balance Fish and Sweet potato. Then do not add other foods.

I agree... the treats could be messing up her diet trial. Your dog shouldn't even be getting heartwork medicine or flavored treats during this period of time. Its actually common for them to have recurrences during the 12 week restricted period. My pup is going through the same thing.

Its also possible that you have an environmental componenent.

Milk is one of the top 5 allergens, I would suspect that could be one of the reasons she's itchy again. If you're going to do a diet trial, do it right!! NO CHEATING!!!

I'm bringing her back to the vet, just wanted to get some ideas. I want to the vet to do allergy testing on her, but I don't know if the vet clinic I go to does this. How is it done anyway?

 
  I think Benedryl would be a good idea; ask your vet about the dosage. Many vets send the blood to a lab that specializes in testing for allergies. A skin test is best but only a veterinary dermatologist can do one but the blood tests are getting more accurate.  The general rule about allergies is; if your dog is itchy year round that's a good reason to suspect food allergies; if she's mainly itchy in the warm weather that's environmental allergies. There are many exceptions though such as Jessie; she has food allergies and very bad pollen allergies; she's also highly allergic to dust mites and storage mites. The dust and storage mites would make her itch year round even if she didn't have food allergies, so if you're not having success with the diet definitely talk with your vet about the possibility of other allergies. It's likely that she has a yeast infection in her genital area; you may want to try some Vagisil to see if it helps until you can see the vet. For the feet, try making some black tea, letting it cool, and applying it to her feet a couple times a day. Make it a little strong, and apply it using a spray bottle, squeeze bottle, or whatever way you think is best; then blot the feet dry.

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
She was on the diet for three months before I started adding stuff to it. I asked the vet, and he said it was okay to give her the yogurt, the et milk and the liver. I didn't give them at the same time -- but I didn't wait two weeks in between like what chasza said, more like three days. The first thing I gave was the liver, then the pet milk, then the yogurt.      
 
With regard to her genital area, the vet told me to put this anti-itch and anti-fungal cream. It didn't work and has now run out, so that's another reason I'm bringing her back to the vet. And, really, no heartworm medication? The vet actually told me to put her on it and said the Heartgard was okay. I live in an country with a tropical climate so mosquitos are a year-round thing. I'll ask my vet about the supplements (his wife is also a vet, but a holistic one).  
 
By the way, she sneezes sometimes, too. I don't know if she's just excited or if it's because of her allergies.

Not sure how many vets do allergy testing..we had to take Ollie to a skin specialist. They did blood testing on him. Shows whether is an environmental or food allergy. His was an allergy to grass and dust. He was given allergy shots and is fine now. We also had him on prednisone for a while,,and of course antibiotics were given as he got skin infections. None of that helps in the long run...it took it away but it came back and the time inbetween medicine was getting shorter and shorter. We knew we had to do something else...and thats when the skin doctor came in.
Good luck! Hope you get your dog allergy tested,,,its cheaper in the long run.

 
I totally agree. We finally had the blood testing done and found out that Bogey's got both environmental and food allergies and tons of both. Her foods are milk, beef, turkey, lamb and corn and several grasses, dust mites, weeds, trees, etc.  So, we totally changed her food and are giving her monthly allergy shots. When we had a hard snow, she really stopped the toe chewing and now that it's melted, she's at it again. It takes 6-9 months to see a change with the shots - we've seen a little change but are waiting for more.  Good luck. Please do the testing and, like it's been said before, it's cheaper in the long run ! ! !

Food allergies are a reality but vets test for them NOT because they are the most common -- they are not.  Environmental allergies are far far far more common than food allergies (just like they are in people).  It's quite simply that food allergies are easier to pin point and deal with.
 
The way it was described to me by the head of the dermatology dept at the U of Florida vet school, is that in a real sense a dog likely has an environmental allergy ALL the time (particularly in a warmer climate where it's green and growing all year round) -- and there may be some environmental allergens that overload the scale at specific periods of time.
 
The dog may also have the same food allergens (which is really more a sensitivity than an 'allergy' per se) all the time but when the food is withheld (but the environment doesn't change) it just generally relieves a bit of the entire allergy 'load' -- so you feel like you've found "THE" allergens, when  in truth you've only found the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
 
Attacking allergies strictly from a food perspective tends to be a losing battle because it is often the smallest part of the allergy load.  The point is that the general over-all allergy "load" is likely far far greater than you think.  And often dogs wind up on these really limited diets (which can deny them foods that are really beneficial for them like a whole area of food like beef or something) when dealing with the environmental components may be a whole lot more productive.
 
Benedryl is just one of MANY antihistamines that can help -- each antihistamine is a bit different and one may not work as well as another.  Vets would honestly rather attack food than use antihistamines for the very reason of owner compliance.  Somehow it's easier for we humans to deny a particular 'thing' than it is to face the idea of daily medicine. 
 
Also -- people tend to object to the fact that the antihistamine is going to make the dog sleepy.  That tends to be a side effect that will diminish over time - the dog DOES get used to it.  But vets wind up putting the dog on such a minimal dose that it doesn't do much good, or avoiding anthistamines totally because it's less easy than a food (which is often at the vet's fingertips and they can sell it). 
 
We, Americans, in particular, tend to be more than a bit obsessed about food -- it's simply more common for us to lay blame at the food than the other zillion things in the environment we can't control.  I honestly hate to see someone say "NO cheating" like giving a dog one treat is going to cause this huge allergy response - it's not.  Because the body is already 99.9999% saturated with other allergens that ought to be controlled -- not that one bite of food.  It's honestly way more apt to be whatever may be newly blooming this week.

The general rule about allergies is; if your dog is itchy year round that's a good reason to suspect food allergies; if she's mainly itchy in the warm weather that's environmental allergies.

While this might be true....Ollie is allergic to dust and grass, so he was itchy all the time, but not allergic to food.

ORIGINAL: calliecritturs


Benedryl is just one of MANY antihistamines that can help -- each antihistamine is a bit different and one may not work as well as another.  Vets would honestly rather attack food than use antihistamines for the very reason of owner compliance.  Somehow it's easier for we humans to deny a particular 'thing' than it is to face the idea of daily medicine. 

Actually, Benadryl is only effective in 25% of dogs. The newer drugs work for an even smaller percentage of dogs. I've seen VERY few people who object to the very slight drowsiness that occurs. In fact, the dermatology professor at my vet school considers the effects a good thing, because even if the antihistamine effect doesn't work well, the calming effect might help the dog be less obsessive.

Do you want to take home 6 different medicines and try each one (5 of them probably won't work) for 2 weeks, hoping to eventually find one that works for your dog? It takes a very dedicated owner to attempt trial and error medications for 12 solid weeks, 10 of which are probably failures. I wouldn't even do it, so why would someone who doesn't understand the process and how it works?

Callie, how much of a dosage do you recommend for Benedryl? 
It didn't work for Ollie, neither did any that the vet game him. Didn't even make him sleepy...but I don't remember the dosage.
 

 It takes a very dedicated owner to attempt trial and error medications for 12 solid weeks, 10 of which are probably don't work.

 
Thats probably true but I bet most of us did that and would do it again,,,just to help our dogs.
 

The dose of Benedryl for common 'home' useage is 1-2 mg/lb body weight two to four times a day  (i.e., not the dose for something like anaphylactic shock that a vet may push to save a life).  The over-the-counter pills are 25 mg typically.  (and it has to be plain benedryl/diphenhydramine NOT "severe cold formula" or something like that).
 
The 1 mg/lb dose is what I use most of the time, and I wouldn't use the 2 mg/lb dose for long term because it can get a bit hard on the kidneys.  1 mg/lb is far more than the human dose but dogs have a faster metabolism which in the case of Benedryl/diphenhydramine is why it takes more for dogs.  When you get to a bigger dog in particular the dose sounds huge.  For a 100 pound lab that's four capsules at once for a minimal dose.  And a 250 pound human might get knocked flat by one pill. 
 
Each antihistamine is dosed differently.  You can find a veterinary PDR at most libraries, and my copy of "The Pill Book Guide to Medications for Your Dog and Cat" (Dell reference, 199 is one of my best reference tools.
 
Tavist is now typically said to be the 'best' antihistamine for dogs.  The dog I tried it on reacted badly to it (he actually had a bona fide 'allergic reaction' to it my vet said) but that's just one dog out of many. 
 
The sleepy/calming effect of Benedryl IS a big plus -- often it will help break the cycle of itching just for that reason. 
 
No one is gong to "take home" 10 different meds at once -- you try something.  And then you try something else if that doesn't work.  And most people don't even know what you can use.  A lot of vets use hydroxizine just because some people have more' confidence' in something prescribed by the vet and it's virtually not used at all in people any more (it can have some severe emotional reactions in people - it's an older antihistamine from the same circa as diphenhydramine). 
 
The thing in dogs that causes the paw-licking and biting is the histamines that settle at the surface of the skin -- it makes tingles (not unlike if you set on your foot too long and you get a tingly foot from poor circulation).  I will often use the homeopathic "hypericum" specifically to help alleviate that symptom no matter what else I'm doing for the allergies. 
 
A lot of times when someone says "it doesn't work" -- they were expecting a total and complete cessation of the symptoms -- if it doesn't completely eradicate the symptoms they don't think it's working.  But often with allergies you have to do several things to help (with humans too unfortunately). 
 
Dogs absorb environmental, atopic allergens both from their skin surface/feet and also thru the mouth/nose.  They have a whole extra organ of smell - the Jacobsen's Organ -- which is a SUPER filter for allergens and typically allergens can become trapped in there and take weeks to work their way into the bloodstream and 'out' of the body.  In honesty, I've never found 2 weeks to be a fair 'trial' for any antihistamine.  I've heard a few vets say that but since it can take a week or better for an environmental/atopic allergen to come OUT on the skin/mucus membranes it doesn't seem sensible to me that 2 weeks is a long enough trial because what the dog is 'reacting' to TODAY may be what he breathed in last week -- and if part of the function of an antihistamine is to give the body the tools to deal with allergens as they *enter* the body then what the dog sniffs in today won't 'show' as being effected by that anthistamine for a week when 'less' reaction should be noted. 
 
Then we're back to what I said -- 2 weeks is often not enough to know if something IS helping.  I know I have to use benedry AND Bathing AND homeopathics AND immune-boosting on Billy and that's not even counting the thyroid meds he takes to help body balance from that standpoint.  And he STILL breaks out -- but we keep it minimal.
 
I've had six major allergy dogs now -- and they've all reacted differently.  Billy is by far the worst sufferer, but I've also thankfully learned a thing or thirty about helping him deal with them.  But I've had the most success with his ear-allergy-related problems than any of the prior dogs.  And this is a dog who came to me 2 1/2 years ago with his ears swelled SHUT from atopic allergies and they are now sparkling clear and have no 'problems'.  (however, I just 2 minutes ago put zymox in his ears today -- as I do every single day -- to help his body keep those tissues healthy enough not to react to the allergies.
 
When he was first treated for the IMHA and they were ruling everything out -- they took him off Benedryl -- and within 2 days he had his paws a MESS and he was pawing at his ears madly within a week.  Benedryl doesn't completely take care of all his symptoms but it 'helps'. 
 
I cook for him -- so grains and additives are minimal, but food is a lesser issue with him - I've proved it over and over.  And he's a 52 week a year allergy boy.  Then again -- I'm in Florida.  Worst state in the union for allergies I think.  (and that's MY allergies talkn *sigh*).

I use the benadryl (generic) daily for Sassy and have for over a year.  She weighs about 73 lbs, so I give 75mg with morning and evening meals.  I agree 100% with Callie's point about people expecting complete change/relief from giving it and when that doesn't happen they feel it didn't work.  Sassy still itches, but when I've tried to stop it, the itching is much worse.  I absolutely believe it works for her, but again, as Callie said, it requires other things too, such as bathing, thyroid pills here too, Omega 3/6s, and maybe a change of  food.  There is no simple answer, and sometimes when you think you've got it figured out, things change and you have to reevaluate what you're doing and maybe try something different.