Allergies

    • Gold Top Dog

    Allergies

    Well this wasn't written for dogs in particular, but it was on AOL welcome screen this morning:  These are the top ten allergy states for this April.   No wonder some of us are having scratching dogs, sneezing kids!!!





    Hartford, Conn. Greenville, S.C. Boston Detroit Orlando, Fla. Knoxville, Tenn. Omaha, Neb. Sacramento, Calif. Washington, D.C. Baltimore

    The listings are based on pollen counts, medication use per capita and the number of board-certified allergists in the area.

    • Gold Top Dog
    i know my allergies have been worse this year. but with a warm winter, and not much rain lately i guess that shouldnt come as a surprise. the winter was so warm that we had tree and grass pollen starting in early feb. luckily we had pretty heavy rain yesterday so that got rid of some of it [:)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hartford, Conn. Greenville, S.C. Boston Detroit Orlando, Fla. Knoxville, Tenn. Omaha, Neb. Sacramento, Calif. Washington, D.C. Baltimore


    Well, not one of the top lists I'd like to be on, but I knew it was bad here.  I gave Sassy a bath yesterday to calm some of the itching and I'm giving the Benadryl morning & night (mid-day if I'm home).  Hope this doesn't last too long.  Her tummy actually looks better than it has in months.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Yea I'm in Orlando and 2 of my dogs are itching like crazy, the pug is on prednisolone because his whole face was swollen from a flea allergy and i give my terrier mix Benadryl and that seems to help.  It's also bath day but have to go get shampoo first.  They had a thing on the news yesterday about dog allergies and they interviewed a vet who said she tests dogs everyday for allergies.  But I think if they Benadryl is working they will be fine till the allergens go down. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    I honestly believe that bathing as often as possible for these dogs, is the best thing you can give them.  Especially if you can find a shampoo that calms the skin down.  Unfortunately, with large dogs like Sassy, it's not an easy thing to do.  She's also decided she doesn't like it much, so yesterday she hid and I had to bribe her with treats just to get her out where I could coax her to the hose.  I try to make it as pleasant as possible, massaging, kissing her and telling her what a good girl she is, etc., but I guess she'd still rather pass on the whole thing [:)]
    • Gold Top Dog
       Jessie hates baths too and is a Lab-Shepherd mix, and it is a project to give a large dog a bath. I tried that before we started immunotherapy and she needed a bath every few days for it to help.I honestly think she prefers an allergy injection once every two weeks, and her eyelids don't turn pink and swell anymore like they used to if she ran through tall grass. I'm glad to hear Sassy's stomach is getting better. [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    I wouldn't want to bath under the cold hose either, Brrr!
    I usually give my girl baths every 1-2 weeks. She loves to roll. Mud. Dry dirt. Grass. Creeks. Anything lol. She gets dull looking and smells, than I know it's time for a bath lol. She has allergies to, but with switching her to a better brand I am hoping it will ease up, and not be due to seasonal allergies. Gee, soon the fleas will be here too...[>:]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Frequent bathing definitely helps, here. Even a daily brushing and warm water rinse is immensely helpful, for Emma. Fortunately for both of us, she's small, and can go in the shower with me. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    I wouldn't want to bath under the cold hose either, Brrr

     
       Who mentioned a hose?[:)] Jessie gets a bath in the tub with lukewarm water.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Actually I mentioned a hose.  I use a bucket of warm water to lather Sassy up, but then rinse her off with the hose.  It was sunny and about 77 degrees and she truly loves the cold water (jumps in our pool to cool off all the time).  I've also heard that the cold water is beneficial to reducing the itching.  
    • Gold Top Dog
    Cakana did.  I only use a hose in mid-summer when it's 80+ outside.  Otherwise it's a warm shower.  Those shower heads on a hose are a blessing! 

    I haven't tried this but others have suggested it in other threads, but try peanut butter or squeeze cheese on the wall of the shower/tub to keep them occupied.  Ours get a treat for "get in the tub" and then one when they are done.  They don't like it but they stay put through the whole thing.  We've even taught them to "wiggle" when it's all over.  Shadow, Pepper and Tasha will "wiggle" twice and Kota will "wiggle" 3 times.  :D
    • Gold Top Dog
    I've thought about giving a bath inside, but I know I'd never be able to get Sassy to jump into the tub (even for a treat) and there's no way I can lift her 78 lbs.  I also have a glassed in shower stall, but I figure if for any reason she decided she'd had enough, it could be very dangerous, so that's not an option either. I wish she were small enough to bathe inside in a tub, but she's not.
    • Gold Top Dog
    If you throw a treat in the tub every single day, with no bath, she'll hop in for a bath:)

    The tub at work is waist high. I lift dogs a lot heavier than that into it, LOL. We have this one Golden that comes every week, and he'll JUMP into it. That's always nice.
    • Gold Top Dog
    During this time I bathe Romeo once a week, and every afternoon and night he gets rubbed down with a cool water treatment.  I boil a gallon of water with rosemary, chamomille, sage and cloves, I keep it in the refrigerator, and  he loves it.  He opens up his leg wide open, head goes back, eyes roll inward tongue comes out and he is in heaven.  This really helps a lot with the itchiness and if he has an insect bite it dries it off, I also add if I have it some Florida water or witch hazel.  It does not take much to make, and I use this as our quite time, I put on some Nat King Cole and Romeo knows what is coming.  Is really quite funny he gets all excited and the moment I lay down the quilt he just plops down.