ALLERGIES!!!

To me, this sounds like a typical food allergy.  What are you feeding now?

What is he allergic to?

(typing in all caps makes things harder for some to read, btw)

  Hi; I'm sorry your boy is suffering with allergies; it's a common problem in dogs. I had to smile when you said you take him to the vet once or twice a year; I have an allergy dog and used to take her once or twice a month. She's on allergen immunotherapy now and it has helped tremendously but it's not likely your dog will need it. Here's some things you can do to help;

        1. Give an antihistamine daily. Benedryl is probably the best and since your dog looks like a Lab he probably needs two capsules two to three times a day depending on how itchy he is.

        2. Give him some fish oil too; it actually makes the antihistamine more effective. Use fish body oil (not cod liver oil). A human grade product that has been distilled to rid it of pcb's and other contaminants is probably best; use the amount suggested for an adult person.

        3. Do you clean his ears every week; it's the best way to prevent ear infections. Also, if he goes in the water you need to clean his ears too.

        4. Bathing helps a lot with preventing hot spots. One of the best shampoos for this is  Nu-Sal T;

          http://www.vetamerica.com/nusal-t-shampoo-12-fl-oz.aspx

        5. If he chews his feet, it helps to wipe them with a wet washcloth when he comes indoors to remove contact allergies.

  All these things cost money too but they're less expensive than a vet visit and should help Hunter feel better.

 

      

 

      

What type of Benedryl, I know there are several kinds. I have a lab, 70 lbs and on my thread it was also suggested to use Benedryl.

Also suggested to wipe feet and legs down, it has helped but I feel sorry for her, mushrooms and fungus balls are really growing outdoors now, and this is the time of year she gets itchy and chewy.

I agree the Benedryl would be better than the steriod from the vet.

 Benadryl doseage is 1mg per pound of body weight 3 times a day.  A dog Caleb's size (65 pounds) can get 2-3 tablets each time.

goatman68

What type of Benedryl, I know there are several kinds. I have a lab, 70 lbs and on my thread it was also suggested to use Benedryl.

Plain old Benadryl (generic name: diphenhydramine).  Do not give anything that contains any kind of decongestant.  Normal dosage for Benadryl/diphenhydramine is 1 to 2 mg. per pound of body weight every eight hours.

Keep in mind that Benadryl will not work well for all dogs.  It does absolutely nothing for my allergy dog, even at a high dosage.  There are quite a few antihistamines that can be given to dogs, and it's often a trial-and-error process to find the one that works best for a particular dog.  Vets often recommend Benadryl/diphenhydramine first because it's inexpensive and many people already have it.

Thank for the information I am going to try Benadryl tonight.

My poor bulldog has had allergies all summer. Her eyes are bloodshot and caked with gunk.  Been giving benedryl 50mg twice day.  It dries up the gunk to cake.  Not sure what is better, dried up gunk or wet slimy gunk. And her body is so hot all the time.   Shed had been on a homeopathic remedy beautifyl for 8 months previous.  Long story short, sh sctrached her cornea probably becuase of irritation. Vet bills mounting, with staining the eye, eye meds, etc.  Anyway, I finally got an appt with our homeopathic vet.  She gave acupunture, a clearing remedy for 1 day, then we resumed the original remedy (arsenicum) and Lola is 85% better. The boodshot eyes aren ot pale pink, the body is cool and the eye gunk is 70 % gone. 

  Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

I know how you feel.  I have a 7 year mix (rot/husky) that has allergies.  At about the age of four he developed food allergies but didn’t get diagnosed until a year later.  During that year he had several visits to different veterinarians in our area.  Always seemed to be after hours, weekends or a holiday when things would go terribly wrong.  X-rays, medication (not cheap for a 150# dog) and over night stays really broke the bank.  Luckily for us our new veterinarian http://www.banfield.net/your-pets-health figured out Tank had food allergies and I found this food called Canidae http://www.canidae.com/dogs/lamb-and-rice/dry.html  and he has been feeling well for some time now, knock on wood.  Give it a whirl might take a couple of weeks but worth a try.  Not real pricey either.

The allergies could be due to flea bites, molds, pollen, dust, food - lots of things.  However, if the allergies are year-round, I would definitely try a different food, as someone above suggested.  A lot of dogs are allergic to grain, which is common in dog foods, especially dry food, and especially the kinds that you buy from Target, grocery stores. etc. (Alpo, Purina, Science Diet, Beneful).  Natural Balance has worked for a lot of dogs, and it's not horribly expensive. If you have a Costco, their Lamb and Rice is very reasonable and not a bad food - as long as the dog is not allergic to rice or lamb!  Anyway, if you suspect food allergies, usually the idea is to pick something that your dog has not eaten before - if he now eats chicken, switch to fish or a totally different protein, and try to avoid grains, especially corn, wheat, soy.  Rice and barley are iffy for some dogs, but better tolerated than corn.   A lot of dogs seem to be allergic to chicken.  Pick a good food and then feed exclusively (no treats, table scraps, etc.) for a month and see if there's any improvement. It may not help but it won't hurt.  He could be allergic to both environmental allergies as well as food allergies, so if you can figure out at least one trigger and reduce it, that will help, even if it doesn't work 100%. I don't know what you're feeding Hunter, but if it's not a good food like Canadae, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, California Natural, etc., you may want to try something else.  You'd be surprised how little it costs to switch to a better food.  The reason is that you feed less, as your dog needs less, since he's getting more protein and less filler like corn.  With a new food, for the first few days, feed 1/4 new food with 3/4 old, as dogs have sensitive digestive systems and can't switch over to new foods as easily as humans can. 

You could also try oatmeal shampoo (or the one suggested above?), and reducing his time outside during peak allergy times like early morning and early evening - assuming you live somewhere where pollen and other allergy-producing things are prevalent.  I've also heard that dry dog food should be kept refrigerated or at least in a tightly closed container, as dust mites can get into the food, causing problems for a sensitive dog.  That may be going too far for most people, but I'm just throwing it out, since it's not a big deal to change the way food is stored.  Good luck - I know it's frustrating.  I've been battling with allergies for almost a year now - but changing my dog's diet certainly helped. Benedryl and Zyrtec didn't, but generic Benedryl doesn't cost much, so it's worth a try.  Use Frontline religiously, too, and think about Hunter's bedding, living space, etc. - could there be things he's allergic to?  Cleaning chemicals?  Dust?   My vet wasn't much help, but by reading and experimenting a lot, I've gotten the licking/itching down quite a bit.  Sorry I've rambled...good luck!!

For itchy dry skin Fish oils, specifically, the EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, are potent anti-inflammatory and anti-itching ingredients. However, they must be given at high doses much higher than the label dosage in order to be effective.The label dose is usually good to maintain a healthy coat and skin, but is way too low to help treat medical problems.Generally whats  recommended is 1,500-2,000 mg per day of EPA+DHA. You'll need to find a potent product so you don't have to give your dog too many capsules. Most fish-oil products have less than 500 mg of the omega-3s per pill.It is also recomended that frequent bathing with a good aloe-vera-and-oatmeal product is very beneficial. Various herbs Silerex, Total-Inflam, Sino-Allergy, DTX Allergy and homeopathics Heel Allergy, Sulfur may also be needed. Treating allergies involves an individualized approach, and each pet will respond to a different protocol.

The Best Dog Tips

For itchy dry skin Fish oils, specifically, the EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, are potent anti-inflammatory and anti-itching ingredients. However, they must be given at high doses much higher than the label dosage in order to be effective.The label dose is usually good to maintain a healthy coat and skin, but is way too low to help treat medical problems.Generally whats  recommended is 1,500-2,000 mg per day of EPA+DHA. You'll need to find a potent product so you don't have to give your dog too many capsules. Most fish-oil products have less than 500 mg of the omega-3s per pill

And different holistic vets are going to have differing opinions about that -- there is also a strong holistic opinion that giving too *much* Omega 3 literally can have a back wash effect where the excess Omega 3's simply wind up forming free radicals in the body causing more problems.

-Heel's Allergy blend is a good one and safe to use 3 times a day for long periods.  If you add homeopathic sulfur do it only for a very few days -- like 5-6 (particularly if you are using the common 30C dose) and then stop.  Thereafter only give a couple of pellets maybe every 3-4 days of sulphur.  (homepathic sulphur is generally really good for skin issues)

Other really good ones to use (and I combine them) are homeopathic Apis and Hypericum.  But get it, if possible, in the lower dose 30X or 6X.  The hypericum helps ease the tingle that dogs get in their feet.

Hylands makes a really good blend called "Poison Oak/Poison Ivy" - yes it's made for contact allergens but it actually addresses the type of "itch" dogs feel with their allergies better than a mainline allergy product.

I will add the proviso -- when using homeopathics DO NOT give them with food.  Don't give them with anything else (and don't give immediately before or after a meal).  Homeopathics typically are sweet -- they are made to be *absorbed* in the mouth.  fold a piece of paper and crush a few of the pellets inside the fold using the back of a spoon or something hard.  Then either just pour in their mouth or on the floor and usually they will lick it up. 

Don't handle the pellets -- tap them into the paper or use a tweezer.  Skin oil decreases their efficacy.

Homepathics have to be given usually 3 or even 4 times a day.  They don't last a long time in the body -- but they don't have the side effects that most medicines do.  If any one is interested and wants to know more about homeopathy, feel free to email me and I can point you to more reading.

calliecritturs

And different holistic vets are going to have differing opinions about that -- there is also a strong holistic opinion that giving too *much* Omega 3 literally can have a back wash effect where the excess Omega 3's simply wind up forming free radicals in the body causing more problems.

 

  Giving too much fish oil can also cause problems with the blood clotting; 50 to 100mg per kilogram of body weight is what most vets think is safe.