Dog with allergies

[Alex+R 0]

I know this is REALLY random, but my dog won't stop chewing her feet off and scratching all over with allergies. Last year she got medicine but she's already somewhat incontinent and this makes it completely uncontrollable, so she won't get any medicine this year.

Is there ANYTHING I can do for her? Anyone know of any home-style dog-allergy remedies?

Just posting on the off-chance that someone here might have some experience!

[MHandMB 0]

Check with your vet, but when my dog had allergy problems, our vet told us she could have 1/2 of a benadryl tablet. Also, oat baths help.

Do you know what your dog is allergic to? My dog has flea allergies. If one flea bites my dog, she itches and bites like crazy, so we're supervigilant about giving her her flea medicine. That has helped a TON.

They give cortizone shots, too, and that helps. My mom had a dog once who had a skin condition. They used some special medicated treatment to bathe him in and it helped a lot. I'll poke around and see if I can find the name of it.

Good luck!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

You could try a different vet too.

[Reba 2]

yep, bendryl is safe for dogs, but ask your vet first for proper dosage according to the dog's size.

Also, take a look at the ingredients in your dog's food. Quite a lot of dog food out there is absolute ####### and full of stuff that is not really good for dogs at all. You should feed a dog a food that lists at least the first 2 to 4 ingredients as meat, NOT corn or wheat fillers. Dogs are carnivores, not herbivores. Honestly premium foods don't cost any more than Purina or other similar brands really. Because its meat products and not corn, your dog won't need to eat as much because it doesn't just pass right thru. And there's less poop to clean up too!

I feed our dogs Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul.

I also supplement my dog's diet with fish oil tablets. I have Saint Bernards so they get a full adult dose, but you'd need to adjust for smaller dogs. This helps their skin and coat to be softer and not so dried out.

Go check out a forum on about.com called The Dog Park. Lots of information there about dog nutrition (vets do not necessarily study animal nutrition, so will not always be helpful with what types of foods to eat, other than to tell you to not feed it table scraps)

[Alex+R 0]

Check with your vet, but when my dog had allergy problems, our vet told us she could have 1/2 of a benadryl tablet. Also, oat baths help.

Do you know what your dog is allergic to? My dog has flea allergies. If one flea bites my dog, she itches and bites like crazy, so we're supervigilant about giving her her flea medicine. That has helped a TON.

They give cortizone shots, too, and that helps. My mom had a dog once who had a skin condition. They used some special medicated treatment to bathe him in and it helped a lot. I'll poke around and see if I can find the name of it.

Good luck!

Oo oo thanks! Let me know if you think of the name of it.

Luckystrike, you're right...Might be time for a new vet!

yep, bendryl is safe for dogs, but ask your vet first for proper dosage according to the dog's size.

Also, take a look at the ingredients in your dog's food. Quite a lot of dog food out there is absolute ####### and full of stuff that is not really good for dogs at all. You should feed a dog a food that lists at least the first 2 to 4 ingredients as meat, NOT corn or wheat fillers. Dogs are carnivores, not herbivores. Honestly premium foods don't cost any more than Purina or other similar brands really. Because its meat products and not corn, your dog won't need to eat as much because it doesn't just pass right thru. And there's less poop to clean up too!

I feed our dogs Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul.

I also supplement my dog's diet with fish oil tablets. I have Saint Bernards so they get a full adult dose, but you'd need to adjust for smaller dogs. This helps their skin and coat to be softer and not so dried out.

Go check out a forum on about.com called The Dog Park. Lots of information there about dog nutrition (vets do not necessarily study animal nutrition, so will not always be helpful with what types of foods to eat, other than to tell you to not feed it table scraps)

Hm, we use organic dog food from a specialty store. We picked it for its natural ingredients + lots of meat. So I am right there with you in the feed-your-dogs-well camp!

I will indeed check out the Dog Park forum after work.

[Mirorgate 0]

Oo oo thanks! Let me know if you think of the name of it.

I believe the skin condition is called MANGE .. although I could be spelling that wrong. We had a dog once that had that... he'd knaw at the infected area for long time till he was bald in that spot.. and keep going.

[Alex+R 0]

Oo oo thanks! Let me know if you think of the name of it.

I believe the skin condition is called MANGE .. although I could be spelling that wrong. We had a dog once that had that... he'd knaw at the infected area for long time till he was bald in that spot.. and keep going.

Ah yes, hence the term "mangey mutt." This we're pretty sure is just a seasonal allergy. We think we know what the problem is, just not how to solve it.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Oo oo thanks! Let me know if you think of the name of it.

I believe the skin condition is called MANGE .. although I could be spelling that wrong. We had a dog once that had that... he'd knaw at the infected area for long time till he was bald in that spot.. and keep going.

hope it's not demodectic mange - that's some strong medicine to cure that.

[JenT 0]

Our black lab used to have 'hot spots' that she would chew at and lick... allergy-related when we lived in TX.

I remember buying something for her over the counter that was a specific ointment for treating hot spots, but I don't recall the name of it.. that was several years ago.

Jen

[CarolineM 0]

my brothers dog has real bad allergies. He used to eat his tail...it was bad. He now gets weekly shots and takes some sort of medecine but I don't know the name.

THe oat baths sound good.

[meauxna 15]

Fred (pictured at left) has pretty bad allergies (they make him stink ).

Weekly bathing makes a big difference. 'Ware the steroid shots---they can have undesired effects (shortened life span).

Food, or seasonal, the Benedryl helps a lot. My sister is a fan of the raw meat diet approach, but it's not very practical. Fred's on some duck/potato food now which works as long as no one gives him pizza crusts.... (you can see how hard he is to resist!).

[Kajikit 65]

There's more than one kind of allergy medicine you can give dogs... try a different medicine if the first one didn't work well enough. And give him a bath regularly to wash the pollen off his coat. Poor baby... I hope he feels better soon!

[aussiewench 9]

Alex+R

Try a shampoo containing Benzoyl peroxide. Lavender to any open sores from scratching also helps. If he has hot spots you can use peroxide straight onto the moist areas. Very doubtful that it is demodectic mange unless there is areas of hair loss around the mouth, nose and ears. Allergies other then something they are in contact with such as a specific type of grass, are usually diet ie if they are not suffering from a disease such as a thyroid problem etc. Even a good diet such as the one you are giving may not necessary be the right one for your dog. If you are feeding fresh meat, this can also cause an allergic reaction as it can heat the blood, causing a dog to scratch incessantly. If your dog is in airconditioning a lot either heating or cooling, this can also dry the skin out making it flaky and itchy.

Hope your doggy is feeling better soon.

[Alex+R 0]

Thank you everyone... the dog's not getting any raw meat--she just eats organic dog food. This is a yearly allergy for her (since 2 years ago), and we aren't giving her her medication because she can't control her bladder when she's on it.

I want to try the topical things you have all suggested! Also, I think it merits taking her back to the vet.

edit: thank god she also has no open sores. just allergic itching.

Edited August 14, 2006 by Alex+R

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

Try something like Relief spray, and shampoos. They help with the itching. I don't recommend you bathe the dog more often, as this causes dryness which only aggravates the skin. You may simply try wiping his/her feet and lower legs off after being outside, often times it is nothing more than grass allergies. You should be able to buy the shampoo as well as the spray at any pet supply store or even from your vet. If the "hot spot" gets very irritated, use a topical antibiotic cream. http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=...&ProdID=936