[kera]

my dog has skin allergies


ok so we have been batteling a skin condition since june. hair loss around eyes, ears reddness and itchy around face, ears and under legs. after 4 trips to the vet and 300 dollars later nothing is helping. so we started to medicate at home. olive oil and aloe gel on ears and head twice a day which is helping but hasnt gotten rid of the problem! we switched food from premium edge lamb and rice to california natural herring and sweet potato. so im thinking the last thing he could be allergic to is grains. anyone have any suggestions hes soooo itchy!!!

[maryellen]

the first thing you have to do is get the dog to the vet for allergy testing for airborne items, to do a food elimination you have to stick to one food for 3 months, with no treats.. that is the only way to test for food allergies.. its possible your dog is allergic to airborne items too.

malasaab shampoo can help with the itchiness too..

[Miakoda]

The main thing that bothers me is the hair loss on the face....especially around the eyes. The eyes and ears are HUGE demodex outbreak areas and mites aren't always that easily found especially if the vet isn't looking to hard.

As for the food, stick with the new one for at least 12 weeks. That's how long it takes for a canine's body to rid it's body of the toxins from the previous food and adjust to the new one in an effort to rule out food allergies. Again though, food allergies are usually exhibited via ear infections, yeast on the body, hair loss along back legs and under belly (although defnitely not limited to). Also, when doing a food trial, the dog gets NO TREATS, no tablescraps, nothing! ONLY the kibble in which he is fed.

It could be a contact allergy or inhalent allergy and in all truthfulness, unless you want to move to Canada, you're basically screwed.

In the meantime, start your dog on an antihistamine regimen. Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) is great. The dosage is 1-2 mg per lb of body weight thus a 25 lb dog would take 1 25mg tablet.....a 50 lb dog would start of with 2 25mg tablets & so forth. If your dog weighs 62 lbs, then dose 3 25 mg tablets. Underdosing will get you nowhere. Dose twice a day and give it about 14 days to really see results. If it helps, continue the therapy.

[annji]

We've found that organic shampoo helps and keeping the yard free of any debris such as leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, etc also seems to help. Keeping the yard super clean has not stopped Blue's symptoms, but it does reduce the severity.

[Christine]

Trying too many things at one time, will also get u no where, u will not know what is helping. I would get a different vets opinion. Some vets don't really know how to look for mange very good, believe me i used to work for one...sounds like mange or allergies. Mange can be ruled out quickly and "cheaper" than allergies. get a second opinion on the mange then go into the food/inhalent (sp) allergy thing...Best idea is to see a certified specialist if u have one in your area...if not, unfortunatley u have to trust your vet...which can be kinda scary ( get a send opinion )

[reynrock]

my brother-in-law has a rat terrier and his vet told him to give his dog benadryl for the itching i'm not sure about the dosage.

[Christine]

As i hate to give out any dosages, just because i do not know any info about ur puppy, i am gonna have to opt out of an answer on that one. If the vet recommended, the vet should give u the dose. It is based on Body weight, and health of the pup...sorry. But i can tell u it may make them drowsey! Or even worse the opposite reaction is getting very f-in hyper...good luck! Oh yeah, and it has to be straight benandryl 25mg (if u look hard enough the dose is probably in these threads somewhere ) No additive like cough and cold. The generic is Diphenydramine 25mg

[Michele]

well, for a 10 pound dog (my JC) the vet told me to give him 12 miligrams of Benadryl to calm him down....it worked but as Christine said, go by what the vet says

[kera]

well duge went back to the vet for his skin issues. he actually was on banadryl but he must have gotten used to it, it doesnt work anymore!! the vet scraped him again saw no mites, put revolution on him put him back on predisone(not happy bout) and made us get the hills prescription food which im also not happy bout, the cost is outrageous 48 for an 18 lb bag. and its not even all natural. our female will not eat without him and when they do eat together she eats all his food, the switch bowls its going to be impossible for us to keep up with the rx food!!!

[Michele]

Kera: ask your vet about Innova or Timberwolf feed. I'm not at all sure that vets know that much about dog food.

[maryellen]

first off, get a new vet.... the vets must scrape deep enough to get the mange mites.. i am thinking its mange...

second, stop feeding both dogs out of one bowl if you do that, and third, stop letting your other dog bully this one away from the food bowl... feed both dogs either in their crates or feed one in their crate and do not allow the other to eat the others food.... you are setting them up for a huge fight once they mature, as the one who gets its food stolen now when mature wont tolerate it anymore..

prednisone is a quck fix, and is not helping your dog at all... the vet is just socking you for money..

post some pics of your dogs problem areas..

on the prescription food do NOT give any treats of any kind or any human food to the dog.. this prescription food needs to be by itself to see what your dog is allergic to, but i am thinking yourdog has mange and not allergies like miakoda said due to the spots where the fur loss is..

[kera]

well they dont bully each other they switch bowls and yes they have 2 bowls,and they r both 2 yrs old. this is actually our second vet the first vet didnt even scrape him. and yes i know absolutely no table scraps!!!

[maryellen]

change to stainless steel bowls. and dont let them switch bowls anymore, that will eventually cause a fight...

[babyblues]

Well shadow had mange, the Dr. scraped his skin and explained to us that there are 2 types of mange the controlable one and the one that has no control (I'm not expert but maybe someone here can shed some light on that for us) but he did give him a 6 supply of heartguard that kills off all type of worms and did wonders for his mange, he also gave us an ointment for the life of me can't recall the name it start with the word "good" that I would put on his affected areas 3X's a day, after about 2 weeks or so, I saw a big difference, when I bathe shadow, also Jinx, I use Shampoos with green tea, or oatmeal, and a rinse conditioner that's all oatmeal, I also got him Wild Alaskan Salmon oil, it's good for their skin and coat, which I also give to my 4 month girl Jinx.
I mean so far from what I read, I think you should get a second opinion on your dog, cause, it does sound lik it is mange, maybe if you can post a pi of how he looks we can get a better idea. Hope this helped a little, I know it's sad to see on of you babies like that, I felt terrible to see shadow like that, but switch vet, try a second opinion, it may help him.

Originally Posted by babyblues Well shadow had mange, the Dr. scraped his skin and explained to us that there are 2 types of mange the controlable one and the one that has no control (I'm not expert but maybe someone here can shed some light on that for us) but he did give him a 6 supply of heartguard that kills off all type of worms and did wonders for his mange,

heartgaurd does NOT kill off all types of worms. that is misinformation. the reason it did help the mange though is cuz it has ivermectin in it. along with the other treatments it was just adding a small boost as the level of ivermectin wasn't high enough to do the job alone.

[DivineOblivion19]

Heartgard kills roundworms and hookworms and prevents heartworms. Boogieman is correct about the ivermectin.

[babyblues]

aahhh! ok Thanks, but not wanting to sound so paranoid, but How many types of worms are there? and what would be like the best perventative for them?

Originally Posted by babyblues aahhh! ok Thanks, but not wanting to sound so paranoid, but How many types of worms are there? and what would be like the best perventative for them?

here's a thread on wormers. try searching thread tags for stuff on here it works great!

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=1149

to answer your question though, i use pyrantel pamoate monthly for roundworms and hookworms. as stated above i use the ivermectin 1% solution for heartworms. if you keep fleas off your dog you shouldn't have a problem with tapeworms, but if they present themselves in the stool you should use Praziquantel. i will not give dosages as i am not a vet. consult your vet for your dosages. with these 2 wormers used monthly you should have all your bases covered. i wouldn't rely on the heartgaurd to protect against all worms if i was you. that is strictly my humble opinion though. if i were using the heartgaurd i'd still give the pyrantel pamoate. it is also known as strongid. it is also a good idea to rotate different wormers from time to time to prevent an immunity being built up by the worms.

hope that helps.

[babyblues]

ok, i do the heartworms but don't do the pyrantel pamoate, I figured that heartguard covered it, but I'll pickup a bottle of it today. I'll check the thread now.
Thanks Boogieman

Originally Posted by babyblues ok, i do the heartworms but don't do the pyrantel pamoate, I figured that heartguard covered it, but I'll pickup a bottle of it today. I'll check the thread now. Thanks Boogieman

no prblem!