Dog Allergies...HELP!!!!

[RossHallHero]

My dog has horrible allergies in the fall and nearly scratches herself to death.

Starts in mid-July to early August, but is completely cranked up right now to the point of driving her and us insane. She chews on her feet and scratches her ears/face raw.

The vet gave her a shot of depo-medrol about the first week of August and we've been popping her full of benadryl as well. Not working.

Can she get another shot? Are there other options?

We can't go with prednizone (?) as it makes her whizz every 2-3 minutes.

50 pound German Wirehaired Pointer.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. She still has some hair on her feet left (although not much).

 

[RossHallHero]

I'm going to bump this everytime that my dog flops down and starts having a scratching fit. Hopefully someone from our vet school posts on here.

I forgot to mention that the vet didn't want to give another depo shot, but it's turning into a quality of life thing each fall. If her life is cut a year or two short because of getting too much of the shot, I'm ok with it. 3 months out of the year are brutal for her.

 

[brianhos]

Turn your air back on... I have horrible allergies, I do not turn the air off until it freezes.

 

[RossHallHero]

Turn your air back on... I have horrible allergies, I do not turn the air off until it freezes.

Ours goes on in mid-July and never goes off until first frost, even with these incredibly cool temps we've had this summer.

I wish it was that simple.

I think some of it had to do with that rust type stuff on the grass this time of year. She gets it all over her when she goes out. I keep the grass short and water the back where she goes out in hopes that this helps, but it doesn't appear to be working.

 

[DaddyMac]

What does your vet say about it? I'd get another opinion if they're just saying "oh well".

I'll forward your post to my father-in-law, a vet here in DSM.

 

[Clonehomer]

Our vet told us that ISU can run some tests to see what they are allergic to and setup some kind of specific treatment for that. It was kinda pricey and they wouldn't guarantee that it would work, but if it's to the point that the other stuff doesn't work then you may want to look into it. Thankfully for us the Benedryll seems to be working this year.

 

[Rogue52]

I would definitely use a warm damp rag on your dog's paws after coming inside.

 

[CyPride]

Ours goes on in mid-July and never goes off until first frost, even with these incredibly cool temps we've had this summer.

I wish it was that simple.

I think some of it had to do with that rust type stuff on the grass this time of year. She gets it all over her when she goes out. I keep the grass short and water the back where she goes out in hopes that this helps, but it doesn't appear to be working.

learn to live with it.

i have a black lab who has had this for 10 years. freeze used to clear things up, but now, ear problems year around.

One thing that did work for me and I will share. One summer a few years back was a back summer for this dog's allergies. I had read about feeding a raw diet (you can find these raw diets on the 'net - often called barf diets). Anyway, I went to it and my dog responded very well to it. the hair that it had lost as typical grew back, and the allergy symptoms went away. the problem with this diet is you have to have an inexpensive source of food.

Prednisone is temporary and harmful to your dog long-term. Benadryl - save your money.

my dog has severe allergies - some summers worse than others. lose hair, welt up on belly, runny eyes, itchy ears, etc.

 

[RossHallHero]

What does your vet say about it? I'd get another opinion if they're just saying "oh well".

I'll forward your post to my father-in-law, a vet here in DSM.

He wants to give her prednizone, but there's a 0% chance of me doing that again. The carpet just dried from last years test run with it.

I've been doing some reading on Claritin and Zyrtec. I may try that route. (BTW, if you're reading this and considering going the same route, the decongestant is apparently toxic to dogs, so don't use Claritin D, or any others with decongestants w/out consulting with Daddy Mac's father-in-law).

Let me know what your pa-in-law says and let him know I appreciate his help (unless he's currently my vet...if that's the case, tell him I told him to prednizone off!)

Thanks again!!

 

[RossHallHero]

I would definitely use a warm damp rag on your dog's paws after coming inside.

check

Thanks to everyone who has responded with their advice, experiences.

 

[bugs4cy]

Weird but true. Had a rat for a pet in college - lived about 5 years. She developed an immense skin allergy issue early on - scratched herself raw. Went to the vet that is really close to Hickory Park in Ames. Got a prescription that was filled at a regular drug store - some oral liquid that I have her once a week. The drug store people looked at me like I was insane because they knew it was for a pet rat. Wish I could remember what the drug was, but that was back in the 90's.

 

[CyGal]

learn to live with it.

i have a black lab who has had this for 10 years. freeze used to clear things up, but now, ear problems year around.

One thing that did work for me and I will share. One summer a few years back was a back summer for this dog's allergies. I had read about feeding a raw diet (you can find these raw diets on the 'net - often called barf diets). Anyway, I went to it and my dog responded very well to it. the hair that it had lost as typical grew back, and the allergy symptoms went away. the problem with this diet is you have to have an inexpensive source of food.

Prednisone is temporary and harmful to your dog long-term. Benadryl - save your money.

my dog has severe allergies - some summers worse than others. lose hair, welt up on belly, runny eyes, itchy ears, etc.

I think my co-worker's dog is on this raw diet, or maybe something like it. The poor dog was loosing all it's hair, couldn't go outside for more than a few minutes at a time. They now feed the dog hamburger (not sure if it's raw or cooked) with rice, and snacks tend to include carrots and apples. She's thriving now, and while it's expensive, it's cheaper than the meds they were using on her.

 

[mustangwinner97]

My border collie had the same symptoms although not as severe. I switched her to Science Diet Sensitive Skin DF. I think this helped immensely. Zero symptoms this year.

 

[GoCubsGo]

You want advice? Take the dog to another vet if you're not happy with your current vet, rather than asking members of a message board to give advice that they are not qualified to give.

 

[DaddyMac]

You want advice? Take the dog to another vet if you're not happy with your current vet, rather than asking members of a message board to give advice that they are not qualified to give.

Because nobody here may be a vet, could recommend a vet, know a vet, have a dog with a similar problem or anything like that..... :skeptical:

 

[acrozier22]

I always hear these ads on XM radio. Not sure if it will help or not.

Dinobite Natural Dog Vitamins: K9HealthSolutions.com

 

[CycloneDaddy]

l

Prednisone is temporary and harmful to your dog long-term. Benadryl - save your money.

This combination of drugs has been good for my dog this year. We are really careful with the Prednisone as my wife took that drug for 2 years and hates every time we give it to our dog.

 

[woodie]

if your dog has allergies to you-you had better get obama's buddy sunstein to be a LAWYER FOR YOUR DOG SO YOUR DOG CAN SUE YOU.

 

[acrozier22]

if your dog has allergies to you-you had better get obama's buddy sunstein to be a LAWYER FOR YOUR DOG SO YOUR DOG CAN SUE YOU.

Seriously? Do you have to insert the political comment? At least if you are going to try to make an intelligent comment, try using capitalization and proper sentence structure.

 

[Clonehomer]

learn to live with it.


Prednisone is temporary and harmful to your dog long-term. Benadryl - save your money.

my dog has severe allergies - some summers worse than others. lose hair, welt up on belly, runny eyes, itchy ears, etc.

We've actually had a lot of luck with Benedryl this year. It doesn't completely keep her from scratching, but if we give it to her before bed she can get through the night. It just may depend on your dog and it's cheap enough it's worth the try. Also in the bad spots our doctor gave us a cortizone cream and spray (the stuff at petco didn't work so ask your vet) that has cleared up the raw skin under her legs so if it's a localized problem then ask for that.