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Living with an allergic dog

3K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  seawater 
#1 ·
Brody has environmental allergies, he has been to two vets now and they both diagnosed the same thing. He has developed red bumps and tiny hairless spots primarily on his belly, genital area, and underarms. The bumps and spots don't seem to bother him at all, and he doesn't scratch or lick obsessively, but they are very unsightly.

Does anyone have any advice for living with a dog with environmental allergies? They don't seem to be bothering him, so should I worry about it? Are there any special supplements I can give him, or shampoos or creams or something to reduce the weird red bumps?
 
#5 ·
Both vets prescribed Benadryl, the dose was just increased after the second vet visit.

The second vet did briefly suggest fish oil, but unfortunately I didn't get more information before the visit was over. :confused: I've been doing some research and I'll call the office on Monday to clarify how much, etc, but I was wondering if anyone else has tried fish oil to any success with this sort of thing. I don't take it myself, so I don't know much about the benefits/drawbacks of it.
 
#4 ·
I have HEPA air filters and wash his sheets and toys with an organic/all natural detergent; in hot water every week. (Be sure put it on the 'extra rinse' cycle.) I vacuum everyday and have the Roomba's running 24/7 too.

I noticed his "acne" and rashes all disappeared after the first week. I've been doing this religiously because I hate seeing my baby with red eyes, bumps, sneezing and coughing. (I don't bother with the antihistamines.)

I also have him on an all organic chicken and veggie diet. He's always been on this diet so, I can't say it's a reason for his issues clearing up but, my friend started it with her pets and they no longer have rashes.

Hope you find a solution.
 
#9 ·
Update: Tried the fish oil. Gave him an awful reaction and he's been licking himself nonstop until he bleeds. ):

The vet told me to take him off it right away and observe to see if he gets better, but didn't give any suggestions for an alternative.

Hopefully his allergies are just seasonal and go away when the winter hits. I feel so bad for him but the fish oil supplement just made the whole thing worse. ):
 
#10 ·
My Newfoundland Megan has been suffering from a red rash on her belly and under her armpits since she was six months old, I have tried loads of creams etc, antihistamines and nothing has helped,

I have found with Megan it's a food allergy, all dog treats and dog food, so she has a raw meat diet and only 100% natural treats, actually the only treats that are okay are rawhide chews,

It's really worth looking at his diet,

I didn't really believe it was her food until I changed her diet, she now only gets spots if someone gives her a treat without me knowing.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, fastest way to rule out food allergies is single protein - and the fastest way to accomplish that is to convert to raw - at least temporarily. But if you're going to do it, do it right. If it's environmental, that's a pain.

If blood tests haven't been done, I'd highly recommend a full blood panel inclusive of everything thyroid - not just a T4 carrier. So much in the endocrine system can cause allergy like symptoms. I'll be taking Monty in next month for a full blood panel just to have a baseline. Overall he's really healthy.

We had tried jagger on a couple of different allergy pills, maybe try switching up. Plain Reactine didn't give any relief, Plain Claritin worked better.
 
#14 ·
Theism summer I met some people who had a dachshund that had bad allergies. The vets told them it was environmental and grass. He was having monthly injections and creams to apply. I disagreed and gave them some of my herbs and told them to change to raw which they did.

They were on holiday here and within the first week of change the dog was scratching less. I have heard from them since and they say he is 100% fine. Only on raw and no scratching.
 
#16 ·
For sure switch to a single protein to rule that out. I find that a lot of vets give shaky advice on food allergies-- that might be linked to the fact that "hypoallergenic" foods loaded with corn, wheat and all that junk are so popularly merchandised in vet's offices ;)

Once you've ruled out food (poultry and grains are the most common ones), watch the seasons to see if it flares up at a particular time of year. That could point toward a certain plant.
 
#17 ·
Thank you everyone for your advice! I'm still thinking it's seasonal or environmental, because of how it showed up only in mid/late summer despite being on the same food he's always been. I'm not going to rule out the food as an allergy source, but I'll watch it as the season changes to see if it gets better. We are finally starting to see some cooler weather so maybe things will change in the next few weeks.

If they don't, then I'll switch to a single protein raw diet to see if it's anything in particular setting the allergies off.

I would love to see about getting an allergy panel done, it would really make things easier.
 
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