Allergies

[southerngirl]

Miss Piper suffers from allergies. The vet said white dogs are prone to them. We have already switched to grain free dog food, which helped her stool, but her skin is irriatated still. Any ideas of what else it could be? Her skin get's brown areas all on it including her belly. She'll constantly chew her paws which also will be brown and red.
I would take pictures, but I just gave her a bath so right now her skin is fine.

 

[running_dog]

I think the brown is supposed to be caused by licking when the dog tries to relieve the itchiness.

Zac is tormented by itchiness sometimes and I have never managed to figure out what it is. I'm looking forward to hearing what people suggest as a cause.

 

[southerngirl]

I think the brown is supposed to be caused by licking when the dog tries to relieve the itchiness.

Zac is tormented by itchiness sometimes and I have never managed to figure out what it is. I'm looking forward to hearing what people suggest as a cause.

Aww poor Zac. I really hope to find what it is that causes Piper to be so itchy.

 

[JazzyandVeronica]

Veronica has awful allergies. She used to get hives and blow up like an oompa loompa:


So she ended up going to the doggy dermatologist and had the intradermal skin test - which is like the allergy scratch test for humans. They scratch you with a whole bunch of potential allergens and see what you react to. Here's what her test site looked like (each black dot is a marker where they injected a different allergen):


Turned out she's allergic to...well...basically everything to keep it short - certain trees, grasses, molds, pollen...so she has to get an allergy injection every 3 weeks.

During peak allergy season she also takes zyrtec for itch (you can ask your vet about that) - zyrtec is pretty harmless.

When V. is itchy she'll lick her paws, her flank, her private areas and sometimes it gets infected and she needs an antibiotic. She has caused a bacterial infection from licking her vulva and her butt and needed medicine for that.

When it gets REALLY bad - we'll get temeril p from the vet (which has a bit of steroid in it; but so little it isn't really bad - when you're weighing out potential side effects vs quality of life). (We've recently been able to get Apoquel. I've only given 1 short trial because despite claims that it is PERFECTLY SAFE - I don't personally like one of the potential side effects - but I will say - it worked like a miracle like they claim - but I will only use if when V. is completely miserable - and only to pull her through the bad patch.

She also gets weekly baths with medicated shampoo - which another safe and inexpensive tool. I would again check with the vet to make sure this is the right approach for your dog and you are using the right shampoo. V. uses
DVM ChlorheriDerm 4% shampoo:
http://www.amazon.com/DVM-ChlorhexiDerm-Shampoo-12oz-Bottle/dp/B00DP7X3PY

Hope this helps

 

[southerngirl]

Poor V. Thanks for all the info. Piper went to the vet and they told us to give 2 benadrly every day and switch her to salmon dog food. I'll see if this helps if not I'll ask about allergy testing. I'm thinking she is allergic to grass because her allergies just kicked in know that spring came. She also got a pretty bad ear infection because of her allergies.

 

[running_dog]

Did the salmon dog food help at all?

Zac was mostly on salmon and potato dog food for a long time, Gus still is. I am now working on the idea that with Zac he gets itchy when he has too much potato - after a lot of experimentation we still add potato to his food and that seems to help with his other health problems but too much potato seems to trigger his itchiness.

 

[southerngirl]

Did the salmon dog food help at all?

Zac was mostly on salmon and potato dog food for a long time, Gus still is. I am now working on the idea that with Zac he gets itchy when he has too much potato - after a lot of experimentation we still add potato to his food and that seems to help with his other health problems but too much potato seems to trigger his itchiness.

She's been doing pretty well on it. So far she hasn't been super itchy, but does have some spots here and there. If she has a bad day I give her two benadryl prescribe by the vet.

 

[running_dog]

She's been doing pretty well on it. So far she hasn't been super itchy, but does have some spots here and there. If she has a bad day I give her two benadryl prescribe by the vet.

I'm really glad that you've now got a way to manage Piper's itchiness

 

[southerngirl]

I'm really glad that you've now got a way to manage Piper's itchiness

Yeah I think I cursed myself by saying that she has started licking her butty constantly... I'm giving her some benadryl now to see if it stops the licking.

 

[running_dog]

Yeah I think I cursed myself by saying that she has started licking her butty constantly... I'm giving her some benadryl now to see if it stops the licking.

Hope Piper's itchiness has settled down again now.
Zac's started having some even more expensive food and his itchiness, flaky skin and shedding has stabilised a lot, I don't know whether it was reducing the potato or giving him the higher protein food, either way I just hope it lasts.

 

[southerngirl]

Yeah Piper is supper itchy know and her paws are brown. The benadryl is helping a little. Baths are the best, but only help for a day.