Any of your furbabies have allergies??

[SummerRiot]

When Riot was about 6 months old we found out that he had allergies to wheat!

He was on Natural Choice dog food and started to loose his fur on his nose. I got worried and took him to the vet to check it out and we found out that it was more then likely wheat in his diet so I switched him to Innova and his fur grew back!

Hes such a hard thing to shop for, for treats and such, most of the treats you can find at the pet store have wheat as their main ingredient. At least I nkow that hes now only allowed healthy treats! lol

Not to long ago, our nighbour behind us grandkids threw bread over our fence to feed our dogs(HUGE no no for Riot obeviously). I got out there as soon as I saw it happening but it was too late, Riot was chewing up the pieces... a day later he started to loose his hair again. Those kids cost me $100+ in vet bills to get allergy medicine for Riot. It not only started to effect his nose but gave him ear problems as well(itchy ear, shaking his head etc).
About a week later on the meds he was doing much better. I was furious. I have since spoken to two of our neighbours about his allergies.. only two more to speak with and then the surrounding houses know about the allergy.
Him being my #1 baby plus being a show dog, he needs to be healthy :)

[wolfsoul]

Visa doesn't tolerate any kibble well. I don't think it's the ingredients (as I've tried her on allergy formulas as well), I think it's just a sensitivity to processed food. She didn't have it until after I got her, and none of the dogs in her line has it. I wonder if it has to due with the parvo she had when she was a puppy.

So anyways, she is on raw, and does SO well. I do have kibble just incase I forget to unthaw her food or something --- last week, I was so busy and kept forgetting, so for three days I fed her kibble. She lost four pounds, even though I fed her Nutri-Cal with it (very high calorie)! So for the last three days she's been back on raw, and I told everyone to feel her body. Everyone was just amazed to feel the difference within three days. She has gained all of her weight back and more. It's amazing how raw does that. Maybe I need to eat kibble for three days LOL.

[Mo Mo's Mum]

Hi Just new to pet talk I really like this site

My dog Molly had a huge allergic reaction last week scared the life out of me

I was up rather early to take her to the dog park before work and it was still fairly dark when we left ( it's nearly winter here in New Zealand) and when we got to the park I went to take her out of the car and found her head really really really swollen and she had hives everywhere all over her

I rushed her to the Vet and they managed to stop the reaction with a steriod injection and a short course of antihistimene but now we don't know what caused it
`
we have I hope narrowed it down to either a bee sting or an insect bite although there are not a lot of insects that are poisionous here ? So hopefully no more reactions ! she was not a happy dog

[Oggyflute]

Flute can't eat chicken, plus there are other things that can set her of, that we are not aware of. We will have to get a biopsy done next month most likely.

[Chilli]

Frisk has allergies.... we're unsure what exactly causes them, but we think its the grass during the summer and spring. His feet get red and irritated and such.
Ethan has allergies to fleas? and certain foods.

[.sarah]

Nova has inhalent allergies, so this time of the year is bad for her. Mandy has allergies to some kind of grain but we're not sure what. Switching to raw really helped her, she hasn't been to the vet since.

[Buzz&Mocha]

Hi everyone,

I am an new member to this site, but I have been reading your forums for years. And now that I have come across a reoccuring allergy problem with my older lab Buzz, I feel I must acquire as much advice as I can to treat his skin problem. Some history on Buzz…he will be 5 years old this August, and I've had him since I rescued him at 4 months old (no family history available). As he has gotten older, he has had a more difficult time (skin and respiratory) during the summer months . We live in Austin, Texas, so the summer makes up the majority of the year, with lots of humidity and a wide variety of airborne allergens. Buzz is mainly an outside dog, he stays in a large pen with his playmate Mocha (lab mix) while I'm at work and then I let them out into the back yard to play when I get home. We play fetch in a nearby field a few times a week and they sleep in crates (with a fan) in our open garage at night. He has eaten the same Purina Dog Chow formula for years now too. I noticed that when Buzz was around 2 years of age, he started getting wheezy after about 5 minutes of playing fetch in the summer heat. Sometimes he would even vomit about half his breakfast shortly after hard play. So I kept his activity to a minimum during those super hot afternoons and played mostly at dusk, which seemed to help. Starting last summer my vet gave him one injection each of penicillin and vetalog (a corticosteroid) , and a prescription for cephalexin (an antibiotic) all to help his respitory issue and cure a large hotspot he had under his belly and neck where his collar would rub on the folds of his skin. The vet said he had a fungal, yeast-like infection that was causing him to have flaky, smelly skin on his belly and oozing infections in his ears and neck. Since then, Buzz had another major outbreak in January and is starting to show signs of skin problems right now. In January the vet gave me another prescription for cephalexin, prednisone, medicated shampoo, ear cleaner, and eye ointment. All this treatment has been expensive, but it certainly helped Buzz at the time. Now that the weather is getting hotter and Buzz's allergies are coming back, I can see now that this may be an ongoing issue I will have to treat regularly. So with the research I have done and the vet opinions I have gathered, I am wondering if the best thing would be to treat Buzz regularly with anti-fungal shampoo (preferrably Melaluca if I can find it), ear cleaner (like Epi-Otic, as needed) and possibly a daily benedryl or prednisone to help Buzz with the itching (only during the summer). On our last visit to the vet, about a week ago, he said that fortunately Buzz's reaction is not that bad yet. He recommended 6 weeks of fulvicin (aka griseofulvin; an antifungal and antibiotic) to completely knock out Buzz's problem. Since I don't feel that Buzz will ever be completely cured of his allergies, and that griseofulvin costs about $2 a pill, I do not plan to go that route. I simply don't have the financial ability to treat his allergies that way. So other than steroids, does anyone have any experience with herbal treatment as an alternative? More specifically, Evening Primrose oil? I have read that it contains the omega-6 fatty acids that treat allergic skin conditions in dogs. Whereas daily prednisone is cost effective, I really don't like the idea of Buzz being on steroids all the time. So I'd rather give him the evening primrose oil supplements as a daily vitamin for prevention than utilize steroids on a reactionary basis anyway. Also, should I invest in something like Advantix, which would prevent fleas and mosquitos from triggering an allergic reaction? Buzz has never had a flea problem, but it wouldn't surprise me if one little flea or our many Texas-sized mosquitoes could be triggering a reaction during the summer months. Advantix would definitely be more expensive than shampoo and prednisone combined, but if it hits the root of the problem before outbreaks could begin, it would be worth it to me to buy it going forward. Overall, I am looking specifically for dog owners with experience in treating skin allergies with daily prednisone and/or benedryl, Advantix, or herbal supplements. I'm looking for the pros and cons so I can make a more educated decision as to how to start treating Buzz on a regular (and cost-effective) basis. Fortunately he is not as bad a case as I originally thought. I just need to prevent the reaction before it starts so I can maintain a strong and healthy skin and coat for Buzz. Any advice you can give would be most appreciated. Thank you so much!!

[Alysser]

Sassy has allergies to cats and pollen.

[wolfsoul]

Hi Buzz&Mocha,

Though hots spots do go along with allergies, they are generally caused or aggravated by moisture. The antifungal shampoo is a good idea, but washing him may cause moisture to build up underneath the fur and caust more bacteria and yeast to grow. In order to get out all of that water right away, you should look into buying a high pressure blowdryer, or taking Buzz to a groomer that uses one. He should be completely dry at the end, especially on and around his hot spots. I don't have any other advice for you, but since it is environmental allergies that aggravate him, I would recommend that you move him into your house during the summer and only let him out for walks and pee-time.

[luvofallhorses]

Nope. :)

[sammy101]

Kodie is allergic to fleas,and something in cheaper foods,most likely corn fillers. We try everything to keep the fleas under control,but they are so bad here its very difficult.The poor guy is itchy alot.Our vet gave us Predisolone(spll?) to give him when he starts getting really itchy.

[chocolatepuppy]

My Mandy has inhalent allergies. We go back and forth between Hydroxyzine and Benadryl depending on how bad they are.