Dog skin allergies

My poor Maggie is going nuts with red, itchy, painful skin problems. The vet said she has allergies and gave her cortisone. She also had a bad infection on her leg from chewing. The treatment was 2 courses of antibiotics, some steroids and $300 vet care. The steriods helped for a few weeks, but she can't have them more than a couple times a year. She is now wearing a collar that keeps her from chewing most areas, but she can still get at one area of her belly and her back paw. She is almost 10 years old. If we can't help her soon, I am considering having her put to sleep. She is miserable. Please let me know of anything that could help Maggie, or if it is time to tell my friend goodbye.

We have allergies and use Temeril P (very low dose)for the itching and it seems to help. You may also try changing to a fish and potato or venison and rice food. Most vets recommend lamb and rice or beet pulp free, but most dogs are allergic to the meat so it's usually not the wheat or beet pulp. Ours is allergic to beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey. And numerous grasses and plants. Also read the label completely; some list animal fat as an ingredient. What kind of animal fat.
Where are the red spots? Are you sure they are from allergies? Mostly on her feet or all over?
Have you moved recently or planted anything new?
Has she been tested for allergies?
What breed?

What kind of allergy does the vet think she has? Most allergies are food related so I would try switching her to a different food. My choice for dogs with allergies is California Natural from the Natura pet company. Here is a link to their website. California Natural Website

Here is a clip from the site:

Formulated for pets with sensitivities, it is made with the fewest ingredients possible in order to eliminate all the potential allergens that may be causing the itching and scratching associated with food sensitivities. For a pet food to do that, and still be nutritionally complete, you know the ingredients have to be of the highest caliber. It's just a Pure and Simple way to make pet food.


The food itself is a bit more expensive than most foods but it is also a lot cheaper than spending $300 at the vets. I would try this instead of putting my friend to sleep for itching. This is a problem that can be fixed and drastic measures such as putting your friend to sleep are a bit extreme. It may take a good three weeks or so for improvement. In the mean time you can use topical solutions to stop the itching.

My dachshund, Max is allergic to 3 kinds of dust mites and flea saliva (can you believe that!). He would chew constantly and then after being treated with prednisone, he would break out with secondary skin infections. He even had a bout of gastric hemorraging (sp) where we almost lost him.

Our vet suggested having him tested for allergies through Heska (www.heska.com) in Colorado. Your vet can take a blood sample and send it to them for analysis. It is somewhat expensive, but I think well worth it.

After the initial course of treatment, Max now takes his shots every 4 weeks during the winter and every week to 10 days during the summer. We supplement that with hydroxyzine. We also give him Skin Formula 3V capsules to keep the coat from drying out completely.

It has meant the difference between a totally miserable dog in danger of having to be put to sleep and his normal grumpy self.

Hope this helps!

More info about Maggie. She is a mixed breed, malteese, lhasa apso and her dad was a small terrier mix. She turned out to look like a Bichon and is 18 lbs.

She has been on sensitive skin formula food by Science Diet for at least 9 months. It was recommended by the vet. It seems to help, but not much.

The vet offered to test for allergies for another $200 but she did not even guess what the problem is or how to treat it. I just don't have that much money right now, especially when the vet acted like the test would not even help her. I have to wonder about our vet, are the prices sky high or are they this bad everywhere? I have called around to other vets, but prices seem to be about the same in our area.

Thanks for any suggestions. The special food from California mentioned above is not available in my area.

It cost me $200 to test Max (22 lb dachshund). Our vet had no idea what was causing Max trouble either and that's why he suggested the test. It was kind of a last ditch effort for us. We had tried all the other things and nothing had helped.

The $200 got us the test and the first set of medicine. There were two vials in the kit. One was a higher dose to desensitize him and the other is a maintenance dose. We did all this last spring and I still haven't had to refill the maintenance dose yet.

Maybe it's this Michigan weather, skpaw.

My Kia's been itching up a storm. See my thread here. My vet is currently treating her for scabies.

Does it appear to be seasonal? Did Maggie start itching when the weather got colder?

I sincerely hope you don't have to put her to sleep.

Sometimes Kia looks miserable but I couldn't imagine putting her to sleep when she is overall healthy.

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Originally posted by skpaw


She has been on sensitive skin formula food by Science Diet for at least 9 months. It was recommended by the vet. It seems to help, but not much.

Thanks for any suggestions. The special food from California mentioned above is not available in my area.

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I really don't mean to open up a can of worms here but I am NOT a fan of Science Diet foods. If you can't get California Natural anywhere in your area, perhaps you can have it shipped directly to your house. The manufacturer will do that. Another suggestion is to research other foods that may be on that same line. It will take some research but it will be worth it in the long line. The net has many sites for comparing quality of foods.

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Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer


I really don't mean to open up a can of worms here but I am NOT a fan of Science Diet foods. If you can't get California Natural anywhere in your area, perhaps you can have it shipped directly to your house. The manufacturer will do that. Another suggestion is to research other foods that may be on that same line. It will take some research but it will be worth it in the long line. The net has many sites for comparing quality of foods.

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My friends german shorthair, Lady, has some unexplained skin problems also. The vets don't know what it is. She has these scab type bumps all over her sides...and when you pull them off, the fur comes right off with them. They don't seem to itch her much, but I wish we knew what to do about them. The vet says it's possibly food allergies...well, first she was one Ol' Roy puppy(before it happened) then Nutro lg breed puppy, then Nutro lamb and rice puppy, and now she's on Science Diet Sensitive Skin..vets recommendation. It hasn't seemed to help her at all either, she's working on her second 20 lb bag of it right now. I don't think California Natural is available around here either. And well, somehow I don't think my friend would play to have it shipped either.

Natura has a place on their website where you put in your zip code and it will tell you the closest retailer of their products. A lot of times their are independent dealers of their products. When I first started feeding Dixie Innova (another Natura product) I had to travel about 20 minutes out of my ordinary shopping to get it off a trainer who was retailing it. After 6 months I found one of our local Pet shops started carrying it. Now there are two local pet shops that are carrying it and I have more of a selection on where to get it. Major stores still don't carry it because there isn't much mark up for them to make a profit.

Some groomers also sell it to customers. Before giving up and saying it is not around here, check the website and see if there are any independent distributors in your area.

I did a search...there are some in utah.....but they are all 1-3 hours away..... :(

How much does it normally cost for a 20 lb bag? Right now we normally pay about $18 (my discount) for a 20 lb bag of Nutro or Science diet. I really don't think there's a reason to change from Nutro, as Nebo is doing great on that. I'm still not positive if Lady's problem is actually a food allergy, the vet did not know. It might be worth trying the California Natural though...

Ugh, the only problem is, my friend does not have a car <the manhole incident> and I can only play taxi driver for so long..lol...I hate to drive....

I was told once that the reason Vets push Science Diet is because they get paid by the company to do so.....which is why you'll find it on display at a lot of vets offices.

I had a vet recommend Science Diet but Kia wouldn't eat it.

Some dogs it works for and others it doesn't. My grandparents dogs lived long healthy lives on Purina Dog Chow.

I can believe that....it seems that most of the vets DO recommend Science Diet....and since we tried 2 different Nutro ones first, we figured, why not....lol I swear we're about to put her on Ol' Roy again! I'm serious her, she had NO PROBLEMS on that, the problems started about a month after switching to Nutro....

From what I had heard from here, and other people, I didn't want to buy any of the other pet store brands (SD, Iams, Eukanuba, etc.) so I get Nutro. I thought it was one of the best *available* dog foods. By available, I mean, easier to find! I'm sure Innova/California Natural is better, but man, there's no way I can drive to Salt Lake City or even farther then that every time I need dog food...Nebo is fine on it anyway, Lady is the problem, but she's not my dog...

p.s. My parents have fed Reggie and Smokey cheap grocery store brands their entire lives, and had no problems...:rolleyes:

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Originally posted by wolf_Q

How much does it normally cost for a 20 lb bag? Right now we normally pay about $18 (my discount) for a 20 lb bag of Nutro or Science diet. I really don't think there's a reason to change from Nutro, as Nebo is doing great on that. I'm still not positive if Lady's problem is actually a food allergy, the vet did not know. It might be worth trying the California Natural though...

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I buy Innova in a 33# bag for $36.00. I believe the California Natural is around the same price. They also have a 20# bag for about $20.00.

The reason California Natural is good for dogs with allergies is the ingredients list is very simple and leaves little room for allergy causing ingredients to be ingested.

Science Diet is pushed by vets because they get a kickback from the company. If you look at the Ingredients though it is not that great of a food compared to some of the more super premium foods on the market.

If Nebo is doing good on Nutro and you like it for him, then don't stop. I am suggesting the California Natural for Lady though since she is having a problem.

That price is not bad at all. Actually, the 20 lb bag of Nutro/Science diet is normally $21.99 at Petco.

It may be worth the drive to try California Natural and see if it helps at all. My friend's in Denver right now though, so I'll have to wait a while. I guess if it helps that could let us know that it really IS a food allergy. The vet didn't help us at all, the last time we went there she just said to try to Science Diet and our only other option was some really expensive skin specialist. I think we might go to another vet for a different opinion.

If it does help Lady, she's going to have to have it shipped to her or something...or get a car! I've never even driven in Salt Lake City.

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Originally posted by wolf_Q
p.s. My parents have fed Reggie and Smokey cheap grocery store brands their entire lives, and had no problems...:rolleyes:

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Oh I know!!! My parents cats have lived on cheap grocery story brands and they are so healthy, active, and have nice shiney coats. It's so infuriating. LOL!

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Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
I buy Innova in a 33# bag for $36.00. I believe the California Natural is around the same price. They also have a 20# bag for about $20.00.

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I pay around $20 for a 20 lb. bag of Nature's Recipe. Sweet! And Solden's Feed and Pet Supply sells it and they are only 10 minutes from me! Even if the price varies I'm going to pick up a bag. :)

Then I'll slowly wean Kia off of the Nature's Recipe. I don't want to switch food on her and have her get sick.

I forgot to add in my post that if an antibiotic is being used and lactobacillus/acidophilus (good bacteria) is also to be used, it should be given at Least 2 hours before or after the antibiotic. Some articles on lactobacillus/acidophilus mentions this and some do not. I learned the hard way as I was giving it the same time as the antibiotic and was knocking down the effectiveness of the antibiotic. It took 3 rounds of an antibiotic I was giving my dog before I realized what I was doing (knocking out the effectiveness of the antibiotic. When I gave the lac/acid. 2-3 hours after the antibiotic, my dog got over his infection.

Whoops--posted this on the wrong thread--should have been on "Maggies vet visit - allergies".

Maggie is such a cutie.:) Just wanted to say that I'm glad
you found a vet that you can talk to & feel that he's really
listening to your concerns.That means to much in Maggie's
recovery. She must feel so miserable. Hope you find something
that works for her.

u sure have to be careful with allergies...vets often confuse something else with them...my dog leather has always chewed herself and knows the command to stop very well, but still she continues to...when taken to the vet, she was said to merely have allergies...then one day, a lump grew on her side. it stayed their for months, and we took her back often, but got the same reaction...it was just allergies...so after changing her dog food a number of times, and nothing working, we took her to a different vet...this vet was awesome, and told us that the itching and biting was a hyperactive disorder, and that the lump was not an allergic reaction, but a tumor...luckily, we got the tumor removed, but it was malignant so she will always have cancer :( there was nothing we could do about it, but the point is that the vet should have known that leather's allergies weren't the cause of such things (even though she does have allergies) it sounds like u have a really good vet for giving you medication and everything and i hope your doggies allergies get better! :D