Skin Problems

[Guest Pandasmom]

I posted a few weeks ago about my grey Larry and his skin infection. Doc said it was allergic reaction that got infected. His infection cleared up but Larry is still itchy on his chest and around his mouth and eyes. I'm thinking it must be something outside like a weed or pollen. My husband thinks it is nutritional. He's not so bad if I use the cortisone spray the doc gave me on his chest but I cannot use it on his eyes or mouth. Any suggestions on something to add to his food that could help with itchyness? The food we use is the only thing that we have found that doesn't make his poop runny.

[TheFullHouse]

You can give him 50mg. of Benadryl every 4 to 6 hours to stop the itching. It might be worth investigating if he may be reacting to his food. You might try a different food than what you're feeding now just to see.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Does Larry get treats? If so, lay off the treats for a while--use extra kibble as a reward--while you wait to see if there's something in his treats that he's allergic to. (My Sam has problems with wheat.)

 

If it isn't his treats, it might wind up being something in his kibble, but the treats make an easy place to start.

[Guest Energy11]

You can give him 50mg. of Benadryl every 4 to 6 hours to stop the itching. It might be worth investigating if he may be reacting to his food. You might try a different food than what you're feeding now just to see.

Good idea !

[GeorgeofNE]

Sounds like a contact allergy to ME. I had a dog with horrible seasonal allergies, and it was all about his ears and armpits. What you're describing reminds me of my brother's old mix, who was allergic to, are you ready? Drum roll please....GRASS. She got all itchy if she laid out in the grass!

 

I second the Benadryl recommendation. Make sure it's plain benadryl though, not the "allergy SINUS" product!

[Trihounds]

You may or may not want to try a raw diet and while I don't think it is a total cure-all-that-ails-you (or your pup) but many have had positive reactions (for various things) to the switch.

 

There could be any one ingredient in the 50 in kibble that could be causing an allergy. Either, if you are willing to give it a shot OR you are at the end of your rope and have tried a million things without success, try a raw diet for a couple weeks. There are commercially prepared and nutritionally complete meals for dogs available online (but pricey) or you can make it yourself with chicken or turkey to start and a small amount of ground veggies/fruits. The idea is to start with 1 protein source and bland veggies and see if that works. Add in variety after a couple weeks to try different meats and see how the diet works and if the allergic symptoms disappear.

 

Good luck - hope you find out what it is.

 

Edited August 4, 2009 by BrucieDad

[Guest Pandasmom]

I've tried the benedryl and it doesn't help. He is eating the same food we have been giving him for two years now and the same treats. I think he is allergic to grass or a weed out in the yard. I am going to check at the store tomorrow to see what sort of products I can get for him. We cant afford anything to fancy right now. Hubby was laid off back in March and had to take a lower paying job out of state. Anyone here need a pilot? Then we could afford the good stuff for the dog.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I've tried the benedryl and it doesn't help. He is eating the same food we have been giving him for two years now and the same treats. I think he is allergic to grass or a weed out in the yard. I am going to check at the store tomorrow to see what sort of products I can get for him. We cant afford anything to fancy right now. Hubby was laid off back in March and had to take a lower paying job out of state. Anyone here need a pilot? Then we could afford the good stuff for the dog.

 

I'm sorry nothing is helping. If it's a grass/pollen/weed allergy, you'd expect the Benadryl to work. (My boy is allergic to grass, but Benadryl helps.) You might just want to keep your boy out of the grass as much as possible: potty walk him in an area with sand, dirt, or pine straw, if possible, and don't let him lie down, rub his face in the grass, or anything like that. It's possible that there's something seasonal that's being a problem. Check out here: http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp You can put in your zip code to see what the major allergens are in your area. (Grass pollen is high in my area.)

 

As for "same food"--my boy seems to have developed an intolerance for Nutro products, after having eaten them with no problems for more than five years. Sam is eating the same proteins and grains in another company's food and having no problems, and my vet is wondering if Nutro has changed its preservatives formula...or, at least, wondering if Sam's developed an intolerance to that rather than to the main items in the food.

 

ETA: In case it's a pollen issue, wipe his coat with a damp paper towel when he comes back inside. Also wipe his feet to be sure he's not bringing pollen in on them.

Edited August 4, 2009 by KF_in_Georgia

[Guest sja5032]

Food allergies can develop over time you can do an elimination diet using I think it is Natural Balance that makes the food not too expensive it is a little up there though. Make sure if you do you use each kind for at least a month and only use the matching treats to eliminate anything else.

 

My GSD has horrible allergies this time of year, benedryl does nothing, tried elimination diet did nothing, vet finally gave up pred to help him stop itching and it was the only thing that helped so maybe you can ask your vet for some pred.

[Guest Energy11]

You can give him 50mg. of Benadryl every 4 to 6 hours to stop the itching. It might be worth investigating if he may be reacting to his food. You might try a different food than what you're feeding now just to see.

Ditto, Judy!

[NeylasMom]

I would consider seeing a holistic vet if you have one in your area. It sounds like it could be outdoor allergies as others have suggested. If it is, while diet may not be the direct cause, it can exacerbate the problems. My mom has been dealing with this for several years now - she started with Benadryl and then had to move on to steroids for her pup (a cairn terrier). I've been telling her to try a raw diet the whole time. She finally went to the holistic vet and what do you know, her dog is now on a raw diet. Anyway, the vet had some other suggestions - an omega 3 supplement was one, I can't remember the others - but it will supposedly take some time for everything to take effect so for now, she's staying on the steroids. Sharing all of this so that if this is what's going on with your pup, you can get a jump start on it. Even if that's not it, a holistic vet would be able to help you figure it out. I think it's much harder to find a traditional vet who is flexible about diet choices.

[Guest Pandasmom]

Thanks everyone. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There are only two vets in town and Walmart is the only place to get dog food. I got some healthy skin and coat beneful to mix in his regular food and some fish oil capsules and some more hydrocortisone spray even though he hates getting sprayed with it. Hope this will take away the redness and itchyness. If not it's back to the vet.

[Guest kydie]

Bendryl with help the itchy, but if it is the food, he will need a food change, i would wait until the summer is over and see if this is an enviormental thing. Good Luck

[CaliforniaGreys]

Wayne's allergies have been really bad this summer because of the humidity we're having.

We increased his Benadryl per my vet. He now takes 100mg 3x a day which I thought was extreeme, but according to my vet, Benadryl is often under dosed.

 

He was right, after 5 days on the increased dose, no more scratching. I also am using a steroid topical spray however once the Benadryl kicked in, I no longer need the spray.

 

Depending on Larry's weight, an increase in Benadryl might very well do the trick

Edited August 5, 2009 by cbudshome

[gryhndsr4us]

What kind of bowl are you using? I had a friend whose beagle was allergic to his plastic bowl. They switched to porcelain and all the redness and itching went away.

 

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Are you giving him meds in cheese?

Lucas had some skin allergies before he came to us but they got better. They flared up real bad when I started giving him his fish oil in cheese. (DH refused to snip the capsules anymore) Stopped the cheese and he stopped scratching. We now think he has a milk allergy.

 

[Guest Pandasmom]

He seems to be better with the added food and fish oil capsules. His face is still itchy but I can't put anything on it because it is too close to his eyes and mouth. I just push the pills down his throat because he won't take them any other way. We have always used a porcelain bowl. And he is a really small greyhound. Only 60 lbs. I am very wary of giving him too much of anything. Thanks for the suggestions all.