Allergies And Acid Reflux

[Guest Lmw626]

Last October, I noticed Two Point would occasionally do this hacking thing, like a cat trying to cough up a furball (not a reverse sneeze) and swallow back down whatever came up. It happened most often right after he came in from running in the yard or right after he ate. Then in early November I boarded him for a few days with someone from the rescue group who also has 4 or 5 greys and was boarding other dogs at the same time. He came home with new reverse sneezing and the same hacking, his eyes were also bloodshot. I took him to the vet, worried he had picked something up at the boarding house, and they diagnosed allergies and acid reflux. They prescribed 1 Pepcid AC and 2 Claritan tablets every day. Within a few days his eyes were clear and the sneezing had stopped and the hacking was lessened to perhaps once a week vs. several times a day. He's been on these pills since then and once when I ran out for a couple days the symptoms all got worse until he resumed the treatment.

 

However, it's suddenly getting worse... In the last few days the hacking has nearly resulted in vomiting and the reverse sneezing is very frequent, although not as loud and dramatic as some of those You Tube videos. He is also breathing more heavily through his nose and today was quite restless and panting for no reason that I could think of, no fear, nothing startled him etc.

 

Other than the above, his weight is good, his stool is perfect on EVO salmon dry food, his general behavior is his typical quirky, lazy, silly, affectionate, slightly neurotic self. He is current on all his vaccines.

 

The only other incident of strange illness was last summer, he was bitten by some fleas because Frontline just doesn't work on him. The bites became lumps, the size of dimes, and spread. The vet biopsied one lump and said it had both histamine and staph cells indicating he had an allergic reaction to a few bites which then became infected and spread like a rash under his skin. Some cortisone and antibiotics set him right and now he's on Comfortis. It happened one more time in the fall, but much less severe, only two or three bumps which I dabbed with hydrogen peroxide and they cleared up within 48 hours.

 

Anyone with advice on a dog prone to allergies and acid reflux. How long can he reasonably take OTC meds like pepcid and claritan? Is he getting used to them and that's why it appears that they are no longer working? He's been on EVO for a while and all of this actually started before I switched him so I really don't think it's food related. He has chronic dry skin in the winter months and I recently started adding a derm cap to his food, so far no issues related to it.

 

The vet initially suggested benedryl but I didn't want to drug him to the point of drowsiness so I went the claritan route. I am not giving him claritan-D with the decongestant ingredient, I'm sure that would be bad for a dog.

 

It will be time for the next round of vaccines in June, he's on a split cycle of some in December and some in June, so he'll be going in to the vet in the next six weeks anyway. I will take him early of course if this sounds like something serious or something that can't be fixed with the OTC stuff the vet suggested in the first place.

[tbhounds]

My boy is doing the same thing-- in his case it's allergies. Everything here is coated in green powder- really a bad year. it's not really reflux it's more of a gag. I use either claritin (never use claritin d) or chlortrimeton daily. I find benedryl is not that effective for inhalant allergies. Hopefully the pollen will decrease soon and your pup will feel better-- I will say if you don't see things resolving you should make an appointment with your vet.

Oh I forgot-- with a history of fleas he may have a tapeworm burden. Might want to consider deworming him.

Edited May 10, 2011 by tbhounds

[DaisyDoodle]

Have you had him scoped for laryngeal paralysis? LP can cause some strange coughing/hacking sorts of things. Folks who have more experience that I have can probably jump in. Lucky has a very mild case that mostly isn't a problem, but at nearly 16, I try not to challenge her.

 

Good luck. I hate medical mysteries.

 

DD

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

The severity and almost vomiting sounds more like kennel cough or LP than just plain allergies.

 

But it is perfectly safe to have a dog on Pepcid forever and same with the Claritan if needed. I have a foster dog that takes Zyrtec about 6 months out of the year and my cocker spaniel was on Pepcid daily for well over a year.

[kudzu]

Kennel cough was what came to mind for me. However... The humans in this house right now are having terrible allergy problems & we both sound far worse than cats with hair balls. Yesterday I nearly [apologies in advance to the squeamish] vomited a couple times simply from gagging on my on post nasal drip. We are calling it Attack of the Phlegm Monster. I feel so sorry for my coworkers in adjoining cubicles. To my great shock I was getting very itchy yesterday for no good reason expect perhaps my body is on histamine overdrive.

 

My suggestion is to switch to a different antihistimine. Claritin was like a miracle for me for a while but then stopped working. Some suggestions to try are cetirizine (Zyrtec), chlorpheniramine (Chlortrimeton) or clemastine (Tavist). Chlortrimeton seems to work well for dogs but you do have to give it more often. Considering his severity I would first try Tavist, well actually a generic like Dayhist or Wal-hist. That is primarily because it works better for me but also because it can be given just twice a day. Zyrtec is dosed once a day, theorectically. In practice I find it doesn't last that long, not for me or the one dog who was getting it. I took the dog's daily dose & split it into two doses given 12 hours apart. That worked much better. He was 60 lbs & getting twice as much as 120 lb me. The dosing for dogs still astounds me!

 

You can also try switching from Pepcid to Zantac. Zantac is on my list to pick up for myself. In fact I think I'm doing that on the way to work this morning as the itching has started again! Argh!! Sorry. Anyway, throughout my life I have had to periodically switch antihistamines as one stops working. I've no idea why but some others experience the same problem. If it happens with the H1 histamine blockers like Claritin & Zyrtec then perhaps it can happen with the H2 blockers like Pepcid & Zantac.

 

Those are my suggestions. Check with your vet first, of course, but Zantac is commonly prescribed for dogs as is Zyrtec now & I've had my vet's blessing to give Tavist for the large dogs. Hope you find him some relief.

[GeorgeofNE]

Benadryl never made my allergic dog sleepy.

 

I'd suggest you try a different antihistamine and see if that helps. There are quite a few dogs can safely take; ask your vet.

 

I used to give the same dog with allergies a Zantac every day. Might want to just switch that up too and see if there is any change.

 

It's that time of year--pollen everywhere--so it makes sense it would get worse right now. They also tend to get worse year after year. My dog ended up basically miserable 11 months out of the year by the time he passed away. It was horrible.

[Batmom]

How old is he?

 

What tests were done when his troubles were initially diagnosed?

 

I would get him to the vet sooner rather than later for a full workup and some imaging of esophagus/trachea/heart/lungs. It isn't unheard of for a dog to need those meds forever, but it's not that common either. Best luck!

[cleptogrey]

this may seem really strange to many, but a tablespoon of lemon juice cuts the phelgym and the hacking usually clears up. the reason i know this, my late welsh terrier had l.p. and used to hack away as well as difficulties in breathing. my vet owns short nosed dogs and told me to do it. i use a medicine dropper for a baby, squirt the lemon juice down the pup's throat. btw, in chinese medicine(i did acupuncture regularly for over a decade) lemon juice is what is used to nuetralize acid. it sounds like lemon is an acid food, but it's not! i even looked it up w/ my supervisor at work one day.i always have a jar of real lemon juice in my fridge and have used it on other dogs as well w/ success.

 

as to the l.p. when your dog is put into a cold airconditioned environment- either a cooled car or a room that is quite chilly, does he clear up within a couple of minutes? i didn't want to operate on my welshie, also my vet prescribed airconditioning.....it worked wonders!!

[Guest Lmw626]

Thanks so much for all the advice!! Two Point is going to be 6 in July. I have had him since early March 2010 and he ran his last race (and won!) on 12/30/2009.

 

I told the vet the full timeline of hacking/boarding/sneezing when I took him in Nov/Dec (he went in a few times those months getting checked and vaccines and his teeth cleaned) and that I suspected kennel cough but the vet said she didn't think so and prescribed the pepcid/claritan combo. No tests were done regarding the hacking/sneezing. But he got the blood work before teeth cleaning and that was all clear.

 

I suffer from year round allergies so I know what it's like to take OTC meds every day of the year. It is pollen time here in STL which may explain why he's gotten worse recently but he's been doing this all winter. About the Kennel Cough, if that's what it was when he came home from boarding, wouldn't that have passed on its own by now? I don't know how long it should/would normally take a dog to kick that without medication.

 

I am very happy to hear that others are giving Zyrtec and Zantac, I had considered it but wasn't sure if it was ok to give those. I will try those and see if things improve and make an appointment with the vet now. I know sometimes even claritan-d (which I do not give to the dog) seems like it's not working for me anymore and I have to stop taking it for a week and then it seems to start working again.

 

Does anyone have suggestions on the dose of Zyrtec and Zantac for an 85 lb dog? I have been giving him 20mg/day of Claritan and 25mg/day of Pepcid AC. Should I keep it the same mg/day with the other two?

 

I may also try (not all together) the Benedryl. I shied away from it at first because everyone I know with greys says it will make them drowsy and slow them down.

[Batmom]

Kennel cough: 10-14 days duration, with or without meds.

[DaisyDoodle]

LP can also get worse with heat. I wouldn't assume it's "just allergies" because it could be something much more serious. Can you post a video, or at least capture it on your phone to show the vet. That will help if the "attacks" are sporadic.