Long Lasting Allergy Medication

[Guest zoolaine]

Briley (non-grey and about 68 pounds) has started his regular late summer/early fall itching. It seems to be worse this year as we have moved from Washington State to Texas and I know I am also getting terrible allergies. He used to have to get steroid injections but the past 3 years has done well on Benadryl 4x/day. With my recent "promotion" it is impossible to give him the Benadryl that often. I am looking for a twice a day medication for him as I would prefer to avoid the steroids but he needs some itch relief soon.

[kudzu]

I believe Benadryl can be more effective for itchies but it simply doesn't work long enough to be practical for many large dogs, at least not on a daily basis.

 

You can try chlorpheniramine, generic version of Chlor-trimeton. Per the Merck Vet Manual, "The recommended dose in cats and dogs is 1-2 mg and 2-8 mg respectively, PO, bid-tid. Mild clinical signs such as depression and GI upset have been reported for dosages <1 mg/kg." My guy does well on 8 mg(2 tablets)/twice a day.

[Brindles]

Mine have done well on loratadine, which is the generic of claritin, and over the counter.

[Time4ANap]

Rocket has developed very bad allergies this year - scratching until you could see that his skin was pink under his fur, and causing some scabs in places that really itch. He hasn't had these symptoms until this year, so we are hoping that this is a one-time deal due to the drought here and the blooms of ragweed that we haven't had in the past.

 

Benadryl had virtually no effect.

 

Vet put him on Chlorpheniramine - 12 mg (three 4mg pills) twice a day (so thats 24mg total daily) and Prednisolone, in addition to an antibiotic for the places that were scabbed. He is 75 lbs. The combination of the two has worked well, but we also found that he needed a weekly bath and we have to wipe paws when he comes back in, and at least once a day we wipe down his face and neck with a wet washcloth. The bath product that worked for him is called Bobbies Itchy Dog Shampoo.

 

We are in the process of tapering off the Pred now, so hopefully we can eliminate that when this dose is finished.

 

Hope your pup is better soon.

[tbhounds]

I have had a great response to claritin--10mgs in the am and 5mgs in the pm.(for my 80lb hound). I have also used chlortrimeton with success too. I find that bathing is extremely helpful. I use comfort shampoo followed by using resicort leave on lotion.

I just finished bathing my boy!

[Guest Plygreygirl]

I had to give in this year again. My Mia did OK on the benedryl but not good enough. So off the the Vet and on prednisone. It's just amazing just 24 hours into treatment and it has stopped the itching! Now we deal with the side effects !!! Sigh!! While at the Vet she did metion putting her on Claritin. So next year instead of the benydryl I think I will try Claritin/Loratadine.

 

So good luck ! My additional word of advise is don't wait too long if you hounds like mind have long nails you don't want them breaking the skin. Cause that another big problem waiting to happen.

[Burpdog]

Isaac takes the generic Tavist twice a day and also benedryl. He had no allergies in Florida.....

 

When he is really bad I give him pred.

[JJNg]

You can also try Zyrtec (or the generic cetirizine). For a greyhound, the dose would be a 10 mg tablet once to twice daily. For any individual dog, one antihistamine may work better than another, so sometimes it takes some trial and error to find which one is best for your dog.

[JJNg]

One additional note - if you go with any of the allergy meds that have the option of an added decongestant, make sure you do not get the -D version instead of the straight antihistamine. For example, you want plain Claritin instead of Claritin-D. The decongestant ingredient, pseudoephedrine, can be toxic to dogs.

[Newgreymom]

Thanks jjng for the heads up on the decongestant part of the antihistimine. Has anyone ever seen a reaction to Claritin, Tavist, etc.?? Dylans feet are really red but I have never even tried an antihistimine before. Ever since his stroke 3 years ago, I am very cautious as to what I give him. Are they pretty "safe"??

[JJNg]

Antihistamines are generally pretty safe, but as with any meds, reactions are always possible. Benedryl has been around for a very long time, and most dogs do fine with it, but it can cause a very small percentage of dogs to act hyper and agitated. With the newer antihistamines like Claritin and Allegra, they really haven't been used a lot with dogs to have much documented info. Especially with a history of previous health problems that you're concerned about, I would suggest asking your vet before giving your dog any new meds.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'm following this with interest because my new girl has severe allergies. She came to me three weeks ago with a front leg scratched and chewed nearly raw. She's done two weeks of Cephalexin and we're finishing the tapering off of Prednisone (one pill to go on Monday). I'm having to keep her muzzled with a muzzle guard to keep her from chewing the leg; I'm trying to stop the chewing not just to prevent immediate damage but because I want to prevent chewing from becoming a habit, especially when I'm at work and can't monitor her. ("I'm bored. What can I chew on? Oh, here's my leg...") She gets to go muzzle-free when I'm home and she's right under my eye, but she tries sneaking off for a good chew.

 

Anyway, the Fosters & Smith site says this (I was searching for the Claritin dose for a 50-pound greyhound):

 

Antihistamines come in several forms including H1 and H2 blockers. While the H2 blockers (Claritin, Seldane, and Hismanal) have been shown to be very effective in treating human allergies, they have not been shown to be effective in treating canine or feline allergies, and are therefore, not recommended for pet use. There are many different H1 antihistamines available on the market, but veterinary use is usually restricted to the following.

 

Antihistamine (Trade Name): Possible Side Effects

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl): Sedation, dry mouth

Hydroxyzine (Atarax): Sedation, no dosage for cats

Clemastine fumarate (Tavist): Sedation, dry mouth

Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton): Lethargy, diarrhea

 

 

I don't know how old the info on F&S is; the site doesn't even mention Zyrtec, and maybe more recent studies have favorable things to say about H2 blockers. (Is Zyrtec an H2?) Maybe I'll just stick to Benadryl until I talk to my vet. Silver is having a few other issues--a bit of separation anxiety (so if she gets sleepy on Benadryl, it might help), and a corn on her good back foot. (She has one gimpy foot she doesn't put all her weight on when she stands. A corn on there wouldn't be so bad, but no--she had to get a corn on the other back foot.)

[Batmom]

In case it might help someone: My dog with red itchy foot (yep, primarily the one foot -- the one that was easiest to chew on) turned out to have a food allergy. We discovered this by a happy accident of a scientific experiment. And no, he wasn't allergic to "grains." He was allergic to fish and fish oil.

 

I wouldn't expect many dogs to have the exact same allergy, but how bizarre that it was one of the things often recommended for reducing the itchies. Eek.

 

The one thing that gave him significant relief until we discovered the allergy was Genesis spray.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The one thing that gave him significant relief until we discovered the allergy was Genesis spray.

 

Thanks. I was going to ask my vet about a spray. I have some Gentocin left over from a couple of years ago with Jacey, but I'll ask him before I use it.

 

Silver arrived with her allergy. She licks at all her feet some, but one leg is really bad. She had the skin irritation when animal control picked her up. A shelter (that got her from AC) had skin scrapings done and turned up nothing. She did a short course of Cephalexin and Prednisone with them, but came to me a few weeks after those meds were done and still had problems. The SEGA vet tried another round of Cephalexin and Pred; when she was on the larger dose of Pred she seemed less itchy, but she's scratching more now that the dosage is dropping. Because she's sometimes itchy on all her feet--and because our ragweed counts are ridiculously high--I've been assuming it was a pollen allergy. Also, she was a skinny stray when she was picked up--possibly living out of trash cans--and she showed up with the allergy, so I'm thinking not a fish oil allergy. She's been getting fish oil while here, though; I'll stop the fish oil supplement, but I'm sure there's some in her kibble. (I just checked: fish oil is about halfway down the ingredients list.) If this allergy doesn't clear up when the pollen dies down, I'll look into getting her tested for food allergies.

 

In the mean time, I just have to stop her from making it worse. The spray--and a make-her-drowsy antihistamine--might be my best options. Even when she's muzzled, she can scratch the itchy front leg with her back leg. I'm keeping her toenails Dremeled smooth.

[JJNg]

I'm following this with interest because my new girl has severe allergies. She came to me three weeks ago with a front leg scratched and chewed nearly raw. She's done two weeks of Cephalexin and we're finishing the tapering off of Prednisone (one pill to go on Monday).

For a dog who has been through a rough period and transition to a new home, a flareup of allergies and infection can be stress-related. With a severe flare-up, pred may have been the best way to go, but if at all possible, I try to avoid systemic steroids in cases like this because they can exacerbate stress reactions. Glad it sounds like you're going to try oral antihistamines with a topical spray as your next step.

 

Anyway, the Fosters & Smith site says this (I was searching for the Claritin dose for a 50-pound greyhound):

 

Antihistamines come in several forms including H1 and H2 blockers. While the H2 blockers (Claritin, Seldane, and Hismanal)...

I don't know how old the info on F&S is; the site doesn't even mention Zyrtec, and maybe more recent studies have favorable things to say about H2 blockers. (Is Zyrtec an H2?)

Sorry, but the info in that F&S article regarding H1 and H2 blockers is wrong. In general, the term antihistamine is taken to mean H1 blocker. All of the allergy meds (Benedryl, chlorpheniramine, Tavist, Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, etc) are H1 blockers. H2 blockers are antacid medications (Pepcid, Zantac, Tagamet, etc), and while they are technically 'antihistamines' they usually aren't referred to by that term and are just called H2 blockers. Here's more detailed information about Antihistamines and H2 Blockers.

 

The main difference between the older generation allergy meds (Benedryl, chlorpheniramine, etc) and the newer generation meds (Claritin, Allegra) is whether or not they are sedating. Zyrtec is mostly non-sedating but kinda in between the other 2 groups. Most veterinary experience has been with the older generation H1 antihistamines. For severe allergies, they really don't work all that well. Increasingly more vets are now trying the newer generation antihistamines too, and I've heard good results with Zyrtec.

 

But in general, none of the OTC antihistamines seem to work as well for severe allergies in dogs as they do in people. I mostly just recommend OTC antihistamines for mild, chronic cases for long term control. I find them pretty useless fore severe flare-ups.

[Guest Adrianne]

You can also try Zyrtec (or the generic cetirizine). For a greyhound, the dose would be a 10 mg tablet once to twice daily. For any individual dog, one antihistamine may work better than another, so sometimes it takes some trial and error to find which one is best for your dog.

 

 

Good information in this thread. Chevy, too, has begun itching like crazy. I started him on the generic Zyrtec three days ago, and it seems to have made a difference.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Silver has finished her Prednisone. She finished the antibiotics last week. This was a second round of drugs (Prednisone and Cephalexin), after the first animal shelter did a short course of Pred and Simplicef.

 

The vet thinks the leg she's been chewing looks borderline-infected, although her lymph nodes seem fine.

 

We're going to try a couple of weeks of Betagen spray and antihistimines. I'm hoping Benadryl will work for her because, frankly, the drowsiness feature would be welcome, both in terms of perhaps cranking her SA down a notch AND making her too drowsy to chew on her leg all the time.

 

If we're not seeing an improvement in two weeks or so, the vet is considering moving to Cipro for the antibiotic.