Is there a time for dogs when allergies are the worst?
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| Since we both live near Chicago, every season is allergy season (time for me to move). However, usually skin allergies are worse in the spring and in the fall. What's going on? |
| Lucy's my allergies dog and she's right in the middle of a horrid allergy attack right now. Her skin was almost fuchia everywhere from the imflammation until we went to the vet. She had a huge hidden hot spot that she aggravated by licking and biting and it became huge and infected. I felt terrible for missing it. |
| Stacy - I believe it's a hot spot, he keeps obsessivly licking the same spot on his leg. I've been putting the hot spot medication on it. My vet told me it wouldn't hurt to give him some benadryl.
I swear, it always seems like something with Hendrix, whether it's his ear infections or skin licking... |
| Kayli's got it BAD right now, worse than I've ever seen. We just started the strongest prednisone cycle she's ever been on - 1-1/2 pill doses. Let the peeing begin!!!
Jill, it's comforting to know you're going through the same thing. Hmm, that did not sound right.  |
| Misery loves company!
I called my vet yesterday and told her how I was frustrated with Hendrix and his licking. It seems I tell my vet all the time and she prescribes simplecef and some non-itching spray. I asked her if it was ok to give him allergy pills and she agreed we could try it for 1 week. She told me to go to Costco and buy these little pink allergy pills, you get 400 for $3.50. They have diphenhydramine in them and are 25 mg. She said to give Hendrix 3 pills twice daily. She said it sounds like a lot, but their small pills and he's a big boy. I'm trying it for a week starting today. I'll post back here if there's any change. |
floofdog wrote: Kayli's got it BAD right now, worse than I've ever seen. We just started the strongest prednisone cycle she's ever been on - 1-1/2 pill doses. Let the peeing begin!!!
Jill, it's comforting to know you're going through the same thing. Hmm, that did not sound right. Lol. Thanks.  Yeah, I don't even want to let her outside except to do her business because she comes in super itchy. Lucy got the shot but not the prednisone follow up-- my vet doesn't want her on all the steroids but I really wish she got them. She's looking and feeling better but she's on simplicef, clavamox and something else that I can't recall. James has been playing doctor and doing all the pills. The boys are still taking meds for whatever poop problem they had so our counter looks like a dog pharmacy. |
| From what I understand it wouldn't be any different than allergy season for people... anytime there are more allergens in the air it can really get allergies going.
Only 10-30% of dogs respond at all to antihistamines, but I think it was Nicole (Bosley's mom) who mentioned giving the dog omega supplements can help the dogs respond to meds better? |
| My Zak has always had allergy problems, but this year it has reached a new level. He has been covered with scab-like itchy patches and the poor boy was in horrible shape. My vet started him on Atopica (http://www.us.atopica.com/) And after a couple weeks, his itching has completely stopped and his skin is clearing. The one drawback is the expense, The first month it is costing me just under $500.00, then following that, the dosage is reduced, so the cost will be less.
Other times we have used both anti-biotics and steroids, but they only worked for a limited time, then we were right back to the same situation. This treatment is permanent, and dosage is adjusted to his needs. Mark |
| I think the time allergies are worst depends on the allergen causing the allergy. And boy, do I share your pain!
For Darby & Panda, the allergens causing the problem are molds which are found naturally outdoors and the worst time of year is August until the first frost. Darby is the worst. She just completed a full year of allergy shots and while I thought they were working wonders, I've come be believe the allergen had simply been killed or made dormant with the frost. She did absolutely fine from around late October through late July/early August, then the itching started again though not quite as bad as last year. My vet prescribed a steroid last week but we're hoping we can avoid using it. I want Darby to be comfortable but I don't want all those side effects from the drugs unless there's no other choice. So we're going back to plain Tavist (boy that's hard to find here! our vet got us the generic form but it didn't seem to work as well), an over the counter anti-itch spray and putting baby socks on her when she plays outdoors to work as a barrier. We just started the baby socks today... the Muttlucks just wouldn't stay on... I need to find a way to waterproof these socks. So we're continuing the shots for both, using an antihistimine, a topical spray and shampoo, a fatty acid supplement with their food, a special food for sensitive skin and attempting to avoid the known trigger. We're also cutting down on the amount of watering we do in the backyard which should also cut down on these molds. We'll be happy with a brown lawn if we can just lessen the itching! This approach has been working for the last few days so we're kinda holdin' our breath here in Michigan. Jaci |
Hendrix's Mom wrote: They have diphenhydramine in them and are 25 mg. She said to give Hendrix 3 pills twice daily. She said it sounds like a lot, but their small pills and he's a big boy. I'm trying it for a week starting today. I'll post back here if there's any change.
That is what Dixie gets. But she is also on a kibble full of Omega fatty acids which, like Willowsprite mentioned, increases the likelihood of a positive result. Like 6girls, you eventually get to know what works and what doesn't work after a while. We went through a lot with Dixie, but once she started getting thyroid meds and the 3rd or 4th type of kibble, everything kind of kicked into place. Unfortunately it take time to try out each thing to see if it works, before moving on to something else. That's the hard part. Hope things work out, Let us know. |
| Do I need to get special Omega 3 Fatty Acid suppliments for dogs or can they take the human ones? |
| I'm not sure what the difference is, so that is something I would ask your vet . Some supplements, like Glucosamine, are produced separately. Some people use the human version for their dogs, and it seems to work. Some vets, however, say that the human version is not absorbed as well as the canine version. Could be the same with other supplements...I don't know.
We started her out on HP (high Potency) Vitamins for skin and coat. It was $17 for 50 capsules, once a day, from the vet. Once she was on a fish and potatoe diet and the vitamins for 3 months she seemed stable so we weaned her off of the supplements. More details on using Antihistimines and Omega 3 and fatty acids for allergy control can be found here, along with other ways of manageing allergies. http://www.evidencebasedvet.com/forum/v ... .php?t=108 Dixie gets 1 50 mg caplets twice a day of generic no-name diphenhydramine. My pharmicist orders it in special for her. She is on a diet of fish and potato, with no other ingredients. It is full of Omega 3's and fatty acids. It took months of trials of different combinations for her skin to calm down. Now we get only mild flair-ups that we deal with. |
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