Do you deal with allergies?

[Mygala]

I have a ten year old golden retriever that has dealt with allergies for years. I've had her tested, and it turns out she is allergic to grass molds, fleas, and a few other assorted ..common things.

This time of year is really tough on her. She has gotten so bad that she's getting antihistamines twice a day, and steroids once a day. We are thinking of bumping the steroids up to twice a day to help control the increased scratching and chewing. She has upon occasion chewed a paw bloody, or scratched herself badly.

When it get REALLY bad, hives all over, we often have get her a steroid shot. We realize that we may be shortening her life in order to give her a more comfortable quality of life. It's tough to watch and deal with.

Do any of you have dogs with allergies?

How bad are they?

What have you all done to deal with them?

We have tried some alternatives, like homeoapathy, but with no real help. Have you all had any luck with alternative meds or practices?

[CTChin]

My boss was just telling me about a clients golden retriever. Apparently he was the same as your dog ..he had terrible allergies and had exhausted every therapy. As a last ditch effort, they slowly switched him to the BARF diet (raw food) and the dog got 80% better. Can't say it would work for every dog but it's something to think about.

[Jade]

I don't have to deal with it on that level, but suffer from them myself.

Some things you might talk to your vet about:
Quercetin supplementation (I take it and it has made me MUCH less dependent on antihistamines)
Immuno therapy (cyclosporine tablets vs. allergen, she may be too old for the allergen)
Oatmeal baths in between (I use aveeno oatmeal bath as a rinse for Gumbo)
Apple Cider Vinegar on the bad spots and possibly as a rinse after baths
Supplementation of oils such as Flax Seed and Omega oils

I'll browse through our dermatology info and see if I can come up with anything else. I hope you can keep her comfortable, I know how heartbreaking it is!

[CTChin]

Steph, have you found cyclosporin do be expensive in your area? We had a large dog that needed it but had to change to something else after the owner went to the pharmacy and found out 120 pills would set him back $600!

[Dena]

I don't personally have any animals with allergies but my best friend has a red nose pit whose 9 now and he is allergic to just about everything. He is allergic to 3 different meat proteins including beef, chicken, lamb. He is allergic to every type of grass, mold and spore. He's allergic to environmental things like cleaners and other household items and more but I can't remember it all. He has been receiving allergy shots twice a week for the past I can't even think back that far and is also on prozac for other reasons which was a last ditch effort but it seems to have stopped him from chewing and scratching himself so much. This dog is one big red itchy mess all the time. Poor Bud. Thank god he's not my dog!

[Chinchilla_Girl]

My dogs have a mild allergy to fire ants, but then again, who doesn't? Other than that, the only dog I've had with what you are describing is my dad's golden retriever Midas. He's pretty much allergic to life in general and chews his paws bloody on a daily basis. I'm not sure what all they treat him with since I live like 5 states away from them, but it's never gotten any better and stress seems to add to the chewing. When my kids are there, he's MUCH worse for instance, but then again he has anxiety issues on top of it all and gets jealous easily. BTW Midas is 14 years old now so he's geriatric too but has been like this since they adopted him when he was 2 from a golden retriever rescue society

[Jade]

Quote: Originally Posted by CTChin Steph, have you found cyclosporin do be expensive in your area? We had a large dog that needed it but had to change to something else after the owner went to the pharmacy and found out 120 pills would set him back $600!

It's VERY expensive, unfortunately. I don't know what our prices are, but that sounds about right.

[Crazy Chin Lady]

Harley was very bad last year around June/July.

She was down to the skin on several areas of her body. Around her eyes, her front legs, etc. They were stumped. She was on steroids, a benadryl type pill, nothing worked. They at first thought it was food allergies. So, she was put on a fish and potato food. Well, funny thing is right after the rose bushes and all the junk in the backyard were cut down, she was fine. We still keep her on the f&p food, as she does well on it. I'm hoping that the stuff in the backyard was the reason behind it and it doesn't come back again this year!

Oh, I forgot to mention we had to give her a medicated bath.

[piggiemommy]

Lady has a bunch of allergies, including a nice wide variety of grasses and trees, fleas, mosquitos, dust mites and various foods.

I've gotten dust mite covers for all the mattresses and pillows in the house, vacuum several times a week and steam clean the carpet every 2-3 weeks.

Lady gets a bath every other week (oatmeal based shampoo), which she just loves.

All of her food allergies have been completely eliminated from her diet. She's on Frontline Plus year round and gets Hydroxyzine (pill) twice a day.

We're still waiting for the dermatologist to put together an allergy shot series specific to her and her allergens which will hopefully help her build up a little immunity against her environmental allergies.

Have you gone for a consult with a vet dermatologist?

Here's a great list of various herbs for dogs.
GREAT article here about allergies and homeopathy.

[Jodi]

Our last GSD, Bach, had allergies. We had him on steriods for a little while but its a double edge sword IMO. We mostly stuck with the antihistamines, they really helped him.

Thankfully I'm not allergic to dogs myself.

[Chrisanne]

I've never had a dog with allergies. I feel for those that do. Great ideas though. Mental note made incase I ever need the information.

[jcookie1982]

I have a dog with VERY bad allergies. I did have him on hypo-allergenic food until we figured out that it wasn't a food allergy. We were giving him Benadryl, but that was really helping, so we switched him over to a different antihistamine. He gets one tablet twice a day. We also spray Betagen spray on him if the itching gets really bad.

[jcookie1982]

I also forgot to add that I bathe him with hypo-allergenic oatmeal shampoo and give him supplements every day to help his skin.