So beyond frustrated...

Yup. We had the whole 9 yards of blood panels done before his UofM behaviorist appointment, it was a requirement to rule out any medical issues, including thyroid

No advice, but I hope you can figure out what exactly is irritating him. He's incredibly lucky to have you as an owner, you seem to take such great care of him.

It's just very small amounts of whatever he is allergic to. The idea behind how they work is that you are slowly acclimating or desensitizing the immune system to the allergens by exposing it to very small and gradually increasing amounts of them. (The $10 word for allergy shots is hyposensitization.) Each mixture is made specifically for an individual dog based on that dog's allergy test results. Poor Pip has so many allergens he actually has two allergen mixtures.

In theory they could have an allergic reaction to the shot, but I've personally never seen that with Pip nor heard of it happening with a client. I suppose anything that can happen at an injection site - bruising, abscess - could happen, but the needles are a really tiny gauge so it's not something I would really worry about.

SQ injections are super easy, you could definitely learn to do them. I can give them to Payton unassisted. The very first time I tried, I missed getting the needle in the skin (and got injectable B12 all over his fur!) which our vet told me I might - haven't missed since and I've gotten quicker so he doesn't even hardly mind anymore. It's not a big deal and being able to give SQ fluids is a good thing to know. When Kota was crashing my sister asked if I could give SQ fluids. I didn't know how then. I do now and I'm glad.

This stuffed saved Stormy. She was allergic to our laundry detergent as a baby. She was on it for about 10 months. We got lucky, she outgrew her allergy.

Good Luck, I know how frustrating it is.

SQ injections are pretty easy. Revy gets weekly B12 injections and I can do it by myself - Revy got used to it about the 3rd time we had to do it.... now she's fine with it.

He'd be able to get some relief from the itching. It would be like scratching with mittens on or rubbing an itchy spot instead of scratching.


That's what I'd do- the grippy socks with some vetwrap or tape. I sure hope you find something that works for porr Frodo.

Poor guy. If you can possibly afford it, I'd do the allergy testing and shots. It's about the best care available for this.

I feel your pain-poor Sally is pretty much allergic to life. We got this power stuff from our vet that treats the wound and numbs the skin to prevent further scratching and we've had good luck with that (Sally will occasionally get minor hot spots in her arm pits).

Laura went to U of MN. My friend Holly just went to McKeever this week and had a great experience.

I can certainly give injections... and it would likely be best to have two people with him at least until he gets used to it.

I swear there was something else I was going to say but I can't remember now...

There are also allergy desensitization programs that use oral drops instead of injections now. I forget the company that does it, but price and efficacy is comparable to the injections.

Thanks everyone! I am going to look into the McKeever place this week I think.