Help! Dog with allergy?

[angelbell]

Hi! tis's the first time i'm posting. hv found many valuable info here. i hv got a big prob w my lab (1 yr old). She had been having rashes & the vet has put her on antibiotics and pred on 3 occasions since Oct 05. (She has skin prob since puppyhood but never as bad until Oct 05). i hv tried homemade diet but to no avail. Even though she's now on Natural balance Vegetarian (1 mth now) as welll as medication, i see that she's still scratching herself. Her skin condition has improved when taking med. i'm afraid that once the med stopped, her rashes & pastules will come back.

Do u think it's right to continue with vegetarian? i read abt California Lamb & Rice but it's not available where i stay. Any other alternatives? i also gave her organic flaxseed oil & vit E but doesn't seem to help.

If she's on med, she shouldn't be scratching still, rt? How long does a new diet help i allergy case? When can i see results?

Sori for this new long message but i desperately need advice as the vet keeps prescribing antibiotics each time. i kno it's bad but it pains me when i see her horrible skin condition. (she has tried innova, canidae & eagle's pack holistic chicken in the past - hope this info helps).

Thanks!

 

[Saje]

I'm confused. Do you know what she is allergic too? Or that it is an allergy?

 

[FoxyWench]

dogs can have alergies to many different things, if its definatly an alergy id personally suggest having a full alergy pannel done, untill you know what exactly shes allergic to you cant remove it from her environment...

examples of things a dog can be allergic to can be as simple as food (such as corn or chicken) to pollen (and yes it can be only specific flowers/grasses/trees) even items around your home like sisal rugs, if a human can be allergic to it so can a dog, so unless you know exactly what the alergy is to you cannot remove the allergen...your dog could also be allergic to multiple things!

 

[angelbell]

Thanks so much! Unfortunately, i still don't know wat's she's allergic to. We hv 2 other malteses and so we r trying to feed them separately now.

It's just exasperating cos' have tried so many things. will give 1 last shot - i am switching her to Eagles' Pack Holistic Fish. I will stop the frontline application and flaxseed oil as well. the vet had asked me to switch to Science diet z/d but i am very reluctant to do so - aft having read so much abt it in this forum. the vet has not suggested the allergy test and i din know it can be done.

How is the test done and what can it show?

Looking back, i am not sure if her yearly vaccination could have aggravated her skin condition. Thought she was better and brought her up todate with vaccine in feb.

 

[FoxyWench]

i belive the allergey pannel is a simple blood test but it is independantly screened, the vet sends it off ot a lab who can test for an entire range of things, id ask your vet about it, it can cost a little but in my opinion in the end youll end up saving money on switching foods and products and experiment and on medication once you find out what exactly is causing the problems.

as i said i belive its a blood test, theyll take the blood as normla and send it off then you can opt for the full range pannel, they will do a bunch of tests on the samples and after i belive its 2-3 weeks they will send a packet back to your vet, itll have a booklet listing all the things shes even remotly allergic to (some will even pinpoint HOW alergic to something the dog might be) and then you go through the booklet with your vet and try and make changes compared to whats the pannel tests, and a full pannel will test for foods plooens even dust mites mold and types of fabrics. our neighbours gsd is allergic ONLY to blue grass, which thye found out a few days after the pannel when the landscaper did the yard they put in a whole lawn of bluegrass, and thats why the dogs allergies suddenly flared up...so they redid the back yard so the dog would be able to play outside and then left the blue in the frotn wehre the dog had no access to...he was also alergic to the sisal rug they just put down in the office so that got removed...

some dogs do have allergies to vacinations also, you could try benadryl before shes due her vacinations next time (i dont know what the dosage is) and that will reduce any allergic reations to the vacinations, (our vet has me give my chis benadryl before the rabies vac cause chis are prone to reactions to the rabies.)

but id definatly at least ASK about an alergy pannel being done.
ive noticed MOST vets push the science diet, because there being sponsored to do so, my vet has chihuhauas and while the surgery sells and "suggests" science diet, hes told me he wouldnt ever feed it to his own dogs, i have yet to meet a vet who actually feeds their dogs the products they push in the surgery...
when looking into food, for if you can try cutting out chicken and corn those tend to be the biggest food allergens in dogs, ive been told rabbit, venicine, duck and veal are all MUCH better meat bases for food.

hope this helps and good luck!

 

[SummerRiot]

Food allergies are definately not uncommon. My Belgian, Riot, is actually allergic to wheat and can not have ANYTHING that has wheat in it, or he starts to loose his fur. Him, being a show dog.. obviously its not the best lol

I'm currently feeding him Innova Adult and will be switching in to Innove Evo when hes 1.5yrs old.

Do you know of any known breed allergies at all?
I know Belgians are known not be great with wheat, corn or chicken(in the long run with that one for their pancreas).

Did you get your dog from a breeder at all? Maybe you could speak to them about that?

For her skin, you could also put Omega vitamins in your dogs food daily, or keep the oil in the food. It helps condition and keep the coat looking and feeling healthy.

 

[angelbell]

Thank you so much! You guys have been a great help.

Yes, i have cut out chicken & corn. I have just switched her fully to Eagles' Pack fish today. also comparing the ingredients btw Nature's Balance Vegetarian & Eagles Fish. I used to think that once it's vegetarian, the dog will be allergy free - but it may not be the case. There are still other stuff in the food like "natural vegetable flavour" and all the other supplements. (Really need to read the ingredients)

Will go to another vet for the allergy test once she finished her current course of medication. (Current vet just kept asking me to work on food and has never suggested doing the test so i am quite annoyed. especially, she has so many courses of antibiotics & steroids already)

I will probably wait 2 wks to see if her skin rashes come back. Though her skin is now clear, she's still scratching like crazy!!

You are probably right, seems like it's quite common for labs to have allergies.

Will let you know how it goes!

 

[Caroleg]

My dog has allergies. When I got him, he was one big itch! His skin was so flakey it was like a constant snowstorm. Poor guy was constantly licking his bleeding paws. I knew I had to rescue him.

Problem was, the vet didn't know he had allergies and was not helpful. I didn't know enough about dogs to know it was allergies. After spending about $600 in vet bills and no results, I took matters into my own hands and immediately started feeding him nothing but raw meaty bones. I still don't know the full extent of his allergies, only that he's definitely allergic to chicken. He's doing very well on what I'm feeding him now, so I'm sticking with it.

At least you know your dog has allergies. I say, get the tests done!