I need some advice with allergies!

[Lorena]

Hi! My name is Lorena and I'm new at this forum.
I wish someone can give some advice with allergies.
Sasha is one year old and a couple of months ago she started scratching all the time around her neck area. I discovered a couple of hot spots but also I think mosquitos bites are the cause.Since I live in Florida, humid weather, hives, pollen and God knows what else, can cause a lot of allergies to anybody, specially seasonal allergies, but mosquitos now in this rainy season are realy bad. I took her to the vet and she got an allergy shot and the vet gave me some pills with an antihistamine so I can give them to her when she gets uncomfortable again. She was fine until now but she started sniffing and scratching again a couple of days ago. She spends a lot of time indoor but now in summer we spend a lot of time outside in the pool or playing in the yard.
The vet told me that Rotties are very allergic, specially in Florida which a great variety of plants, flys, etc. I'm allergic and I know when mosquittos are killing me, they are bitting her too. The same with grass or some palm trees. What should I do? By vet told some time I should take her to a specialist to find out the reason of her allergies. I always keep an eye on where she lays or what she eats, etc but I know for sure it's something outdoors.
I'd appreciate any advice or recommendation you can give me
Thanks!
Lorena

[greek4]

I give my guys people generic bendryl when they get itchy and it works.  Plus it is cheaper.  I would check with your vet first but it might work.

[Lorena]

Thanks for your advice!
 


I've already tried Benadryl for a couple of days (more that a week sometimes) but when I see it doesn't work then I have to use the other pills and then after 2 days she's better. I think it's because the ones from the vet are stronger.

[RedyreRottweilers]

I have a couple of questions:

1) what do you feed her

2) does she wear a collar(s) all the time?

3) does she spend a lot of time in the pool?

4) What sort of flea preventive are you using?

[ann]

   i would get the test done then you would know for sure how to handle it but until then if you think its a bug allergy then try a repellant i use a natural horse repellant it last for 24 hours......... ..........

ann

[SaraphWolf79]

I have a 10 year old German Shepherd who's had allergies going on about 5 years now.  She itches and itches until her hair falls out around her tail and bottom, and begins to bleed and create sores (hotspots).  It's become a ritual every spring to take her to my local vet and get allergy shots for her, and that does wonders for her, for about 3 months she's 100% better and by then the season is changing into fall and her allergies pretty much disappear.  The vet told me it may be she's allergic to chiggers out in the backyard, or even 1 flea biting her may trigger the allergic reaction.  The heat only makes it worse for her. As summer turns to fall, I'd watch her closely to see if it gets any better (as Naga does.)  During the summer, just try to keep her as cool as possible and make sure she's on a good tick and flea preventative.

Good luck!

Carrie   

[mastiffmommy]

It seems like there is a lot of allergies going around. I just posted in another thread "allergies anyone" I think the titel was.

inhalant allergies
flea allergies
bacterial allergies
contact allergies
food allergies

are the most common allergies, well thats plenty really lol.... probably the most common is the flea allergy, if real sensetive, it doesnt take but a couple of fleas and they can get problems. Also the protein in certain food can cause allergies, the more difficult ones are contact, inhalant and bacterial allergies. There is just soooooo much they can react to. First you can try and figure out what group (could be more than one) is the problem, then go from there, but if you have no clue it would probably be best to take her in for a full test. Hopefully she is allergic to something that is fairly easy to prevent. Or at least youd know what to avoid and what would be the best treatment for her when she has problems. Good Luck and give her kisses from me.

Marit

[moonlitcroatia]

About four years ago I tried switching Greta and Lou to a different food.  They've always eaten Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Formula, but now eat the Senior variety.  When I changed their food they started scratching and scabbing up all over.  They also needed a spot treatment because my roommate's dog had fleas.  After the flea repellent and going back to their old food they were as good as new.

But, I know someone who has a little blind dog and she has allergies very bad.  It just started this year, I think.  She has a ton of snot that comes out and her eyes are itchy and she sneezes all the time.  They haven't figured out what is causing it yet.  That's where to specific allergy test comes in handy.  It could be something really unexpected that she's allergic to.

[Lorena]

 
Thanks for all of you for the answers!
My last 2 weeks have been crazy!
I got really scared when on Friday she was scratching all the time and suddenly I found "like a lump" on her chest. But that time it was 11 Pm and at 2 in the morning that was scary! The size doubled!
So we took her to ER (in the middle of a tropical storm!) and the vet told me she has mastitis!. The vet cleaned and shaved the area and he told me he had also a bacterial infection. I'm giving her antibiotics, and antiinflamator y and he applied a cortisone shot also. Her breast is fine now...getting back to the normal size. Even though she's not pregnant, she might have what's called a pshycologic pregnancy and that' why she developed her breast as she were nursing but she's not. As I said everything is coming back to normal but I'm still worry about her dry skin and recurring problems until I breed her.
I didn't change her eating habits or food but as  she's stopped getting into the pool (because we are waiting for the mastitis to be cured), the rush and the dry skin impproved. Hopefully her allergies go away now... I'm trying now K9 advantix since that might help with the mosquito bites too which I think is one on the main reasons of her allergies. They kill me too!  
Anyway, I think I'll go to see a specialist in order to come out with the final diagnosis.
I'm going to read the post about all the kind of allergies and see it that gives me more things to keep an eye on
Thanks for the support!



Now I have to deal with ther other stuff she's dealing with. Poor Sasha...she's strong but I think that I have to spay her some time soon....