Author Topic: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??  (Read 5789 times)

Offline Neosmomlisa

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Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« on: July 07, 2005, 08:28:17 am »
After I moved to Southern California, Neo started to break out.  At first I thought it was mites, so I took him to the vet.  I was told that Neo had allergies and that dogs with allergies were very common in my area.  Soooo, we started giving him Vetalog shots to sooth his (and my) discomfort and inhibit his breakouts.  He was constantly licking and scratching and had little soars all over his tummy, rump and toes.  He was getting shots once a month.  The once a month shots have stopped working and I am frustrated.  Does anyone have any ideas or input?

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2005, 01:57:16 am »
Well to start with, do you know what kind of allergy he has. There are five groups of allergies and depending on what, it also varies how to treat or try and relieve it.

Inhalant allergy
Flea allergy
Food allergy
Contact allergy
Bacterial allergy

I am sure there are more, but these are the most common ones, do you know what  he is allergic to at all?

About vetalog, if I am not totally wrong it was taken off the market for awhile, but returned. It is a long lasting cortisone drug, and what it really does it to "knock out" the bodys natural immune system, and by doing so, make the reactions the immune system causes go away so the itchy and sore skin gets a rest. But by sutting down the immune system, you also open the window for infections or allergies caused by infections. So as with all meds there are negative sides. I dont think vetalog is usually used for a long long term, it can cause renal and liver problem. If it doesnt help or if it stops working, he probably need a full blood panel to try and determine what he is allercig to and treat that specific thing. Please keep us posted on how he is feeling, poor thing. Have you tried the itch sprays they are a "quick fix" but could work for at least a little relief.

Marit

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

Offline traklover

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2005, 06:52:01 am »
I had a severely allergic Lab. It was largely a food allergy. Fortunately she never had fleas as she would have been allergic to the bites as well. Environment played a part as she tested sensitive to the soil in my yard, the list went on and on. The testing was done via an alternative vet, she had a woman come in who did electraldermal testing. (No conventional vet suggested testing). As a result of the testing, I made her food for the last five years of life, (we were running out of prepared foods with the conventional vets, plus it turned out that the few left she would have been allergic to). She lived on a diet of ocean fish (occasionally chicken), sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, squash,beets, and white rice. One of her food allergies was to brown rice, most commercial prepared foods contain brown rice. She was highly allergic to yeast, molds and fungi in any food, or on or in anything.
WIth careful feeding and much care, we were able to make her life more enjoyable. I gave her generic Benadryl, and Chinese traditonal medications plus acupuncture to help inhibit reactions. The vet preferred not to use cortisones as they do so much damage to the internal organs and immune systems.
For the sores and weeping areas, I usually used special soaps to kill fungi, etc. Believe it or not Niazoral and related soaps are great for washing these areas. As well, I would have to horror of horrors, clip the affected areas to let the areas dry better, and allow air circulation. One thing I could not do was wear a collar on her, except for brief periods of time, she had large fleshy folds on her neck, that the collar would hold together, causing a fungal infection.
Depending on your feelings about it, consulting with an alternative vet might not go amiss. I was the best thing I ever did for Fancy, and I feel it gave her five more years of life that she wouln't have had through conventional vets.
She passed away in Oct 2004 at the ripe old age of thirteen, from cancer that had begun in the thyroid and spread to the lungs.
PS that's another thing check the thyroid function. Often dogs with low thyroid function are more prone to allergies.

GY

Offline Scootergirl

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2005, 07:27:03 am »
Oasis has seasonal allergies. He will lick and bite at spots on his back and legs until they are RAW. My vet told me to give him Chlortrimeton - the over the counter people allergy medicine. It seems to work pretty well. That, and keeping his itchy areas clipped and covered with salve.

Jeanne
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between dog and man." -- Mark Twain

Offline bigdoglover

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2005, 08:10:26 am »
i also have a highly allergic labrador who is now 10 years old and suffers everyday. i had our vet do allergy testing and she is allergic to lots of things-the usual mold, grass, oak and cedar-brewers yeast which is in lots of dog treats and food. the list goes on forever but i try my best to keep her comfortable. she has bad reactions to the cortisone shots-allergy pills work for a little while but then stop working. she sleeps on my bed so i got her the covers that go on the mattress and "her" pillow-she also has a highlu sensitive stomach so that means special dry food for her which i use in limited quantities and supplement with food i prepare for her. its an ongoing terrible battle for everyone but once you find out what allergies you are dealing with it is somewhat easier for everyone involved.

Offline greek4

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2005, 09:19:13 am »
My ex has a lab who used to break out all the time, was allergic to everything.  It turned out that she had a lowered immune system due to a thyroid issue.
Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline sc.trojans

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2005, 09:20:21 pm »

I would like to shed some light here on allergies for this discussion - for those of you who have posted that your dogs have allergies, you have discussed the triggers (food, environment, fleas etc.) but I have not seen any discussion of understanding the CAUSE of allergies. I hope this helps....

Allergies are the result of a hyper-sensitive immune system and tend to be genetically pre-disposed - the immune system is central to genetics but it can also be caused by immune system damage.  Dogs with compromised or hyper-sensitive immune systems are usually those that have been assaulted by chemicals and unnatural preservatives (vaccines, flea/tick chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers, heartworm chemicals, chemically preserved dog food etc.) or whose recent ancestors have and have it passed onto to them in their memory T-cells.  Studies show that it takes 3-4 generations to undue genetic or DNA damage from these items.

Ok..so back to allergies....y ou can focus on the triggers so long as you can reduce exposure to them or eliminate them for the animal's comfort, but the real focus should be on improving the immune system and vital force (or health) of the animal.  To start, one must recognize that the worst thing you can do is pile on to the immune problem by injecting the animal with an immune suppressant (cortisone shots) - this is the ultimate failing of western vet medicine and should be well publicized for what it is - it creates an instant "impression" for us humans of help or health because it suppresses the immune system so far that it cannot react to the offense, thereby rendering it weak and ineffective for any purpose - including all the other things the immune system needs to protect against and in the future.  We see a lack of external reaction and feel good - the animal is not in better shape, as the issue has just been driven down into the body further and will find another way out - eventually - either as more reaction, often worse and bigger than before - or a different reaction - such as hotspots, or goopy eyes, or gunky ears etc.  Just remember that medically the skin is referred to as the "third kidney" due to it function as an expelling organ - the skin is highly effective at this function and will expel toxins and inpurities from our bodies when needed - our knee jerk reaction to want to suppress that  and drive it back down is misguided - we need to let it out and this is why when humans get hives, most good doctors advise letting it "run its course through the body" until it is done expelling.  Same for hotspots and other skin inflammation.

I have seen many things dramatically improve the condition and health of allergic prone dogs - to really get a great understanding of everything you can do, I highly recommend a book by a renowned holistic vet in the U.S., Dr. Martin Goldstein called "The Nature of Animal Healing" - He discussed allergies at length and other skin inflammation and gives a lot of help in  his book.  One product he recommends and so do I is called Beta-Thym - you can order it online - it contains plant sterols, contained in plant/veggies but deficient in our foods today and these help to modulate the immune system (or calm in down) - it also contains amino acids and thymus which both help to regulate the immune system and this product works well.  Another thing I have found it allergies cannot truly be helped without a dramatic change in diet in most cases - the quality of food must be improved and if possible, fresh whole foods with enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals intact should be provided - this always has a big impact and is what an immune deficient animal is lacking the most.  It is critical that enzymes, amino acids et al be intact for nutrional absorption and therefore should not be destroyed by heat processing etc.  Finally, remove the chemical assaults on the animal - an allergy dog is showing you the current state of the immune system and potential things to come in the future as a result.  A continuous assault of flea, tick, heartworm, vaccine, and pesticides will result in cancer, kidney or liver disease eventually.  By the way, vaccine manufacturers clearly print on their packaging for vets that a sick or compromised animal should never be vaccinated - they know this to be harmful and do not warrant their product if given to such an animal - a compromised animal includes allergies or other immune response (after all, this is the very system the vaccine is targeting) - so if your vet is advising vaccines knowingly for a highly allergic dog, time to find a new vet - mine would never do such a thing.

Sorry for this being so long - but hoping I explained this all - please pick up a copy of Goldstein's book,  order some Beta-Thym, evaluate all the chemicals your pet is exposed to and eliminate, and research further to understand the importance of a wholesome diet for your dog.

Good Luck!
SC Trojans
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Offline ZooCrew

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2005, 09:44:41 pm »
Keiko too got allergies after we moved to southern California.  Very bad allergies.  She would chew her back legs raw, both regular and reverse sneezing, and runny eyes.  I assume she has environmental allergies due to some kind of weed or pollen out here.  She is on hydroxyzine, and it help enormously.  Unfortunately, she needs to be on it year round, instead of seasonally.

Good news is that we will be moving back to the midwest next spring, so I am hoping she will be able to discontinue the pills at that point.

Offline mixedupdog

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2005, 11:35:42 pm »
Whenever anyone talks about a persistent skin condition I always like to tell them about Rachel.  Rachel was a huge black Great Dane I got as a puppy in Utah.  When she was 2 we moved to Florida.  As time went by Rachel developed a horrible skin condition. Her hair fell out, she had ugly sores that started out small and got large and infected.  The vet ruled out mange, and other infectious causes. The diagnosis was "flea allergy" and she was started on corticosteriod injections.
Nothing helped. I discontinued the treatments as she was not improving.
I was in the process of moving, and needed somewhere for Rachel to stay while my new house was getting ready, and asked a friend to keep her for me.  She said sure, but because Rach was so large, she'd have to spend a lot of time outside.  I thought, oh great, put a dog with flea allergy out in the sand- but I really had no choice, so I agreed.  Then we discussed heartworm prevention. Rachel was on Heartguard, my friend's dogs were on filarabits.  I told my friend to just switch Rachel to her dog's meds, and I'd chip in, to make things easy.
A month later Rachel was on the mend- her hair was growing back and the sores were healing.  Turned out it was Ivermectin (the ingredient in Heartguard) that was the problem.  The vet insisted it couldn't be, even after he saw the great improvement in her skin.
Since then I've suggested to quite a few people to change their heartworm or flea preventative when a skin condition did not improve, and enough people found that to be the problem that it's worth investigation.  A lot of vets don't realize that in some dogs these products can cause awful problems.

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2005, 11:07:43 pm »
My Shepherd Naga has allergies pretty bad during the spring/summer months.  Twice a year she goes to the vet to get her allergy shot, which is more like a steroid shot to keep her from itching so badly.  I too thought for a while it was mites or even chiggers or something in the grass outside, but really, the vet said it could be anything that makes her break out.  It used to be so bad, her hair would fall out in places, poor baby.  I keep the advantix on her so she has less chance of fleas or ticks.  It's gotten to the point we know around the time when she starts to itch, so before that time comes, we take her to the vet.

I would say perhaps the flea drops were doing that to her as well, but I can't, because she's had allergies even before we started to use it on her.

Offline Elani

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Re: Does Anyone Have an Allergic Dog??
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2005, 04:46:52 am »
Our 2-year old Great Pyrenees has been suffering with allergies for the past year.  The Vet seems to think it is environmental although we have not experimented with her food.  Lately it has been very bad as apparently there is a "new pollen" in our area (South Western Ontario) and the vet is inundated with cases like ours.  Currently she is on Prednisone and NovoHydrozyzin e. This seems to help with the itching, sores and ears but she is now experiencing side effects such as excessive drool, drowziness and diarrhea.  We would like to move away from the meds as our last Pyr was medicated for most of her 11 years of life.  However, we can't bear to see her suffer without them.  Any suggestions?