Skin allergies

[mandakay]

Every summer Ruckus gets this rash on his belly, chest, and underneath. Its red and brown spots and sometimes little pimples. The vet told me that it was likely a contact allergy. Last summer I treated him with benadryl and he was just fine, but this year we had to start using steroids. I have been giving him a bath in emu oil shampoo too, but it is just not doing the trick. It will clear up for a while, and then start back. Ruckus does have food allergies, but of course I do not feed him what he is allergic to. Poor dog is allergic to chicken, and does poor with rice.

 

Has anyone else's dog had a rash like this? And what did you do to get it to go away? The day the pollen goes away he clears right up! But I hate that he is so itchy during the summer time.

 

Thanks

[Sue R]

If the benedryl did the job, why did your vet decide to change treatments? It sounds like maybe it was no longer effective on the dermatitis. One of the bad things about allergies is that they can get worse over time.

 

My young dog sometimes gets the "puppy pimples" on his groin area where the skin is bare. I have a spray that the vet gave me that seems to dry up the pustules very quickly but I only use it when he has an outbreak and more than one or two bumps. They don't seem to itch or bother him at all.

 

As far as the pustules are concerned, I was also advised to keep the dog dry and, of course, the belly and between the hind legs areas can easily stay moist for a while when the dog gets wet.

 

Allergies are no fun for anyone, dog or human. Best wishes!

[DTrain]

Our oldest dog has had allergies and skin rashes and other skin problems all his life. We use benedryl every day and we also use a topical product called special formula 17900 Forte. If he has a very bad flare-up we will give him a steroid injection to attack the problem quickly but we try to avoid it. Constant use of steroids can lead to other problems. Right now along with the topical treatment we are using Vanectyl P and an anti biotic which we will stop using in a few days called Novolexin. The pattern seems to be that he will clear up completely with treatment and usually within a couple of months the problem is back again but we have gone months at times without the problem. This can be very difficult and we do not expect the problem will ever completely go away.

[mandakay]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the benadryl has not been working this summer. But it did last summer. He got his bath in emu oil shampoo and feel much better. I found some fleas on him and gave him a new flea pill called Comfortis. In 30 minutes he has several dead fleas. He is not allergic to fleas at all, but it does irritate his skin allergies. I doubt he will be itch free for more than a couple of days. Since putting him on steroids his itching has really decreased! I just hate to keep him on it in the summer.

[Sophinator]

Sophia gets the breakouts and the intense itching every summer. Well, late summer into fall. I can treat her with Benedryl topically applied. But when it gets really bad, I have to give her prednisone. About a three day treatment works. Unfortunately it also makes her drink like a fish, and what goes in must come out. I resign myself to wet carpeting for a few days. Hell, it's an old carpet and it's easier to clean it than to watch her itch incessantly. I mean, there are globs of hair all over the house that she's ripped out of herself and she's just miserable. But it's almost like once I break the itching cycle, she's OK for the rest of the season. The only other time she itched like this was when I put down new mulch last spring, so maybe it has something to do with mold spores or something.

[Rainierlass]

Roz also has what my vet has presumed to be contact allergies - most likely grass - - - I use to have her on benedryl everyday but stopped that about a yr ago - and am now feeding Wellness Core Ocean - - all fish and no grain - - she gets Omega 3 supplements and I wipe her down with a hypoallergenic baby wipe with Aloe after she has played or trained hard on grass - and she does really well - very few flareups!!!

[EmilyMiller]

OK, wwhat if the itching is all year round? I thought it was the fleas that she came with but we got rid of those months ago. She doesn't do it as much anymore, but a couple times a day she will itch above her hips really hard. And she is still doing it now that it's snowing. Would this be dry skin or allergies?

[Amelia]

Hello all, for dogs with allergies, and if you have not done so already, i would recommend checking their thyroid. All it takes is a simple blood test. Then, if the levels are low, you can give Soloxine. In the mean time you can supplement with taurine (great for their coat) and vitamin E from the health food store. also I feed all my dogs ground flax seed to increase fat in their diet without added protein. I buy flax seed in bulk at the feed store for .99/lb, grind it in my coffee grinder and sprinkle it on their dinner. Flax seed is the main ingredient in Missing Link. There is a vet here in CA named Jean Doddds who specializes in thyroid disorders in dogs. You can have your vet send the blood sample to her and she will return a report via email on thyroid levels together with recommendations. If I had a dog with allergies, that's the first thing i would do.

 

cheers all,

[Maralynn]

Roz also has what my vet has presumed to be contact allergies - most likely grass - - - I use to have her on benedryl everyday but stopped that about a yr ago - and am now feeding Wellness Core Ocean - - all fish and no grain - - she gets Omega 3 supplements and I wipe her down with a hypoallergenic baby wipe with Aloe after she has played or trained hard on grass - and she does really well - very few flareups!!!

 

Missy also has grass allergies and going grain free with fish oil has worked wonders for her as well. It been about 3 years now for her since I switched her food. She went from benedryl every day to benedryl a few times a month in the summer months.