Grass and pollen allergies

[Maralynn]

This spring Missy has been bothered by grass and pollen. It is not an all the time thing (thankfully), but it does seem to flair up if she is doing any herding work (running through taller grass) or playing ball (all those dives and skids). My vet said to give her 2 benedryl a couple times a day as needed.

 

I wondering if anyone has tips or suggestions of other things I could do that might help. I know that giving up serious ball playing and working sheep in the pasture would probably make a difference, but I kinda hate to put a big limit on the two things she really loves to do. Not to mention the fact that she would get all wound up with without her work!

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[2 Devils]

I have a dog with bad allergies.

 

There is not much you can do. If you dog still seems happy don't change a thing.

 

You can try wiping down the dog and the face to get rid of some of the pollen. Hmmm... maybe I should try that with my dog.

[Miztiki]

The only other thing you can do that I can think of is put eyedrops in her eyes if they are irritated (bloodshot). My vet says "natural tear" type eyedrops with no preservatives are best, like Refresh brand.

 

Has she been allergy tested? If so, have you considered allergy shots? The shots can sometimes help desensitize a dog to specific allergins. If she's minimally bothered by the fields then I wouldn't go through all of this and just do the Benedryl & maybe eyedrops.

[Maralynn]

Thanks for ideas - I'll do both.

 

No, she has not been allergy tested. She does not itch much unless she has been out herding or doing her serious ball playing. Right now I'm thinking that since I'm pretty sure what triggers her itchies, and the benedryl works pretty well to stop them, I don't want to get into testing and shots.