doggie alergies

[CHITCHAT]

I have a friend that has a black terrier that suffers from alergies in the late summer to early autumn. Poor doggie scratches and looses clumps of hair...she took her to the vet last year and she was diag. with alergies and was given oral meds for it along with a huge bill. Meds did help. Well algerie is back. is there anything my friend could buy or do this year? She felt very over charged and doesnt trust the vet..Poor doggie was given shots and tests that werent needed. Does anyone have a doggie with alergies and what do you do to help them?
thanks so much.

[sexxytazz]

Our vet told us it was ok to use benadryl for the pups when the allergies acted up. BUT...you need to get the correct dosage from your vet as it goes by body weight.

If the dog has already been determined to have allergies, it seems her vet could just give her a prescription and not have to redo all the tests?

[daniel green]

Chitchat--welcome to my world!

We had our Bichon on Atopica, prescribed by vet, and very expensive, and it did nothing.

We are now using--as per our vet--over the counter chlortrimeton and it has been working very well

Antihistamines can be used with relative safety in dogs. Aboutone third of owners report success with them. The major drawback, as with people, is sedation. Dr. Ackerman recommends that a minimum of three different types of antihistamines be tried before owners give up on this therapy. According to Dr. Johnson, the most common problem with this type of treatment is that owners give the drugs at doses that are too low. Check with your vet on correct dosing. Examples of antihistamines commonly used for dogs include: Tavist, Benadryl, Chlortrimeton, Atarax and Seldane.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=384925

Tavist is no longer on the market.

The problem is that by the time a dog is having hot spots or losing hair like that---he/she needs some steroids--and only a Vet can give that to the pup.

Please tell your friend to bathe that doggy right away with something like Malaseb shampoo (the best!) and to apply a leave-on conditioner like Resicort (which is a liquid cortisone which soothes those skin allergies!). Dogs with allergies have to be bathed at least once a week to keep the pollens/allergens off the skin.

Using this stuff will minimize the allergies, but, unfortunately, once they are losing hair like that or with hot spots--gotta take to vet.

Poor puppy.:sad:

[CHITCHAT]

Thank you one and all..like always this is the place to come to for quick and good answeres to our doggie questions.....:thumbsup:

[Noahs ARK]

My mom used to give her dog Benadryl, but I don't know if it was the children's or adult dosage.

Maybe your friend could call the vet and ask which dose would work best for that size dog?

[R~O~S]

Dakota takes Benadryl and this agrees with the dosage our Vet has him on:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/dogs-benadryl.htm

Dosage every 8 hours
Dogs under 30 lbs and Cats : 10 mg
Dogs 30-50 lbs: 25 mg
Dogs over 50 lbs: 50 mg


Knowing the dosage is only one piece of the puzzle. There needs to be a vet involved if your friend is going to use benadryl. The link is well worth reading.

[daniel green]

The problem with Benadryl is that it is very short-acting, so it should be given only for an acute problem. Say, your dog is stung by a bee or something.

For something chronic like allergic skin reactions, which are long-term, something like Chlortrimeton is much better.

[daniel green]

Dakota takes Benadryl and this agrees with the dosage our Vet has him on:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/dogs-benadryl.htm

snipped.

Good evening, ROS!!!!!!!!! Good to see you, as always.

Yep, those are right. Paco, my dog, gets 1/2 tablet (best to get tablets, not the liquid, and make sure it's not a capsule) of it when things are really bad, and he weighs 16 lbs.

[daniel green]

I think that the frequent baths have really helped Paco the most. A couple of summers ago he got hot spots several times. No we give him a bath at least every 5 days and this summer, knock on wood, we've only had one.

[StickyBeak]

Very interesting subject. I will have to bring this up to my vet as well.
My dogs (1) chronic ear infection, the other developed bleeding from the rectum and itchy skin. Went through all the testing and vet determined all from dog food. I was feed Royal Canin for Bulldogs, now we are on Royal canin Veterinary for sensitive skin and gastro. I have to admit it helped, but expensive. I tried mixing EVO buffalo and venison, but whoops back to the itching and ear and flatulance.
This has only occured in the summer, they are 5 yrs. old and bull dogs are prone to skin disorders, just so wierd. I am wondering if a little over the counter antihistimine may be the ticket and certainly cheaper than the vet perscriped food.
Thanks for the info. y'all.

Good luck everyone with your pups!

[daniel green]

Our little Paco had ear infections all the time as well--really goes along witht the allergies and itchy skin. Seems he had both baterial and/or yeast.

As with the skin problems, prevention has worked the best for us and after going through a zillion products, we seem to have found what works best for him.

We use http://www.amazon.com/DVM-Chlorhexiderm-Flush-4-ounce/dp/B0002XIZLQ/ref=pd_sbs_k_1 every couple days to keep his ears clean and dry.

And use Keto Ear Flush (which is creamier and soothes) after his baths.

http://www.healthypets.com/t8keto4oz.html

We have tried all the diet and water changes and mostly cook rice and chicken and veggies for our dogs--but we never saw any improvement with changes to diet.

[sofiesmom]

The problem with Benadryl is that it is very short-acting, so it should be given only for an acute problem. Say, your dog is stung by a bee or something.

For something chronic like allergic skin reactions, which are long-term, something like Chlortrimeton is much better.You're right. For Sofia's bee sting, Benadryl was great. But for Lucas' skin allergy, we used prednisone (I hated using a steroid, but he was so miserable...). We've done it twice. It works like a charm, but if it comes back, we'll ask about Chlortrimeton.

[daniel green]

Daniel, my Bichon J.R. had the same problems, and so did Litchfield that last couple of years. The malesab shampoo is the best and works. The steroids are bad news and can create more health problems, like Diabetes which is what my Litchfield got. I finally had to put him down a month ago. He was 16-1/2 years old. Bless his wonderful heart. It killed me.

You're right about the dogs needing to be bathed once a week to keep the pollens/allergens off the skin. As you know, it takes a little time to get it under control when it gets to the point of hot spots and/or losing hair, but once treatment is started and continued, they eventually get better. The Atopika didn't work for either of my dogs either.

JR was the cutest Bichon, ever!

Oh, that breaks my heart about Litchfield. I had NO idea. I'm so sorry to hear that.

Steroids have to be uses sparingly, because of Cushing's disease--just like with humans.

It does take time to get it under control, but they sure do feel better even after the first one! I cannot tell you what relief Paco has gotten from that leave-on cortisone conditioner!!!!

I have stuck with my once/month volunteering at Humane Soc giving baths and you see animals brought in such terrible conditions, it breaks your heart. All itchy, matted, full of fleas, missing hair, raw spots. It's something that makes them instantly feel better, getting a soothing bath.

[daniel green]

You're right. For Sofia's bee sting, Benadryl was great. But for Lucas' skin allergy, we used prednisone (I hated using a steroid, but he was so miserable...). We've done it twice. It works like a charm, but if it comes back, we'll ask about Chlortrimeton.

There are some very short-acting steroids a vet can inject, which are wonderful but they (and the predinisone) work like a charm. They really do look miserable.

We are using chlortrimeton from spring--first frost, then back in spring when pollen is bad. Paco is 5 and we have tried it all, and here this very inexpensive over the counter, has done the best job.

Paco was stung right on his nose by a bee when he was a baby and went totally nuts with pain. Called the vet who said to give benadryl right away.

[daniel green]

snipped

I attended the SPCA gala last week-end, The Fur Ball. It was wonderful, and I saw so many wonderful "Rescue" dogs who need a home. I may get another Bichon, or a Lhasa. We'll see.



How wonderful!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:

I am working with a wonderful Havanese rescue group, and it is amazing the puppies we are having turned in.

Cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear the sad news, Lulu. It makes me very sad.

[withay]

I think it probably is just another issue with the economy. Dogs of all types are being turned in because people cannot afford to keep them. When i was trying to find an animal rescue group to take Missy (before I decided to keep her) they were all telling me how full they were this year. :thumbdown:

[daniel green]

Thank you so much for your wonderfully kind word, my friend. You have always had one of the most giving and compassionate hearts of anyone I've ever known.

Havanese...hmmmmmmmm. I remember you have one and they're wonderful dogs too. Now, I'm going to have to do a little more research on them, and then have a tough decision to make. Anything special I should know about the Havanese?? I can't remember everything you told me before, but I think I still have a photo of your little Havanese. I'll check my computer photo archives.

I wonder why so many are being turned in?

It's the economy.

What can I say about the Havanase--they are, absolutely, the best! :biggrin:

Our little Lola is about the sweetest dog in the universe.

http://www.havaneserescue.com/

http://www.akc.org/breeds/havanese/

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn-www.dailypuppy.com/media/dogs/anonymous/schmutzy_havanese_01.jpg_w450.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailypuppy.com/dogs/schmutzy-the-havanese_2007-06-29&usg=__YvZFoiByp9TbJaxLkYJ-q_5uyOY=&h=299&w=450&sz=18&hl=en&start=8&um=1&tbnid=27JK6CDqlzQnhM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHavanese%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1% 26ie%3DUTF-8

[daniel green]

http://tinypic.com/r/fenl15/3

Lola, when we first got her.