ALLERGIES...grrr...so frustrating!

[my2boyz]

So, Megan is almost 5 and we have fought her symptoms for 4 years.

Runny eyes with a wet face daily and dark red tear stains.
Itchiness
licking
scratching
anal glad issues off and on
chronic ear infections

We've done food trials and she will do great on a new food...for the first bag...the second bag sets everything off once again.

We did allergy tests and she only had a low positive to a couple of things so we avoid those.

We've tried zyrtec, Claratin and benadryl...each make a small improvement but nothing that lasts very long.

We have Prednisone which I will most likely start her on again tomorrow.

We thought it was food allergies so I now homecook...they love that.

Thought it was yeast, gave her Greek yogurt, she broke out in bumps...ha, that's right...she is allergic to milk. Isn't yogurt from milk? Silly, me...my fault there.

It seems that a new food may help in one area but not help in another.

I use medicated shampoo for her now.

No fleas and no signs of fleas. Which is amazing to me because I've always heard and read that a dog with a healthy immune system won't have fleas but with her issues I find that hard to believe.

We have made improvement with the tear stains and wet face by only using distilled water for her to drink and to cook her food in so, finally, her face is dry and has stayed dry for several weeks. A small victory but a victory none the less

I have been to several vets...traditional and holistic...we've done the typical vet medicine, supplements, chiropractic, food changes, bloodwork is normal, no boosters this year just titers. I've bought books...heck, I have a whole shelf of canine nutrition and cook books, I've read YT and other sites relentlessly and (judging by my new weight) I spend way too much time online researching new information that might help her.

And, yes, that was me who posted just a few days ago about how well she was doing with the home cooked diet and the CN kangaroo...but...she has the itchies again so I took out the commercial food and we're back on strictly homecooked. Don't ask me why I changed...it was my husband's idea for convenience...it didn't work :/

Is Megan miserable? Absolutely!
Am I whining? Yes, I am!
Am I frustrated? You betch'a!
Do I feel like I'm failing her? Yes...I do.


So...now whaaat!

[my2boyz]

P.S. I also use fragrence free, dye free soaps...no chemicals on the yard, no chemicals in the house. She's scratching like crazy right now even though she had Claritin this morning. I wonder if a half pill isn't enough for her size...she is about 14 or 15 pounds right now.

[LunasMomma]

Oh I am so sorry you and Megan are dealing with this. Poor baby and poor Mom trying her best to figure it all out!

My heart goes out to you. I wish I had some wise advice to give you! Do you also use the Free/Clear laundry soaps? I wonder if the vet could give her a prescription antihistamine that would help her. So sad

[Patti]

Allergies are misery for the fur baby and the mom. The only thing that helped Cali was putting her on Atopica. It's an immune suppressor but it really controls her allergies almost 100%. I hope you can find something that works!

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by LunasMomma

Oh I am so sorry you and Megan are dealing with this. Poor baby and poor Mom trying her best to figure it all out!

My heart goes out to you. I wish I had some wise advice to give you! Do you also use the Free/Clear laundry soaps? I wonder if the vet could give her a prescription antihistamine that would help her. So sad

Yes, I do. I've been giving her Claratin for several days and it's not doing a thing.

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by Patti

Allergies are misery for the fur baby and the mom. The only thing that helped Cali was putting her on Atopica. It's an immune suppressor but it really controls her allergies almost 100%. I hope you can find something that works!

Thank you Patti. Does the Atopica start working with the first dose or does it have to build up in their system? I think I'll call the vet in the morning and see what she has to say.

The thing is, she has trouble year round so it's really frustrating...I don't know if it's food or environmental. I wish they were seasonal allergies...they might be easier to deal with.

[Little mama]

Oh the allergies.... Allie is on atopica too. I didn't see an immediate result. She was sick vomiting and diarrhea with this Med. But the vet gave me predisone. Pred with meal 2 hours later atopica for 3 days then every other day with Pred then every 3 days. I know every one is different just my experience with this. Thought we could go every 3-4 days without giving her atopica I was wrong then had go start it all over again and poor thing was sick again. Lesson learned. Been thinking about varl testing,another member here mentioned it in a post, but in the mean time atopica has really helped alot but not instantly 2 weeks maybe before I noticed hey she's not scratching anymore!!! Atopica is not cheap either, $60 a month?? Hope u can find a solution for ur baby!!

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by Little mama

Oh the allergies.... Allie is on atopica too. I didn't see an immediate result. She was sick vomiting and diarrhea with this Med. But the vet gave me predisone. Pred with meal 2 hours later atopica for 3 days then every other day with Pred then every 3 days. I know every one is different just my experience with this. Thought we could go every 3-4 days without giving her atopica I was wrong then had go start it all over again and poor thing was sick again. Lesson learned. Been thinking about varl testing,another member here mentioned it in a post, but in the mean time atopica has really helped alot but not instantly 2 weeks maybe before I noticed hey she's not scratching anymore!!! Atopica is not cheap either, $60 a month?? Hope u can find a solution for ur baby!!

Thanks for that information. I have prednisone and I think I'll start her on it tomorrow morning...either that or the Benadryl again. I home cook but I made a change to see how it would go and it didn't go well...so, she's itchy again.

I've also been talking with a lady and she recommended 2 new dog foods...Stella and Chewy's and Darwin's. I may try them and see how she does with a raw diet.

[Little mama]

Allie will be 3 in august. Oct to december 2010 is when she started itching really bad. Her whole upper lip was hairless , she has 2 little patches by her nose and her armpits. She started on natures variety raw beef or chicken. With bully sticks Feb that same year. Vet said change her to raw lamb or venison, omega 3, pro biotics, We did but never really saw a change. Constant trips back and forth, shots, meds, finally vet dermatologist , skin scrapes. He said environmental. Well u can't not let them not get in the grass, u can't stop pollen, dust... I agree very frustrating for us playing detective, but I can't imagine constantly scratching myself. Whatever it takes is what we do for these babies!!

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by Little mama

Allie will be 3 in august. Oct to december 2010 is when she started itching really bad. Her whole upper lip was hairless , she has 2 little patches by her nose and her armpits. She started on natures variety raw beef or chicken. With bully sticks Feb that same year. Vet said change her to raw lamb or venison, omega 3, pro biotics, We did but never really saw a change. Constant trips back and forth, shots, meds, finally vet dermatologist , skin scrapes. He said environmental. Well u can't not let them not get in the grass, u can't stop pollen, dust... I agree very frustrating for us playing detective, but I can't imagine constantly scratching myself. Whatever it takes is what we do for these babies!!

Yes, very frustrating! I'm beginning to think she'a allergic to air!

[Little mama]

Lol!!! U know what's really frustrating is when I ran in to her "greeder " in the store as I was shopping for benedryl, she asked how she was, I'm like well not too good. She has really bad allergies and is miserable. Her response was oh well come to think about it a pup for the litter before had allergies too.... I was like omg, why are u breeding these dogs!!! I wouldn't give Allie back for a million dollars, but if the greeder would have been doing what she's suppose to Allie wouldnt be here and on meds for the rest if her life.

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by Little mama

Lol!!! U know what's really frustrating is when I ran in to her "greeder " in the store as I was shopping for benedryl, she asked how she was, I'm like well not too good. She has really bad allergies and is miserable. Her response was oh well come to think about it a pup for the litter before had allergies too.... I was like omg, why are u breeding these dogs!!! I wouldn't give Allie back for a million dollars, but if the greeder would have been doing what she's suppose to Allie wouldnt be here and on meds for the rest if her life.

Megan is from the first litter her breeder had and the parents were fine so no one knew what the pups might inherit from the family tree. I have her sister and I had her other sister and they are both fine...just my Moo has issues. She gets some rest by napping or at night but she is miserable during the day. Claratin just doesn't seem to be working for her at all.

[Wylie's Mom]

Have you tried Atopica? Atopica can be a little miracle for many dogs. Marcel was on it for about 2 years, and it changed his life. I'm doing a trial of having him off of it right now, just to see where his system is at currently. Also, have you tried Temaril P ?

Have you seen a Vet Derm yet (it sounds like you have)?

Are you thinking the allergies are food or enviro/seasonal - or both?

I would def suggest giving fish oil. I like Ark Naturals Royal Coat, as it already has the Vit E in it as well.

[Patti]

When Cali first started the Atopica she was sick like Little mama's Allie. It took a couple of weeks to see results but what an amazing difference. Cali had all the allergy testing and all the other medicines and nothing worked until the Atopica. Cali has a mild MVP and her vet researched it and found it was safe for her liver. She has been on it at least 4 years and has yearly blood tests and her liver tests are great. I now have her on it every other day so I only pay 30.00 a mont for 15 pills. She is 5lbs so the dosing is based on weight.
I hope if you try it you get great results too.

[Ellie May]

If there is any possibility that this is partially environmental, I'd try Atopica.

I was reading a FAQ about this sort of thing on petdiets.com. Apparently some dogs need their food changed just in time so they don't react. Soubds miserable though. Also, if pup has both food and enviro allergies, one can push the other over the top and then you get symptoms.

Ellie is highly allergy and sensitive to a lot of foods. She is miserably itchy and we have tons of extreme Gi issues if she isn't on the right food for her. That food is Purina HA in our case. ahave you tried a hydrolyzed diet? CN and NB, although great for some allergy dogs, are way too complex to be considered allergy foods.