My poor dog is scratching like crazy...anyone else with dogs with allergies?
 

This poor little dog always has one problem or another. For the last few months she has been biting at her bottom constantly. I have never seen fleas but treat her routinely with Frontline every 2 months anyways. She has had 3 outbreaks or rashes which I cant seem to associate with any one thing. I do suspect that twice the rash followed the use of the Frontline, but not right afterwards. I have taken her to the vet who gave her a combiantion antihistamine and steroid which seemed to help the acute outbreak but the scratching always returns. Usually it is just her tail and bottom, but tonight she is miserable and scrathing herself, rubbing on the floor, and jsut seems miserable. She has a few little red spots on her chest and belly but otherwise I dont see anything on her skin. I feel so bad for her. I will call the vet in the am, but I dont have much hope. I feel like he doesnt really listen to me and just throws medicine at me. I want to find out what is wrong with her so that we can actually help her for the long term. Ive been reading on line and it seems most likely to be allergies. I sure hope it isnt scabies (mange) or some of the other awful things I read about. Any suggestions for what could give her relief till I see the vet would be appreciated. I gave her a bath in oatmeal shampoo yesterday but if anything it seems worse now. Please share your experiences.
Laura

Awww.. bumping you up so you can get a good answer!

bump bump bump

Oh I know how frustrating a dog with allergies has it. Our Harley had allergies as a puppy but thank God out grew them. I used to give Harley Benadril (sp) that I bought right over the counter for babies. Look at the weigh recommened and adjust the amount. I was told to do this by my vet. Maybe find a vet that specializes in dog allergies or skin disorders. We bathed him with oatmeal shampoo also. Good luck

Awww, allergies are really difficult to deal with. I give Ginger Benedryl too. Search Bendryl on this site, there is a good thread that gives dosages for dogs. Ginger is a big girl and gets 1/2 an adult benedryl two times a day. Smaller yorkies need smaller amounts.

She also gets oatmeal baths (Aveeno Collodial Oatmeal Bath) This is not a shampoo, it's for soaking. I fill up the sink, mix a packet in, stand her in it and just keep pouring it over her body. Usually that slows the itching for a day or two.

Also, instead of fighting with matted hair (from chewing) I've given in and keep her hair really short. It makes it easier to monitor the state of her skin as well.

Do you know what your little one is allergic to?

itching
 

I have a Bichon, Cosmo, who used to get itchies and hot spots something terrible. I spent a lot of time at the vet's office with him. I use Gold Bond Medicated Powder to ease the itching and put clear aloe gel on raw places. I also give him children's chewable Benadryl. You would need to check on how much to give a Yorkie according to its weight. I beat the itchies and hot spots by changing Cosmo's food to something with no wheat or corn and only natural ingredients. I feed him Wysong Synorgon kibbles. Innova is OK also. I also used onesies to keep him from licking and scratching. You certainly have all my sympathy when fighting itchies. I have held my little Cosmo and rocked him and walked the floor with him to keep him from scratching/biting himself. I have shed tears when putting medication on hot spots because it hurt and he would look at me for help. I hope you find something that works! (I also use shampoo called Bichon Bubbles made with 22 oz of Ivory liquid dish detergent, 2 oz of glycerine, 2 cups of plain white vinegar, all mixed with a gallon of water. This shampoo is very gentle and doesn't irritate sensitive doggie skin. My son uses it to bathe my granddaughter's Yorkie, too.)

I hate to "push" this nutritionist I'm using, but she apparently does work wonders w/ allergy dogs (and cats). She worked miracles w/ my Marcel's ibd/ibs, that is for sure. I'll link you to the "illnesses page" and you can click from there. I highly recommend her, BEST money I ever spent on Marcel...after hundreds at the vet, argh! http://www.askariel.com/pages.asp?pi...ific_illnesses

if i had a dog with severe allergies the first thing i would look at if the source cannot be determined it food. What kind of food are you feeding your yorkie? If it has corn or wheat in it, i'd definitely switch it to a product that has neither. Those two ingredients are HUGE causers of allergies in dogs. I'd also had omega fatty acid supplements to the food like Salmon oil or Cod oil. Next, I'd bathe in a gentle shampoo with oatmeal to ease the itchies for a while and give benedryl or another antihistamine. If your dog does have a food allergy it may take weeks or months to see a great improvement but it is worth it.

Layla suffers horribly from seasonal allergies. CAn you rule out the food that you feed... is it kibble?? does it have corn or wheat in it?? those are two usual suspects. I home cook for Layla so i know it is not her food as she is on a grain free diet.if you can rule out food then chances are it is seasonal. and you will find it will come and go.. Layla just got over a HUGE bout of it... watery eyes, red eyes, chewing on her paws... she was misserable. i used to give her benedryl but since she needs it SO frequently i've started looking for a natural way to help her because i wont' bring her to the vet as our vet will immediately put her on steriods which id on't wnat (yes.. we are changing vets...) do you have any small, locally owned pet stores that specialize in quality food? look around i'm sure there is something and see what they have. Layla has pills that i will give her once a day for 15 days (the next time she has an outbreak) since i haven't used them yet, i can't tell you how they work but i've heard nothing but good thigns about them. Good luck! this can be a tough one!

Hi Marci - have I showed you this "ProAller" yet? It is natural - I don't know if it might be something helpful for Layla or not....? :)

My Cali scratches so bad, she has ruined her coat and is miserable. She keeps me up at night scratching. I have had the allergy testing done and it showed up with no allergies that they tested for, meds don't seem to help. I have changed her food, nothing has helped. I am going to be starting her on some enzymes and other supplements someone on here has used and see if that helps. If I find something I will definatley post it on here.

Hi Ann, no you haven't shown that to me! we'd love to have something else to try. At the risk of jinxing myself i think her allergies are over now that the cool weather is here but i'm sure there is one more bout left before the snow falls, but whatever PrAller is we would love to have it on hand for next spring! boy do we hate the summer.... alleriges... and too warm for a walk!

Correct me if I am wrong please, but I thought frontline was very bad for dogs? Especially our little ones?

Frontline Plus is a medication that protects against fleas and ticks. Its is in no way bad for any dog. Sure you will hear the occasion story about a pet having a reaction to it but pets and people can have reactions to anything.

Why don't you try another vet for a second opinion.