Allergies?
 

I think Magnus has allergies. He's been scratching/rubbing his muzzle a lot more than usual. Seems to be worse after he's been outside. Sometimes to a point where he would whine while he's scratching.

Searching through bunch of forums/posts, I decided to give him children's benadryl twice a day. I've tried two different brands and neither seem to work. (Tried childrend's claritin and Target's brand which the pharmacist told me is equivalent to Benadryl's formula.) Thought maybe it was the food as I've changed it to Fromm so went back to Wellness but that didn't seem to help either.

I just came back from the vet. She examined him and saw nothing visible like rashes or bite marks, etc.. Gave me few options and I ended up coming back with "Hydroxyzine". She said lets try this for a week and see how he does. If it doesn't work, she'll prescribe something else and I think that had steroids? (She thought maybe we should try that since neither the claritin nor benadryl worked. I said no as I didn't want to give him anything stronger than necessary.)

Now.. I'm wondering if I should try giving him children's allegra first. Knowing this stuff is new on the shelf (as it was available by prescription only), I was wondering if anyone tried it on their furbabies? Should I not bother with it and just go with the Hydroxyzine? I'd appreciate any suggestions/advice. It's so sad watching him scratch so much...

Antihistamines need to be given consistently for at least 10 days to evaluate their affect. I'd give the hydroxyzine as the vet prescribed and see what you get. It is indicated for environmental allergies and not so much food allergies. However, antihistamines don't always work well for dog allergies.

When trying to figure out if it's a food causing the problem, and elimination diet needs to be done with a novel protein and carb source. This is with no treats or chews and for "at least" 60 days but preferably 12 weeks.

If it happens when outside, then environmental allergies may be the culprit. If antihistamines don't work, steroids could be tried. Atopica is also something that should work. While it's an immunosuppressant, it's somewhat safer than steroids if you are going to use it for years. Ultimately, if environmental alleriges are suspected, skin allergy testing and allergy shots are almost always the way to go (unless it's just at a very specific time of year and for a short period, then one of the above drugs may be a good option). There is an allergy thread in the YT Library with some good info.

If there is whining involved with the scratching and this happens constantly, then it is a quality of life issue, and if needed, steroids should be used.

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What she said. Here is the Library thread for allergies: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...tart-here.html

Gosh, sooooo many kiddos suffering from allergies. From our Vet Derm - they tell us yorkies is one of the most commonly seen breed.