Grass allergys
 

Do any of your little ones have a problem this time of year with Grass and pollen allergies? Drake has been scratching and licking his paws a lot for the past 2-3 weeks. Yesterday day I noticed a lot of small bumps around his neck and shoulders and a lot of scabs (probably from scratching). After digging through the hair and getting a good look at his skin, the little bumps look flat on the surface with a little reddish color to them. I did see some that looked almost like a small blister.
The only thing that has changed is Spring!! We have a LOT of pollen covering the yard, cars, sidewalks, and shoes when you walk in the yard. My eyes have been burning and itchy and normally pollen doesn't bother me that much.

What do you guys think? Could Drake's problem be pollen allergies or something else? If so, how should I treat this? Or should I just take him to the VET?

Awwww. Poor guy. He's got to be miserable! I would go ahead and take him to the vet.

One of my mom's pups was terribly allergic to grass. This was years ago, so I'm not sure what the treatment options would be now. Misty got steroid shots, and Mom gave her children's Benadryl daily.

Mine aren't but I know some that have Yorkie's that are. Definitely get him into the vet to be tested and some benadryl will probably help him a lot.

Max is allergic to Bermuda grass. He gets a few spots on his undercarriage that turn black and scabby. We avoid Bermuda and ornamental grasses.

Lots of fertilizer and other lawn treatments being put down right now. That is another thing to be wary of.

Hope you find the solution for Drake.

Poor kiddo, sounds like allergies - I think you're right. If it's a contact allergy, then you're super lucky and can try to avoid the offending plant. However, it's more likely that it's a pollen allergy - and in that case, you cannot avoid it - even if you locked your dog inside the house at all times. Pollens *will* and do get in the house, no matter what.

Some dogs can live w/ allergies, but when they start interfering w/ quality of life and result in the kind of itching that may break skin - that's when you gotta treat it. The choices are:

1) First try an over the counter anti-histamine - you must try it for at least 10 days before judging efficacy - nice ones to try are Claritin or Zyrtec bc these are 24hr pills and are given once a day; if you want to try Benadryl, you should give it every 4-6 hours.

2) After the OTC meds, then you think about this question: Are these symptoms all year round (or most of year) or just seasonal? IF just seasonal, then you consider Temaril-P and/or steroid shots for the season. If year round or most of year, then you consider Atopica or allergy testing/shots.

One thing I'd advise right away - get your kiddo to the vet and have the vet do a skin scrape to see if he has a skin infection already (pyoderma), bc it sounds like he may. The red patches, bumps, and blistery things could be an infection and you'd want to address it ASAP.

Allergies are tough, so good luck. Here is a link about allergies too: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...tart-here.html

OH! Before I forget - go to pollen.com and sign up for daily emails for the pollen types and pollen levels in your zip code - this may also give you insight into what else he is allergic too - which will make subsequent years/seasons easier to predict and treat.

Thanks to all for your reply's and info. We got Mr. Drake checked and it was recommended to use Benadryl twice daily 1/2 T spoon for 3 days and then 1 time daily at bedtime. Bath twice weekly using Oatmeal shampoo w/ vitamin E.
We bathed him this AM and gave him his first dose of Benadryl and so for (knock on wood) no scratching!!!! He still has some spots on his neck but they don't seem to bother him. We will be watching these closely.