itchy dog - Page 2

Thanks all. The dog has not been tested for anything on the skin,only visual inspection. I will get a scraping. Trailrider, I'm relieved I don't have to kill a chicken everyday LOL I have not tried an elimination diet, not sure what that is or how to do it. I have tried switching to better foods. If anyone can instruct me on that I will try it.

Ok I just got back to this thread... but you got the right answer, no you don't have to kill it fresh. I will actually buy the pre-bagged chicken leg and thighs sold at the grocery for people. I do used can fish...I know I know it isn't the best but it is what is available to me right here without costing an arm and a leg. We also have sheep, and once my herd is up to where i need it for herding 30 sheep...then I will send the males to the bucher and feed that...oh and yes bones and all...watch him because he might have a hard time pooping....you need to add less bones and more meat if this happends. She is doing very good now, her hair is growing back in where she had iched it off and her coat looks very good.

Not to beat a dead horse, I know some are tired of hearing me say this, but less that 10% of allergies in dogs is food related, the other 90% it is inhalation. Rather than wasting months, years switching foods just have your atopic dogs skin tested by a veterinary allergist and desensitize it as Crazee is doing. You cannot prove a food allergy by switching commercial diets. That's a study in futility. The only way to do it is with an elimination diet that is homemade. You must know everything that goes into your dog's mouth including treats. Raw is probably the best way to do that, but you can cook for an atopic dog to prove a food allergy. You might want to buy Pitcarin's book, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats". It contains a number of good and easy to make elimination diets. One more word on this, an atopic dog with inhalation allergies is not a good breeding prospect.

Blitzen, we have lived in several parts of the country so at first I thought "no" can't be inhalation related but just as I was thinking that it dawned on me that the one common thing is cats. I wonder if he's allergic to cats. That would be weird but I'm going to see if I can get him tested for that also.

I dont know if dogs can be allergic to cats or not. I am LOL. I'll bet you find out your dog is allergic to molds as well as pollens that are native to the area in which you are living. I think there is a sort of crossover with pollen allergies - ie if a dog here in the east is allergic to pollen produced by maple trees, then he may also be allergic to pollen from other hardwoods. The first vet I took Dylan to said he can't have inhalation alleriges since they were present year round, said it had to be food. He was wrong, it was not food, it was allergens found year round in every home such as molds and dust mites. Good luck with your dog. Having been there myself, I promise you I would never again switch foods trying this, trying that. I would have the atopic dog skin tested and be done with it.

all dogs and people are allergic to something. .Vets will want to start shots etc dont do it......let the dogs immunity take over..DO test for dermadectic...simple test.....if we treated all of us for everything a allergy test showed we would all be walking medicine bottles..THe more meds u put in a dog the more harm u do . Allery shots kill the immune system...try all the holistic things first. COmmercial dog foods are not gonna help, except one or two, and one is Royal canin SHEP 24. Id try that and add liver raw, chicken, heart and fish oil . Stay on that for about a year. Dog didnt get itch over night and it wont cure over night , Give time to see some results and let us all know if u see a diffence..Had a male with just a hot spot, owner went to raw meat diet with cottage cheese and yogurt , etc and healthiest dog in town, and no more hot spots. Hes in Caddo Mills, Texas eating raw meat daily......

Blitzen: I'm glad you beat that dead horse (lol) otherwise I may have hesitated even longer taking my girl to the dermatologist for her intradermal skin test. It wasn't cheap but I would have paid anything to have her stop itching and mutilating herself with her scratching. As far as being allergic to cats - I know a dog could be allergic to cat dander. Cat dander was one of the things that was tested in the intradermal skin test. I switched foods repeatedly as well but to no avail (obviously) since I wasn't dealing with a food allergy. I was hoping it would be that simple though. I truly feel for anyone who has a dog going through this and I certainly wish gsdlvr2 the best of luck in resolving the issue. Please keep us posted.

I've been wondering how she made out. What did the tests show? My dog reacted to just about every pollen in the area plus assorted molds. About the only thing he wasn't allergic to were dust mite (thank heavens LOL) and fleas. Glad to hear you decided to have her tested.

Blitzen: She tested positive for about 17 things. When I saw her sheet and all of the yellow highlighting I said it would be easier to tell me what she was NOT allergic to at that point. Anyway, she's allergic to a couple species of trees found in our yard (one of which I wanted to have removed a few years ago so maybe now I'll do that), grasses in our yard, certain weeds and mold spores, house dust, dust mites, wool and fleas. At this point, I think I'd have rather her been allergic to cat dander since I don't have a cat than the grasses in my yard that I can't get rid of. LOL!! I'm glad I had her tested too and I would do it sooner rather than later should I ever encounter this again! At least now, I have an idea of what we're looking at. Her ithching has been reduced dramatically but I'm still guardedly optimistic. BTW - how has your dog responded after you had him tested?

He did well after almost a year. Initially I gave him an injection once a month and still used streoids at a reduced dosage. When he wasn't improving as quickly as we hoped he would, the regiment was changed to every other week and I think I gave him half of the regular dose each time. That did it and he seldom scratched after that. Sadly he had a load of other health issues and died from lymphosarcoma at only 7 1/2 years of age. During his chemo we had to discontinue his allergy shots, so I'm not sure how long they would have helped him. I understand that some dogs go on to develope more allergies and they might need to be skin testd again and the antigens reformulated. Given your girl was positive to so many things, that might not apply to her.