My Dog has Skin Allergies

[Boz]

My dog, Bosley is having some skin allergies. He is a Shih Tzu and is 8 years old.
He's always gotten ear infections. But then when he was (I think) about 2 he developed skin allergies. They were horrible and he stunk. Since then we've been able to control his licking, itching, biting, and scratching with medications and baths. Usually they only flare up during allergy season.

Well this spring he got them again but this time his medication isn't working. We went back to the vet and he's now on a antibiotic and on the same medication. Still nothing. Usually it gets better after starting up his medication, but this time it's not.

Does anyone have any advice? We have no clue what his allergies are from. We've tried changing his food, but I'm not sure if that's really it. He does have a good food with no soy, wheat, or corn in it.

I heard Bag Balm does wonders. We did get some for him last fall but he was super hairy and once he got a hair cut and started his medication it went away so we never used it much. Do you think that it might help sooth his itchiness?

Any advice would be wonderful! :hug:

Oh and here's a picture of my baby boy! :inlove:

 

[werecatrising]

Have you talked to your vet about Atopica?

 

[naturestee]

What are you feeding him? Have you tried switching to one of the low-ingredient or allergy foods? I'm switching my cats to Natural Balance Peas & Duck due to allergies right now. California Natural is a great brand with lots low-ingredient options, especially for dogs. Both can be found at Pet Supplies Plus on 8th St., along with other good choices.

I think Myheart has been having good luck with Evo for her allergic dog. That's a no-grain food.

You can also try bathing him with oatmeal shampoos which are supposed to help soothe skin irritation.

I've never tried Bag Balm for skin allergies. Maybe I should. I'm switching food really slowly because of Lily's sensitive stomach and she's scratched a bunch of bloody spots on her ears.

 

[Brandy456]

Baby advil.
We gave it to Sparky with his puppy Acne and he *slowed down* on the scratching

 

[Boz]

I've never heard of Atopica. What is it?

He's been eating this food called Authority. But we just bought some stuff called Premium Edge, though he hasn't had it yet. It's a food for sensitive skin. I'll remember California Natural and Evo!

We actually got a medicated shampoo for him from the vet. Maybe we should try an oatmeal one too.

Authority Info:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750418

Here's the ingredients on Premium Edge.
http://www.premiumedgepetfood.com/products/dogs/dry_food/skin_and_coat_salmon_potatoes_and_vegetables_formula/

I was thinking about trying Fromm again.
http://www.frommfamily.com/

What do you think of those? We can probably return the Premium Edge if I find another food. We haven't opened it yet.

I never heard of giving a dog advil. I know my vet said using Benadryl would be okay but not advil. I'd have to ask.

Thanks all of you for your replies!

 

[Brandy456]

Ohh not Advil , Sorry I ment Asprin. Baby Asprin.

 

[okiron]

Please don't be too offended by this but..you're better off feeding him garbage than Authority. Premium Edge is better but there are better than that. Evo and California Natural are great choices. Fromm has too much carbs in it IMO though besides that it's good food. Check this site out: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com

 

[Boz]

I'll ask my vet about the Baby Asprin. Maybe that'll help relieve some of the itching.

I surely think the food is a lot better then a lot of other brands out there though.
The link didn't work but I think I've read that before.
Authority doesn't have any of that corn, wheat, or soy in it, so that's why we thought we'd try it. He's only been on it for about 4 or 5 months now. Obviously it's not helping.

I'm going to look into Evo and California Natural.

Thanks everyone!

 

[naturestee]

I'd go for minimal ingredients. That way if he does have a reaction to the food, you know it's one of those few. California Natural and Natural Balance are both good for that, as well as having options with less common ingredients that he may have never had before. Like duck or venison. That's good because he's less likely to be allergic to something he's never had.

Grain-free is another good option. There's Evo and a few other choices that are locally available. Look around in the store. There's more for dogs than cats so I don't know all the brands.

 

[werecatrising]

Atopica is a new drug for allergic dogs. We have seen excellent results with it.

 

[Brandy456]

Why not just make the dog food your self ? That is, if you have time.

 

[myheart]

naturestee wrote:

I think Myheart has been having good luck with Evo for her allergic dog. That's a no-grain food.

Naturestee is right... I switched Slobbers over to Evo and had great results. It is pricey, but if it eliminates my having to get antibiotics every few months for hotspots, then I think the cost is worth it. Evo also makes a small-bite size kibble for small dogs.

Sorry to say, it is a trial-and-error process. Naturestee is also right by saying that you need to eliminate something from the diet, or change the meat source (duck, lamb, venison, ect.) to see what is going to work. I decided to eliminate carbs from Slobber's diet because he was on Fromm's. Don't forget that the allergy could be dairy based with so many foods adding cheese oreggs to the formula.

The other thing to remember is that it could be environmental. Trees budding out, the hay you bring in for the rabbits, carpeting, laundry soap, ect. It will all be trial-and-error unless you want to spend money for an allergy test which could come back as inconclusive. If they tested for rabbits, they will test it as a meat source, not as an irritant from hair and skin cells.

You have so many different directions to try. Best to pick one, and try it for a month or two. If that doesn't work, move on to the next.

myheart

 

[Elf Mommy]

Canidae and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul are the 2 I feed Kirby. They were recommended to me on the Boxer message boards because boxers are prone to skin allergies related to food.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

How about going raw you can get it pre made nad make you rown if you do the reserch behind it first I would start with pre made then go to make your own.

Natural balence is crap in a bag along with anything sold in most vet offices. Including science diet.

I would go Parie and or instince made by the same company grain free verison.

But the best for allergys in general is raw. Phoenix get 50% kibble parie 50% raw Bravo pre made raw. The only reason I dont feed parie pre made raw is the price point is so much better with bravo

http://www.naturesvariety.com/

http://bravorawdiet.com/



Hope this helps. I have seen many dogs with allergys lesson or become nothing from switching to raw.

Note to dog food allergys anything you can buy in wal mart is crap in a bag

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Elf Mommy wrote:

Canidae and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul are the 2 I feed Kirby. They were recommended to me on the Boxer message boards because boxers are prone to skin allergies related to food.

Minda Canidae is good but about a year ago they changes there formulia. So there not nearly as good as they used to be. Hold on I will go find the link to the press release.



This is a quote from a another forum I get on that is pro raw. And very big about all natural kibble for dogs.

QUOTE from http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

Upcoming changes to Canidae formulations
Admin | June 30, 2008 3:56 pm
I wanted to give a heads up to dog owners feeding Canidae products about a few details that the makers of this product aren't telling you in their sales pitch for their changed formulas:

Under the new formulation, Canidae dry foods will no longer be gluten free, due to the addition of barley. If you know that your dog is gluten intolerant, start shopping around for a different food.

Even if your dog doesn't have problems with gluten (not all do, and many foods do contain high-gluten grains like barley), the change in formulation to include rice bran and peas may contribute to gas and digestive upset. Dogs who aren't particularly sensitive may not have any problems at all, others will get over it within a few days of transitioning, but again, for individuals with a delicate digestive system, expect that they may no longer tolerate the product.

Millet is generally well tolerated, but again, it doesn't work for every dog.

"Diversifying" ingredients may sound catchy, and Canidae certainly has made an effort to put a positive spin on it in their statement, but please remember that not all dogs do well on foods that include a wide variety of items.

Also note that "Herring Meal" will be replaced by generic "Ocean Fish Meal", meaning the company reserves the possibility to use different fish from batch to batch without having to change the ingredient list. This has not been addressed in their statement at all.

Whether these changes are indeed an improvement, as Canidae claims, is for you to decide - after observing how it affects your dog.

Canidae All Lifestages
Old Formula: http://canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html
New Formula: http://canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry2.html

Canidae Platinum

 

[Elf Mommy]

Good to know...haven't done Canidae for a few years, since Kirby loves Chicken Soup so much...now I know not to switch back. Thanks!

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Elf Mommy wrote:

Good to know...haven't done Canidae for a few years, since Kirby loves Chicken Soup so much...now I know not to switch back. Thanks!

Your welcome

 

[Boz]

I figured instead of starting a new post I'll add onto this one!

Bosley has gotten better but he's still got skin problems and once again his ears are not good. Plus, he stinks! :yuck Even a day after a bath! It's terrible!

My mom and I both are sick of going to the vet with him. He goes there, gets steroids and other meds and then a month later were starting all over again. Then on top of that we leave with a $100+ bill almost every time. Plus, I we think the steroid meds are beginning to not work (and we hate having to give them to him because they can't be good on the liver!)

He is currently on Innova.
http://www.innovapet.com/product_line.asp?id=1672

We are also adding plain yogurt to his food as we heard that helps with his skin.
We also are giving him benadryl (vet recommended it).

Anyone have any other ideas?

What about Fish Oil? I heard that's supposed to help with skin. I know on our last visit our vet said something about giving him fish oil capsules, or something of that sort.

This is under one of his arms.

He was not happy about me holding him up.

You can see he's skin is discolored and his hair is also very thin there.

 

[CKGS]

Canidae and Wellness are super dogs foods too! My GSD had bad allergies also and once switched to Wellness (Fish blend- I think) she never had a problem again(until she got fleas once).

 

[degrassi]

I'm sorry you are having such trouble with his health.

Innova is a better food but I would still suggest you find a grain free food, like Evo or Orijen. Since he is having so many allergy problems he could be allergic to any of the grains, even rice. Or things like brewers yeast.Or even some of the more common meats like chicken or beef. Look for a food that is meat and veggies only, preferably made from a less common meat like lamb, venison or fish.

Or have you tried making him home made food to test what he might be allergic to? Feed him a strict diet of lamb(most dogs are ok with lamb, instead of chicken and beef) and cooked rice. If his skin improves you will know its food related.

Most but not all allergies are food related. If you've done a food elimination diet or are already feeding a grain free food, then he might be allergic to things like pollen, grass, cleaning products etc.