Allergy testing for dog

14 years ago

I am very distressed over our Sheltie. He has had problems for years including rounds of prednisone, antibiotics, and yeast tablets. He has had ear infections and as a result of scratching, bacterial skin infections. I've tried changing food. With the slow economy it is hard to think about allergy testing but if something isn't done, one of us is going to go crazy. His quality of life is compromised by all the itching and panting. I wish the vet would take payments. What are your experiences about allergy testing?

Thank you,

Carla

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Comments (10)

weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
Have you tried a food with *zero grains*? Many dogs are allergic to them. I had a collie/shepherd mix with allergies. She scratched and itched just like yours, and was on steroids constantly. I switched to a raw diet and her allergies cleared up within one month. If you do not want to feed raw, definitely try a zero grain food.
carla17
Original Author
14 years ago
weed30, thank you for your response. Do you have any idea how long it would take for the new food to show any difference? I put him on kangaroo and sweet potato and seemed to make no difference. I don't think the vet told me how soon to expect results.
Did your dog pant when he had allergies?

Carla
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I hesitated a couple of days before posting this, because it's a little bit of a wet blanket (not much, though). One of my dogs had itching problems that we were first told were seasonal. They started out fairly minor but got worse and lasted for longer each year, till she was scratching all the time, all year. Nothing helped but prednisone shots, and even those didn't last long. She was miserable, and none of the vets we took her to knew what was causing it. This went on for about ten years. We finally found out about the terrible trinity of dog allergens: wheat, corn, and soy. We removed all of those from her diet, and within two months the itching stopped completely. I mention this because I used to make all sorts of treats using wheat flour (also cornmeal), which is what the standard recipes call for. If you simply tweak them and use rye flour instead of wheat, the treats will be just as good (maybe not to people, but the dogs never seem to mind!), and you won't risk creating allergic symptoms, like itching, hair loss, hot spots, dull coat, etc. Not all dogs have a bad reaction, but if yours does, it's a very easy fix.
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You can get Benedryl that is dye-free, but it is hard to find. You will be amazed at how many things have Red 40, like bar-b-que sauce, yogurt, many medicines. One brand of cake mix has it on the label for both yellow and chocolate cake. Then of course, all the red and pink things like jello, candy, some jelly, canned cherries, cherry pie filling, many toppings, ice cream, mixes with artificial berries. It's everywhere. A small percentage of people can taste red dye and it gives food a bitter taste to them. I am one of those people, so I have never been big on eating "red" things that other people think taste great. That is probably why I am not dead. I remember getting sick as a child on a desert that had red jello in it, and once ended up in the emergency room after taking a common (pink) med. In those days, I think I had to get a lot of it before I had a real problem. I always had problems after I would fly because I always took a pink motion sickness pill. I didn't know that everyone else didn't have gas, bloating, and diarrhea after flying. LOL Since I tend to get dizzy easily I had taken a lot of pink motion sickness meds before I discovered Meclizine. Also check any kind of vitamins you may take. Beware of anything red, pink or orange. I do really well most of the time, but occasionally when eating out I will get something without knowing it. If I get very much, I will have severe cramping within minutes. I practically live in the bathroom for the next two hours because my system will just try to "flush" it out. In addition, I have pains in my heart. During a very serious attack I will just be freezing and can't get warm. I sit in a hot tub of water, and keep running it hot until I finally warm up. I shake like I am having a siezure. Do you do any of these things? When it started to get so bad about 10 or 12 years ago, I thought I had some serious stomach or bowel disorder. Then I would get better and be fine for a few days, so I would think well, maybe not. If it does turn out that it is red dye, we are not alone. More and more people each year and learning that it bothers them. I am not a drinker, but I read an article about a lady being taken to the emergency after having a drink with grenadine. I hope this is not what is wrong, but at least if it is, you can control it. You will have to give up a few things, and maybe prepare more things from scratch, but you will soon learn what to avoid. Good luck. Carol
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Our Megan used to get all itchy this time of year. She would end up on corticosteroids, which made her nervous and she would pant and just not settle and relax. I hated seeing her like that. A few years ago I took her to a holistic vet. He put her on a predigested dog food and some supplements. One supplement was licorice, one was an auto-immune remedy that was actually made for people. I started her on this treatment at least a month before her seasonal allergy time. It turned out that she became sensitive to that darned dog food with the predigested proteins - just after I bought a second bag of it. She would vomit after eating it. If I remember right, we had to take her in to our own vet to get her looked at for vomiting. So OUR vet says, why not do an allergy blood test? This is the same vet who was giving her prednisone every August and September! He knew we had pet health insurance and would have done anything to help her feel better. So he ran the allergy test and it came back saying she was allergic to beets, potatoes, carrots, and wheat. The way the holistic doctor explained it to us was that if she is allergic to food, that is a year-round thing. If she is not reacting year-round, it is because her immune system was not overwhelmed and was coping with that level of irritation. When you added her seasonal inhalant allergies in August and September, she was then overwhelmed, and the result was skin irritation - which seems to be the most common way that allergies of all types are seen in dogs. So, every summer we would get very diligent about her food allergies, starting in about June. That way, by August she would not be having reactions to her food and would better handle the inhalant allergies that started then. After starting this routine, we were able to control her allergies and keep her comfortable with a Benadryl pill once or twice a day.
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Coconut oil ...hhhuuummmm, I have never heard of that. I am a firm believer in "why take a drug if a food can do the same thing". My Akita has allergies too, she used to dig blody holes in her face and chew raw patches on her tummy and under her legs. She cant tolerate steroids at all they make her crazy and anxious. I started her on my Mangosteen juice mainly for her joint pain but it seems to have really helped her allergies too (it sure helped mine). She is still itching a lot but no where near as badly. I will look into the Coconut oil and see if that helps her even more. Thanks for the tip! Lisa
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weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
Yes, she scratched and panted terribly. I don't know how long it would take to show a difference. In my case, a month after starting a raw diet.

Have you tried Wellness Core?

Here is a link that might be useful: clicky
carla17
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks so much for the link. I'm going to try something grain free and give it a longer time frame. Meanwhile, I'll check into allergy testing. This has got to stop, the dog is miserable and I am too.

Carla
roobear
14 years ago
I would look at the wellness core or Innova Evo (I think it's grainless) In any case it can take up to 2 months for a dog to fully adjust to a new food. I would also look at adding probiotics and maybe digestive enzymes to her diet to help combat allergies.
weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
Carla,
Wellness Core and other grain free foods may be available at your local PetSmart, Petco, or other pet supply stores. Don't forget about treats -- they should be grain free too. You can find those commercially or make your own pretty easily.
carla17
Original Author
14 years ago
weed, I'm familiar with Wellness. I feed the kitty Wellness
Thank you roobear
For the first time, I feel hopeful now.
I have some probiotics for people but don't know if I can give to dog. I'll ask the vet. Oh my gosh, I've been giving him his pills in bread!

Carla
weed30 St. Louis
14 years ago
I give "people" probiotics to my dogs if they have an upset stomach or loose poop. (along with unsweetened canned pumpkin.) $6.99 at the grocery store vs. $20.00 at the pet store! Same ingredients. Just adjust the dose for your dog's weight, and/or ask your vet to help with dosage.
roobear
14 years ago
I would look at canine probiotics like Misssing Link wellness blend, the vegitarian one. The reason being is it's made for dogs contains the probitoics and the fish oils which should help with skin issues as well. It can be expensive but it is good quality wich can make a difference in your supplements.

As far as digestive enzyems I would look for a brand called "prozyme", it's a canine digestive enzyme that's gotten some great reviews.

Both products along with lot's of other dog stuff can be ordered online through a great company called KVPet, or I know you can get the Missing Link at petco and either petco online or petsmart sells the Prozyme as well.

I hope your dog feels better soon, remember to ease into every new diet and suplement change slowly.

Here is a link that might be useful: KV Pet website
jules0988
14 years ago
McKenzie our Shih tzu has had terrible itchy dry , flaking, lesion covered skin for years. He has been on antibiotics, steroids and you name it for allergies. Nothing helped with the itching, licking or smell he produced as a result. I started him on N'zymes in January of this year and took him to a new vet who immediately started him on Fluconazole (yeast infection pill normally given to women with vaginal yeast infections). Within 3 weeks of starting on the Fluconazole the itching has stopped. The licking is nearly stopped. He has full hair growth where there were simply red, raw bare skin spots on his neck and under his arm pits. He smells like a normal dog and is bright , happy and more energetic than he has been in years. He is 10 years old and this condition has been going on for at least 6 years. He is a new dog. I was considering this allergy testing that was upwards of $800 and am so happy to have found this vet who knows what he is doing. He did a little skin test on the first visit and found bacteria and fungus and knew what to do for this poor dog after all of these years. He does recommend keeping him on the N'zymes for the internal systemic yeast growth. We haven't yet made the determination on how long he will stay on the Fluconazole. I will keep him on it forever if need be. It only costs me $1 a day to have a happy dog. Best of luck to you - I recommend you google N'zymes and read up on the yeast problem. Julez

Allergy testing for dog

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weed30 St. Louis

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Allergy testing for dog

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weed30 St. Louis

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