Unbelievable! I'm just learning now the reason why my 11 yr/old female Westie almost died in March of 08. I'm in central FL and my second Westie's been treated for allergies to just about everything (didn't need an expensive allergy test to figure that out either). The usual treatments with prednisone and sometimes antibiotics were VERY temporary. Being my 2nd Westie I already knew to go as natural as possible with food and flea treatments. But sometimes you have to use the big guns. Back in March 08 I ended up at an expensive skin specialist. She did a skin biopsy as opposed to the useless skin scrape done my most vets and found she had demodectic mange and flea excrements. So she gave her a Comfortis pill and gave me Ivermectin liquid. After 2-3 days my dog was falling off while walking and totally disoriented and clingy. I took her to emergency clinic (of course she gets sick on a weekend). Vet said stop all meds and call specialist first thing Monday morning. I don't think the specialist knew about the interaction problem then, but she put her on Interceptor for 5 months and my Westie was perfect for 2 years. I never gave her Comfortis monthly (vet don't like this). Only at first sign of scratching(always cut in 4, mixed with can food). Our heavy flea season coincide with pollen season; Oct (trees shedding) and Feb through May (pollen etc) Whenever the temperature hovers between 70F-85F day time. I also spray my yard and surroundings with the inexpensive flea/tick citrus shampoo from Hartz for $2-$3 at Walmart. Use hose attachement container, pour whole bottle of shampoo plus water and spray. Pray it doesn't rain for a few days and don't water your lawn either. Don't let your pets walk on ANY type of pesticide for 4-5 days. Also, get rid of your carpets. Best is laminate floors with disposable/washable area rugs. My Comfortis dilemma is, I've been trying to narrow down on a new situation that started to occur with my Westie. At those time of the year mentioned above she has a YEAST overgrowth flair up. Her skin gets greasy, smelly and full of brown debris and dark areas where the most greasy. I've been doing extensive research on Yeast Imbalance here http://tinyurl.com/24792su Turns out MANY dogs diagnosed with allergies have actually Yeast overgrowth and whatever treatments used to treat allergies actually PROVOQUE a yeast overgrowth which cause more scratching, biting and paw licking. What a catch 22! Main causes of all this is, a weaken immune system caused by immune system suppressants like vaccinations (I only vaccinate this dog when younger), pesticides (who can avoid them totally?) and prednisone (which the specialist said never to give her again) among other things. Did Comfortis (dose of insecticide) suppressed my Westie's immun system so much so that it triggered a yeast overgrowth AND/OR pollens and other allergies caused the flair up? In any event I ordered natural Flea Treats and may or may not give her Comfortis again unless a bad flea infestation. Also looking into this new food by Wysong Epigen; it's starch free. My conclusion on Comfortis is; every dog is different. If a dog's immun system has been compromised in anyway shape or form by other triggering agents mentioned above, proceed carefully. Ordering online is cheaper but now vets tell me "Oh well it's been a while since we haven't seen your dog and would like to do exam (take my money again) before we can allow the prescription." Also very useful to treat skin ailments; most effective for me are: 1)Bathe with Malaseb shampoo (DO leave on 10 min), rinse thorougly, then pour over dog (and leave on) a suiting solution of 2-3 tbs of baking soda diluted in a gallon of warm water. DO NOT submerge dog, the parasites will gather around the neck area. Best is a dog rinsing hose in a shower. 2) Apply ANIMAX ointment on hot spots. (best ointment out of many) cheapest at vetdepot.com 3) Add immun booster supplement to dog food. Solid Gold Seameal is good but proceed slowly with SMALLER dosage or you'll come home to a house full of diarrhea. Keeping finger crossed, for May is always the worst for fleas that I won't have to use Comfortis but since she'll be on Seameal let's hope and pray for no adverse reaction.

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.

Atopica is VERY expensive and has side effects such as vomiting and diarrhea. I have two friends with dogs on it. One discontinued it very quickly because of the side effects, the other's dog is still on it and doing fairly well. It would be the very last resort IMO. My Doberman also has atopic allergies. He was on several cycles of Temaril-P this summer and I'm trying to avoid steroids in the future. It is difficult to tell if food allergies are also involved because if you do a food trial and the dog still itches, you can't tell if it's from the food or the environmental things the dog is allergic to (which in the south can be present most of the year). My dog is raw fed and I do not feed grains. I have spent thousands at the dermatologist and the dog has been on allergy shots for over a year. This summer was very bad so I don't think the shots are working. I've looked for other solutions and many of the things my regular vet suggested have helped. I've had some success with antihistamines. Zyrtec works for my dog and I only give it when he's very itchy (about once a week right now). You can try different antihistamines to determine if one will work for your dog. Do some research on this first to determine which are safe for dogs. I am also giving him Quercetin with Bromelain. This is a flavenoid that is an antioxidant and an H1 blocker. It helps some. I've also tried to deal with environmental exposure. I have removed the carpet from half of the house and am in the process of getting rid of the rest of it. I am replacing upholstered furniture with leather as my finances permit. I use mite-proof covers on the pillows, mattress, and box spring. I run dehumidifiers to keep the house at 40% humidity. I also wash the dog's bedding at least once a week with Borax and Tide Free. And I use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. These things all help with the dust mite allergies. For the pollen allergies, I rinse the dog off with water after his walks. Once he's dry I wipe down his coat with Thayer's Witch Hazel with Aloe. This is soothing and helps keep him clean. Then I brush him and spray him with Neem spray (5 days a week) or BioGroom Mink Oil (twice a week). I shampoo him every week or two with Duoxo Calm. I've tried the hexadine and Eqyss shampoos, but they dry his skin out and he seems more itchy. Allergies are horrible to deal with. Good luck to you and I hope this is helpful info.

"The vet is still not convinced that is the only problem with Ruby " You said you have her off of corn, but check the ingredients of her food. After lots of itchy skin issues and ear infections, we had our Lab allergy tested for the outdoors and discovered she's allergic to yeast and a variety of mites. She takes medication for the mite allergies. For the yeast allergy, she just can't eat anything with yeast in it however what I discovered is that many of the kibbles have brewers yeast in them as a probiotic. You said your lab is on a corn free food, but corn free and grain free are too different things, she could have an allergy to the grains so you may want switch to an entirely grain free food. While I was doing a ton of research on dog foods, I discovered that the prescription foods from the Vet is basically the same as over the counter. They have nothing in them requiring a prescription and it's mostly just a marketing ploy. There are a lot of dogs that experience problems while eating them. One vet we saw for a gas problem prescribed Royal Canine Gastritis food and it made our dog sick and incontinent. The minute I discontinued feeding her that food, the issue stopped. After trying several brands the one she's done best on is Canidae Salmon Pure. It's grain free, yeast free, bean free, made in the USA and sourced in the USA as well. It's also had no recalls. Every dog is different so I'm not saying it's what I think you should feed your dog, but our experience with it has been great. Our lab's coat is so soft and shiny. This is a site I used often while trying to find a food that worked. Maybe it will help you as well: www.dogfoodadviser.com