allergies

[naperdog]

Does anyone have any experiance with allergies? Off and on for a couple of months our dog has been has been scratching and loosing hair in certain patches. From time to time he will also break out with a few sores that scab and heal in a couple of days.

When it first happened I suspcted he got some kind of infection from the dog park. We brought him to the vet and she gave him an antibiotic and i stopped taking him to the dog park. After a month his ithiness went away and he seemed to be slowly getting his hair back. All of a sudden he has become all ithcy again and is losing hair in the same spots. With the cooler weather I have been taking him to a non-dog park lately and he has been in the prairie grass/weeds quite a bit. The same prairie grasses and weeds are at the dog park we were frequenting when this all started.

We are still working this through the vet, but just wondering if anyone here has any insight? I am really hoping with the cold weather and frost that should be coming through soon this will all go away, but again, just wanted to get some opinions. Thanks!

[ezzy333]

You probably found the culprit and if it is the weeds then it should get better with a good frost which will be soon. Its been found that 99% of the allergies that used to be blamed on the feed are really environmental and resperatory(sp).

Ezzy

[mcbosco]

stick up a picture of area

[naperdog]

Here are a couple of pictures of the worst spot. He has a couple smaller spots similar to this

[mcbosco]

its that big area even where the hair is still there but a little thin? the skin under his tail looks red too...any chance its flea dermatitis? any flea dirt on his skin?

[naperdog]

i haven't noticed anything on his skin, would flea dirt be immediatly noticable? Weird about the redness of his tail, the camera must have exposed something, i am looking at him now and don't see that at all!

ANd yes there is a big patch of missing hair and the surronding area it thin

[ezzy333]

It just looks like a hotspot and they do showup from an allergy many times. The dog gets itchy and it rubs and licks the hair off of the itchy spots. Fleas normally won't cause spots like that and if they got bad enough to actually do that you surely would have noticed them. I would bet they will disappear as the weather cools. Till then try to keep them soften with something like Bag Balm or get a medicated salve to use on them.

Ezzy

[mcbosco]

flea dirt looks like little brown/red grains, its really hard to say with skin but it just looked like flea dermatitis to me, first thing i thought of...perhaps a yeast or some fungal infection

his ears are clean? any hair loss around the eyes, lips or feet?

i am not in the environmental or plant allergy on this one, too localized

try an anti-fungal product and see how it responds, or even supermarket Sulfodene.

fish oil is really good for the skin that might help as well

[naperdog]

Thanks for the input ezzy and mcbosco. The vet did give me some fish oil pills for him, actually stole $17 from me is the more accurate term. Would regular human fish oil work the same?

THere are actully 2 or 3 other spots on him that look like this one, just not has big. I am really looking forward to the cold snap coming through since that will either confirm or rule out weed allergies.

The hair around his mouth and feet does look normal. Ears are also clean.

[mcbosco]

any fish oil is good but the stuff for dogs tends to be cheaper and they like it better cause it smells like fish

[TEX-X]

also you could try bathing the pup in an oatmeal based shampoo when he starts to itch...

[ESetterLove]

I have a dog that is allergic to grass. It looks nothing like this...
That looks more like mange to me.

[mcbosco]

skin ailments are a puzzle thats for sure..mange..hmmm..

[ezzy333]

I have a dog that is allergic to grass. It looks nothing like this...
That looks more like mange to me.

I don't think so. Those look like hotspots that I have seen. Keep us posted.

Ezzy

[big steve46]

Splash some straight peroxide on it a couple of times a day for a couple of days to see if it will help. I know it will work for hotspots.

[natetnc]

my female has allergies to something about this time of year, it generally last for about 3-6 weeks, but i am sure the amount of time would change with the cycle of whatever is causing it. i first notice the allergic reaction in her eyes and in her ears, the inside of her ears will turn red and around her eyes will do the same. at that time i start giving max doses of benedryl decreasing if i see results. once it gets worse her whole body will become inflamed, looks almost like she has a mild sunburn all over. once it nears that stage the vet gives me a prescription of temeril-p which takes care of it until whatever stops blooming (i have had to do this the past 2yrs). the key is to recognize it before they scratch to infection.

imo the localization of spots on your dog leads me to believe it is something other than allergies, unless the allergic reactions are opening the door for other underlying skin conditions to show as mentioned above.

hope it helps

[naperdog]

Thanks everyone! We have a phone call into the vet so we can reveiw all the new problems, from the sounds of it there have been alot of allergy problems in the area. I'll keep you all posted.

[Chaingang]

I unfortunately have a dog that suffer from seasonal allergies. However he is fine in spring and summer and is usually only affected fall thru Winter. Coincidently that coincides with the home heating season. I had him tested and nothing came back conclusive as to what he may be allergic to. So.... I have had to deal with the bouts of itching and inflamed skin which many times are accompanied by secondary skin infections.

If you can find out what it is he is allergic to (which can be difficult) you then you can take steps find long term relief. However, if you can't, it's a much more frustrating ordeal and all you can do is try and treat the symptoms.

Some questions that I would have are:

1. Does this only happen during certain times of the year?
2. anything change in his living conditions? (bedding, food etc..)
3. I agree it looks like a hot spot. What did your vet initially tell you?

If in fact you know you are dealing with an allergy and not a hot spot make sure you discuss with your vet about your options. There are several good treatment plans you can take for these allergy dogs, unfortunately some of them can be rather expensive, but they work for most dogs.

Good luck, been there done that.

[naperdog]

I talked to the vet last night and she is pretty certain that he is suffering from some kind of late summer/fall allergy. This is most likely coming from his contact with the fields i have had him running through. She gave me some prednisone to try and get him back to normal. Hopefully by then we will have had a couple of good frosts and i won't have to worry about it again until next year!

Chaingang, to answer your questions, he is only 1.5 old and this is his first real fall with me and heavily exposed to the fields he has been in.

nothing has changed at home.

On our first trip to the vet she didn't really have a clue. She wasn't sure he just got an infection, or if he had some kind of allergy leading to an infection. Unfortunatly this seems to be a trial and error process.

[Chaingang]

1-2 years old is very common for dogs to start having issues with allergies, if their going to at all. Unfortunately no cures, only treatment plans.

Unfortunatly this seems to be a trial and error process.

Ooooh...... you don't know the half of it

I'd be very interested to hear if this continues past the first few hard frosts and into late fall early winter. I too thought mine was related to field exposure, but when it continued into winter and with no field exposure, that went out the window.

Keep us posted.

[mcbosco]

treating this conditions with steroids has to be avoided at all costs, jmo

[SubMariner]

Zio's seasonal allergies respond well to benadryl: 25 mg 2x day (he's about 60lbs now).

Without the antihistamines he is snuffling/snorting/sneezing constantly & his eyes are red & runny. We expect to be able to take him off the meds next month when the weather is cooler.

FWIW,

[naperdog]

Wow those steroids really helped very quickly. I wish those were a permanant fix and not just treating symptoms, but he has completly stopped scratching himself.

Our vet was very hesitant to prescribe them, but givin how bad his hair loss and scrachting had gotten, she really wanted to get that under control. What kind of problems are there with the steroids? Little puppy roid rage?

[gsp-fan]

We found out my dog was highly allergic to steroids and it almost killed her
That is why we looked for other alternatives and I mentioned the local honey idea

[natetnc]

short term uses don't really pose any negative effects but long term use is known to suppress the immune system. i have given my dog a cycle of temaril-p each year and have no problem doing so, it is vet recommended and eliminates the problem and all possible problems stemming from it.

keep a record of when you first noticed it, general weather conditions around that time, and the different areas you think may have increased the allergy. those records may help in the future. if the symptoms go away and you narrow it down to a late summer or fall time allergy then keep an eye out for it next year near the same time. at the first sign start giving benedryl (just the regular stuff - NO DECONGESTANT or any of that stuff) at 1mg per pound. if the allergy kicks in too strong to control with benedryl then go to the vet and get the roids.

you may want to ask about temaril-p next time you visit the vet. not sure if they gave you prednisone because of the condition of your dog but temaril-p is much easier on the dog (liver) and also has an antihistamine in it.

[Chaingang]

Wow those steroids really helped very quickly. I wish those were a permanant fix and not just treating symptoms, but he has completly stopped scratching himself.

Our vet was very hesitant to prescribe them, but givin how bad his hair loss and scrachting had gotten, she really wanted to get that under control. What kind of problems are there with the steroids? Little puppy roid rage?

Wrong kind of steroids for roid rage.... . Not sure which corticosteroid your vet prescribed, I was given "Methylprednisolone" in a low dose tablet. Vet said that low dosing of these long acting steroids for a couple months until the allergy season is over should not present any long term side affects. They sure do the job and combined with antibiotics to clear up any secondary infection, give good relief in most dogs. If your not too keen on steroid usage here is another one for ya next time you talk to your vet. Ask him/her about "Atopica". http://www.us.atopica.com/indexConsumer.shtml

I have used this for a couple months at a time and it works fabulously. It is fairly expensive, but dosages can usually be tapered off once the dog is showing signs of relief. Nice thing about Atopica is very few if any side affects.

[SamnTuck]

My two and a half year old Lab has been getting really bad red spots/sores on his underside, mainly in the groin area for the past year or so. I've taken him to the vet to address the problem a few times when it has gotten especially bad--I've given a round of antibiotics and steroids both times with positive results. I really cannot afford a full-blown allergy panel, but the vet said that grass allergies usually show up as sores on the dogs undersides. I too am hoping that the cold and snow will provide him with a little relief for a few months.

[big steve46]

Google up ' Clinical Ecology." What applies to humans can apply to animals. We can have " sensitivities " to many things that affect our nervous system, but does not show up with allergy tests. The most common " allergen " in the home is a gas stove or furnace for example.

[birdhunt]

I used to have itching, loosing hair problems with my Boykin, once I switched to a salmon based food the problem went away...........I am now feeding her the 'Beneful" salmon based food and it works for her...............

[Sharon]

Does anyone have any experiance with allergies? Off and on for a couple of months our dog has been has been scratching and loosing hair in certain patches. From time to time he will also break out with a few sores that scab and heal in a couple of days.

When it first happened I suspcted he got some kind of infection from the dog park. We brought him to the vet and she gave him an antibiotic and i stopped taking him to the dog park. After a month his ithiness went away and he seemed to be slowly getting his hair back. All of a sudden he has become all ithcy again and is losing hair in the same spots. With the cooler weather I have been taking him to a non-dog park lately and he has been in the prairie grass/weeds quite a bit. The same prairie grasses and weeds are at the dog park we were frequenting when this all started.

We are still working this through the vet, but just wondering if anyone here has any insight? I am really hoping with the cold weather and frost that should be coming through soon this will all go away, but again, just wanted to get some opinions. Thanks!

Just saw my vet about that very subject as one of my dogs has a red rash from front of the belly to the private area. She said it is an allergy, probably to something in the fields/woods. She said this is VERY common in the fall. Suggested Benalyn ( correct dose) if scratching becomes excessive. Nothing much else needs to be done unless scratching leads to open sores at which time Prednisone would be prescribed.

( No I don't go to the vet for every little thing. )