Dog Allergies

[Red Letters]

We have a light colored lab with what we assume are really bad allergies, we have experimented with every kind of diet and the raw dog food (with specific types of meat) seems to be the best for her. Some of the symptoms are to be expected I guess, she sheds YEAR ROUND, enough to bale, along with itchy scratching issues. We have to stay on top of her ears if I don’t treat them regularly they start bothering her and get full of a dirt/wax looking stuff. That is easy enough to deal with just not something I’ve ever had to do with other dogs.

The main issue is her feet, the area in between her pads turns a reddish, maroon color and she licks and chews her feet bad. You can tell it makes her miserable at times. The vet has her on Apoquel (SP?) it helps, however not good enough. It cost about $2.75 cents per day for the pills, that would be easier to justify if it cured the issue, not just made it marginally better.

I would really like to get a handle on this so would love to hear from anyone that has had to deal with this sort of thing.

 

[Dos XX]

You might look into Cytopoint shots. They are typically given once a month.

 

[dtrkyman]

Man that's rough, most dog allergies I have seen were solved with diet. Is there a test for dogs to see if they are allergic to something specific?

Maybe something you use at the house, like a cleaner or something? I have no idea just spit balling.

I have heard of soaking dogs feet in Epsom salts, doggo foot message...lol

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

My German Shorthair has really bad allergies. We did the same as you and tried different meals, but never got it under control. We had a allergies lab done on him, was about $500 I think. But we knew exactly what his triggers were. It gave us food allergies and environmental allergies. Carrots and yams are his biggest food allergies, and good luck finding a dog food without either of those in them. He is very allergic to sage brush, which sucks for a hunting dog, especially when we lived in CO, it was everywhere. Now we are in Montana and it’s not nearly as bad, more grasses than Sage. Before a hunt or hike I give him Apoquel and it helps a lot. He does so much better now that we know exactly what his allergies are. His ears used to get bad like you’re describing and we’d have to clean them and rub a steroid in there to keep inflammation down. Now he doesn’t get ear issues anymore.

Get a allergy panel done, it’s worth the money.


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[Red Letters]

My German Shorthair has really bad allergies. We did the same as you and tried different meals, but never got it under control. We had a allergies lab done on him, was about $500 I think. But we knew exactly what his triggers were. It gave us food allergies and environmental allergies. Carrots and yams are his biggest food allergies, and good luck finding a dog food without either of those in them. He is very allergic to sage brush, which sucks for a hunting dog, especially when we lived in CO, it was everywhere. Now we are in Montana and it’s not nearly as bad, more grasses than Sage. Before a hunt or hike I give him Apoquel and it helps a lot. He does so much better now that we know exactly what his allergies are. His ears used to get bad like you’re describing and we’d have to clean them and rub a steroid in there to keep inflammation down. Now he doesn’t get ear issues anymore.

Get a allergy panel done, it’s worth the money.


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Where did you get the lab work done? The cashier at the pet food store mentioned sending off some of her hair to get tested. The only thing that seems obvious at this point is we need to end around our vet if we are going figure out anything.

You might look into Cytopoint shots. They are typically given once a month.

Thanks, I’ll look into this

 

[Dos XX]

If your allergy problems lead you into looking at grain free foods, be aware of this. You can talk to your vet about supplementing taurine. You may already know this. I am mentioning it in case you don't. We learned about it while trying to solve our terrier's allergy problems.

FDA Investigates Potential Link Between Diet & Heart Disease in Dogs

Latest update on the FDA’s investigation into reports of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods.

www.fda.gov

 

[mattferg84]

We have had the same issue with our dog and seems like weve tried everything too - almost 10 years. I have had him on apoquel for a little over a year but last time we were at the vet they mentioned they are seeing lymphoma more in dogs that take apoquel. So we tried a shot a few weeks ago and I believe it was the Cytopoint that was mentioned above. Pretty pricey. It was around $200 I believe. Were hoping it lasts a month or more but well see.

Before we knew about the lymphoma deal we were gonna start having Walmart fill the apoquel order which woulda saved us a lot of money. Maybe try that if you do decide to keep them on apoquel.

Btw its been 2 weeks since the shot and it seems to be working ok. Im finally not waking up at 2am to him chewing on himself lol.

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[RSather528]

Is it a younger dog? Our red lab has allergies and even had a bad reaction to one of his first shots swelling his face up like a balloon.

An allergy test sounds like would be very beneficial. We got lucky and found ways to treat our dogs allergies between different supplements and benedryl tablets when it gets bad.

Hopefully you get some sort of relief for her and very symptoms.

 

[Goodtimekiller]

Apoquel is more effective for environmental allergies than food. Cytopoint is really just for seasonal/environmental allergies. Many dogs have both food and environmental. There are prescription hypoallergenic foods you can try, the body should not recognize the allergens. Allergy testing is good and skin tests are much better than blood tests. Most general vets do not do skin testing but should be able to do blood tests.

Allergies can be miserable, hopefully you can find something that provides some relief.


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[Rob960]

Our Lab has the same thing. She gets an Apoquel every day along with 3 Benadryl. Food wise it is chicken for her and then environmental.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Hey there, actual vet here:

The biggest thing I tell owners, is that you will never CURE allergies. The goal is to prevent severe inflammation and secondary skin infections from occurring. The best analogy I have for folks is that I'm allergic to cats. If I don't take a Zyrtec or Claritin daily, I'll be miserable. Even if I take one of those drugs, if I overload myself (rub a cat in my face), I'll still have an issue, just not as bad.

Apoquel is a great drug in that it blocks the cell signaling proteins that stimulate itch and inflammation in response to allergens. We know that with chronic, prolonged use of Apoquel, it can alter the body's natural ability to kill off abnormal cells, AKA cancer. It doesn't necessarily CAUSE cancer. I would still use in my dog if it improved the quality of life and not think twice about it.

Cytopoint is great, but has no anti-inflammatory properties to it. So if your dog is itching and has inflammation and infection from the itch, you might as well give a water injection. Won't resolve the issue. Great product for very early signs of itching, before there is inflammation. Pricey, but is extremely safe. Can give to an 8 week old puppy or an ancient dog riddled with cancer.

The biggest thing I can stress though before going down the allergy trail, make sure you're dog is on a good quality, oral flea preventative. You're pissing up a rope otherwise. That's also a regional issue too. We see fleas year round in South Carolina.

Diet: I strongly recommend Purina DRM. Prescription diet that is formulated for dogs with environmental and food allergens. I've seen some major improvement with dogs once starting. We don't really know how many dogs are effected by both food and environmental allergens. This diet bridges the gap and works very well IMO.

Allergy Testing: Skin testing is gold standard, and is done by Dermatologist. Best way to get figured out in long run. Serum/blood test is not considered worthwhile. There are whispers of DNA testing that seems promising.

 

[Marbles]

The biggest thing I can stress though before going down the allergy trail, make sure you're dog is on a good quality, oral flea preventative. You're pissing up a rope otherwise. That's also a regional issue too. We see fleas year round in South Carolina.

Why specifically oral? If fleas were well controld with something like AdvantageMulti for Dogs would you recommend changing to an oral formulation?

 

[KurtR]

My dog took a few different foods tried euk and pro plan which was ok on kinetic now and it has been the best. He had dry skin which not near a bad as your dog and i added itchy dog from zoom dog supplements that has helped alot and use k9thrive as a probiotic . It has cut shedding down a bunch and little to no itching or foot chewing

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Why specifically oral? If fleas were well controld with something like AdvantageMulti for Dogs would you recommend changing to an oral formulation?

I see lots of dogs. We're corporately owned by NVA and the largest general practice clinic they own on the East Coast. Skin issues are the most common problem we see.

I've seen numerous dogs with a freshly applied dose of some OTC topical and even the Rx Advantage Multi on the neck with a flea party going on around the tail head.

Topicals are inferior to oral products, but better than nothing. If you're in Alaska, you may have less of an issue with fleas than we do. Columbia, SC is in a swamp with lots of sand around. Fleas are pretty horrendous here.

 

[Bobbyboe]

My German Shorthair has really bad allergies. We did the same as you and tried different meals, but never got it under control. We had a allergies lab done on him, was about $500 I think. But we knew exactly what his triggers were. It gave us food allergies and environmental allergies. Carrots and yams are his biggest food allergies, and good luck finding a dog food without either of those in them. He is very allergic to sage brush, which sucks for a hunting dog, especially when we lived in CO, it was everywhere. Now we are in Montana and it’s not nearly as bad, more grasses than Sage. Before a hunt or hike I give him Apoquel and it helps a lot. He does so much better now that we know exactly what his allergies are. His ears used to get bad like you’re describing and we’d have to clean them and rub a steroid in there to keep inflammation down. Now he doesn’t get ear issues anymore.

Get a allergy panel done, it’s worth the money.


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I got a quote for my 1.5 yo Brittany. It’ll cost 1,300 for a skin panel and/or 350 for a blood test. Supposedly the blood tests aren’t as accurate. Which test did you get done for your dog?

Our dog scratches at his neck, legs and feet. He’s currently on allergy shots, which help, but not perfect.

 

[finner]

Make sure you've got a hypoallergenic dog bed. No cedar shavings or anything like that—it can really inflame some dogs.

 

[Marbles]

I see lots of dogs. We're corporately owned by NVA and the largest general practice clinic they own on the East Coast. Skin issues are the most common problem we see.

I've seen numerous dogs with a freshly applied dose of some OTC topical and even the Rx Advantage Multi on the neck with a flea party going on around the tail head.

Topicals are inferior to oral products, but better than nothing. If you're in Alaska, you may have less of an issue with fleas than we do. Columbia, SC is in a swamp with lots of sand around. Fleas are pretty horrendous here.

Yeah, not an issue in Alaska. I use to live in Arkansas. I had good luck with topicals, but only had one dog at a time and never let fleas get a foothold. I will keep that in mind and temper future recommendations for using topicals. Alway good to know what works best.

 

[CCooper]

We have only owned white dogs which seem to be synonymous with allergies. Went down the rabbit hole with the first one to find out he was allergic to corn, wheat, etc.- most dog foods contain bad grains. It was explained to me simply by a veterinary allergist , and made sense- what would your dog eat if it were in the wild? We have our current dogs on a limited ingredient diet consisting of duck and potatoes. In the evening we add a liquid form of fish oil, a few shredded carrots, and red berries of different variety. Also try to feed them a little game here and there with organs being at the top of the list. They do well the majority of the time, but usually have a small flare when I start cutting the grass heavy in the spring.

 

[nettereo16]

I have a 3YO Lab with really itchy paws. She licks and chews and I feel bad for her.

Tried Apoquel - this worked so-so.
Cytopoint injections have been very effective and worth the $. Vet said it's a possibility that the effectiveness wears off after prolonged use so we are trying to get the bottom of it.

Tried a hydrolyzed food diet with nothing else fed for months. No benefit, but this was the cheapest 1st variable. We then did the allergy panel and found out she is allergic to a ton of different things (pollens, plants, certain bugs). We are now on immunotherapy treatments to hopefully reduce this long-term.

Luckily we adopted and she was free, but damn she is an expensive dog!!

 

[adieatrick]

We are in the same boat with our 10 month old lab currently. Skin is so dry it looks like he rolled in sawdust...eyes are literally dripping and he is constantly pawing at his face. We have had the shots, changed food, and the eye drops to no avail...he is on 6-9 benadryl a day. We are thinking of taking him to a specialist to see if maybe it is something beyond a "seasonal thing".