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New here - Question about allergies in dogs
Does anyone have a dog with enviormental allergies?
Both of my american bulldogs are losing fur, have rashes, etc. I have taken them to the vet a couple times and they keep telling me they have allergies. Then they just want to give me hundreds of dollars worth of meds that just treat the symptoms and not the actual allergies. Everytime they say that they don't usually treat allergies with daily meds, this is from two different vets.
A friend of mine told me she gives her dogs Bendryl twice a day (25mg) each, but he dogs are smaller than mine. I have tried this regimen for about 2 weeks now and am not really noticing anything changing.
Do you think I should try a third vet?
Do you give your dog benedryl? If so, what dose? How much do they weigh?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Re: New here - Question about allergies in dogs
The allergy section in the Pets FAQ is really helpful.
http://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/pet-healt/i-think-my-dog-has-allergies
We give our pup 2 pills of Zyrtec at night. He's also on a round of cyclosporine, which is an immune-suppressant.
If you're not happy with what your vet is telling you or doing for your pup, I would try a new vet. We had to switch vets because our first vet wasn't helping Oz at all with his issues last year.
Oh and we did use to give Oz Benadryl, but I've found that Zyrtec works better. I can also get the generic for super cheap from BJs.com
ETA: Oz is around 35-38 pounds.
Do you have a VCA animal hospital near you? They usually have a dermatologist on staff. Or google it and see if there is one near you.
There are definitely ways you can treat the allergies. We did de-sensitization shots for an entire year. They work better for some dogs than others.
We also treat with cyclosporine (atopica) during the really bad times. However you have to be careful with long term use as it can effect organs. We do tests twice a year to check organ functions (liver, kidney) because of all the medication my baby is on.
An antihistamine is always an option -- either over the counter (benedryl, zyrtec) or prescription (hydroxizine). How much do your dogs weigh?
Have you had a scratch test done to find out exactly what they are allergic too? It might be something you can avoid -- my dog is allergic to grass (and everything else outside) so we wipe him down with baby wipes after we come in from walks and it helps keep flare ups to a minimum.
Some dogs do better on a grain free diet even if they're not allergic to the wheat or corn.
Feel free to ask questions - page me here or on the BNOTB forum and I can answer specific questions. My French Bulldog has TERRIBLE allergies and I'm a reluctant self-taught expert about them.
-- Thoughts become things, choose the good ones! --
My pit mix has some grass allergies. We started out giving him Benadryl-first one 25 mg pill, and then 2 25mg pills/day (with our vet's guidance-Eddie weighs 35 lbs, so the 50 mg was technically over the 1 lb=1mg Benadryl guideline). Eventually, that stopped working so our vet suggested we switch to Allegra/fexofenadine. We started out with 30 mg (there are 30, 60, and 180 mg pills but she specifically wanted us to cut a 60mg pill in half b/c there are differences in how long each pill dosage is effective) and gave us the okay to bump him up to 60 mg if the 30 wasn't effective. It was at first, but eventually we did have to increase the dosage to the full 60 mg pill 1x/day and he's done well with it. We get the store brand generic, and it costs around $8 for a 12 pill box.
I know of plenty of people whose vets are more than happy to suggest daily OTC allergy meds, and have had good success with them. Some allergy meds work better for some dogs than others-I know some on Zyrtec and some on Claritin, for example. The only reason we started with Allegra is b/c our vet said its what she uses for her very allergic boxer. If your vet isn't even willing to discuss OTC allergy meds and advise you on dosage, I'd talk to another vet. Environmental allergies can be SO hard to manage without meds, but they (meds) can help your dogs be so much more comfortable.
Rudy is 106 lbs. I give him one Claritin a day. The vet said b/c of his size, I could give him one in the am, one in the pm if needed.
One does the trick, though. Doesn't make him drousy, either.
I was going to suggest the FAQs and allergy testing. The breed is really sensitive to allergies. Also, with fur loss I would not be ruling our food allergies.
Our allergic dog takes Zyrtec every day, gets wiped when he comes in from playing, is in a limited ingredient allergy diet (natural balance duck and potato), and we bathe him in free and clear shampoo no oatmeal. This is the first year we've had them under control. If they keep getting worse as he ages, which is common, we'll test him and do the shots.
Agree 100% on that. This little trick saved us!!! Wish I knew about it before we spent thousands in testings and treatments.