Ojo

ErikandAfton · October 2011

I think Simon has some allergies to foods and grasses. Should I have a whole allergy panel done on him or just let them treat for broad spectrum allergies? I'm already feeding him Blue Buffalo Basics in Salmon as far as trying to ease the food allergies.

MrsOjoButtons · October 2011

Poor Simon. What are his symptoms? Rudi had such a wide array of reactions (itchy skin, swollen red ears, vomiting, diarrhea, just depending on what he'd eaten) and we did food trials but nothing made him normal. We went straight to the full panel since we couldn't make any progress and I'm so glad we did. That was the best $250ish we've ever spent on our animals. He's allergic to so muh more than anybody (including the three vet practices and one holistic lady we saw) could have guessed. Knowing his numbers all at once helped us skip straight to the foods we knew he'd stand a chance at digesting normally. Blue Buffalo uses potatoes and sweet potatoes which can present a problem in some dogs, which is unfortunate because it's the carb in most of the better dog foods.

ErikandAfton · October 2011

Thank you.

He has a rash on his chest that appears to get worst when he spends time outside in the grass. He has itchy paws if he eats poultry, and his ears tend to bother him more than too. He gets little bumps on his body when he is outside too. I'm really not sure, but I'm getting to the point that I know he needs to be treated. I'll make sure to ask the vet when I take him in soon.

ETA: And itchy skin is a big one too.

MrsOjoButtons · October 2011

Yeah, with all that stuff going on, I'd do a full panel. FWIW, it's difficult to narrow down foods unless you do food trials, where he basically eats nothing but chicken for two to four weeks, then add in one other type of food for two to four weeks, and so on. We thought Rudi had a chicken allergy, but since we weren't doing food trials and we were just experimenting with dry kibble, we didn't realize until later it was actually the eggs (in almost every kibble because they're cheap protein) were the problem. He vomited violently every time he ate anything that contained eggs. I was scrubbing carpets constantly, a minimum of five or six times a day.

Do you use air fresheners or plug-ins in your house? Those can also cause major skin and respiratory problems. Animals and kids get higher doses of that stuff because they're so much closer to the floor.

troopersmom21 · October 2011

Butting in, but you can try a people allergy medicine like Benadryl, Zyrtec, or Claritin to help with environmental allergies. Hope he feels better soon.

Oh one more thing check out this link http://healthypets.mercola.com/groups/healthypets/forum/t/100635.aspx

ErikandAfton · October 2011

troopersmom:
Butting in, but you can try a people allergy medicine like Benadryl, Zyrtec, or Claritin to help with environmental allergies. Hope he feels better soon.
Oh one more thing check out this link http://healthypets.mercola.com/groups/healthypets/forum/t/100635.aspx

Thank you but the Benadryl or other OTC allergy med makes me nervous as my dog only weights 10 pounds, so unless I can find a baby form which I don't think they make one of the children's form would still be too strong even if I reduce by half.

troopersmom21 · October 2011

My bichon is 12 lbs and he has been given the 25mg of benadryl and a regular zyrtec cut in half. They do make children in Benadryl for sure in liquid form and you could give 10mg in a dropper. You can also check with your vet about the amounts.

Dr Becker site is actually a good one to subscribe to as today her topic is "Romping outdoors also means potential exposure to toxic substances such as pesticides and herbicides as well as irritating allergens. And then your pet licks and chews these residues away... Protect your pet's health -- and yours -- with this simple 2-minute solution that's not even taught in vet school"

MrsOjoButtons · October 2011

The dog dosage is much, much higher than human dosage. Rudi was getting something like eight Benadryl but not responding, now he's on six Claritin per day. He's dwindled down to 68lbs, so even if we divide by weight, Simon wouldn't need baby dosages. I do recommend figuring out what he's allergic to first though since it seems like he's having multiple issues. I wouldn't want to mask an allergy that could be much more severe than you realize.

ErikandAfton · October 2011

MrsOjoButtons:
The dog dosage is much, much higher than human dosage. Rudi was getting something like eight Benadryl but not responding, now he's on six Claritin per day. He's dwindled down to 68lbs, so even if we divide by weight, Simon wouldn't need baby dosages. I do recommend figuring out what he's allergic to first though since it seems like he's having multiple issues. I wouldn't want to mask an allergy that could be much more severe than you realize.

Okay that's definitely what I was thinking as well. Thank you!

Ojo

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