# Allergies



## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Looks like Maddie does have a allergy. I was told to stop her pill called Hydroxzine. And we had treated her for mites. 
I stopped the pill on Saturday and by sunday she was itching even worse than before. Now more by her head and all over. So I started her back on the pill. And am going to call the vet today. 
How hard is it to find out what they are allergic to? I think scene she has itched scene we go her that food might be the problem .We bought some fish oil at a farm store it is called Lipiderm My vet had said to use capcels and brake it and only give her half the oil once a day. I thought this stuff would be easier to measure and put on food. 
Some of you put yogurt on your dogs food what does that do and what kind do you buy?
I need to go back to my other post because some of you said your Havies have some allergies. Although some were seasonal and some were food. 
Let me know if you have figured out how to tell if it is food or seasonal.:ear:


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Maddie is young so it may not be an allergy. Mites cause extreme itching. Did the vet give you a shampoo for the mites? My Lhasa has extreme allergys and has disc problems so we try to limit the drugs. I put a shirt on him so he can not itch and run a humitfier at night just for him. Sometimes this works, it always comes back...but later.


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

What food is she on?
Are you giving her any treats/chewies/bones?
What shampoo/conditioner do you use?
I know my Havs get SUPER itchy if they have anything with Chicken and or Wheat-
So they are on whitefish and sweet potatoe food and get NO treats w/chicken-


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

No the vet did not give shampoo for mites she put something on her skin . I agree about limiting the drugs. How hard was it to figure out what was causing your dogs itch?

Maddie eats a chicken and oatmeal Blue Buffallo small bite puppy food. I just read the bag and it does not have wheat . I think I will look in to a fish based food. or what about lamb? 
The doctor gave us a special shampoo for her it is called Epi Smooth. You leave it on for ten minutes she said once a week. I bought some spray for her mats She hates it I don't know if it stings her or it is just cold 
Yes her treats are a chicken liver treat freezed dried with pees and carrots
I also make her chicken soup no salt and freeze in ice cub trays so it is very little chicken. She loves it. 
what is the name brand of the white fish and potato?


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

I had put my itchy guy on California Natural dry food. They had a herring&sweet potato variety which seemed to help and gave him totally disgusting fish breath.

It was recommended to me by the woman at the pet food store. If you look it up on dogfoodanalysis.com, they recommended it for dogs with allergies or sensitive tummies.

I have Jack on Orijen Puppy - he likes it. It is a grain-free food. What was nice was that the store sold the sample sizes of it.


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## Ninja (Nov 1, 2010)

How old is Maddie? When Ninja was younger, around 3 months he was itching a lot!! I mean A LOT. Turned out that he had ear mites and we got him treated for it right away. After the ear mites were gone he was still itching. I kept going to the vets and they told me it might be allergies but did not give me any advice and simply said not to worry  Anywho long story short I noticed one day the itching just stopped. Just like that! It was when he turned around 6 months. Now I'm noticing he's itching again around his face. I told the vet but he said it's cuz he's still young and they eventually stop as they get older :suspicious: but I think it might be seasonal.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Maddie was born July 6th I just found a calender and if I counted right she is 4.75 mo old  She is growing up too fast 
I didn't call the vet today because right when I was going to give her her itchie pill I realized she had not been itching. She has only had two meals with the fish oil and one with yogurt (she did not care for yogurt)
I spent some time looking for a puppy food that was fish braced. I came home with so many samples fish, lamb about 7 kinds.
She has gone most of the day without itching! I think the fish oil worked!eace: or the yogurt she hates. 
My friend suggested adding something to it that she might like 
I just got threw reading how us new moms worrie to much .
If just adding the oil and or yogurt works I say thank you all for your suggestions.
I thank you anyway it is so nice of everyone to help when us new moms get worried. 
Big licks from maddie


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

It doesn't sound like a food allergy. If it was, she wouldn't have stopped itching this quickly. It takes about 6 weeks for all of the allergens to get out of their system. If the fish oil seems to be working she may just have dry skin - 'tis the season.


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## gsweenie (Oct 17, 2009)

We too feel like we have tried it all but am looking for any help / suggestions. This started in March 2010.
Button & Bentley (2yrs) itch, bite and (Button) chew himself til they he is physically sick? The Dr says blood works shows its allergies but I can find no relief except shots. Nothing else is working, they have no fleas. They too are on Hydroxyzine 25mg 2x per day. I also give Benadryl at night but the relief doesn't last long (1-2 hrs). They are bathed in non itch shampoo, topical spray & ointment on worst spots. Changed all foods and there is no wheat but it was no help. They eat Nurto Natural Choice (Lamb Meal & Rice) also home cooked chicken/rice/peas & carrots. We have tried fish oil and herbs - didn't work. Shots work but is not good for their health & dr doesn't want to give but 1x mo. Its been 10 days and the itching is as bad as it was before. 
Suggestions?


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I feel so bad for Button and Bently. I would be frustrated. My vet said this has been a bad year for allergies she has seen alot more dogs itching. I had another post that was how much is to much iching you might read threw it .
The mite medication was the first step we took even thow my vet could not see any under her scope. Maddie has started iching a bit more this past week but not like she was. I did give her some cheese and my HD got mad at me
How much fish oil do you give? I stuck with the same diet so I know her itching is not a food allergie. I read so much about differant disorders it put alot of bad thoughts in my head. 
I can't remember who but we have A Havenese friend on the forum whos dog has seasonal allergies 
Do you like your vet? From what you wrote I would be frustrated that he or she did not give any help to what they are allergic too. Maybe their are vets that specialise in allergies. Keep me posted


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## DaisyMazy (Dec 18, 2009)

I just took my Daisy to the doctor. He suggested that I use Minksheen 4 in 1 pet shampoo. Amazon sells it. 

This is what it says:MinkSheen Pet Shampoo's (by Touch of Mink) rich lather will gently clean your pet without leaving it's skin dry or irritated. Mink Oil leaves a soft, shiny, "show" quality coat, while Vitamin E soothes and prevents "hot spots". The Cedar and Citronella oils will naturally repel fleas and ticks while leaving your pet smelling great for days!

The added benefit of an anti-bacterial will protect both you and your pet from the spread of harmful germs and bacteria. Used nation-wide by professional groomers that want a safe, gentle, natural shampoo.

Size: 16 oz.

I bought it from the vet (too expensive!) and used it on her this weekend. Her itching has decreased considerably. It may be worth a try.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm glad I've never had to deal with allergies. All that I know is that it is futile sometimes trying to guess what the cause is. It's definitely something for a vet or a nutrtionist (if food) to deal with. Here is a good article http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/canine-allergies.html


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Suzi, I agree with Jill that nothing you would have done would have stopped the itching that quickly. if the itchy pill is for mites and she doesn't have mites I would stop giving it to her. 

You can make yourself crazy trying to figure things out and do too many things at once and then you'll never know what worked. The crazy thing about allergies is that sometimes eating the allergic substance will actually make you feel better for a while because it causes an immune response to fight it off. That is why you need to try one thing for a while like jill says and see if she really improves. 

That being said I don't think it would be a bad thing to try a limited ingredient kibble with a different protein than is in your current kibble. or the same protein but grain free. the usual suspects are a specific protein and/or grain. and stop the treats and just use the same kibble as treats or if you need special treats for training get a pure protein treat that is the same protein as the kibble you are feeding. so if your kibble is a lamb kibble, get a frieze dried all lamb treat. 

yogurt will not do a thing for allergies. people add it for tummy and loose poop issues. I would not bother with yogurt until you figure the rest out. 

good luck.


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

Tucker is on Hydroxyzine for allergies also. In July we switched him to California Naturals Lamb, grain free kibble. I can't say we've noticed a difference. We and the vet are fairly certain that his allergies are environmental. The Hydroxyzine works well for Tucker. He doesn't scratch much at all. We noticed he would scratch more for a day or two after DH mowed the yard this summer. It helped if we washed his feet good and used a damp rag over his hair after being outside.


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## gsweenie (Oct 17, 2009)

I took Button back to the Vet (I do like him but I love Button more ~ change can be good) because he wouldn't eat yesterday after he had such a rough night I asked them to give him another _ventalog _shot and they also gave him one for nausea - (didn't work) he was sick before we got homeuke: . He also suggested Avenno shampoo and I purchased some of that and gave it a try. They are still on Hydroxyzine for allergies 2x per day.
They were better last night but should have been with the shot. 
We are purchasing a humidifier to add moister back to the house - I guess it can't hurt. 
I guess we can try to go back through all the food again but I just don't think it will do any good but who knows. :frusty:
*Any suggestions on food allergies tries??* - currently they eat chicken/brown rice & Nurto's Lamb / rice. I tried removing chicken for a month as well as all wheat. They were on Nutro bland food (that was fun ) still no change, so I added back their favorite - Chicken / rice. They had it bad enough without not getting some of their fav food.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

davetgabby said:


> I'm glad I've never had to deal with allergies. All that I know is that it is futile sometimes trying to guess what the cause is. It's definitely something for a vet or a nutrtionist (if food) to deal with. Here is a good article http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/canine-allergies.html


 Maddie has started itching again this was a old post and she was itch free for about a month. I took her to a dog park over the weekend and it started after that. I read the web page that Dave gave us about allergies and am thinking it is something at the dog park. A dog can be allergic to one flee bite.
We gave her some Frotline Plus when she came home itching. It had been over a month from the last dose.( The doctor had given us something stronger at the vets office in October it was a treatment for mites.)
Is Frontline bad for dogs?


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

gsweenie said:


> I took Button back to the Vet (I do like him but I love Button more ~ change can be good) because he wouldn't eat yesterday after he had such a rough night I asked them to give him another _ventalog _shot and they also gave him one for nausea - (didn't work) he was sick before we got homeuke: . He also suggested Avenno shampoo and I purchased some of that and gave it a try. They are still on Hydroxyzine for allergies 2x per day.
> They were better last night but should have been with the shot.
> We are purchasing a humidifier to add moister back to the house - I guess it can't hurt.
> I guess we can try to go back through all the food again but I just don't think it will do any good but who knows. :frusty:
> *Any suggestions on food allergies tries??* - currently they eat chicken/brown rice & Nurto's Lamb / rice. I tried removing chicken for a month as well as all wheat. They were on Nutro bland food (that was fun ) still no change, so I added back their favorite - Chicken / rice. They had it bad enough without not getting some of their fav food.


 Did your vet ever treat for mites? It seems strange that both of your dogs are suffering. Are they siblings? My vet treated for the mites even though it did not show up under the scope. 
I really feel bad that Button is so miserable. I think a new vet who specializes in skin disorders.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

gsweenie said:


> I took Button back to the Vet (I do like him but I love Button more ~ change can be good) because he wouldn't eat yesterday after he had such a rough night I asked them to give him another _ventalog _shot and they also gave him one for nausea - (didn't work) he was sick before we got homeuke: . He also suggested Avenno shampoo and I purchased some of that and gave it a try. They are still on Hydroxyzine for allergies 2x per day.
> They were better last night but should have been with the shot.
> We are purchasing a humidifier to add moister back to the house - I guess it can't hurt.
> I guess we can try to go back through all the food again but I just don't think it will do any good but who knows. :frusty:
> *Any suggestions on food allergies tries??* - currently they eat chicken/brown rice & Nurto's Lamb / rice. I tried removing chicken for a month as well as all wheat. They were on Nutro bland food (that was fun ) still no change, so I added back their favorite - Chicken / rice. They had it bad enough without not getting some of their fav food.


If you think it's food allergies you would need to use a food with very limited ingredients and a protein he's never had and then stick with it, with no exceptions for at least a few months. The allergist wanted Tess on a diet of ostrich, oatmeal and peas. She wouldn't eat the oatmeal or peas so we went to Science Diet Ultra ZD.) It can take 3-4 months before all of the allergens are out of their system. (Tess was on the Ultra ZD with homemade ostrich jerky for 8 months before we started introducing new foods.) Then you would systematically add one ingredient at a time until you knew whether he was allergic to that. It's very difficult to be that patient and strict about their diet but an elimination diet to determine food allergies doesn't work otherwise.


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## gsweenie (Oct 17, 2009)

Jill thanks for the info about the food allergies. Did you ever find out what Tess is allergic to?

Has anyone ever tired Yucca drops - to treat allergies - I know it works for joint and have heard it helps their skin and coat.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

If you think it's food allergies, I suggest switching to a grain-free, chicken-free food. I feed Orijen Regional Red because Roscoe has a poultry allergy. He was an incredibly itchy little puppy...we switched him off chicken and 5 weeks later he was totally itch free! Also, his stools really firmed up. They were fairly loose and mushy when he was eating chicken.

I also suggest looking into potential allergens in your home such as MOLD! When the temperature warms up or gets more humid/wet, molds and mildews run rampant. Personally, I have allergies to just about everything environmental (from pollens to dander to molds to fragrances), so I'm very aware of cleaning areas that most people don't think to clean. For instance, molds and mildews can build up very quickly behind your toilet tank, in the tracks of your sliding glass doors (or sliding windows), in mudrooms, etc. These are things that you may want to look into if you have an inexplicably itchy pup!


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## Jan D (Mar 13, 2007)

I feel Havee also is allergic to chicken and grain. He is on Orijen now, I switch up the flavors for him. I also feed him a tablespoon of Evangers soft food with his kibble. I tried the Evo soft, he loved it but started to scratch soon after. Went back to Evangers and he is scratching less.


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## imamurph (Apr 15, 2008)

Gabriel has had a staph infection that has made his skin and the inside of his ears red and scaley in spots. My Vet pput him on an antibiotic which cleared it up, but then it would come back again. Then when I had him in for a nail clipping a different Vet suggested putting him on Duck and Potatoe . Well that clered his skin right up, BUT both Sophie and Gabe constantly chew their feet like crazy. It drives me nuts! Does anyone have this problem? Could it be all of the rain we have here in Oregon ? Although their feet are constantly getting soaked, I towel them off when they come in..
Maybe this is allergy related..grass maybe?


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

They both chew their paws? 
Could they both get an allergy at the same time? Are they from the same litter?
Do you think it could be a "habit" rather than an allergy?
PS-good to "see" you Diane


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