Allergies?

Indy (7 mo st. bernard) apparently is allergic to something. I have absolutely no idea what. When he was about 3 mos he got really bad hot spots on his back legs. The vet told me to give him benadryl which i did for a few weeks. Then we were back to normal. The week before last he got more really bad hot spots and I took him back to the vet. the vet said fleas may be the culprit or it may be something else. I had him shaved (as a st. bernard his hair was like 6 ins long and part of the hot spots problem was the area getting moist and not being able to air out, etc.) and they treated his spots. There were a few really really bad ones and then others the vet just found after shaving that were not hot spots yet, just red irritated skin. The spots weren't localized to any one area, he had some on his legs, back, butt, ears, everywhere (needless to say I felt horrible b/c I had just brought him in for one spot - I swear you couldn't see the others). He eats California natural. I can't think of anything different that happened or he ate around that time that could have triggered such an outbreak.

Anyways, Indy has started scratching alot again. I'm going to try to speak to the vet monday about it. Last time I talked he said he thought it was fleas but seeing as he just got flea treatment less than 2 wks ago and I can't see a single flea on him, I don't see why that would be causing it again. He also said it may be food allergies but he has been on this food now since after his last bout with hot spots and no problems up until just these last 2 wks - would food allergies all the sudden show up like that? The vet said I could do some sort of allergy test on him for $400. That is ALOT of $$ for me so I would prefer not to go that route.

It just turned spring/summer here so I was thinking maybe that would be the cause (but that wouldn't explain the last time he got them which was in the dead of winter). If it is pollen/dust, etc what could the vet do?

I don't know really where I am going with this. Just any advice would be appreciated if any of you have had this issue.

* As a side note, does anyone know if it is Ok to give a dog benadryl if they are taking antibiotics? I was thinking about starting indy back on the benadryl but he is still going through the cephalexin and i don't want to cause any more problems.

 

Ask the vet to do an allergy test. They send away and get a report back of what all the dog is allergic to and how allergic he is to certain things. I dont know how much it costs

 

Allergy tests are expensive! The most common allergies are flea and airborne. With hypersensative dogs, just one bite from one flea can send them into manic chewing and scratching for two weeks. Even if a dog has had flea treatment, a flea can still bite before it dies. Contact alergies are the third most common and fourth is food. Your vet can give you a stronger prescription anihistamin. Bathing with cool water and a tar based shampoo can help. We use sulfer and salicylicacid. Essential oils containing ALA, APA, DHA, LA and DGLA can make a big difference in fighting allergies and hot spots. If all else fails and you can't find out what is causing the allergy (many dogs develope more than one type) a very low-dose steroid will usually calm the allergies. Steroids have their own side effects.

 

benedryl is fine to give one ,does not affect antibiotics as I am aware .

 

My dog Grace is going through the same thing, too. Rash on her stomach and inside her back legs and a few patches on the back/tail area. This started about a week and half ago right after she got the ProHeart6 vaccine for heartworm. I'm not even sure which part of the body they get this injection.

Has your dogs had any vaccines lately? Just curious and trying to compare notes to find out what this is.

 

eliza,does he have any type bedding that was new back in the winter ,did you use anything different ? Could be that ,or either just the carpet in your house ,a cleaner he has come in contact with ,they can be allergic to anything just like us ,even cats.Have you ever tried nu-vet plus vitamins ? I used them on one of mine and the hot spots went away .And he actually looked better than he ever had ,was a test to see if they were any good and helped him ,they seem to ,for him anyway .

 

No vaccines lately. Although about 2 wks before this (4 wks ago approx) he got neutered. ? One other thing I was thinking it may could be is that about that time I took him to the summer carnival thing at Petsmart and this lady sprayed him with cotton candy dog cologne - but by now that stuff should have worn off. I was also thinking it may be that I have just recently started giving him a lot of real bones - before I was giving him rawhide, nylabones, etc. I am going to stop giving him anything other than his reg. food.

I think it is most likely fleas. I just got through giving him a bath with some special shampoo (soothes itchy skin, etc) and I saw a few. He gets the Frontline plus - his last treatment was less than 2 wks ago. If the stuff doesn't kill the fleas until after they bite him, what are you supposed to do to keep them from biting him? It's not a lot of fleas (just like 5 maybe). This is driving me nuts.

 

Eliza ,there is a pill called capstar ,this kills all fleas immediately that is on a dog .so ,I would mention it to my vet and see what they say to do ,I have used it on some rescues that were flea covered and it works .Then I just go to the frontline .It is something to think about ,either that or get a dip and dip him .That kills them fast too and then you can start with the frontline .Have to get rid of the ones on him first .

 

elizavixen: I looked at Grace really good in the sun and I found six or so specs on her. They were attatched to her skin. They looked dead because they didn't move. I'm guessing they're fleas. So I went in search for a skin remedy and found this. It said to use Red Apple Cider Vinegar. Now I have to find some nonpoisenous way to get rid the dang things.

http://www.rainyday.net/cbc/natural.shtml#vr

 

Were they very tiny ? Could be another parasite .there are some very tiny ticks that attach .usually fleas just bite and move to bite again and do not attach ,I think .Also could be other type mite .

 

They were small like a spec of dirt. My Mom's dog has fleas, and they hopped and moved really fast. These didn't do anything but just lay there. This sounds gross, but the first one I found I pinch it and it had blood in it. I thought maybe it was a dead flea since I treated my dog with Advantage. Now I've been reading that Advantage is not a good thing for your pets, either. I swear!!

 

lovedapits, it does sound like some sort of parasite or mite. I would do a search on mites on see what can help

as for the other questions, - food allergies can surface at any age. I am going thru that with Jake right now and he is 7. We think he developed a gran allergy, so I changed him to raw a month ago. He is doing really good.. No itching and chewing any moer. I am still battling the mouth ick, the my holistic vet said that can take months to clear because it is a systemic problem that has tobe cured from teh inside out

honyebear