My Puppy Has Allergies

Does anyone else have a puppy that suffers from allergies? I have a 14 week old Shihpoo (William) that has allergies, but we are not sure what he is allergic to. I noticed several weeks ago that he was scratching ALOT. Then, I started finding clumps of his hair all over my house.

When I took him to the vet she immediately thought environmental allergies (but she did check him for fleas and mites just in case). She believes that he is allergic to something in my house. I have gotten rid of all scented candles and air fresheners and have switched to unscented laundry soap and dryer sheets. But.........he is still scratching and losing his fur.

Has anyone else had this problem and maybe have some suggestions for me? We are going back to the vet this evening but I am at my wit's end! I don't want a bald puppy not to mention the discomfort he is feeling!

I would appreciate any help you can give me.

 

Could be food allergies! There could be a number of allergies involved. The best way is to have a blood test called RAST done (through Spectrum Labs in US....Im not sure about Canada though but there must be someone doing the testing), only problem is it can be costly but you get a report of 'almost' everything that your pet is allergic to.

A couple of common household things that cause allergies are...as you mentioned detergents, dryer sheets, air freshners, also carpet powders are a big one, human perfumes and deoderants, hairsprays etc (if you get close to your dog like if its sitting on your lap). A lot of dogs are allergic to grains, wheat, maize, corn which is in most dog foods but you could try an elimination process. Your vet might be able to help you more there in recommeding different foods, changing food though can cause diarrhea so you do need to be careful of that.

 

William went back to the vet on Monday evening and we have now changed his food to see if that has any effect on his itching and hair loss. She has opted not to do the allergy testing just yet because of the cost as well as the fact that his skin isn't irritated or red so we will try other options first.

The food he was on was based on corn and chicken so we are now trying a duck, pheasant and rice based food. If that doesn't work, we will switch to a fish and potato food.

With any luck we will be able to nip this in the bud before it becomes any more severe.

 

Hopefully the different food will work.

I think most vets would start with at least some eliminations, food changes etc, most of the time it can be something simple and not costly.

I just always mention the allergy testing (RAST) because I have seen people spend sometimes thousands of dollars over a few years trying different foods, different medications, the poor dogs are miserable with skin infections, scratching all the time....and everything that goes with that.

It would be a good thing to do if youve tried the easier things first and then after say 6 months the problems are still there and just as bad. It is costly though for the testing, Ive had it done to one of my dogs and it worked out great, then again another dog I had was fine after just a couple of different foods we tried, it was about 4th or 5th food we tried, his skin cleared up, his coat was shiny and his eyes were brighter....

 

My shihpoo has allergies....... it was perty bad there for awhile.... licking, licking AND LICKING his paws... the poor fella licked until they were red, almost raw..... we narrowed it down to environmental... I then started noticing he would sneeze everytime he bounced in the grass.. Hmmmm... why didn't I notice that before? LOL.... anyhow, this started after the rainy season last February and he has been on an antihistamine (Hydroxizyn...sp?) ever since and no problems. The prescription is 1-2 pills/day... he gets one... and if it's a bad day, he'll get a second, ... and some days none. He also has the fishoil (can't think what it's called) supplement that I drizzle on his food.... that seems to make a big difference too!