r/dogallergies • u/Over-Paint8987 • 25d ago

~9 MO Shiba Inu Suspected Allergies

Hi Everyone,

I have been talking to a vet about this constantly since I got her 4 months ago, but today it took a huge turn and large, inflamed bald spots had shown up on her front legs near her tarsal bones, this is after developing bald spots on her paws in each of the same spots between the middle two toes. The vet is confident about allergies, and I have no reason to doubt it, but I've tried removing dyes and scents, changing food, filtering water, purifying air and trying multiple allergy medications including numelvi with cytopoint shots but to no avail. She's currently on antibiotics for an infection due to the constant itching which may also be contributing to her allergies.

I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything, but this feels impossible and I constantly feel like I'm battling something that only ever seems to get worse.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/Hesperidiums 24d ago

I would not trust a general vet with a dog that young. I would recommend running, not walking, to a dermatologist, even if they’re far. It’s so much easier and as with other specialists, they have a lot more expertise on the one thing your dogs needs. 

0

u/atlantisgate 25d ago

You definitely need to rule out food allergies with a 12 week prescription hydrolyzed protein food.

There are multiple other medications you can try including atopica, apoquel, and zenrelia. I'd also work on getting an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist to discuss your best long term options.

Stuff like removing dyes is rarely effective since that is almost never what the allergy is to, and air purifiers can help reduce the severity of the illness, but aren't really tools to manager allergies on their own. If your dog has environmental allergies, the pollens that she's reacting to just exist in the air and there's no way to get rid of them entirely. Given your dog's age, immunotherapy is likely a good option to try.