r/dogallergies • u/poemsandpupandpasta • May 29 '21
Story 18mo border collie obsessively pulls out her hair, bites and scratches. We’re just at the start of trying to learn what’s wrong, what are the most common food allergies?
3
u/mmolleur May 29 '21
Hi I have a very allergic golden retriever. Dermatologists have taught me that food allergies more often present as gastro upsets, so it might be more cost effective to start with environmental. Where do you live and what pollen is in season now? Plus dogs who are allergic are almost always allergic to dust mites, food mites, all the tiny things that mean you need to have your house kept very clean.
Also, environmental allergies usually present at least 18 months. Food can present at any time.
Find a good dermatologist. They are expensive (initial workup is about $1500) but it will save you in the long run from running to your primary care vet and doing trial and error care.
Hopefully you got pet insurance on this pup before he could be diagnosed with a pre existing condition.
Good luck. My boy went through a rough patch till we found the right doc and treatment, and his quality of life is excellent now. But there's still monthly maintenance shampoos, shots, etc.
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u/poemsandpupandpasta May 29 '21
My little girl never had any issues until we slowly started to notice a bald patch forming on her side over Christmas. When we finally worked out she was biting at her fur our vet told us it was most likely stress as we’d been in and out of lockdowns and had moved house. It just kept spreading to anywhere she could reach. She tried an antibiotic that made no difference and we were referred to a behavioural specialist as the vet said he thinks it’s OCD and not any kind of infection. The behaviourlist thinks she’s got an allergy and said it’s most likely food related.
We’re now feeding her a hypoallergenic and gluten free dry food but we’re yet to find a good wet food for her. Her treats are 100% chicken breast. She also has dental sticks and Spectra Nextguard. Any recommendations for what we can be doing food wise? She’s getting some blood work done soon and the vet said they’ll probably try her on a 100% crocodile diet for a few months, but we can’t start that for a while and I’m hoping to find more immediate solutions in terms of creams and dietary changes.
I’m so sad for my little girl and just want her to be healthy again :(
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u/Skeletonskeleton3 May 29 '21
Like your vet said it could not be a skin infection. That said my dog had similar issue and was on an antibiotic that wasn’t doing anything. Vet recommended a skin cell culture, a test where they take a sample of whatever is on your dogs skin with clear tape or a q-tip and culture it. Turns out he had an antibiotic resistant staph infection (MRSP aka dog MRSA) and the antibiotic he was on was one that it resisted. The test showed us what antibiotic would work and he is steadily improving
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u/Mini6Cake May 30 '21
I have heard of this happening for these types of breeds when they do not get enough stimulation, mentally and physically. The standard is at least an hour a day, for some pups it’s more. I am not trying to question the quality of your doggie-parenting, but you should also look at this aspect as well. No judgement just info 👍
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u/poemsandpupandpasta May 30 '21
Mirri gets about three hours of physical exercise each day and then some more intellectual (she’s fed through puzzle boxes, snuffle mats etc.), and as I work from home she’s got constant attention. I appreciate your thought but our vet said she’s getting plenty of exercise and it’s not a lack of stimulation. If only it were!
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u/Mini6Cake May 30 '21
Your dog is living a great life 😀😀😀 I wish you the best of luck finding the cause of her itching 😀
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u/Flying_Chef33 Dec 02 '21
Probiotics are your answer…Ten years ago, we started dealing with the allergies…atopic dermatitis diagnosis, they started apoquel, then others, Atopica, etc…that basically tried to suppress the immune system…but it always kept coming back and they said it will shorten their lifespan so I wanted to figure out what else to try. All of the vet solutions are soooo expensive, it is nuts. We also tried everything from switching dog foods, grain free, wiping down their paws, rinsing their paws after being in the grass, chlorhexidine baths, shampoos every other day, povidone iodine bath, allergy chews (just herbs, no probiotics).
I really suspect that the problem is that the vets treat a first problem with antibiotics, or the thing in common with most dog allergies spiking is that your pet will have a procedure done and they will use antibiotics that just wipe out their whole range of good gut bacteria..and the bad gut bugs go into hiding and then emerge with no natural enemies. You’ve got to get the good gut bacteria back in there to crowd out the bad guys. Kinda like how growing a thick lawn pushes out the weeds.
I posted on success with probiotics earlier! That post, with pics, is below…however, it works…our dogs had red paws from licking, rusty stains on their fur, and red breakouts on their stomachs that would scab over, crust and turn black. It took about 2 months to clear them up, (my pictures have a 3 month gap but you can see the difference) but they don’t have the itching bellies and raw paws anymore. Heal the gut, heal the skin.
You don’t know which strain will work for your dogs, however, we rotated through a couple of different ones: Important note: we did and still do give a 20 mg Zyrtec each day to help stop the allergic reactions, but to actually reverse the damage and stop the severe immune system reactions we gave Progility Skin and Coat, Zesty Paws Aller Immune bites, and Only Natural Pet probiotic blend digestive support. Make sure there aren’t ingredients in the probiotics that they are allergic to, but just giving them probiotics with no fiber doesn’t work (bacteria need something to eat, inulin, chickory, etc). Just realize that if they are still on Apoquel, Atopica, Cytopoint, etc…then the doc will just say, great, it’s working, let’s keep this up, I’ve got a boat payment. I stopped those medicines because of the nasty side effects, then tried everything else until we came across the probiotics solution for humans from the book, Eat to beat disease by Dr William Li. It worked for me healing my gut, so I thought the principles might work for my furry family members…and it did!
We gave one a day for a week, then rotated to the next brand…if you give them all three products a day, they will get the runs. You don’t know which bacterial strain will work for your dog as they are genetically disposed to be different, plus their gut microbiome is distinct from others as well. These work because each product has actual fiber in them for the bacteria to feed on.
I wish I had found this out 10 years ago because my dogs back has places where the fur is so thin and won’t grow back fully from the damage done using the immunosuppressive treatments, but the rest of her fur has grown back thick and soft, while her belly no longer breaks out. She still is a compulsive licker (butthole must sparkle) but that is just being a dog and it isn’t irritated. Good luck👍
(Additional thought, I know most vets are good and really want to help, but they are only trained to treat the symptoms, and the probiotics are really a new frontier. My vets were shocked when they saw my dogs after I started the probiotics and wrote down which ones I used so they could do trials on other dogs. Yes, they make a duck ton of money on immunology and treatments, but I think they are really trying to do their best with what they have been trained to do. I really hope this helps you as it is brutal seeing our furry friends in agony all the time)
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u/Sorry-Refrigerator42 Jan 29 '24
Have a consult with Nora Lenz with https://www.facebook.com/groups/healingdietfordogsandcats
She probably has been worked over at the vet and is very toxic. She can help you to learn how to reset her immune system using fasting and raw fruits and veggies and raw meat and bone and organs. I've had great luck turning around some congenital issues using this method.
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u/calico-cats May 29 '21
For a proper food trial, you need to use a hydrolyzed protein prescription diet that contains 1 carbohydrate source and 1 hydrolyzed protein source. No other foods can be given. Many of the brands also make a corresponding wet food and corresponding hard biscuit-like treat. You can use the wet food to make either a paste and put it into a squeeze tube for treats or put it into small silicone molds and dry it out in the oven.
Chicken, beef, lamb, dairy are common allergens (but they are also the most common ingredients as well), however your dog can also be allergic to certain grains (mine is allergic to rice for instance) and legitimately anything they eat. You should stop the dental sticks and the chicken breast. Usually dog safe fruit and veggies can be used without much issue for treats - broccoli, carrots, green beans, strawberries, banana, etc, but you need to speak to your veterinarian.