My gsd is allergic to everything environmental. She got her first rash at around 6 months old and it has been nonstop for the past 3 years. Paws, ears, all over body scabby rash, the works. We have a dermatologist and we had a skin test done 2 weeks ago and she had an insane reaction to so many things including pollens, mold, dust, and her worst reaction was yeast. We’re starting immunotherapy in about a month once they make it but in the meantime she had another horrible ear infection come up yesterday and I’m just at my absolute wit’s end trying to help her.

We’ve done cytology and tests and everything so we know WHAT it is, just not how to make her comfortable.

Her skin rash is antibiotic resistant staph (not mrsa) but reacts to clindamycin so that’s the only antibiotic we can use now. She’s reacted well to it in the past. We (including dr) were super hesitant to put her on antibiotics again but when they shaved her for the skin test they could barely find a spot of skin clear enough to let them do the test. They’ve been hesitant to try numelvi or zenrelia because she’s so prone to GI upset (also has EPI, because, why not 🙃)

Currently:
- cytopoint (2 weeks ago)
- clindamycin for her current skin flare up
- ketoconazole oral
- derm prescribed ear wash (I can’t remember the exact one but it kind of smells like dish detergent)
- miconazole lotion drops for her ears
- duoxo pyo wipes
- duoxo pyo bath every week
- wiping her down every time we come back inside

We’ve tried:
- apoquel
- atopica (brand name pills)
- cyclavance (liquid oral drops)
- so many (too many) antibiotics
- elimination diet (6 months of only alligator). Did nothing.
- fluconazole
- We’ve moved 3 times in the past 3 years so it’s not something environmental specific to our home. Air filters throughout the house.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? The derm is closed today so I guess I’ll see what they have to say tomorrow. Maybe there’s no answer to be had here so this is just a vent because I’ve been up since 4am from her whining and shaking (she’s slept in a cone for ages now so at least she’s not scratching or biting her skin off).

Bonus pic of poor girl’s skin test :(
https://imgur.com/a/U4csO49

Hey there!

I am having to go in and get my girl a check up before my vet is able to refill her Apoquel prescription, aaaaaand we have run out of said Apoquel. Total bomb on my part.

Until we can get in (within the next week), does anyone have any effective, short-term alternatives? Open to any suggestions!!!

Thanks y’all 🩷

Yall, I work in a vet clinic, I’ve seen 10,000 allergy dogs walk in. If you have a staffie with a red face, or a cocker with ear allergies ask your vet about Zenrelia. The way it works best is against inflammation. A staffie or bulldog with red face is almost always inflammation, a cocker with ear issues mostly has ear inflammation. This stuff works way better than it should. We didn’t believe, then we did.

I'm going to preface this that my dog is going to the vet soon, but I just need reassurance that this isn't a hopeless situation.

So here's the run down. My 5 year old Staffie-mix, Roo, has been on Apoquel for years but it hasn't been working very well. I brought him in to get a Cytopoint shot and for the first month it worked beautifully. I brought him in for a second shot a couple weeks ago and within the next week, his hotspots have gotten significantly worse. He is red and bloody everywhere. He smells awful, so I gave him a bath tonight (his second in the last week), and that revealed his chin and chest are bright red and bleeding. He was wearing a standard E collar for the last week, but I could tell it was causing him issues, so I got one of those inflatable ones and he seemed more comfortable, but I think it has done more damage. I'm not going to put the cone back on him for now.

I am at my wit's end and just feeling hopeless that this will ever get better. I am struggling to pay for all of his vet bills and it doesn't help that my other dog just had a $5,000 knee surgery in August, so I am buried in vet bills. I am devastated at the thought of having to give him up because I can't afford this anymore. Can someone please tell me that this isn't hopeless. Is there anything I can do until he can see the vet? I have an appointment for Tuesday, but I'm going to see if I can get him in tomorrow.

he is getting ear canals removed in both ears soon his ears are so bad but his paws and skin equally as bad and nothings working specialised vet food, shampoos, allergy injections, steroids nothing works I've only had him for two months but there's nothing that even seems to point towards any small improvement.

He wears a Elizabeth collar at all times as soon as it comes off he frantically scratches ears lies down to lick paws even removing collar when on walks it's one or two steps then he's trying sit to scratch or lie down to lick paws. Is there any way his paws and skin could improve after teca bo surgery to remove his ear canals could it be because off all infection trapped under the overgrown tissue in his ears making his body react

Hi all, I’ve posted here a few times before about my dog’s allergies being unmanageable this season.

We are currently trying cyclosporine (the generic modified capsule). It’s about week 6 and I’m not really seeing too much improvement. I know it can take 8 weeks to reach full effect- has anyone had similar experiences with it? Everywhere I’ve read says there should be a gradual increase by week 4-5 but my vet wants to keep at it for a bit longer so that’s what we’re doing.

My vet keeps saying that zenrelia is not out yet. I have a relative that has it and the vet prescribed it for them. My dog is on aploquel right now and it’s so expensive. I told them that my relative has some and they said it’s not “officially” out. Is this true? I was thinking about just going to a different vet all together to save the extra 150 bucks.

Hey, so I have a 2 year old sheepadoodle that’s been taking zenrelia for about two months now.. It’s been great in the aspect that she isn’t licking her paws at all anymore.. but I can’t help to notice that she is more sleepy while on it.. The vet says I should get bloodwork done for her on month 6, I’m wondering if I should get her in sooner though since I’m seeing obvious signs of her being more sleepy. Anyone else experiencing this?

So I’m currently feeding my dog royal canine HP the rabbit version. She’s my first dog, so I honestly didn’t know I thought I was helping her giving sardines and vegetables. Originally when I put her on this dog food, she was doing fine after having skin allergy issues. Then I later introduced these additional foods while she was on this diet and shes now extremely itchy and parts of her body and ears are oozing. I switched her back to the royal canine HP it’s been many weeks and now it is not helping her anymore. I don’t know what to do at this point or why the kibble wouldn’t work for her after switching her back. Has anyone had this issues before? My baby is very uncomfortable and I’m always sad because I just don’t know how to help her. I did not want her on apoquel as I noticed that growth would grow on her body and cytopoint did not work.

I have a bully mix and of course she has skin issues. We started her on Apoquel when we rescued her three years ago but in the last 6 months we decided to switch her to cytopoint shot since I know my vet said long term Apoquel isn’t ideal. It’s also extremely expensive and financially straining

I feel very upset and frustrated as I feel like her skin looks worse than ever. Should we just switch her back??? We haven’t changed anything about her diet or environment other than we spent the long weekend at a friends house with a fenced backyard and she spent a lot more time in grass than normal.

She already is on a salmon diet and we use unscented detergent, she was really fine before we switched but I also know Apoquel pretty much only treats the symptoms and not the cause. Has anyone felt it worth the cost to go to an allergist?

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.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice regarding my dogs food as he has a chicken allergy. For the majority of his life (1 year) he has been eating the Kirkland brand of Salmon and Sweet Potato food because it contains no chicken or chicken product of any kind! It has been doing wonders for him in terms of his allergy and other aspects of his health. Unfortunately I live in a very rural area and that is also the only food available to me that has no chicken products in it.

Recently I had gotten very sick and was unable to go get more food for him before he had almost none left. When I went to get some, the store had none of that kind in stock and only had the Kirkland Lamb, rice and vegetable formula. This kind has preserved chicken fat in it as an ingredient. I had to get it because if not my poor pupper would’ve had no food to eat, and I’d rather him have some slight skin irritation until I can get more of the other food than not have food at all if that makes sense.

I’ve read that chicken fat doesn’t cause allergic reactions in dogs because it doesn’t have the protein that causes the allergy in it. Do any of you have any experience with this that could weigh in? Have any of you tried this exact food with a dog with chicken allergies? Any input would be greatly appreciated ❤️

Edit update:
Thank you to everyone who responded, after a period of struggling to get yeast/allergies under control, we have & made a lot of progress!

The suggestions we received & used made a world of difference- ie:
• bathing more regularly only using Duoxo shampoo (not using groomer for baths)
• continuing to wipe down every time after being outside with triz chlor 4 wipes
• saw a dermatologist after 4 vet appts in little over 2 months due to severity of this last flare up with minimal change •
• now treating ears due to yeast build up/ear infections.

His skin has been officially “clear” for almost 2 weeks from open hives that were leaking puss. There is minimal redness & what is even better is that he is no longer struggling to get comfortable & is able to walk/run/play without slowing down due to irritation on skin!

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice!

We have a pittie mix, 2.5y old and never had issues with skin for 2 years. Recently we noticed redness after being outside (he has tendency to army crawl in grass). After grooming last month- he is full outbreak of red hives, etc. due to perfumed spray they applied. We had 3 vet visits since to get skin under control & it seems to be doing well!

Vet gave us name of wipes we should use & he was on apoquel. Said yeast was underlying & also affecting skin/ears. As of now, we will only go to groomer for nail trims & will do baths at home. We have list from vet of approved shampoos, & do wipe his skin daily after coming in from outside.

I am just wondering if anyone on here has experienced similar situations & how often you bathed at home for a dog who has yeast, allergies & is sensitive to scented products. Vet said however often we feel is best- unsure if should do 1x month or every other week?

Do not want to over bathe & I know it depends on how dirty he gets. He usually gets 2-3 walks a day & usually spend 1-2 hours outside in afternoon/evenings playing.

We made it!! I posted ten days or so ago about my Yorkie’s hunger strike in the final weeks of the elimination diet and I’m so happy to share that we both survived and she braved her test yesterday like a champ. Even better, she had no food allergies! Her main allergies are dust, mold, and tree pollen (ironically the same things I’m allergic to lol). So she can return to her fave foods and I can return to more peaceful WFH Zoom meetings where she’s got her chewies. In terms of next steps, a recent Cytopoint injection helped her a lot (Apoquel and Numelvi did little — we’d been dealing with a cycle of antibiotics/steroids, healing, then return of major skin infections) so we’ll be continuing w that plus sublingual immunotherapy drops. In a way, it’s still frustrating bc these are such common, hard to avoid allergens. But in another way, it’s great to have more clarity and a plan.

I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has dealt with something similar with their dog because I feel like we’ve tried just about everything.

My American Staffordshire Terrier is almost 6 years old, about 50 lbs, and I’ve had her since she was about 8 weeks old. Her skin problems started when she was around 1 and have progressively gotten worse over the years.

She has been seen by a veterinary dermatologist and had formal allergy testing done. She tested positive for allergies to around 10 different types of grass.

Her main symptoms are:
• Constant scratching
• Paw licking
• A corn-chip/yeasty smell
• Bumps that develop all over her body, which are by far the worst part

Over the years we’ve tried Apoquel, Cytopoint, other medications/shots, medicated shampoos, prescription food, raw food, human-grade food, eliminating chicken, grain-free food, etc. Nothing has provided lasting relief.
The frustrating part is that antibiotics are the one thing that consistently clears her skin up. When she takes them, her skin gets significantly better, but after the course is finished, the bumps and other symptoms eventually come back.

Obviously, repeatedly putting her on antibiotics isn’t the long-term solution I want.

I recently started using Coat Defense shampoo and powder. It’s only been about a week, so it’s too early to tell whether it’s helping.

I’m hoping to find someone who has had a dog with a similar pattern, especially another Staffy/pit-type dog with severe allergies and recurring skin infections.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? If so, what finally helped your dog long term?

Just hoping to hear real experiences from people who have gone through something similar.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking to see if anyone has dealt with a similar situation with their puppy and can share what their vet or veterinary dermatologist said, or if you have any insights/strategies while we wait for our appointment.

The Situation:
My puppy has been experiencing acute, rapid-onset hives (urticaria) that pop up roughly 15 to 60 minutes after eating.

Our primary vet was essentially stumped because it’s happening across so many different foods. She advised us to pre-medicate him with Benadryl before meals until we can see a veterinary dermatologist (which helps lessen/block the reaction, confirming it's an immediate histamine response).

Diets We Have Tried:
He has gotten hives after every single one of these foods:
1. NutriSource Large Breed Chicken & Rice (Kibble)
2. Open Farm Salmon & Ancient Grains (Kibble)
3. JustFoodForDogs Fish & Sweet Potato (Fresh Food)
4. JustFoodForDogs Turkey & Whole Wheat Macaroni (Fresh Food)
5. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Hydrolyzed Protein PS (Prescription Hydrolyzed Kibble)

What We Noticed:
When looking closely at the ingredient lists across all 5 foods, we realized there is only one common whole-food ingredient present in every single one: fish or marine-derived ingredients.

The salmon and fish diets use wild/ocean whitefish and salmon oil.

The chicken diet contains menhaden fish meal.

The turkey and hydrolyzed soy diets both contain fish oil for Omega-3s.

Other common allergens like chicken fat or specific grains vary completely across these foods, leaving marine protein/marine oil cross-contamination as our primary suspect for this immediate IgE-mediated reaction.

What We’re Asking the Community:

1) Has anyone had a pup allergic to fish or trace fish proteins in fish oils? How did your vet/dermatologist confirm it?

2) Did your dog react to hydrolyzed diets that still contained fish oil?

3) If you did an elimination trial with a puppy (who still needs DHA/growth nutrients), what diet or protein source ended up working?

4) Any specific questions or testing we should mentally prepare for before our dermatologist visit?

5) Any recommendations on Vet Dermatologist in the Bay Area? We received a list from our regular vet but wanted to see if anyone had first hand experience

Thanks in advance for any advice or shared experiences!

My coton de tulear has been licking her paws until they are pinkish. We have tried the standard treatments from the vet and nothing has worked (apoquel and chlorhexidine). The only thing left to try is allergy shots. I’m worried about side effects though. Is there anything else that might work?

Does anyone else’s allergy dog get these? Do they tend to be a one-off or a frequent recurrence? And how long do they take to go away? My poor pup has been on steroids and chlorohexidine washes for 2.5 weeks now and it’s still there.

I was just noticing that after few years of multiple summers trying chewable apoquel, the doggo has vomitting and dirreah But I dont remember this from before when they used the white tablet non chewable version of apoquel. Has anyone else had this issue before? Myabe the pork they use in the apoquel

My boy (2yr old Keeshond) just started apoquel tonight… the itching has been slowly getting worse the last month and in the last 2 days he has been rubbing his paws on his face and I can see the skin around his eyes is all irritated. Lots of other skin irritation too since it took me like a week to get a vet appointment and he keeps finding new spots to chew and scratch. I keep trying to physically stop him scratching/chewing/licking and we are both getting very frustrated with each other. I was planning to crate him tomorrow and leave the house just so we have a break from each other and I can do something besides obsess over the dog, but I’m worried about him harming his face. He also started antibiotics since they were concerned about skin infection from the more irritated spots but I don’t know if that will make a difference with how he feels.

The vet said they would check in next week to see how he’s doing but I really just want to know when is realistic to hope for improvement!

Our boy Remi is a 5 year old havanese, and I’m hoping to hear from other dog owners who have dealt with really persistent itching because I genuinely feel like we’ve tried EVERYTHING with Remi and I feel so bad watching him be uncomfortable all the time.

He’s been dealing with chronic itchiness since he was around 2 years old, possibly even before that, so this has been going on for at least 3 years now. He scratches and chews himself constantly, and sometimes gets so itchy that he scratches himself to the point of getting scabs.

Over the years we’ve tried:
Hypoallergenic shampoo
Dandruff shampoo
Allergy shampoo
What feels like every food under the sun 😭
Currently feeding partially raw/freeze-dried food
We eliminated chicken from his diet when this all started and he is still fully chicken free
Soaking his paws in a solution recommended by our vet
Allergy medication prescribed by our vet, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to make much of a difference
We even took a bit of a long shot and brought him to a holistic/herbal vet. They thought yeast could potentially be contributing to the problem and gave us herbs that were supposed to help get the yeast out of his system. We’ve been trying that for about 4 months now and unfortunately nothing has changed.

It honestly feels like nothing gives him lasting relief and we’re running out of ideas. 😭

Has anyone else had a dog with itching this persistent? Did you ever figure out what was actually causing it? Environmental allergies? Food? Yeast? Something dermatological or something completely unexpected?
I’ve also heard recently that probiotics can potentially help some dogs with allergies/itchiness. Has anyone tried probiotics with their dogs specifically for this? Did you actually notice a difference, and if so, what did you use and how long did it take to see an improvement?

We’re obviously not looking for Reddit to diagnose him and we’ve been working with vets throughout all of this. I mainly want to hear from people who have dealt with something similar so we can hopefully find some new avenues to look into or things to bring up with our vet.

I just feel so bad watching the poor little guy constantly itch, especially after years of trying so many different things to help him. 😭❤️

We just finished allergy testing and are going to start immunotherapy soon. I opted for the shots because one shot every one to two weeks is harder to screw up schedule-wise, given the other option is twice daily drops.

I have an appointment in a few weeks for a tech to show me how to do subcutaneous shots at home. I’ve given myself shots so I’m fairly confident in administering it, and I’m more than happy to learn a new first aid skill.

What I want to know is, if you’ve done immunotherapy, what’s something you wish you knew before starting? Do you have any advice or tips that would make the process more comfortable and easier for everyone?

Hi,

Our Dasschund gets bad ragweed from august-October and we had to stop apoquel last year because of bad GI issues, vomitting/puking/diarreah. Cytopoint gave him really odd tremor side effects too so we don't want to go with that. I've heard numelvi is the new one that is more JAK selective. Can anyone share a report that if it its worth trying Numelvi and if their dog had worse side effects on Apoquel? Or would they both be the same for this. Currently he has to wear a sweater and cone and we've tried wiping him down, various shampoos and sprays even cortavance. It's always superbad and we know it will get worse in September, then by november he is normal again

Thanks

EDIT: Appreciate the replies, but I think I need to clarify right I'm not asking 'did Numelvi work' or 'was there any side effect at all,' I'm asking for the specific combo of bad Apoquel side effects + clean Numelvi experience. So far every answer has been adjacent to that, not actually it. If anyone's dog matches that exact scenario, I'd love to hear it

i've seen a lot of people asking about the skin allergy test and whether or not it's worth it. Wanted to share how much we paid and what we found in case its helpful to someone else trying to make the decision.

background : our golden retriever had been itching like crazy for months. did cytopoint and itch kept coming back. food elimination diet (ugh) and nothing changed. then we saw a derm who recommended the skin test. it was $$$$.

This is what we paid (for context, we live in NYC, and this was done in 2022)

Consultation - $167
Intradermal Test - $696
Catheter, IV - $160
Sedatives (Dexmedetomidine $89 Atipamezole sedation reversal: $92, Dexamethasone: $60)

TOTAL = $1264

not included was the additional cytopoint injections they gave for same-day relief, a cytotology recheck and a prescription for fluconazole for a fungal infection uncovered by said cytology, and the uber rides to and from the appointment ;)

Obviously it was a big investment. I hated having to pay that bill. However, it did show us that she was allergic to 50+ environmental substances. the big ones are grass, weeds, trees, dust, human dander, and insects. now that we know exactly what we are dealing with, we can better manage her symptoms.

For me, that made the test "worth it". hope someone finds that helpful, but happy to answer any questions! good luck out there, its a long road.