Dog with severe allergies

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CameronGhost

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So I have 3 dogs - a bull terrier, a pekingese and an African Breed. The little Pekingese suffers from severe allergies to food, inhalants and fleas. According to my vet a dog who is allergic to all 3 is pretty rare. I've been giving her half a cortisone tablet everyday, as well as washing her with anti fungal shampoo twice a week. In addition to this, she only eats Vet's Choice Sensitive (Duck and Rice). I originally gave her the correct Hills diet, but in addition of its high price, she struggled to eat it so I switched to Vet's Choice which she only marginally endures.

To make a long, sad and miserable story short, all of the above hasn't really helped much. There have been some improvements, but more often than not she still scratches like crazy. Her skin is permanently red, she has hair-loss and she also has severe sores from her constant scratching.

Someone suggested I give her Allergex as it is supposed to help. Does anyone here know more about that (and please don't advice me to consult my vet - if I could, I would not be sitting here typing all of this)?

Another question is, Can I give her canned tuna or pilchards or something that will combat drying of the skin? Or will she have an allergic reaction to fish too?

I have ordered Maxhealth pet food as I've heard it does wonders. Anyone here who can comment on Maxhealth?

I really am desperate. I am considering putting her down because she really scratches ALL THE TIME and no dog should be a prisoner in its own skin.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Ps. I have discussed some of these things with my vet, but I need a second opinion hence this last, desperate attempt.
 
Yes allergex is fine. A quarter tablet a day or less. Tuna or pilchards is also fine. The fish oil is good if she is not allergic to that as well.
 
Thanks Gary

Will start giving the allegex from tomorrow morning and see if it helps..
 
our local Vet ran a survey to all visiting dogs and asked questions about our home environment. They saw that clients with a lawn, were 5 times more likely to have a dog with allergies.

They seem to indicate Kikuyu grass being the most problematic, but not the only culprit.
 
Last edited:
Change your dog's food.

We had a dog that scratched until he bled then scratched some more. He was allergic to the fishmeal used in dog foods, yes even the expensive ones. And that was after many rands worth of tests...

rather make pap, then add things like kidneys, gravy, chicken bits, just something for flavour and nutrition.
avoid any form of typical dog food.

you could also look at those places that sell "fresh dog food". It is supposedly holistic, and contain things like garlic, meat, veg.... you need to keep it frozen.
 
Will cutting the nails short help reduce skin irritation?
 
Shame. Put her out of her misery. Itching can be more intolerable than pain
 
Thanks for all the advice. She's starting her new diet tomorrow. Holding thumbs :)
 
We have used Maxhealth for our severely allergic PitBull.

He loved the taste of the fishy one!
However, I can't say it really helped an awful lot, except that it helped rule out the food as being the cause of the allergy.

We think he's allergic to something in the garden as it seems to be seasonal - have you noticed your little girl's allergies get worse in the summer?
 
CharlotVixen said:
Change your dog's food.

We had a dog that scratched until he bled then scratched some more. He was allergic to the fishmeal used in dog foods, yes even the expensive ones. And that was after many rands worth of tests...

rather make pap, then add things like kidneys, gravy, chicken bits, just something for flavour and nutrition.
avoid any form of typical dog food.

you could also look at those places that sell "fresh dog food". It is supposedly holistic, and contain things like garlic, meat, veg.... you need to keep it frozen.
Click to expand...

Mine was allergic to corn we we used rice instead. Made a slow cooker full with chicken necks/livers thrown in and it lasted for days. Skin cleared up pretty quickly.
 
Aquila ka Hecate said:
We have used Maxhealth for our severely allergic PitBull.

He loved the taste of the fishy one!
However, I can't say it really helped an awful lot, except that it helped rule out the food as being the cause of the allergy.

We think he's allergic to something in the garden as it seems to be seasonal - have you noticed your little girl's allergies get worse in the summer?
Click to expand...

She's been the same, constant scratching all through the year. The vet told me that she's allergic to all 3 major culprits: Fleas, food and environment. At this stage even the slightest improvement will be appreciated. The cortizone didn't make much of a diff so I think that proves that the environment factors play a limited role. I've terminated any and every flea within a 100 sea miles. So the major allergy must then be food.

Is your dog on cortizone too? I must say that so far the allergex seems to be helping...
 
CameronGhost said:
..Is your dog on cortizone too? I must say that so far the allergex seems to be helping...
Click to expand...

Yes he is - prednisolone, 2 tabs in the evening, but then he's quite a lot bigger than a Peke.:)
It does keep his allergies mostly under control.
 
We have a jack russel X Pekinese with same issues as you have, it also appeared after we frequented the Wild Coast for holidays.

Numerous visits to the vet, he has only ever been given cortisone tablets but it just doesn't appear to work.

Dog food we give him is Vets Choice in pink packet comes in 20kg, it's what we have always fed them from years back so should rule food out.
 
So I've tried the new food, but it doesn't seem to have a positive effect. She loves the taste (finished everything - something she rarely does) but after a few hours the scratching started up again accompanied by a smell so bad you wouldn't find it the NYC sewers.

So back to Vet's choice it is. Which is a pity cause she's really not so keen on VC.

The VC I use come in a grey and black packet?? Duck and Rice formula.

I think the allergex really helps. Since I started it a few days back, the scratching at least have stopped. So maybe that's been the saving Grace all along?
 
Hi
I would:-
Get a second opinion
Give lots of cod liver oil - helps give moisture to the skin
Give lots of garlic - helps get rid of fleas
Not wash so much, it destroys their natural coat.

But that's just me.
 
CharlotVixen said:
Change your dog's food.

We had a dog that scratched until he bled then scratched some more. He was allergic to the fishmeal used in dog foods, yes even the expensive ones. And that was after many rands worth of tests...

rather make pap, then add things like kidneys, gravy, chicken bits, just something for flavour and nutrition.
avoid any form of typical dog food.

you could also look at those places that sell "fresh dog food". It is supposedly holistic, and contain things like garlic, meat, veg.... you need to keep it frozen.
Click to expand...

Agree with this.

We have 2 cats. One suffered from allergies her entire life (we thought she was OCD, always licking), until those allergies became a severe infection. She's now on anti-biotics for the rest of her life, until that stops working.

We were also recommended the usually shpeel of Hills Prescription etc. That only made it worse, to the point were we almost lost her. I googled and found, Orijen, however. Its not cheap. Since the switch she's living a healthy life. Meanwhile, the other cat suffered from running tear-ducts all her life. That has completely stopped.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/orijen-dog-food-adult/
 
CameronGhost said:
So I've tried the new food, but it doesn't seem to have a positive effect. She loves the taste (finished everything - something she rarely does) but after a few hours the scratching started up again accompanied by a smell so bad you wouldn't find it the NYC sewers.

So back to Vet's choice it is. Which is a pity cause she's really not so keen on VC.

The VC I use come in a grey and black packet?? Duck and Rice formula.

I think the allergex really helps. Since I started it a few days back, the scratching at least have stopped. So maybe that's been the saving Grace all along?
Click to expand...

It wont just work in 5 minutes. You have to give it time. Cortisone WILL help, just follow the dosage as prescribed. Go to a VET shop and buy hills z/d low or ultra allergen. Ask for some allergax and give 1 in the evening and 1 in the morning.

Try to brush once a day with a decent brush and stop any and all treats. Also stop washing so frequently, was once every 2 months.

I have a shar pei which I have spent ober R20k just on a skin condition so I have been through this many times. Also, check to see if the ears are clean inside, if not, get a solution to clean it. If you want to, you can find a specialist and ask them to do a skin scraping to get to the root problem.

The scratching causes infections which needs to be treated asap. You could also try and source some OMEGAderm which works briliantly.
 
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