Dogs w/ Allergies?

[momma_boo]

Anyone have experience with their dogs having allergies? Our dog (lab) has been having some problems lately and we think it might be allergies.

A recap: Last month, he started to get some swelling in his rear gums, the little nodules in the back were so swollen, they stuck out of his mouth. Vet said it was just irritation. Well, it didn't get better and he would rub his face on the carpet. He also started licking his paws like crazy and his ears (just the outer part, not the inner part) got all red.

Finally, vet said it might be allergies and suggested Benadryl. After a few weeks, he was almost back to normal. But now it's starting up all over again with the red ears and pretty bad paw licking. It's bad enough that his paws are looking irritated. Can they actually lick off their fur from their paws if they lick too much?

We've started the benadryl again but not sure how much it's actually helping this time.

DH will take him back to the vet but we're not sure what else we can do or should make sure the vet does.

Oh, we can't really treat him with anything that will make him too sleepy or dysfunctional b/c he's also a working dog (arson detection) and b/c it's Fire Safety Month, they're making a lot of public appearances i.e. demonstrations, taking pictures with kids, etc.

[schums]

My Mom's lab definitely had allergies (vet diagnosed). He exhibited most of the symptoms you're describing (didn't have the gums swelling tho). He took Prednisone (VERY VERY low dose for his weight, took daily) and fish oil capsules (daily, morning and night). The dose was so low on the prednisone for his weight that the vet was surprised it worked. The fish oil capsules helped keep his skin moisturized so he didn't scratch as much. This combo worked really well, and practically eliminated the problem. Neither of these made him sleepy or dysfunctional.

HTH,
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[saschalicks]

My brother's yellow Lab has severe allergies. They had him tested so they knew exactly what foods were causing it. They eliminated a lot of that from his diet. I don't know, but I think he also gets shots on a regular basis. I would look into getting him tested so you know exactly what allergens are causing the problem. Like PP said I don't think the shots impair him in any way. HTH

[lizajane]

my chocolate has allergies. benedryl or a vet prescribed allergy medicine do help him. but we can't pay for him to be on constant meds, or for fancy schmancy foods. we try to treat him when he is really having a hard time. and we clean his ears often and treat them with medicine when he is scratching them a lot. he also licks his paws and the vet gave us some wipes to kill the bacteria that comes from the moisture.

and yes, they can lick themselves raw. poor little things.

good luck. i hope the vet can help him.

[Momof3Labs]

I had a Lab with bad allergies. The worst part is that she would chew around her private parts, and had a thick callous down there like elephant skin. Benadryl was our friend; she got three Benadryl capsules 2x per day. They didn't seem to make her groggy, but then she wasn't a working dog.

Prednisone in low doses helped her somewhat, but without fail also gave her a bladder infection. So we ditched that.

Have them test for secondary fungal infections in the paws and ears. Lotrimin cream helped her in those areas, applied twice a day, every day. And yes, she would lick the tops of her feet raw.

We never found out what she was allergic to. Tried special diets, all sorts of things. She seemed to better on certain foods but never found 100% relief.

How old is your dog again? I know that he's fairly young. I wonder if his allergies are seasonal, which is why they are hitting now, and he'll get relief once winter comes. My dog had them year-round. It was really rough on her, but we did manage to give her a certain level of relief with the Benadryl and Lotrimin (both available pretty cheap in generics at Wal-Mart, fwiw).

I'll let you know if I think of anything else. She crossed the Bridge 5 years ago so some of this is kind of foggy for me!

[Scsigrl]

Sorry.... cat person here:)

However I do have experience with animal allergies. You said something about chewing on the legs, are there little nodules where he/she licks? These are called lick granulomas and are often caused by allergies. They are more common in dogs (but our cat has them). Allergies to food and food mites are very common, as are dust allergies in animals.

We were able to find a very good pet allergist that was only 45 minutes away:) Yes, they are hard to find! There are only 2 in my state, so I am lucky se was tat close. Kitty is on a very low dose chemo therapy drug to cut the effects of his allergies with GREAT results. He has even gone down to using it only 3 days a week now. Very good results, VERY pricey though. It's about $90 for a 6 week supply, but he is so much better off now.

[momma_boo]

He turned 4 yo a few months ago. I thought it might be seasonal too since this it all started with the height of ragweed pollen allergy season.

I guess we'll have to send him to the vet and decide what to do next.

Maybe we'll try the fish oil capsules.

Thanks to all those who replied!

[momma_boo]

He turned 4 yo a few months ago. I thought it might be seasonal too since this it all started with the height of ragweed pollen allergy season.

I guess we'll have to send him to the vet and decide what to do next.

Maybe we'll try the fish oil capsules.

Thanks to all those who replied!

[nfowife]

Our lab has allergies. He was a major paw-licker, his paw was really pink and irritated from it. We had him tested and the results showed what his allergens were. We switched his food and also started him on allergy shots to desensitize him to the allergens (we gave them at home, it was no big deal at all). We also were giving him a low dose of some sort of medicine at one time but I can't recall the name- it was an antihistamine I think and also had some anti-anxiety properties (or maybe it was an anti-anxiety that had antihistamine properties?). We have since moved, so it is not as bad anyhow, but we have discontinued the shots and pills and now he is just on the special food (the allergy test results listed what foods would be okay for him to eat, he eats california naturals lamb and rice right now).
He is doing much much much better- no more constant licking his paws at all!

[nfowife]

Our lab has allergies. He was a major paw-licker, his paw was really pink and irritated from it. We had him tested and the results showed what his allergens were. We switched his food and also started him on allergy shots to desensitize him to the allergens (we gave them at home, it was no big deal at all). We also were giving him a low dose of some sort of medicine at one time but I can't recall the name- it was an antihistamine I think and also had some anti-anxiety properties (or maybe it was an anti-anxiety that had antihistamine properties?). We have since moved, so it is not as bad anyhow, but we have discontinued the shots and pills and now he is just on the special food (the allergy test results listed what foods would be okay for him to eat, he eats california naturals lamb and rice right now).
He is doing much much much better- no more constant licking his paws at all!