[ioreks_mom]

ok, so, i have another possible for iorek's itching... maybe he is allergic to chicken?? i don't know! he mostly eats chicken, with some turkey necks, lamb ribs, pork neck, beef neck, beef tongue and heart, plus beef organs. do you think that he could be allergic to chicken?? he always scratched but never so much as the last few months. i know that most kibbles are chicken based but he was eating eagle pack holistic select duck and oatmeal for about a month and a half before switching to raw. the itching really seems to have gone up a lot in the last few months. what do you think? he has been eating raw since dec 20th.

also, does anyone have experience with giving their dogs benadryl? my friend thought for a while that he dog might have had environmental allergies and she tried benadryl and it seemed to help a little but not a lot since now they are thinking it might be something else. do you think i could give iorek benadryl for a while to get the itching gone and try eliminating chicken from his diet and see what happens? (i love being able to eliminate things completely from his diet and know for sure it is not there!! i love that i know exactly what he is eating!!)

 

[pawcurious]

protein allergies are very common. Generally speaking, a dog can be allergic to anything- chicken, beef, corn, wheat...so it's certainly possible!

FWIW benadryl won't do anything for food allergies. For environmental ones, it may or may not help (about 1/4 of the time it helps). Most dogs with environmental allergies don't improve much on benadryl so I wouldn't rule it out in your friend's case.

 

[ioreks_mom]

why won't benadryl do anything for food allergies? that doesn't make sense to me

 

[hsieh]

i'm not a vet. my vet told me that the dogs that live the longest and healthiest are the ones that eat ONLY dry dog food. it doesn't matter if it's high quality or not.

 

[ioreks_mom]

i am really sorry, but i do not in the least bit agree with your vet.

 

[pawcurious]

I'd have to go and review the immunology, but benadryl is an antihistamine and I don't believe food allergies are really a histamine moderated response. Don't quote me on that, though, just theorizing.

You could ask a dermatologist, I suppose, if you really were interested.

If you ask people whose dogs have severe environmental allergies- the dogs on Atopica and desensitization- they'll tell you benadryl didn't do much either. It just isn't very potent in the face of overwhelming allergic response.

 

[JustTess]

Is the weather dry? My sammies in the past would get dry itchy skin and I used to have the groomers put some sort of conditioner on it. I don't remember what it was, but it seemed to help when the weather was dry. Also, they used to have a flea allergy. A flea bite would make red patchy skin that would sometimes turn into a hot spot.

Both our dogs got itchy skin from Nutro recently. The vet also suggested giving Lola Benedryl for discomfort for her ear infection.

 

[ioreks_mom]

thank you. i will have to do some research and check the food allergies stuff out then. i will also ask my vet on monday if she thinks it could be a food allergy.

i don't think the air is too dry. i have to use a dehumidifier in my apt, and it kicks in about 2 times a day. it could very well be dry air though, since it really has been worse in the last few months. i don't know though, since he always was itchy, just WAY more now... who knows!

i think i will still try no chicken for a while and see what happens.

 

[BentletheYentle]

Have you ever tried Tar-sulfur shampoo? Its meant to treat dermatitis and it may help Iorek out. The people that I know have used it said it really helped their dogs itchy skin. Its definitely possible that he's allergic to chicken though, and I would definitely try to find the source of the itch, but the shampoo could give him so relief while you sort it out. Good luck with it!

 

[ioreks_mom]

that is a good idea! iorek is getting a bath on thursday because my parents are coming for a visit on saturday and they have not seen him since he was a baby last summer.

will the tar-sulfur shampoo make his fur a yucky colour? is the shampoo black? sorry i have stupid questions but i have not used it before. iorek is white so i really don't want to use something that will make him a funny colour! should i buy the people kind of shampoo or is there a dog version of it too?

thank you for your help. sorry for all the questions!

 

[BentletheYentle]

that is a good idea! iorek is getting a bath on thursday because my parents are coming for a visit on saturday and they have not seen him since he was a baby last summer.

will the tar-sulfur shampoo make his fur a yucky colour? is the shampoo black? sorry i have stupid questions but i have not used it before. iorek is white so i really don't want to use something that will make him a funny colour! should i buy the people kind of shampoo or is there a dog version of it too?

thank you for your help. sorry for all the questions!

The shampoo does look black, but I don't believe that it turns them a yucky color. I know someone with a cream Pom and her dog was still the same color and I would imagine if a cream dog didn't have stains, Iorek wouldn't either. There is a dog version of the shampoo. The brand that I have experience with is Bio-Groom. Most of the pet stores around here have it and I think its fairly popular so hopefully you can find it.

A coworker of mine has a Samoyed and I know she's been having some issues with the itchies lately. I will see her at work today and I'll ask her what's worked for her for relieving them, if you'd like.

 

[ioreks_mom]

thank you for your help again

i will look for the shampoo when our pet supply store opens again tomorrow.

it may just be that he is having trouble with dry air. it could just be a coincidence that we started the raw around the same time as the dry air started because of winter. maybe it is not chicken at all, maybe it is just the dry air. i will try the shampoo and i will try without chicken for a bit too and see where we go from there. thank you

 

[Curbside Prophet]

Something to consider is to have a vet do a blood allergen test. It will cost a few hundred dollars but it may spare you from the guesswork.

 

[Trainer]

It is very rare for a dog to be allergic to raw meat of any kind. I would bet on and environmental allergy if he has an allergy at all. I also tend to think it is probably dry air.

One good thing about a raw diet is that if you suspect your dog is allergic to a particular food item, it is very easy to leave it out of the diet a couple of months and see what happens. This is almost impossible with kibble.

i'm not a vet. my vet told me that the dogs that live the longest and healthiest are the ones that eat ONLY dry dog food. it doesn't matter if it's high quality or not.

I would ask the vet to give you facts on his statement. There is research that indicates kibble fed dogs live an average lifespan of over 2 1/2 years less than dogs fed a natural diet.

 

[ioreks_mom]

Something to consider is to have a vet do a blood allergen test. It will cost a few hundred dollars but it may spare you from the guesswork.

i would guess that if the test is a few hundred dollars in the states it would be a few hundred more in canada!! unfortunately i have 2 cats in need of dentals (~1200 total) and i can't afford that at the moment. i really can't afford the blood work on top of that for sure!

It is very rare for a dog to be allergic to raw meat of any kind. I would bet on and environmental allergy if he has an allergy at all. I also tend to think it is probably dry air.

One good thing about a raw diet is that if you suspect your dog is allergic to a particular food item, it is very easy to leave it out of the diet a couple of months and see what happens. This is almost impossible with kibble.

i will try eliminating chicken for a while and see if that makes any difference. but, since it is coming into spring again now it might end up that the air will get less dry and help him and it won't be the chicken at all!! if he gets better i will try introducing chicken again in a month or 2 for a bit and see if it makes a difference.

i really like that about the raw diet too, i know exactly what he is eating!

thank you for your help

 

[Zora]

i would guess that if the test is a few hundred dollars in the states it would be a few hundred more in canada!!

I'm from Quebec and asked my vet about the blood test, it would be 200$