[JujuJay]

So i'm looking for an allergy shampoo for my dog that actually works. She's a bully mix, about 10 months old. She's had allergies since i got her 5 months ago, but they were very manageable with baths and salmon oil. But the cold weather has been awful for her allergies, if she so much as goes outside when it's cold in the mornings she'll come in with hives. So i decided to try a new shampoo specifically for allergies. I tried the "top recommended" Vet's Best Allergy Itch Relief, gave my dog a bath, followed the instructions, left it on for 3ish minutes like it told me to, rinsed thoroughly, and dried her. And less than 20 minutes later my dog was COVERED in hives on her back and ventral. She's not itchy or red, just with little bumps everywhere. Which is one of the primary symptoms of her milder allergic reactions, her worse ones normally involve red and watery eyes, and red rashes on her ventral. Which I'm not seeing yet from this last bath/ reaction from the shampoo. So the "top recommended" allergy shampoo gave my dog an allergic reaction. The shampoo i used to use wasn't giving her any adverse reactions, but it wasnt medicated either, it was just made for sensitive skinned dogs, so it wasn't helping much with her allergies either. I give her supplements, salmon oil, and bathe her twice a week, but especially lately with the changing weather her allergies have been awful. It's something environmental to the outdoors, because she's always perfectly fine at home. I give her 50mg benadryl (as prescribed by the vet for her weight) when i notice her allergy symptoms making her uncomfortable, but if I can find a good medicated shampoo i feel like it would help her greatly. Any recommendations would be great.

 

[LeoRose]

Have you tried just rinsing her with water instead of shampooing her? Or just wiping her down with a damp washcloth? Also, are you rubbing the shampoo into her coat with the direction of the hair growth, or scrubbing against it?

And has your vet recommend you take her to a dermatologist? It might not be a bad idea.

As far as shampoos, I use Chubbs Bars on the few occasions I have to bathe my dogs. If my GSD, who has some kind of environmental allergies, is extra-itchy, I use a chlorhexidine shampoo from my vet.

 

[JujuJay]

So I do sometimes just give her a warm rinse, but the vet recommended I use shampoo most of the time to get the dirt and stuff off her (she always rolls on dirt and mud so water isn’t always an option). My vet has talked about recommending a dermatologist last time I took her, but the nearest one is over an hour away and well out of my price range just to make an appointment so I’m saving up for the possibility of that right now. And I rub the shampoo in with her fur. Because my dog has such strong allergies, my vet recommended baths twice a week for a month, reduce baths to once every two weeks and then do the twice a week again if allergies start acting up. Since I’ve had her we had one flare up, so I did the procedure of twice a week for 4 weeks. And then we were pretty good allergy wise until the weather changed. We had mild rashes and redness that went away within the day, but nothing bad. Now it’s been hard to maintain, she gets hives all the time and her nose is always very red (she has very white fur so it’s easy to see when she’s flared up) which is why I’m looking at medicated shampoo options. Since her allergies now are worse than they’ve ever been in the 5 months I’ve had her.

 

[Shell]

Could be Cold urticaria making a worsening of hives.

Are you really really really rinsing any shampoo out? Lingering shampoo irritates the skin.

I'd probably try a warm (not hot) rinse with an apple cider and water rinse after that and then another warm rinse.

edit to add comment to your newest post:

mud washes off with water or brushes off when dry.

do you have city water or well water, do you have a whole house water softener?

My observation is that bathes dont do much for allergies causes by inhalation or ingestion, only for topical contact. Any chance her symptoms correlate with something other than skin contact?

 

[LeoRose]

This might be a wild hare, but have you tried using dye-free and fragrance-free laundry and cleaning products? I had a horrible reaction when I used a different laundry detergent while at a relative's house earlier this year (hurricane evacuation, not vacation). Pretty much everywhere my clothing touched me, I had a blistering rash that itched like crazy. I was miserable for days.

And Shell brings up a good point of making sure you have all the shampoo out. Rinse until the water is clear, and then rinse again for good measure. Also, try using cool water, not warm.

 

[JujuJay]

Yeah I rinsed her very thoroughly, I looked it up and the shampoo I used has Tea Tree Oil, so I’m kinda speculating that’s what cause a reaction. Because her other shampoo doesn’t have that. I’ll definitely try the Apple cider rinse! Thank you

 

[JujuJay]

This might be a wild hare, but have you tried using dye-free and fragrance-free laundry and cleaning products? I had a horrible reaction when I used a different laundry detergent while at a relative's house earlier this year (hurricane evacuation, not vacation). Pretty much everywhere my clothing touched me, I had a blistering rash that itched like crazy. I was miserable for days.

And Shell brings up a good point of making sure you have all the shampoo out. Rinse until the water is clear, and then rinse again for good measure. Also, try using cool water, not warm.

yes! All of her blankets beds and etc as well as my linens are washed with dye free fragrance free detergent. As soon as I noticed she had allergies I switched up everything

 

[Shell]

Is she a blue pit/bully type by any chance?

yeah, tea tree oil could be a cause of the worse reaction to the new shampoo but that isn't getting to the main cause of her allergies. Since you were using the shampoo to treat a reaction to begin with.

I had made some edit comments to my first post while you were probably reading and replying at the same time

 

[JujuJay]

Is she a blue pit/bully type by any chance?

yeah, tea tree oil could be a cause of the worse reaction to the new shampoo but that isn't getting to the main cause of her allergies. Since you were using the shampoo to treat a reaction to begin with.

I had made some edit comments to my first post while you were probably reading and replying at the same time

Yes she’s a blue bully mix. She’s white with blue/grey spots and the pink nose and belly. And yeah I know they aren’t the main source of her allergies but she was perfectly fine and give free this morning, and then after her wash she flared up with hives. Yesterday she had a pretty bad allergic reaction (it was also the coldest day of her life bc it was 29 degrees in the morning and she flared up as soon as she went out for her morning potty). After her reaction I washed all her beds, blankets, and towels just to be safe. And then the bath today made it worse when she was alright all of the day

 

[JujuJay]

Could be Cold urticaria making a worsening of hives.

Are you really really really rinsing any shampoo out? Lingering shampoo irritates the skin.

I'd probably try a warm (not hot) rinse with an apple cider and water rinse after that and then another warm rinse.

edit to add comment to your newest post:

mud washes off with water or brushes off when dry.

do you have city water or well water, do you have a whole house water softener?

My observation is that bathes dont do much for allergies causes by inhalation or ingestion, only for topical contact. Any chance her symptoms correlate with something other than skin contact?

And her allergies could be from inhaling something. Definitely not ingestion because she’s had the same food and treats her whole time with me. And most of our months together have been allergy free. It could just be dust allergies, that have been worsened by the cold stressing her body, but I have an air purifier and I clean her things and the house as often as I can.

 

[Shell]

The dilute color gene for blue pits is linked to allergy sensitivities.

In my completely non-vet opinion, here is what I would do for the next month:

No shampoo baths. Rinse really yucky mud off with plain water, use 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water mix for spot treatment if she rolls in poop or such. Normal dirt, just ignore and let dry and brush off.

Rinse in warm (tepid) water only.

Remove any air fresheners, oils, wax melts etc in the house if applicable

No treats unless they are solely the only protein of her food. As in, if chicken based food, only 100% chicken part can be a treat.

Be careful what you clean the house with and make sure it is well aired out after a cleaning. Yes, it is winter in North America but the trick to saving costs on heat while airing out a house is to open the windows wide open and let the air rush past but then close them before the materials of the house (furniture, walls, flooring) can drop in temperature. Those are the heat holders/releasers, not the air so much.

 

[JujuJay]

The dilute color gene for blue pits is linked to allergy sensitivities.

In my completely non-vet opinion, here is what I would do for the next month:

No shampoo baths. Rinse really yucky mud off with plain water, use 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water mix for spot treatment if she rolls in poop or such. Normal dirt, just ignore and let dry and brush off.

Rinse in warm (tepid) water only.

Remove any air fresheners, oils, wax melts etc in the house if applicable

No treats unless they are solely the only protein of her food. As in, if chicken based food, only 100% chicken part can be a treat.

Be careful what you clean the house with and make sure it is well aired out after a cleaning. Yes, it is winter in North America but the trick to saving costs on heat while airing out a house is to open the windows wide open and let the air rush past but then close them before the materials of the house (furniture, walls, flooring) can drop in temperature. Those are the heat holders/releasers, not the air so much.

Thanks, I’m definitely taking her to the vet if her allergies keep acting up. I don’t use wax melts and only use organic pet safe cleaners bc I have pet rats that are very sensitive to scents and cleaners. I will definitely hold off on baths unless the vet recommends it, but I’m still gonna research some medicated shampoos for sensitive skin for when I do have to bathe her. If anything, I may just use baby shampoo bc baby shampoo has nothing in it that’s remotely harmful

 

[DaySleepers]

I'm so sorry she's going through this - it sounds awful. You've gotten great advice with the shampoo, so I'm going to come at this from a different angle.

A friend of mine had a husky mix with terrible, terrible contact allergies. What helped her the most was a bodysuit worn every time she went outside. They look ridiculous! But it might help if it's contact allergies and/or be a barrier if it's cold urticaria. Here's a link to one recommended for allergies, but there may be cheaper options out there too!