[Whitsr]

It seems every summer Reptar and I deal with allergies. I just wish I could make it more bareable to her. The vet said every summer dogs in California have horrific allergies. She currently is on Hyrdoxizine and a steroid spray (spray can only be for seven days). Also just noticed she is chewing at her paw pad, I don't know if that's due to allergies or not, but it looks pretty uncomfortable. I've also tried benadryl, but thought I'd use up the hydroxyzine before going back to benadryl. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated. She's a 1.5 year old Lab/Shepherd Mix

Pics:
Belly:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v68/liquidatedmind/photo-4_zps074e9516.jpg

Chewed Pad:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v68/liquidatedmind/photo-3_zps98b3eb20.jpg

 

[Amaryllis]

My sympathies, allergies are the worst.

There are some environmental things you can do. Brush the dog every night and rinse the brush off afterwards to get pollen off the fur. Wash the dog at least once a month using a gentle, hypoallergenic shampoo. Cut down on other possible allergens by feeding grain free and chicken free if you can. (This seems to confuse people. Allergic reactions spike other allergic reactions. I've had pollen allergies for over a decade. I recently found out I have a dairy allergy and cut out all dairy. This is the first Spring/Summer I've been able to breathe.)

I also sweep and vacuum every other day and use that Swiffer duster thing on all the surfaces, windowsills, furniture, baseboards, etc. They all pick up pollen when the windows are open.

 

[Fade]

Plain yogurt is great for allergies.
A medicated Shampoo
High quality food ( cut out any grains )
lots and lots of Vitamins.

This is what helped flash and he was about 10X worse then that. Eventually I could not control it anymore once he turned 5. His body would be a mass of raw open scabs. The only thing by then that would help was prednisone and antibiotics. Prednisone is not a good option. It also make him lose his bladder function >.< so I switched to a raw diet. ta da! 99% better.

 

[SDRRanger]

You can also put gentian violet on the sores and the foot pad. Generally used to prevent thrush in nursing mothers (and baby mouths) it dries up to sore itchy spots caused by allergies, other hot spots, etc. I think it is a miracle to give your dog some relief....just a warning though, make sure they're dry before being allowed back in the house/off their mat....that stuff stains!

 

[CoverTune]

Oh her poor belly, that looks awful!

I've learned that Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine, so I'd definitely try that instead of Benadryl. It can be dosed to bowel tolerance (meaning as much as you can give until they get runny poop, then back off the dosage a touch) and I'd give it at least twice a day. Just as an example, my 13lb boy is getting 3,000mg/daily.

 

[Whitsr]

Thanks for all the feedback! Very helpful!!

 

[Tylerthegiant]

Lucas has summer allergies too, the only other thing I could add is some people swear by coolspot 2000 for hot spots. Haven't tried it myself as I still have a bunch of the stuff from the vet that seems to be managing it pretty well, but if I run out of that and he gets more hotspots I'm going to try it.