Any Suggestions For An Alternative?

[Terujo]

Hi,

I have a VERY allergic boxer that itches, chews and scratches if she eats anything other than high priced premium hypoallergenic foods.

Even a bone causes her to chew her feet like crazy. The only relief we have had for her is when she was on a course of cortisone (obviously to determine reasons for allergy).

I'm getting a little tired of the high price and keep thinking, there must be something else!

We can't feed her anything, not a scrap of any other food without it affecting her. She still scartches and chews on the hypoallergenic foods, but not nearly as badly, and with these foods she has no redness, apart from her feet (from chewing, they are also inflamed).

She is now 5 yrs old and seems to be getting worse with age.

If anyone has any ideas I would be inetersted to hear them.

[oakway]

Hello,

Chicken and rice mixture?.

If the cortisone helped why not put the dog back on it.

I know dog that lived his whole life on low doses of it.

[Terujo]

Hello,

Chicken and rice mixture?.

If the cortisone helped why not put the dog back on it.

I know dog that lived his whole life on low doses of it.

Do u mean home prepared cooked rice and chicken? or something else?

I just followed vets advice on the cortisone. I didn't think it was something dogs could be on long term.

But it's worth running it by the vet, I spose

[Dogsfevr]

Check the ingredients of the royal canin & see what else is around.

Eukanuba do fish/potatoe or roo & something (this one is very hard to get)

Proplan do salmn for sensitive tummies & skin(we use this with great results.

or stick with what is working ..

Have you tried anri histamines ??

Do you find it worse at set times or all year??

What does the vet or yourself feel is the major issue diet oor environment or both??

[Terujo]

Check the ingredients of the royal canin & see what else is around.

Eukanuba do fish/potatoe or roo & something (this one is very hard to get)

Proplan do salmn for sensitive tummies & skin(we use this with great results.

or stick with what is working ..

Have you tried anri histamines ??

Do you find it worse at set times or all year??

What does the vet or yourself feel is the major issue diet oor environment or both??

I have given her anti histamines on the rare occasions when she was stung by a bee (allergic to them ). I hadn't thought of giving them any other time.

It does change throughout the year, but according to my vet nurse, her worst reaction times are at the wrong times of the year for it to be ' seasonal'

I'm at a loss as to what it is envorinment or food. I feel I have tried EVERYTHING!

I did have her on a purely raw diet as a young dog, but looking back there were a lot of vegies in my mix, that may have caused upset. At that time I felt it was certain vegies, which i eliminated one by one. I gave up and put her back onto commercial food.

It has got worse since we moved house (2.5 yrs ago). Grass maybe? Although she is now (as of about 2 months ago- when her allergy increased) inside 99.9% of the day (goes out for toilets only). At first we thought it made a difference, but i don't think so now.

Vet thinks it is most likely food related ( internal), but say they can't say for sure.

If this is just her, then it is just her, but I would love to find some relief or her- I couldn't live like that myself- constantly irritated ansd scratching/chewing

[Terujo]

I've been looking through the other threads on anti histamines, and allergies and stuff. Think I need to ask my vet a few more questions about our options of treatment. There's got to be more than just feeding a hypoallergenic diet.

[persephone]

Has the vet done allergy tests for certain things, or just a good guess ?

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...p;articleid=504

It would be a big shame if she had to miss out on all sorts of things because there was ONE thing needing to be changed....

Have you looked at soaps/air fresheners/material collar is made of..plastic in bowls etc/any additives in drinking water/ shampoos/pollens/paints....

One of my old boys was on PREDNIL tablets for around 9 years... he had allergies to grasses and pollens and food colourings and fleas..

The prednil , which had cortisone in, made him gain weight quickly, but he lived til he was about 12, and enjoyed life!!!

[Terujo]

Has the vet done allergy tests for certain things, or just a good guess ?

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...p;articleid=504

It would be a big shame if she had to miss out on all sorts of things because there was ONE thing needing to be changed....

Have you looked at soaps/air fresheners/material collar is made of..plastic in bowls etc/any additives in drinking water/ shampoos/pollens/paints....

One of my old boys was on PREDNIL tablets for around 9 years... he had allergies to grasses and pollens and food colourings and fleas..

The prednil , which had cortisone in, made him gain weight quickly, but he lived til he was about 12, and enjoyed life!!!

The vets have just had a good guess and obviously not a very good one at that!

will enquire about allergy testing. I know we have a specialist who is in our area monthly- will see if we can arrange to go down this path.

Thanks for the info.

I'm glad I bothered to ask- much better than sitting here getting frustrated listening to her licking and chewing- as I am right now!

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Have you contacted the herbalist, Robert McDowell? If not, I'd strongly recommend his advice and remedies.

Ruby is our super-allergic dog and his remedies work a treat. I use the blood purifying mix when she's really bad, and use the skin allergy mix for much of the year. These remedies are completely safe, unlike the conventional treatments, and Ruby tolerates them well. She's fed a raw, whole foods (home prepared) diet which I also believe helps enormously.

Link to Robert McDowell's website:

Robert McDowell

HTH.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Hills Z/d Ultra or Z/d Low Allergen might be slightly cheaper than RC, I'm not sure I haven't done a price check lately.

If she is an adult and even on the hypoallergenic food she is still driven mad by the itchiness then yes, allergy testing is something to seriously consider.

A prescription diet forever is more preferable to long term cortisone...many dogs are on it and live great long lives but the chances are it causes a host of other problems later in life.

You can pulp up the dry Z/d biscuits in the blender, mix to a paste with water and then re-bake in a slow oven and this makes good training treats. Ptolomy on this forum is also good to talk to as she has a super allergic Toller who has many food intolerances and I think she uses baked sweet potato as treats too.

Good luck,

Mel.

[bommy]

have you consulted her breeder at all?

Is it definitely internal or could it be something like a environment allergy? I see that she is 5 has she always been like this? for her whole life?

Try the raw prey diet base it on leaner meats, you may have to go low protien even.. do you give her things like Aloe VeraJuice? Yakult etc? try some of those as well.

What do you was her bedding in?Do you fertilise your yard? ALl of this can be irritants to your girl,

Also has your vet done skin scrapings for mange at all?

ETA: Try a splash of apple cider vinegar in her drinking water, as well as her rinsing water when you wash her

Edited January 21, 2008 by bommy

[Terujo]

Hills Z/d Ultra or Z/d Low Allergen might be slightly cheaper than RC, I'm not sure I haven't done a price check lately.

If she is an adult and even on the hypoallergenic food she is still driven mad by the itchiness then yes, allergy testing is something to seriously consider.

Good luck,

Mel.

She was on the HS z/d but when I changed vets they don't always have it in stock, so for someone like me who goes " oh no I need more food by tomorrow" - like I did a couple of times I couldn't wait the 4 days required for them to order it in, so i had to get what they had coz she can't eat what my other dogs eat .

They supply royal canin and always have there so its easy just to go and and get some.

lilysmum, great link, have already checked it out- will email them tomorrow. Thanks

[Terujo]

have you consulted her breeder at all? No, BYB's -my 1st dog , bought from the wrong ppl- u know the kind of story.

Is it definitely internal or could it be something like a environment allergy? I see that she is 5 has she always been like this? for her whole life? she gets progressively worse with every year- but yes she has been ' allergic' since the start.

Try the raw prey diet base it on leaner meats, you may have to go low protien even.. do you give her things like Aloe VeraJuice? Yakult etc? try some of those as well.- might try that!

She didn't tolerate proplan, because of the high protein, that's when she was switched to low allergen.

What do you was her bedding in? at the moment she sleeps on the couch Do you fertilise your yard? NupALl of this can be irritants to your girl,

Also has your vet done skin scrapings for mange at all? no, they have said it's not mange- I have asked. It's definitely allergy- to what, I don't know.

appreciate your help.

[bommy]

hi Dogislove

Poor you & your poor girl

If her problem is high protein avoid high protein meats:

chicken/roo etc are very high protein

Final question - have you always lived where you are now?could there be something in the earth? water?

[Terujo]

hi Dogislove

Final question - have you always lived where you are now?could there be something in the earth? water?

This is the train of thought I have been on for a while. we have lived her for 2.5 yrs. she had got obviously worse since then, although she was a problem before that.

Hmmmm.... you mentioned insecticides b4. We don't use any, but i have a vineyard behind my house.

I know they use herbicides. Could be the problem!

I find it hard to elimante things like that because we have 4 dogs and none have any allergies whatsoever apart from this one!! The other dogs spend more time nearer to our back part of our yard, so I never gave it another thought.

will mention it to the vet!!

Thanks

[bommy]

hope it helps & you get a solution

[Cavandra]

Grains & cereals, rice, pasta all cereals can cause itching, and is in most commercial dog foods.

Change your water to purified not tap water.

Give Kelp & apple cider vinegar every day.

Is she desexed? if not could be hormonal.

Give Evening Primrose oil & Fish oil capsules twice a day

Build up of annual vaccine can cause allergy symptoms, usually starts about age 4-5.

Holistic Vet is the way to go IMO

[InspectorRex]

your Vet needs to refer you to a Veterinary Dermatoloigst and stop playing the guessing game which in turn is causing your dog(and you) to suffer. If she/he won't refer you then go to a Vet who will.Dermatoligust has more knowledge with these issues. In the interim I would try putting baby cotton socks ( or dog boots)on her paws each time she has to go outside to lessen the risk of a Contact allergy

[Imoenboxers]

Could be a preservative allergy? I have a dog here that is allergic to preservatives found in commercial dog food.

I now feed a raw diet, but still have to be careful that no preservatives have been used on the meat. I do however feed a small amount of dry food each week (just to ensure all the vitamins and minerals are there) and I use Nutrience Holistic. It is preservative free and smells brilliant. Must taste great too as my dogs love it and I will sometimes use it for training treats at the dog club.

Check the ingredients on the packaging and if there are any preservatives, stear clear of the product. I really hope it is something this simple, as feeding becomes a real battle until you know what causes it.

Good luck

[kamuzz]

Purina One do a sensitive stomach one based on salmon. But it probably wouldn't be low allergy enough for your dog. Only mentioning it because it has fish as the source of protein rather than meat.