Golden Retriever with skin allergies

[have 2 kids]

Our 2 year old golden retriever developed a severe skin allergy in january.   She was treated
with prednisone and antibiotics.  Within days of being off the meds the rash returned.  
The vet thougth it was a food allergy.  We changed her food and she recovered.   Now 3 months
later she has developed the rash again.   We bathe her with an oatmeal shampoo but she
broke out even worse.   She is constantly itching and has dry skin.   She chews the pads on
her feet until they bled.   Our vet doesn't know what else to do.  Any suggestions?  

[BabaluandOtis2]

You're welcome ; )

And look up that med "Atopica" online, it is not a steroid, which is good, but it does have some possible side effects as all meds do.
And maybe ask your vet about it.

Dogs do get/have food allergies...but they generally can only be diagnosed by a long process of elimination of foods etc..
Skin allergies to other normal allergens is much more common. Weeds, grasses, etc..

[have 2 kids]

Thank you!

[BabaluandOtis2]

Actually, it's a long post /thread...so if you just search in the upper right of the page where it says..."search this community" and type in "Dog with seasonal allergies" or "basset with allergies", or just "allergies", lol , that topic will come up and you can read the whole thing.

Hope that makes sense!!
Take care, Teresa ; )

[BabaluandOtis2]

Hi, I am going to just cut/paste my post from awhile ago to someone w/ pup allergies. It's too long to type again...lol...they're are 2 replies so I'll post both.

#1
Hi,

I have an itchy baby too. 4yr old Beagle. I just had him allergy tested last month.

  In March he had an especially bad episode that resulted in a very bad rash and an eye infection due to the allergies so my regular vet said I should take him to the doggie dermatologist. We have a fantastic vet hospital in our area w/ all kinds of specialists. But it can be pretty pricey.
The first app. I had was a consult, where the doc did some basic tests for yeast/bacteria. I also was giving mine Benedryl and found out the amount I was using wasn't enough. My baby probably weighs 10-15 pounds more than yours but she told me to give 2-3 , 25mg benedryl up to 3x day. The 1 25mg pill wasn't doing anything. So I would suspect that 1 pill for yours at 64lbs probably isn't enough, maybe 2 pills. But of course run that by your vet. Also the fish oil capsules i was giving him(the people kind) weren't high enough either. The fish oil works in combination w/ the antihistamine(benedryl) to reduce the inflammation and itchies.
The fish oil i was was using had 180mg EPA, and 120mgDHA per cap. the fish oil i got from them has 540mg EPA, and 350mg DHA per cap. And for the weight of our pups the bottle says 60-90lbs give 2 caps orally once a day. I can still buy the people kind after I'm done with the bottle from the vet but I just have to look at labels and get a higher amount. The people kind is much cheaper of course.

OK, so after the first visit she also put him on 2 antibiotic meds. for his skin problems, 1 was an antifungal and the other antibacterial.  I already had the Malaseb shampoo which is FANTASTIC for itchy pups. So she gave me Dermal Soothe rinse off conditioner also. These 2 can be found online much cheaper then at the vet also.
And we set up an app. for his testing one month later. The dog can't have had any kind of steroid medication 6-8wks before the allergy test or it's basically wasting money as it can mess up the test.  And mine had been given a steroid med for his eye infection a few weeks before, hence waiting the month.

For the test he had to be dropped off early and stayed for most of the day, they test them for 55-60 known allergens. And they are rated on a scale of 0-4, 4 being the worst. My boy is allergic to A LOT. Many grasses, weeds, dusts, molds, wools etc.. AND CATS, LOL.... I couldn't believe he was allergic to cats.....too funny. Thank god I don't have any....but we do have feral ones around the neighborhood.
So now i start the allergy shots. This can take up to a year to see any benefit, but it can help up to 75% of dogs. The shots are basically the things he is allergic too, they formulate them according to his allergies and you start out at a very low amount. I have 3 bottles, each stronger than the last. These 3 bottles will last 6 months. Then I just get another bottle at the highest amount. It's a strict schedule with the shots, such and such an amount every 3 days, then 10 days then 20 days depending on your pups situation. The shots are basically like people getting an immunization shot for diseases, etc. where you are giving them very small amounts of what they are allergic too and hopefully they will build up an immunity to them. Of course during the shots you have to be aware of any side effects and they will alter the meds as needed, or keep you on the lower dosage longer etc.. I had an older diabetic pup, he's passed on now (I still miss him :( so the shots aren't a problem for me. But for needlephobics i would think that could be an issue, :O

I also have a Basset Hound who is a very yeasty boy, but the Malaseb shampoo and spray, and the Dermal Soothe rinse are all he needs thankfully. He also gets fish oil too.
The allergy consult and testing with all the meds came to about $1200 for me. All depends on your pups problems and the area where you live I suppose. But I have no 2 legged children so these are my babies and i would probably max out all my cards if needed for them, LOL..... OK....that's not so funny.....(knocking on wood).......

ANYWAY.......If money is an issue (like when isn't it?) or you just want to try this first and see if it's enough for your pup, I would buy the Malaseb Shampoo and spray, and also the Dermal Soothe Rinse, I think I got mine at Amazon.com. The Malaseb spray & shampoo was a package deal, about $20 I think, I got 2 of those and then the Dermal Soothe Rinse I think is about $15. And also the fish oil combined w/ the benedryl. Maybe that's all you need.

WHEW.....sorry so long.....hope it helps your baby.

OH...coconut oil too....There was an artical in the dog journal about it. It's a natural anti-fungal. Good for people too. But you need to buy the better virgin stuff, not the really cheap stuff in the supermarkets, that's just for cooking. Anyway, you can give some in their food, very small amount at first as too much can cause the poops and stomach upset....maybe just a teaspoonful at first. You can also rub it in directly on hot spots/itchy areas. Works great...but is very yummmy so they tend to want to lick at it. Nothing wrong with that but not good for the hotspot,LOL.....

Take care ; )
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