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2065896 tn?1373685384

Catch 20.

We are in an awful position. Our dog has a severe allergy which we are unable to find the cause of and she itches. Without prednisone she will rip her skin and bleed. We have tried all of the available anti histamines which have not worked. We even sent to America for Benadryl and that was useless. The Vet says if she continues to use prednisone the dog will get diabetes.  Unfortunately she has now the pot belly of Cushing's disease and is always hungry. Has anyone else out there got this problem or know of something we haven't tried? She is a 6yr old Lhasa Apsos.
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462827 tn?1333168952
What is her basic diet?
Helpful - 0
612551 tn?1450022175
I am a "fellow" suffer of dog allergies, a Westie.  On foods (may have already been mentioned) grains can cause problems, so "grain free" and "limited ingredients" (best if only listed ingredients) are good objectives in selecting foods.  There are many good brands sold in the USA, and I think must be available worldwide...but don't know.

I give benedryl every 8 hours to our 20 pound Westie, no sign of improvement.  I also tried another anti histamine recommened specifically for "itch" problems in dogs, I can look up, but as it didn't seem to help I can't recommend it anyway.

We are now in another run of being very careful to give out dog only Salmon and Sweet Potato (plus other none-grain ingredients) kibble and a fish potato canned to add taste and other nutrients to his main evening meal.  I think I see some improvement.  I am very careful too about teats, nothing from the table but cooked or raw vegetables (he's not keen on) or treats that are fish, no grain.  I am even holding off on a dental chew treat he likes, but it has "chicken flavor"  chicken is in many dog food items.
Helpful - 0
2065896 tn?1373685384
Thank you All for you suggestions. She has seen 4 Vets and has had diet changes but I am going to take some of your advice onboard and see how we go then I will Post when I have better information about Poppy.
Helpful - 0
5660397 tn?1373806796
Yep, prednisone (long-term) can cause diabetes both in humans and dogs. One of our dogs (a Toy Fox Terrier) was on prednisone for about 8 months due to health problems including allergies, he developed diabetes, and now is on insulin and a low-carbohydrate diet. (I think it's more likely in dogs to cause diabetes, I was on prednisone at high doses from 2-14 years old and I have some long-term side effects that do remain but I don't have diabetes.)

Have you tried adjusting her diet? Has your vet done blood work and tested for what the allergen(s) may be? With our dog, it was proteins, but specifically familiar proteins used in most dog foods (chicken, beef) and things like rawhide chews. We switched to a dog food brand of food that uses uncommon sources of protein such as duck, lamb, and buffalo, and as the carbohydrate, sweet potato. He loved it (he's fed something different now with diabetes as well as we make both of our dogs home made dog food), and his allergies improved significantly. He also had some pollen and outdoor allergies, but he's a dog and he loves romping around outdoors so taking that away completely seemed cruel. I have horrible allergies myself and keep an eye on pollen counts, and what I do with him is let him get his outside playtime in the early morning and late evening when pollen counts are lower and also take advantage of after it's rained. He gets a a daily bath with a very gentle shampoo, I use eye wipes to get any allergens that might be lurking there away, and his bedding from his dog beds are washed on the 'sanitize' (very hot) setting twice a week, what I can't wash, I do what I do with my own things I can't wash and spray down with Lysol and let them air out for a day (we rotate dog beds to do this, lol). It's helped his allergies so much.

He also takes famotidine (Pepcid) which is marketed as a heartburn medication but a lesser known use for it (as well as ranitidine (Zantac) and cimetidine (Tagamet HG), all are histamine H2 receptor antagonists, though famotidine is the only one I know to be safe for dogs) is for helping treat allergies. He gets acid reflux as well, anyway, so it's beneficial for both. Talk to her vet about that option, perhaps.

Have your vet do ELISA or RAST blood testing for allergens, you NEED to know what her allergies are to help minimize exposure. You can also keep a log/diary of what she's doing, what she ate, time of day, etc. when her allergies flare.

I hope you are able to find some answers. Good luck, I know how frustrating this can be. Also, if her current vet isn't providing care she needs, take her to a new one! All of the things done for our dog were suggested by his vet and she's excellent, I really don't think he'd be alive at 13 years old without her.
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Hello Elan....Yes, Pred used long term is dangerous.....Are you sure this isn't Mange, bacterial infection or Yeast? Has a skin scrape (At your Vet) ever been done? How many times? This is vital!
Is this allergy just seasonal or is it year round? What do you feed this girl? Names, please, including treats.......If you have tried multiple foods, list as many as you can....Thanks, Karla
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Have you tried another vet? or a skin specialist vet for an allergy test?, they do have them...Allergy test? Different food? grass? fleas? meds? etc?
My dog does the same thing after 1 flea bite...
I would keep searching for an answer and eliminate the source...Look up RAW diets maybe its something in the food...I know the dogs always hungry but try to feed the dog a few times a day not 24/7
Helpful - 0
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