Allergies

[bendog]

My boyfriends parents dog (6 year old Welsh Terrier b itch) has very severe allergies.
Her ears and feet are especially bad, to the point where she has almost blocked her ears up completely with scar tissue and has no fur left on her feet.

She is on half a steriod tablet and 2 or 3 Piriton a day, and has drops for her ears (which are expensive) and it does help but she still suffers a lot.
In the past they have tried virtually every medication the vets can give, including homeopathic tablets.

She gets fed lots of cakes, white bread, pizza and other rubbish which I don't think helps, but they don't listen to me.

According to a blood test she is allergic to grass and carpet mites which are unfortunately fairly unavoidable.

Anyone know anything that would help?
I hate seeing her suffer, and when she is itchy she can get snappy and has bitten.

[Fundog]

Cakes, white bread (any bread, actually), pizza, and other people junk food/processed fast foods do contribute significantly to the allergic reactions in dogs that are prone to allergies. The foods that you specifically mentioned in particular are often the primary culprit in systemic yeast infections in dogs-- which would explain the ears and feet problems she has. She will never get better if her people keep feeding her foods with yeast, sugar, and gluten. However, I bet if they would switch her to a grain-free diet and cut out all the "people food" and table scraps, that she would begin to rally, and they will see a huge improvement in her overall health.

[Nettle]

Amen to that - I've seen some horrendous skin conditions clear up just from a change of diet.

[ladybug1802]

Absolutely!! Get them to cut out all that junk food...and any human food like that....and switch to grain free. When i first got Dylan as a rescue he was really itchy...I started off on James Wellbeloved which is a good food, but then switched to grain free. He is now fed Arden Grange Sensitive grain free and it has been brilliant...much less itchy, and he had a bald belly and very thin fur when I got him which is now covered in thick fur!

[BuddhaMom]

My boyfriends parents dog (6 year old Welsh Terrier b itch) has very severe allergies.
Her ears and feet are especially bad, to the point where she has almost blocked her ears up completely with scar tissue and has no fur left on her feet.

She is on half a steriod tablet and 2 or 3 Piriton a day, and has drops for her ears (which are expensive) and it does help but she still suffers a lot.
In the past they have tried virtually every medication the vets can give, including homeopathic tablets.

She gets fed lots of cakes, white bread, pizza and other rubbish which I don't think helps, but they don't listen to me.

According to a blood test she is allergic to grass and carpet mites which are unfortunately fairly unavoidable.

Anyone know anything that would help?
I hate seeing her suffer, and when she is itchy she can get snappy and has bitten.

You mentioned all of the food, is she allergic to wheat too maybe?? My Golden has a bad wheat allergy and those foods you listed reminded me a lot of the situation Oakley is in when she goes to my parents house.

Otherwise this seems like a very difficult situation. Any major changes to the landscape or internal build of the house would be so expensive. I'm running out of ideas because I will never ask somebody to give a dog away even if it is struggling...

[cr@zypooch]

My dog has Atopic dermatitis, and has an allergy to dust mites, pollen, grass and cereals....I malaseb bath him (available from the vets) once a week...he regularly has ear infections and licks his groin and back end to the point where he has to go on antibiotics, he has been on atopica (a VERY expensive tablet - works out at £1-50 a tablet and he had to have three a day ) Luckily when I got him from the rescue home I took out insurance straight away which 'luckily' for me covers this condition , otherwise I would not be able to afford to look after him. He is on steroids, sometimes three a day, and probably will be for the rest of his life, however long that may be as all these tablets and stuff will probably shorten it. I have always said though that I would rather he had a short happy life than a long, uncomfortable one.

I find that Oscar reacts badly to dry food, my vet says to stay away from cheap dry food as the dust at the bottom of the bag holds dust mites....So I have been feeding him good ol Butchers and a mixer biscuit which he seems to get on with. ...It's funny, but I just know when Oscar is getting ill as he smells different!!!

I have recently had to change food bowl size for Oscar to help him shift a few pounds as I do find he ains weight VERY easy (dont we all???)

[Chance1214]

i do agree that getting rid of that food can definetely help a great deal!! but i can understand allergies my dog has allergies ofthe skin-- feet and ears he chews on them a lot why i am up at 520am actually was listening to him chew on his paws so woke up to relieve him! i just found this awsome stuff actually def worth trying for anyone whose dog is sufering it seems to really be helping my chance -- which ive tried just about everything!!! i just put him on some omega-3 pills with his dinner i mix them in (puncture the pill and mix them in with his wet dinner) and sometiems unfortunately have to give him benadryle at night it gets so bad.... just to give him night relief he hasnt lost hair atleast but he has so much hes a wheaten terrier... but this stuff really is amazing ive been laying off the benadryl!! and its all natural which makes me so happy! and i think he just hates the smell he just smelt it and turned his head away -- they sell it on 1800 pet meds i dunno where else.... its called Vets+Best Natural formula hot spot spray-- he doesnt have hot spots buuut it says its for allergies and dermititis and other conditiions itchy skin etc other than that and only contains tea tree oil, aloe vera, chamomile (tried all those shampoos too!!!) as im holding it bc i just used it on my guy!!
also i found some stuff its called an infusion towash him with that seemed to help for a few days (anything right?) ill send u the name later when i get to it!! im sure they sell it on anoter website besides 1800 pet meds but i just find they ship faster than other websites...
seems that Vets+Best stuff hsa a line including an ear wash of this stuff for itch relief i duno maybe ur parents should chek it out
i hope all works out for u and them and the pooch feels better bc i know the suffering ... feeling there pain its awful
good luck

[Nettle]

Smell is an underrated diagnostic tool - I have a dog in the early stages of liver failure, and the first I knew was that his body scent changed. This is why we always recommend a full vet check includes bloods, urine and faecal tests for organ function.

Ear mites make the ears smell different too, and mites in the feet change the smell.

Well said crazydog for pointing that out.