I have a 7-year old german shepherd that has been suffering with skin allergies for the majority of her life. She received an allergy test a little while back and, to our chagrin, is allergic to a lot of stuff (bluegrass, alder, ash, maple, elm, housedust, mites, rabbit, poultry mix, lamb, barley, etc). She was put on a special diet (Wellness food's "Simply Food Solutions-Duck Formula"), and takes keflex (500 mg) to alleviate her constant itching. She gets weekly medicated baths as well. Nothing seems to work; she is constantly itching and gnawing at herself. The poor thing barely has fur anymore! Does anyone have any suggestions?
Answers:
Make sure she is also completely flea-free!
Our SOP is a short course of corticosteroids (prednisone) and cephalexin to alleviate the skin infection and inflammation, to allow her a break from the itch and the skin to heal.
Next I would consult with your vet about different options for therapy. Have you tried high dose antihistamines? (Benedryl, loratadine, etc) There is also another heavy-hitter in immune suppression in the class of keflex called cyclosporine, we have great success with it in our severe allergy patients. If your vet seems stumped, or unwilling to pursue other possibilities, I would ask for a referral to a dermatology specialist.
Good luck, don't give up! Keep up the weekly bathing, make sure she is parasite free, and keep trying!
make her food yourself, do as much research on natural organic diet for dogs, even that B.A.R.F. raw meat diet.have you tried instead of medicated bath using Aveeno oatmeal products?? get the baby bath to try first. there is regular and milk bath.even , i know this sounds silly, nut get the baby aveeno buttcream put it on an area sh cannot lick off, and see if it will help calm any redness or irritation. its worth a try. and a lot cheaper too...there is one other thing. it is called bag balm. looks like vaseline, smells but not too much. farmers use it on cows and every other animal, i have used it on dog and cat paws chapped from winter snow and salt. hard to find but it worked. it is in a green square tin. was less then 10 bucks i think, lasts forever...
I have heard that WALTHAMS SENSITIVITY CONTROL food is very good for allergies OR HILLS SCIENCE PLAN Canine D/d, it is an egg and rice based food, it is a matter of trying different foods and combo's every 6 months to see what helps, also try MALASEB ANTBACTERIAL / ANTIFUNGAL SHAMPOO, i actually have not come across a skin condition that this shampoo cannot help with, ask your vet for a distributor where you live.
Vet Nurse.
Bath her daily. Shave her fur. Expose her skin to heat so that most germs die. Keep her dry. Give her natural foods like real bones. Exercise. Play with her.
take her cow's milk and replace with soya milk if you want to give her some " milk ".
No chicken meat or eggs.
wash with mild Esentham soap to alleviate the itchings . bath her with mild baby soap. I find the Tolly joy brand of baby soap best.
leaves a fresh after bath scent
Have you talked to your vet about allergen injections? There is a company that makes an allergen injection specific to your pet and you give it weekly or every other week as a simple injection under the skin. It works well for some dogs with severe allergies and since you already know what she is allergic to it wouldn't take much more to get the allergen made up. Also, I would consider adding vitamin E and omega fatty acids to her food as well. You can use the products found at human drug/health stores or you could try one of the veterinary products (my vet sells one called EFA-caps and usually recommends it for people whose dogs have allergies in addition to other therapies).
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