allergic to grass?

[Safari]

does anyone have a pup allergic to grass? as soon as the spring hit my pup has been licking his paws way too much every time i take him outside. i wipe his paws down after we come inside but he still licks them non-stop only right after we come inside. they are red and seem very sensitive. i live in the country so its impossible to avoid grass. he also recently likes to roll around in the grass, which i try to get him not to do, but since then ive noticed a bald spot on his back near his butt. the vet said it was a staph skin infection and put him on antibiotics and a medicated shampoo. the shampoo makes his fur soft but other than that, nothing as changed except a new bald spot between his shoulder blades. i have another vet appointment thursday, and ordered fromm beef frittata dry food and should be expecting it any day now. i feed him blue buffalo basics grain free turkey and potatoes now. i also can not afford $1,000 for allergy testing. :ashamed: thanks for reading and any advice!

Update on page 2

 

[Cbrugs]

Jax is allergic to grass, trees, shrubs, weeds, everything outside. He is on bi-weekly allergy shots and daily Apoquel but still licks/chews his paws, just not as badly. I also give him a bath once a week and when his paws start to get red, I do iodine soaks. Have you tried giving your pup Benadryl?

 

[Safari]

Cbrugs - can they get allergy shots without being tested for specific allergies? or do the shots cover mostly everything? i have thought about trying Benadryl but wasnt sure the correct dosage?

 

[blushy]

Cbrugs - can they get allergy shots without being tested for specific allergies? or do the shots cover mostly everything? i have thought about trying Benadryl but wasnt sure the correct dosage?

Isabelle gets bumps on her skin that turn to tiny scabs. She's 19.9 lbs and I give her 1 25mg Benadryl.

But she doesn't lose any fur... Good luck!

 

[Safari]

Isabelle gets bumps on her skin that turn to tiny scabs. She's 19.9 lbs and I give her 1 25mg Benadryl.

But she doesn't lose any fur... Good luck!

125mg once a day?

 

[Cbrugs]

Cbrugs - can they get allergy shots without being tested for specific allergies? or do the shots cover mostly everything? i have thought about trying Benadryl but wasnt sure the correct dosage?

Jax is 30 pounds and would get 1 25 mg pill. I think the dosage is 1 mg per pound. And I believe you can give Benadryl up to 3 times a day. The allergy shots that Jax are on are specific to his allergies and the serum is made up based on his allergy test results. However, there is something called Respit which you do not need to do a test for. If I remember correctly, the serum is concocted based on the allergens that are in your area. I am not sure how much the cost is for that as I went with the allergy testing. And I'm not sure where you live or if you have pet insurance but for Jax's first visit, allergy test, local anesthesia and 1st batch of serum (which lasts at least 6 months, if not more), I paid a little over $600 and it was covered under the insurance and I got reimbursed.

 

[blushy]

125mg once a day?

No (1) 25mg pill, and I give one in the morning, 1 in the evening. As said above its 1mg per pound, but my vet said the 1 whole tablet is fine.

I believe it's 3 times a day as well, but I choose twice since it works for my dog.

 

[Safari]

Cbrugs - thanks for all the good info! i will def try the Benadryl and see if that helps. good to know about the insurance company. my vet has an insurance company but i cant remember the name of it. it actually has a frenchie on the flyer. what insurance company do you use?

 

[Tgirl]

Yep, agreed. It's about 1mg per pound of body weight and they can have it every 8 hours as needed. Sometimes they are allergic to a number of things and it's tolerable but add one more (for example pollen) and it's like the straw that broke the camel's back. Try to eliminate as many factors as possible, and try the benadryl.

 

[Safari]

No (1) 25mg pill, and I give one in the morning, 1 in the evening. As said above its 1mg per pound, but my vet said the 1 whole tablet is fine.

I believe it's 3 times a day as well, but I choose twice since it works for my dog.

oooh ok! :facepalm: thank you very much!

 

[blushy]

Cbrugs - thanks for all the good info! i will def try the Benadryl and see if that helps. good to know about the insurance company. my vet has an insurance company but i cant remember the name of it. it actually has a frenchie on the flyer. what insurance company do you use?

I think that's the ASPCA insurance that has a frenchie

 

[bullmama]

Yes definitely try benedryl, and I would also look more closely at the food you are feeding as this could possibly be a connection to the lowered immune system reaction that causes allergies. Also trying Nuvet plus would be worth a shot since that helps many cats and dogs with allergies. Another thing to try would be adding a bit of salmon or coconut oil to the diet.


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[2bullymama]

try to get away from the white potatoes... it can add to the issue too. My girl was allergic to all things green -- Benadryl was a big help but even more was wiping her paws, belly and face after each outing

 

[Cbrugs]

Cbrugs - thanks for all the good info! i will def try the Benadryl and see if that helps. good to know about the insurance company. my vet has an insurance company but i cant remember the name of it. it actually has a frenchie on the flyer. what insurance company do you use?

I have VPI. I don't think any insurance company will cover a pre-existing condition. I got insurance as soon as I got him, before he was diagnosed with allergies/dermatitis so the allergies are covered. I'm not sure exactly how it works though, for example, if your guy hasn't been diagnosed yet, maybe you can get insurance and then take him to a dermatologist...

 

[Jakeyjake]

Both of mine have allergies. You can get an allergy test that is done through a blood test to get an idea of what he is allergic too. My vet chared $218 for the test (he is expensive) and the allergy serum I believe was $190. They include the syringes. About 50%-60% of dogs will respond. Jake is on allergy shots and he gets one Zyrtec in the am. I have tried Claritin, Benadryl and Hydroxyzine with no results. Jake is responding to the shots as he used to get hives once we increased the serum dosage, so we pulled back. We slowly increased the dose over time and he is handling it fine. Stella has had severe allergies from a young age with multiple secondary infections and ear infections. She is on Atopica. Here is a list of other things that I do:

Bathe them every 5 days or so.
Wash their bedding/blankets/clothing in hot water with perfume free/dye free detergent and rinse twice.
Have a hepa filter running in the main part of the house.
Wipe them down after walks or outings.
Vacuum frequently.
Store unfed kibble in the freezer to aovid dust
Use stainless steel pet bowls rather than plastic (glass is fine too)
Feed grain free and potato free kibble
Solid Gold Seameal supplement
A lot of times allergies and ear infections go hand in hand so it is a good reason to avoid potatos as they are inflammatory.

You can also do food trials with a novel protein and limited ingredients to see if that helps.

Good luck to you and Safari. I certainly understand how frustrating allergies can be.

 

[Safari]

jakeyjake- those are a lot of good suggestions i havent thought of, like how i store his food. you guys are giving me hope that i can get to the bottom of this. unfortunately i just ordered a 26lb bag of Fromm beef frittata, which does have potatoes in it so we will see. im excited to start him on the benadryl and see if that helps! thanks everyone!

 

[blushy]

jakeyjake- those are a lot of good suggestions i havent thought of, like how i store his food. you guys are giving me hope that i can get to the bottom of this. unfortunately i just ordered a 26lb bag of Fromm beef frittata, which does have potatoes in it so we will see. im excited to start him on the benadryl and see if that helps! thanks everyone!

My Isabelle did bad on the beef fromm! But others do great! It just gave her itchy ears, and I was easily able to switch, ordering and replacing should your pup show allergies will be a hassle but not the end of the world

 

[Safari]

Ok I have no idea why his skin as suddenly got so bad. Nothing has changed. I gave him his biweekly medicated bath and gobs of fur started falling out to show these red bloody patches. It wasn't like this on Saturday. I started him on the Benadryl last night so he has three doses in him. How fast does it work? I have noticed a decrease in the amount of paw licking. I'm glad I have a vet appt tomorrow. I
Feel so bad for him. The Fromm food came
Today so I started switching him over tonight as well. Does this look like allergies?

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[kpromero]

Rosie is having issues for the last 3 months. Had 2 shots of antibiotics so far with no help. She gets these big bumps on her and also some smaller ones. On the bigger ones, she starts to lose her fur. She does not scratch them or do they seem to bother her but losing her fur in spots look odd. Went from Fromms to Acana to Orijen with no luck of improvement. She also get coconut oil daily, HardyPet Supplement daily and a fish oil pill. We had stopped all of that for 3 weeks and still no signs of clearing up.. Only thing left is maybe allergy testing and not sure what else to do.

 

[Safari]

Kpromero. How old is rosie? I took Safari to the vet tonight and she said she was concerned seeing allergies this early in his life. He turned one last month. Started him on another round of antibiotics, a histamine different than Benadryl and an omega 3 supplement specialized for dogs. Hoping he shows some signs of improvement. I think I would get the allergy testing down the line if nothing works. I hope your Rosie improves soon! What fromms did you feed her? I just started feeding him the beef frittata.