Allergy Concerns

Carlsmom · Nov 17, 2017

Hey everyone,

I am new to the site, and love what you guys have going on here! I have a 1 year-old blue fawn Frenchie, named Carlton.

Earlier this week we discovered that he is quite allergic to something, and we think it is food related as where we live it is completely snow covered limiting the potential for environmental allergies. He had tons of discharge from his eyes, intermittent diarrhea, extremely itchy ears, and rashy/itchy paws. Not to mention for a very clean pup, he smelt horrible.

Of course I switched his food, he is now eating Stella and Chewy's Duck patties. His stool seems to have firmed up, but he seems constipated, only pooping 1x a day. He is also on eye drops, ear drops, a probiotic and I am picking up a shampoo today. However, with all this said, Carlton is acting SO sad. For a regularly extremely active guy, all he wants to do is sleep on my lap, or sleep in his kennel. Im wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what else could be bothering him - assuming its allergy related?

I just feel so sad for him and feel that I have done all I can..

Thanks guys,
Teagan and Carl

Mavis · Nov 17, 2017

Oh, Carl is a little darling. :luv: Love your avatar of him. I'm sorry he is having so much trouble.

I don't have much experience with this, however, many people here do. I'm sure you will get lots of info. Not sure if you had a chance to check it out, but from the home page toward the bottom, there is a Frenchie Learning Center. Scroll down and you will see that there is pretty comprehensive information about allergies.

Good luck and please keep us posted on his progress as you try different things.

Honeys Owners · Nov 17, 2017

Try canned pumpkin ( not the pie filling one ).
Chia seeds are also a good alternative for constipation or diarrhea . Pasting this info:
"Only 1 teaspoon for small dogs or 2 teaspoons for large, or 1/4 teaspoon for every 10 pounds of your dog’s weight. Feed in seed form, soaked in water or ground; sprinkle on top or mix into food. Look for milled, organic chia seeds whenever possible."

Cbrugs · Nov 17, 2017

Welcome!

Are all of the other symptoms gone? Is he constipated and struggling to go or is he just going once a day and the stool is normal? My boy is fed raw and only poops once a day, sometimes twice. Kibble fed dogs usually poop more than raw fed. Another good source for fiber would be plain, unsweetened coconut chips...I usually just give a pinch in each meal.

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Carlsmom · Nov 18, 2017

Cbrugs said:
Welcome!

Are all of the other symptoms gone? Is he constipated and struggling to go or is he just going once a day and the stool is normal? My boy is fed raw and only poops once a day, sometimes twice. Kibble fed dogs usually poop more than raw fed. Another good source for fiber would be plain, unsweetened coconut chips...I usually just give a pinch in each meal.

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Thank you for the insight everyone. His symptoms are still lingering.. ear is better, but still itchy, his paws are still rashy, and his poop is normal but then the last drop or two is diarrhea. He doesn't seem to struggle to go, until the very end of his bowel movement.

We are going to another vet to get a second opinion on Tuesday. His energy levels have improved a bit, but he is still sad.

Thanks again!!

2bullymama · Nov 18, 2017

Welcome.... how long has he been on the new food?

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Carlsmom · Nov 18, 2017

2bullymama said:
Welcome.... how long has he been on the new food?

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He has been on the duck patties since Wednesday evening, so not very long. Previously, he was eating Stella and Chewy beef patties and on an odd occasion their new red meat recipe kibble. However, we were in a local pet boutique a few weeks ago, and they were offering samples of their raw food - he had a few nibbles of a few different flavours, so I'm wondering if that was maybe the culprit. My vet told me that allergies can take lots of time to develop so it could have been ANYTHING he's eaten since he was a little guy - do you guys agree with this? Or do you think it is something that was eaten more recently as he's never had issues with allergies prior to this flare up...? Hmm...

2bullymama · Nov 18, 2017

Carlsmom said:
He has been on the duck patties since Wednesday evening, so not very long. Previously, he was eating Stella and Chewy beef patties and on an odd occasion their new red meat recipe kibble. However, we were in a local pet boutique a few weeks ago, and they were offering samples of their raw food - he had a few nibbles of a few different flavours, so I'm wondering if that was maybe the culprit. My vet told me that allergies can take lots of time to develop so it could have been ANYTHING he's eaten since he was a little guy - do you guys agree with this? Or do you think it is something that was eaten more recently as he's never had issues with allergies prior to this flare up...? Hmm...

I'd stop the kibble... when you read the label it has three sources of protein i think they are beef , lamb and uh, um... can't remember third, but stop that and see how he does with just the duck patties

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Carlsmom · Nov 18, 2017

2bullymama said:
I'd stop the kibble... when you read the label it has three sources of protein i think they are beef , lamb and uh, um... can't remember third, but stop that and see how he does with just the duck patties

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He is just on the duck patties currently, I stopped the kibble! Fingers crossed things improve soon! Thanks again.

Frenchie Grrrl · Nov 19, 2017

Sorry that your pup is feeling so bad.

You might want to try an iodine paw soak, if his feet are still bothering him. They really have Gus some relief when he was having some issues.

https://youtu.be/zb3bi-FQL2o

Hope you get it all figured out.