NEED ALLERGY HELP! Don't know what to do....

[Cooper11]

@Cooper11, any word on the eye drops you use? I would love to know! My vet recommended using just a simple saline solution to help cleanse and soothe but is there something you have found to work better?

The drops I use are Gentamicin Sulfate. Coopers eyes get pretty red from environmental allergies.....he is basically allergic to everything outside...have you had an allergy test done. I know they say to wait until the bullies are 1 but I had to do Coopers now at 8 months. I thought I should, My EBN family said I should, and my vet said to get it done. I now know what his allergies are. I think the environmental allergies are something you just have to deal with they are hard to treat and if you get the allergy shot I have heard it helps and I have heard it doesn't. But I do know if it does work it takes time. I got the drops I mentioned when cooper started his tear stains and the vet thought he might have a little infections. I gave them to him a few times but I knew he didn't have an infection so I stopped giving them to him. Once he got sick and throwing up and his allergies really started his eyes got so red and blood shot. I tried the drops one night just t see what they wold do ad he woke up with clear eyes so I think they helped. I used them for a few days but with allergies it is too hard.

I am thinking your bully has environmental and maybe even a food allergy that is causing all his problems and making him itch. Since I have found Coopers food allergies and now know his environmental allergies he is doing a lot better. I don't let him outside for too long. I try to let him play but once he starts getting pretty red I will call him to come in. Have you tried sock or doggie booties on your bully maybe would help with the allergies on his feet and might help with his scratching his eyes. even if you have to tape or tie them on to stay I would say it is work a try especially if you are afraid of his scratching his eye!

Also I recommend weekly baths to get the pollen and all the other outside allergies he has. Get a good shampoo for sensitive skin and that is oatmeal based or even maybe a medicated shampoo from the vet. If he has bad allergies to stuff outside weekly baths will help Or even if you just wipe him off every night. But I can tell a difference in Cooper after his baths and I can tell he looks better and not as pink.

 

[Cooper11]

I live in Iowa so I totally feel you. The allergies season is here for sure and it is coming strong! Like I said Cooper is allergic to most of everything outside and he looks great now that I have changed his food and now he only gets veggies and fruit treats... you wold be amazed how much a food allergy can cause problems and the problems are similar to the environmental allergies. That is why I think it would be smart to get allergy test if you haven't. You may think it is all the allergies outside but it could be something he is eating also. That was the case for cooper anyway. and like i said he looks great now and his face use to be so so red all over even on his forehead and he had bad tear stain, bad feet, bad toes, and bumpy skin. Food change helped a lot.

 

[Cooper11]

Sorry I was trying to read everything before i posted but I just saw you said he got an allergy test done. Maybe the food that showed up that there was a possibility he was allergic but they weren't positive yet...maybe stay clear of those and try to find a food without those ingredients. I think it is weird he wakes up with watery eyes and such cause in the mornings is when cooper looks the best. It is after he goes outside all day by the end of the day he looks a little pink. Do you have your air on? Maybe he is allergic to something in your house. I know you said dust and such and those are hard allergies to eliminate cause it is everywhere but i am pretty sure those were positive for cooper too. I just try to vacuum everyday some times 2 times. And I have had my air on for about a month now. I dunno if daily brushing would help too but I do brush coop most everyday and maybe getting the dead hair off of his that may have dirt and dust on it will help. I say baths or do as [MENTION=1760]Fontanafox[/MENTION] said a wipe down. and get the shampoo [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] recommended it works good!

 

[Saalwi]

I'm religious about wiping Schultz down after he's been outside. I invested in a bunch of microfiber cloths that I will dampen with water and just wipe his whole body, then rinse it and wring it out and do his face and feet, first face then feet....it makes a difference. Other things that I've done: a couple of air filters 1 for living room and dining room & 1 for bedroom, dust mite proof pillowcases and covers for any fabric he lays on, got rid of as much carpet as I could ... It's not easy but every little thing will add up to keep the allergy response from triggering....good luck

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=3445]Meggs19[/MENTION] ... how is Tonka doing?

 

[Meggs19]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] Tonka is doing alright...not great. Thanks for asking! He has been on his new allergy med (Clemastine), an over the counter pill, for about a week now and I don't think it's helping too much. His face is still very pink and he is still sneezing with a runny nose and trying to itch occasionally. We are going to try the bathing more often with a medicated anti-bacterial/anti-fungal shampoo that our vet is going to give us and we are also going to try the wipe down after being outside. I am also hoping the dremmel that we bought will help keep his nails dull if he does try to scratch. I noticed some scabbing in the little notch above his nose rope so at some point he scratched in there and made it bleed. I might give this new med a little longer and then I guess we will have to see about switching again. I want to avoid the steroid at all costs though! I live in an apartment and therefore can't do anything about the carpets except try to vacuum more often. I still feel bad for the poor little guy since he seems miserable a lot of the time and I have awful allergies right now myself if I go without medication so I can only imagine what he is going through.

 

[2BullyMama]

@2BullyMama Tonka is doing alright...not great. Thanks for asking! He has been on his new allergy med (Clemastine), an over the counter pill, for about a week now and I don't think it's helping too much. His face is still very pink and he is still sneezing with a runny nose and trying to itch occasionally. We are going to try the bathing more often with a medicated anti-bacterial/anti-fungal shampoo that our vet is going to give us and we are also going to try the wipe down after being outside. I am also hoping the dremmel that we bought will help keep his nails dull if he does try to scratch. I noticed some scabbing in the little notch above his nose rope so at some point he scratched in there and made it bleed. I might give this new med a little longer and then I guess we will have to see about switching again. I want to avoid the steroid at all costs though! I live in an apartment and therefore can't do anything about the carpets except try to vacuum more often. I still feel bad for the poor little guy since he seems miserable a lot of the time and I have awful allergies right now myself if I go without medication so I can only imagine what he is going through.

Poor little guy.... maybe one steriod shot is a good idea just to give him some releif? Unless you are going to do the allergy testing, then do not cause you will have to wait 30 days to do the test

 

[Meggs19]

Don't the steroid shots have horrible side effects and cause weight gain too? We did already have him allergy tested but it gave us very little information at this point. I think he is too young. Molds and dustmites were the highest scores but even then those weren't considered significant. We want to have him re-tested when he is a little bit older for sure.

 

[BabyDuke]

Don't the steroid shots have horrible side effects and cause weight gain too? We did already have him allergy tested but it gave us very little information at this point. I think he is too young. Molds and dustmites were the highest scores but even then those weren't considered significant. We want to have him re-tested when he is a little bit older for sure.

so sorry I am so late getting to this.. We are the allergy kings here. Duke has SEVERE allergies and it all started as a nightmare at around 9 months ( I am happy to report that he will be 5 in Aug and is a very happy healthy bulldog ) but I feel your pain and we went through over a year and a half of getting down something that worked.. Duke had the same identical symptoms as your little guys but he also eventually got ear infections ( yeast) and also swollen very red irritated paws.. when it got to that point and after many food changes and anitbitoics and steriod shots we gave in and I found a wonderful dermatologist at the university of Penn and we took Duke there. First of all to be properly allergy tested they have to be off EVERYTHING even fish oil and allergy meds for 30 days or the test is inaccurate. We had him tested and he is allergic to wool and molds.. well from there we did 6 months of allergy shots with no success he started getting ear infections etc.. ( this is a really long story ) so after a year and a half the dermatologist told us to come in for a consult. He told us the only way for Duke to keep from ripping holes ( and I mean holes in his skin ) and stop having to be on an antibiotic every other month was do to a very low steriod regimin.. he told us he consulted with his board and they all were in agreement.. Duke takes 1/2 of a very low dose steriod every other day and on opposite days takes 2 zrtec. after getting this regimin down ( after a year and a half of the battle ) Duke has not had one ear infection, one swollen paw, never ever scratches, no red eyes , no raw irritated wrinklies nothing. I was sooooooooooooo against this BUT after I weighed his quality of life vs. the regimin we chose to try it.. We have Duke on really good food. NVI wet and dry and we walk him and exercise him religiously to keep his heart healthy. We have his blood tested every 6 months there to make sure the steriod is not affecting anything and to date we have been blessed with a very healthly bully. so i would weigh all options with your puppy and I would NOT go this route until you completely exhaust every other option but did want to share our story. Our dermatolgoist told me if it were his dog this would be his suggestion. He also felt that Duke would be on antibitoics for the rest of his life if we didn't opt for this.

on lighter suggestions some things we did was wipe Dukes feet every time he went outside. give eye drops ( saline ) to help with the dry eyes and make sure we kept the wrinkles dry.. My suggestion to you at the point you are at would be to find a dermatologist vs a regular vet who specializes in this area.

Good Luck and I hope some of this helped. and ps.. Duke did not put any weight on but again we are very very careful with his diet and excercise.

 

[Alice Kable]

Excellent advice from [MENTION=2091]BabyDuke[/MENTION]. Contact a School of Vet. Medicine if you can't locate a dermatologist!

 

[atxbullygirl]

Baxter has allergies as well. We tried a number of foods and unfortunately Fromms seems to be the worst for him. He is doing much better on Natural Balance limited ingredient Salmon and sweet potato.