Food vs Environmental allergy

[arodriguez02]

Is there a way to distinguish the difference between food and environmental allergies? My dog's symptoms are mostly pink itchy forehead and face, pink outer ear and at times itchy chest and abdomen. She is currently eating Canidae Pure Sea after trying a few different brands all with allergy symptoms. I almost feel that she's allergic to grass. I hope that it is nothing inside the house that is causing her allergies.

 

[Marine91]

I wish there was. Trying to pin point what is causing the itchies is a cat and mouse game with a lot of trial and error. Grass allergies are not that uncommon with a good wipe down of bellies and feet after each outing can help provide relief. Many allergies are also cause by food as well as changes in cleaning products as well.

 

[ddnene]

It's difficult… I would say that if her symptoms are really bad maybe allergy testing would be the best way to go. At least then you would know what she needs to avoid...

 

[aprilemari]

We've had the itchies for a long time, and after several food changes (which helped a bit), we think it's environmental. Lola is almost 4, so we've had a few seasons to have observations.

The key to our finding out its more than likely environmental was our annual trip to a rural B&B in wine country ontario, Lola would itch like CRAZY, that was end of october. So we'd put her on a low dose of steriods, and change her food proteins source. Through those years, chicken and beef and lamb were ruled to be itchy. After the other food changes....to bison, boar, duck...depending on the season, the itchies would come back.

After the hard frost and winter set in, I'd take Lola off the steroids (again, low dose) and she'd be fine until springtime. Then I'd put her on them again. Now that this winter has been mild....even in Boston....I weaned her off last week. DId not go well. Back on for another few weeks until actual winter hits. Her allergies are not terrible, quite mild considering what some bullies have to deal with, but her constant toe biting and itchy bum and bossy-ness make her quality of life (and mine) quite irritating. So back on she goes and our lives are tip top quality.

I'd prefer if she wasn't on the medication, but its such a low dose that our vet did not consider the long-term side effects to be damaging. The normal dose for vanactyl-p/temaril-p is 6 pills per day, on a decreasing dose over 2-3 weeks. Lola is on 1 pill per day.

 

[2BullyMama]

I wish there was. Trying to pin point what is causing the itchies is a cat and mouse game with a lot of trial and error. Grass allergies are not that uncommon with a good wipe down of bellies and feet after each outing can help provide relief. Many allergies are also cause by food as well as changes in cleaning products as well.

^^^^ agreed! Banks was allergic to almost everything green so I wiped her down with a cool wash cloth after each play session outside or potty break. It helps a lot. Also, Benedryl 2x a day to help the iching... 1 mg per pound

 

[dolphin]

I wish there was. Trying to pin point what is causing the itchies is a cat and mouse game with a lot of trial and error. Grass allergies are not that uncommon with a good wipe down of bellies and feet after each outing can help provide relief. Many allergies are also cause by food as well as changes in cleaning products as well.

 

[arodriguez02]

Thank you all for the feedback. She has been on 1 temeril p per day and two if it's real bad and also the occasional Benadryl.The temeril p helps a lot, but I'm worried about long term use. I also want to eventually get the allergy test done. I really hope that it's not something in the house like a cleaner or mold that would hard to pin point. So, I guess ruling out food, grass/pollens and molds would be the first step.

 

[nycbullymama]

@arodriguez02

If you do allergy testing, and the results are environmental, you probably won't be able to control it. It's usually grass, trees, dust mites etc.

After we did the testing, we decided on immunotherapy. It's been almost seven months since he's started it, and while there has been some improvement, this last month is a nightmare. He's itching himself bloody, and won't stop licking his paws.
Was told it can take up to a year to kick in. And if it does work, he can never go off of it.
So be prepared for a life long commitment if you go that route.

Also, please understand that allergy testing does not give accurate results for food. Reputable labs even state so on the report. The only way to find out if it's food related is to do a true elimination diet. Pick one protein, keep him on it for a few weeks, if he tolerates it add one thing in at a time and see how he does. There is no other way to find out.

 

[arodriguez02]

[MENTION=7457]Blueberrys Mom[/MENTION]
Thank you for sharing your experience with allergies with your Boy. It's horrible when they scratch themselves raw. Our girl started off on bluebuffalo grain free chicken, then Kirkland grain free turkey and potato, then bil jac chicken, now she's been on the canidae pure sea(salmon and potato). How long do you see results if it's the food?

 

[nycbullymama]

@arodriguez02

For a true elimination diet, the best thing to do is speak with your vet.

If you're trying to find out by using a kibble, it should still start with a protein they've never been on before. Most kibble has multiple sources of protein even if it's called "Beef Whatnot" so you'd need to read the label.
You'd also need to make sure it's a limited ingredient kibble so you know exactly what she's eating. No snacks or treats allowed.

You would need to give it about 30 days to see if there's improvement.

In our case, Blue seems to mostly have environmental allergies even though I know he's sensitive to pork. But I have him on an Rx food now (Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein.) The idea behind it being- the protein is so broken down, the body doesn't recognize what it is and therefore shouldn't have an allergic reaction.

 

[ddnene]

@arodriguez02

If you do allergy testing, and the results are environmental, you probably won't be able to control it. It's usually grass, trees, dust mites etc.

After we did the testing, we decided on immunotherapy. It's been almost seven months since he's started it, and while there has been some improvement, this last month is a nightmare. He's itching himself bloody, and won't stop licking his paws.
Was told it can take up to a year to kick in. And if it does work, he can never go off of it.
So be prepared for a life long commitment if you go that route.

Also, please understand that allergy testing does not give accurate results for food. Reputable labs even state so on the report. The only way to find out if it's food related is to do a true elimination diet. Pick one protein, keep him on it for a few weeks, if he tolerates it add one thing in at a time and see how he does. There is no other way to find out.

I've been getting allergy shots for 3 years… while it DOES seem to help me (allergy induced migraines) for some people it actually doesn't help. I'm curious if dogs are the same

 

[nycbullymama]

[MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION]
It Depens on which vet you speak with, since they all seem to have different numbers on the % of dogs it works for.
My vet said only about 40%, first dermatologist said 70%, second says he doesn't use the oral immunotherapy because you can't get all the allergens into the serum, he prefers the shot version. So he won't even comment.

We're gonna give it a full year, see how it goes, and then we may switch over to the shot version. Switching over now is pointless.

 

[2BullyMama]

I've been getting allergy shots for 3 years… while it DOES seem to help me (allergy induced migraines) for some people it actually doesn't help. I'm curious if dogs are the same

it did not for Nitschke... we did the shots on him for I think year/half to 2 yrs and I never noticed any difference so I stopped the shots and with Banks, it was so stressful for her to get the shot each week/month that I stopped after about 8 months and just stuck with benedryl and wiping him off after being outside

 

[nycbullymama]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] that's why we did the oral version. But now I wish I did the shots. The oral version requires he gets drops twice a day and he hates the way they taste. It's a fight each time.

With shots, I know Blue doesn't even feel them, or at least he doesn't care as his face is too busy licking out each and every last drop of baby food in those little jars while he's getting a shot. It's a great trick.

 

[2BullyMama]

@2BullyMama that's why we did the oral version. But now I wish I did the shots. The oral version requires he gets drops twice a day and he hates the way they taste. It's a fight each time.

With shots, I know Blue doesn't even feel them, or at least he doesn't care as his face is too busy licking out each and every last drop of baby food in those little jars while he's getting a shot. It's a great trick.

AWESOME distraction!