Allergic to everything green

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to ask if any of you have had any experience with allergies and how they are treated?

After much trial and error we have a lovely vet who finally offered to try and establish why Otis licks his feet constantly to the point he will rip the pads off and make his feet very sore! He will also scoot along the carpet with is a little naughty

Anyway we had an allergy test and it showed that Otis is allergic to everything plant based, grass, trees ect, except for clover. The vet thinks he may need to have monthly vaccinations to control his allergies, however wanted to speak to a dermatologist before going any further as she had never seen a case like Otis. His allergies are not severe but they do cause him discomfort.

So I am just wondering if there was anyone who had experienced this with their dog and what kind of treatment did they receive, I am going to try and conduct my own research but just wanted to ask.

Thank you in advance

Yup we have experience of the same symptoms Sarah. My Flo scoots and paw chews. When we went to the vet about this 5 years ago he thought it was transferred pain from a bad knee and advised a TTA op. She had that done but the above symptoms persisted so skin scrapes were done, allergies galore.

We were offered a 6 month course of injections which were designed to reduce the allergic reactions, however, after doing some research I figured the injections only had a vague chance of working with no guarantees and the prospect of repeat courses with little or no effect.

We opted to make Flo as comfortable as possible so wash her paws often and her nether regions and treat and redness straight away before any soreness starts. It can often feel like a battle of wills trying to stop her having one of her rear paws down her neck but it's worth it. We also give her coconut oil which, I think, has also helped and she certainly likes the taste.

We also give her hyperalogenic food, both wet and dry.

If you figure out any other treatments that work please do share as I sure there are quiet a few Staffies out there that could use some help.

Yes, Bobbert (no longer with us) had pages of allergies - 18 full and 30+ borderline. Many we could avoid but some like many grasses and some tree pollens we couldn't.

We did do the injections (which was no mean feat as he was human aggressive), combined with a very strictly controlled diet (raw) and Atarax antihistamine tablets. The combination worked for us, he went from itching himself raw to comfortable.

Part of our decision with Bob was that his comfort level affected his behaviour. He was a very complex and difficult dog but when he wasn't suffering from his allergies he was fine to walk out. When he was bad he was hard work! That's clearly not the case with you but I would still be trying the various options if you can, it's not nice being itchy.

Definitely, an expert 2nd opinion is a great idea. It might be possible to control it with something less but if not I would give the injections a go, I'm fairly confident they helped us.

Hello

Thank you for getting back to me. The vet gave us a little update yesterday and she wants to do some more research before she offers any treatment as she didn't feel what the dermatologist advised was completely viable, she said it would involved 3 injections per month.

So we play the waiting game temporarily. We are using a supplement called yumega itchy dog at the moment, however she did say that would take up to 6 weeks to show any improvement and just general advice such as bathing after being out.

Some other supplements that were mentioned were evening primrose, but that again is something that is being looked in to. I will let you know the outcome Just nice to see if anyone has any advice

I don't know if they're different injections but the schedule we had for Bob varied. When we got a new vial he had a tiny bit twice a week, then it got bigger doses longer apart. When it was really good we could go for 6 weeks. It was a pain but in his case it was worth it.

It does sound, though, like you have other options to explore first. I'd say your vet's being sensible in advising to hold off till you've given the supplement time. I do sometimes wonder with specialists if they don't see the simple any more because they're so used to looking to the big guns.