# Another allergy thread...



## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

So Buffy has had a small allergy spot ever since I got her. I already posted about how I thought I had her on grain free and it turns out I didn't. So I've switched her to a grain free food now and she gets no treats that aren't grain free. Since I switched her food the allergies are looking worse. She's scratched the back of her neck raw. Any ideas? I'm making her a vet appt but there busy and for a non emergency it's gonna be next week. Help! I hate seeing her like this.

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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

What does this "allergy spot" look like? And how long exactly has it been there? Is she itchy?

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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

Oh my bad you did say she scratched her neck raw.. shes probably going to need some antibiotics and steroids to clear her up. Also ask your vet about a medicated shampoo and wash her at home once or twice a week for better maintenance. I know that sounds like a lot of bathing but you can cut back once it starts looking better. ;-)

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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

downlikedisco said:


> What does this "allergy spot" look like? And how long exactly has it been there? Is she itchy?
> 
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It started out just above her collar. When I first got her I didn't know better and so I thought it was from her collar. It then spread to her cheek on one side. At first it was just raised hair and pinker than normal skin. I showed it to the vet when I first got her and we decided it was allergies.i thought I switched her to grain free dog food and it slowly kept spreading. It's now all down her back. It looks like the hair is thinning so you can see her skin and the hair sticks up. I realized my mistake on the food and switched to grain free food but now it seems worse. The back of her neck has a few scabs where she's scratched it and the hair on her back is even thinner than it was 

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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

What kind of flea control is she on? And have they ever done a skin scrape to check for mange? How old is she?

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## Cannon from NJ (Feb 4, 2013)

Im kind of in the same situation with my pup. She has 2 small red spots that I believe are from an allergy. Here is what im doing. 1st I switched her to acana grain free, but same protien (chicken). Its been about a month but not getting better. Now im switching protien, to acana pacifica (fish). Ill see if that works, but if not, im going to try something that was recommended to me. Its called Zignatures and its grain, chicken, and potatoe free. I heard great things about it. Im just ruling out potential allergen culprits before making a vet appt because the spots arent bad, just bothers me. Most grain free kibbles use potato instead of the grains, but this brand zignatures uses peas, which is a decent source of protien. Check it out, comes in a few different flavors. I like acana because of the real meat %, and my pups poo is good on it, but if I dont see change in the next few weeks zignature is the next thing im going to try


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## BullyGal (Jun 25, 2012)

What meat base is the food? She could be having a reaction to the meat. Like a Chicken allergy, so moving to grain free would increase the amount of meat in the food and magnify the allergies. At least I think.

So I'd try switching formulas.


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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

downlikedisco said:


> What kind of flea control is she on? And have they ever done a skin scrape to check for mange? How old is she?
> 
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She just turned a year. They did tell me they didnt suspect mange (I've had 2 dogs with mange and it didnt appear to be to me either). She's been on once monthly Trifexis ever since I've had her. All of my dogs are on it and I NEVER see fleas or ticks. She's a little over a year.

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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

BullyGal said:


> What meat base is the food? She could be having a reaction to the meat. Like a Chicken allergy, so moving to grain free would increase the amount of meat in the food and magnify the allergies. At least I think.
> 
> So I'd try switching formulas.


She's on white fish and potato...I heard fish oil makes coats shiny. I'm not sure if the food should help but all of my dogs have really slicked out since the switch. Except her. I've never used chicken just in case of that.

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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

Princesspaola21 said:


> She just turned a year. They did tell me they didnt suspect mange (I've had 2 dogs with mange and it didnt appear to be to me either). She's been on once monthly Trifexis ever since I've had her. All of my dogs are on it and I NEVER see fleas or ticks. She's a little over a year.
> 
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Interesting. I would still scrape just to rule it out cuz sometimes it turns out to be what we least expect. But to me it sounds more like atopic dermatitis which is basically environmental allergies. Since you have all your other bases covered. I def think she would get some relief from the antibiotics/steroids and med baths ;-) losts of dogs have these types of issues going on right now when everything is blooming

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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

downlikedisco said:


> Interesting. I would still scrape just to rule it out cuz sometimes it turns out to be what we least expect. But to me it sounds more like atopic dermatitis which is basically environmental allergies. Since you have all your other bases covered. I def think she would get some relief from the antibiotics/steroids and med baths ;-) losts of dogs have these types of issues going on right now when everything is blooming
> 
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I hope I can figure it out soon. I love her and hate to see her looking so crappy. I've had to pass up dog shows too because she doesn't look good. She seems to feel fine but it looks pitiful. Ugg! Why me?

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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

Cannon from NJ said:


> Im kind of in the same situation with my pup. She has 2 small red spots that I believe are from an allergy. Here is what im doing. 1st I switched her to acana grain free, but same protien (chicken). Its been about a month but not getting better. Now im switching protien, to acana pacifica (fish). Ill see if that works, but if not, im going to try something that was recommended to me. Its called Zignatures and its grain, chicken, and potatoe free. I heard great things about it. Im just ruling out potential allergen culprits before making a vet appt because the spots arent bad, just bothers me. Most grain free kibbles use potato instead of the grains, but this brand zignatures uses peas, which is a decent source of protien. Check it out, comes in a few different flavors. I like acana because of the real meat %, and my pups poo is good on it, but if I dont see change in the next few weeks zignature is the next thing im going to try


From my experience, young dogs are not usually as affected with "food allergies". Also the symptoms tend to lean more towards chronic ear infections, crusty scabs that don't get better and often times irritation around the anus. Recent research has shown that it is not typically the grain or corn or wheat or gluten but more so the TYPE of PROTEIN that cause allergic reactions in dogs. Before writing off a type of food all together we recommend choosing a different source of protein. Such as lamb instead of chicken or venison instead of beef.

Also a really simple thing to try for skin issues is just bathing the dog more often or at least wiping paws and belly after playing outside.

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## Cannon from NJ (Feb 4, 2013)

I really suggest trying zignature before spending any more $$ on vet bills. Maybe its the potatoes your dog is allergic too. Might as well try it. Go to their website, you could get free samples if its sold near you, I got a free sample today


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## downlikedisco (Mar 19, 2013)

Princesspaola21 said:


> I hope I can figure it out soon. I love her and hate to see her looking so crappy. I've had to pass up dog shows too because she doesn't look good. She seems to feel fine but it looks pitiful. Ugg! Why me?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I know the feeling. My Zero has bad allergies if I don't stay on top of it. If you can't get into the vet sooner, if it was me I would just start washing her. I've heard some vets recommend head and shoulders for otc treatment but I can't vouch for that I havent tried it..

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## Cannon from NJ (Feb 4, 2013)

Yeayea my pup did get an ear infection that cleared up with antibiotics before the spots showed, that's another reason why I think its gotta ba some kind of food allergy, in my case...


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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

Cannon from NJ said:


> I really suggest trying zignature before spending any more $$ on vet bills. Maybe its the potatoes your dog is allergic too. Might as well try it. Go to their website, you could get free samples if its sold near you, I got a free sample today


It's not the food. When I got her they were feeding diamond dog food which didnt have potatoes in it. My vet bills aren't too high for me to not go. In all honesty I don't have the time to switch food again until I rule out all else but the food. I would say at least 30 days should be given on a food before you know how the dog will react and it's not good to keep switching over and over.

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## Cannon from NJ (Feb 4, 2013)

True, I just heard it helped some dogs with simular symptoms. Good luck with yours!


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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

Cannon from NJ said:


> True, I just heard it helped some dogs with simular symptoms. Good luck with yours!


Hey I hope I didn't come off rude because I sure wasn't meaning too! I'm just really frustrated. I put a lot of time and money into my dogs and my number one concern is health. Number 2 is happiness. She just isn't feeling top notch and I'm disgusted.

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## Cannon from NJ (Feb 4, 2013)

Oh na yea, I feel you... the unconditional love we get from our dogs is ...really indescribable aint it.. something only a dog lover would know


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

You sure it's not mange? Stranger places have had if appear...

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## BullyGal (Jun 25, 2012)

Princesspaola21 said:


> She's on white fish and potato...I heard fish oil makes coats shiny. I'm not sure if the food should help but all of my dogs have really slicked out since the switch. Except her. I've never used chicken just in case of that.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Mine are on that same formula and it finally cleared up my rescue's allergies. It might be something airborne. Like a odor neutralizing spray, or cleaning agent. Increased the use of anything like that lately? Could be pollen, who knows.


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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

ames said:


> You sure it's not mange? Stranger places have had if appear...
> 
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I'm not sure no. But it doesn't look like any mange I've dealt with or even really seen and my vet didnt think mange was a concern. I'm taking her in next week so I can question again just to make myself feel better. I know this food will take awhile to do the trick it just makes me wonder. Does it usually get worse before it gets better?

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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

BullyGal said:


> Mine are on that same formula and it finally cleared up my rescue's allergies. It might be something airborne. Like a odor neutralizing spray, or cleaning agent. Increased the use of anything like that lately? Could be pollen, who knows.


I use a lot of Lysol but I always have and never near the dogs. I use glade plug ins but no air freshener sprays at all. We have a big kitchen with tile floors and spraying anything like that makes or floor slick as hell. We have a LOT of pollen right now. My husbands truck is black but is so covered it almost looks green. But she had that during the winter too so I kinda ruled that out.

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## lizzy08 (Apr 11, 2013)

I suspect she got skin problem and was trigger with her food or maybe her shampoo. When my boy got skin problem, scratch his back like there's no tomorrow. And when I saw bleeding, I was worried and tried to find solution immediately. I shift to a moisturizing shampoo, it take a bit of time until I see result. But I was glad he's not scratching anymore


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## Princesspaola21 (Oct 30, 2012)

I forgot to update this thread. I did find out that she isn't scratching. The bleeding scratches on her neck are from a barbed wire fence. I saw it happen twice today. I let her out to go potty and she always goes to my back porch and through a high spot in the fence and potties right there. Well today I saw her twice try and go back through a different spot that wasn't high enough and it left 3 marks on her neck. So from now on she's gonna potty on a leash so I can see if this junk is clearing up.

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## Mick1970 (Apr 4, 2013)

I have the exact same problem with my boy..... Took him into the Vet a week ago and they didnt seem to concerned about mange either, they put him on prednisone and sent a bottle of shampoo with us. It seems to be getting worse, by worse I mean, bald spots are getting bigger, skin looks ok and he doesnt scratch at it so I am at a loss as to what to do..... Please keep me posted on your progress Princesspaola21


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