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Old October 11th, 2010, 11:28 PM
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cassiek cassiek is offline
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Allergies worse in fall?

Does anyone else find that their dog(s) with allergies are worse in the fall? Since the weather has changed, Furby has been doing terrible... the last week or so he has been itching, scratching, etc. more than normal.

I felt so bad all weekend watching him lick and scratch trying to relieve himself. I'm wondering once we are into winter and hopefully his environmental allergies are less of an issue, if I should try Atopica again... really don't want to go back to the steriods... they didn't seem to help, but neitheir did Atopica when I tried it for 4 months.

Maybe I will give the vet a call tomorrow and see what she thinks about using the steriods during this time when his allergies seem so much worse.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 08:42 AM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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I have to add a bit of oil in Brina's food every fall when we turn on the furnace, it dries out her skin and causes dandruff. I also find it helps if I brush her twice a day instead of once, I usually try to do it at night before bed to stop the itchies before they start.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 08:59 AM
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Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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Same

Marty is on steroids (want to get her off) and she is itchy since fall came too. Keep me posted if you figure it out. Now my vet said she has no allergiesSo why is she worse????? I left her a message to call me. I'll let you know what she says.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 09:19 AM
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cassiek cassiek is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melinda View Post
I have to add a bit of oil in Brina's food every fall when we turn on the furnace, it dries out her skin and causes dandruff. I also find it helps if I brush her twice a day instead of once, I usually try to do it at night before bed to stop the itchies before they start.
Hi Melinda,

For the past year or so, I have been adding oil to Furby's food to help with his skin. But I will try brushing him more often and see if that helps!

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Originally Posted by Marty11 View Post
Marty is on steroids (want to get her off) and she is itchy since fall came too. Keep me posted if you figure it out. Now my vet said she has no allergiesSo why is she worse????? I left her a message to call me. I'll let you know what she says.
Think I might call the vet today and see if she recommends using steriods again, just in the fall, until we are into winter. I weaned Furby off the steriods about a year ago, so I have been really heistant to put him back on but if its only for a month or two here and there, that's not so bad.

Did your vet do an allergy panel on Marty? My vet sent off bloodwork to a lab in Calgary and Furby is allergic to about 20 in total different food and environmental allergens. They usually don't prescribe the steriods unless they are sure they have allergies? Let me know what she says!
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Old October 12th, 2010, 09:32 AM
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Yes we did all that and she has no allergies Now I'm kinda glad it has flared up cause it gives us some indication that it is seasonal. I want to wean her off steroids, gonna give it a go after first good frost. I had a dermatologist say even if you figure out her allergies, it could change year to year so tests are not acurate. This cost me 1,000 bucks...... Atopica made her sick.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 11:30 AM
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Lady's environmental allergies are pretty much year round, thanks to the mild climate here on the Left Coast. She's been on hydroxizine (anti-histamine) for the last 1 - 1/2 years and is doing very well. Perhaps that's a viable alternative to steroids?
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Old October 12th, 2010, 11:38 AM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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If I remember rightly Bendyfoot's Jaida suffers from bad allergies in the fall...the Vet gave her some Vanectyl-P with great results.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 12:15 PM
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Floppydog is hydroxizine like benedryl? Cause that didn't work. Vet says no to claritin.....
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Old October 12th, 2010, 12:18 PM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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Marty My g/f's Vet says that ReActine is ok for dogs and sometimes works better than Benedryl.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 04:06 PM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty11 View Post
Floppydog is hydroxizine like benedryl? Cause that didn't work. Vet says no to claritin.....
Hydroxizine is a "people" antihistamine that is only dispensed with a prescription. Vets in BC can prescribe it for aminal use, but it has to be filled by a pharmacist. Lady didn't do so well on benedryl either. The bonus with the hydroxizine is that her "maintenance" dose is about 1/3 of the maximum daily dose so if she gets a severe allergy attack, I can increase her meds for the short term to deal with it and avoid the secondary skin infection that ususally follows an allergy attack for her. I mix the pill in with her kibble and a spoonful of plain yogurt and she gobles it down no problem.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 07:01 PM
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Thanks Floppydog I'm going to inquire about it.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 07:55 PM
Etown_Chick Etown_Chick is offline
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Scruffy is definately bad right now - it's comforting to know he's not alone.
Spring was bad, too. He only scratches his ears, not his skin so I guess that's something to be thankful for.
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Old October 12th, 2010, 08:25 PM
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Well talked to the vet today. She didn't really have any great ideas. I am going to have a prescription filled for Furby of steriods to use during times like this when it's much more worse. She thought it might be a good idea to try Atopica in the winter when there is less environmental allergens that are a challenge. We'll see how it goes. She also suggested bathing him more regularly but couldn't predict how much better that would make it if at all *sigh*.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty11 View Post
Yes we did all that and she has no allergies Now I'm kinda glad it has flared up cause it gives us some indication that it is seasonal. I want to wean her off steroids, gonna give it a go after first good frost. I had a dermatologist say even if you figure out her allergies, it could change year to year so tests are not acurate. This cost me 1,000 bucks...... Atopica made her sick.
I've heard that too about allergies... even that they can change from day to day! Atopica never made Furby sick, just didn't see an improvement at all

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
If I remember rightly Bendyfoot's Jaida suffers from bad allergies in the fall...the Vet gave her some Vanectyl-P with great results.
Unfortunately Vanectyl-P is also a steriod, but I think it has antibiotics as well Furby was on V-P for years and I weaned him off a year ago to try Atopica. Might have to go back on it though just for these times when it's bad.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
Marty My g/f's Vet says that ReActine is ok for dogs and sometimes works better than Benedryl.
I might try that! What's the dosage rate/kg for a dog do you know?

Allergies are so frustrating! Grrrrrr
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Old October 12th, 2010, 09:48 PM
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We've had a terrible allergy year, too, cassiek. Macie was on steroids all through September. We finally got her weaned off after the freeze.

The problem with allergy testing is that they can't test for everything--so if there's an allergy to one of the hundreds/thousands of allergens that aren't in the standard battery of tests, the result looks negative for allergies even though there is one or more present.
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Old October 13th, 2010, 09:40 AM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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Originally Posted by cassiek View Post

I might try that! What's the dosage rate/kg for a dog do you know?

Allergies are so frustrating! Grrrrrr
Reactine 1 - 10mg per 25lbs x twice a day.
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Old October 13th, 2010, 11:21 AM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
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Originally Posted by cassiek View Post
She also suggested bathing him more regularly but couldn't predict how much better that would make it if at all *sigh*.
Careful with the amount of bathing as it can dry out the skin and cause more iting. Perhaps more brushing to encourage blood circulation and oil production, both of which help with dry, itchy skin, would be a better way to go. I hear you loud and clear when it comes to the frustration. It's one of the few times that I acutally wish Lady could talk, not just communicate!
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