is there anything i can do for my dog's skin allergies?

Question

my saint bernard keeps losing her fur no matter what i do. The vet says it is skin allergies but the medicines aren't helping

Answer 1

My Dachshund has skin allergies and are vet gave us some special shampoo for her, I only use it like once a week or two and it keeps her fur on =)

Answer 2

Have your veterinarian test for specific allergens. This is done by an interdermal skin test or testing a sample of blood serum. When the specific allergens are found, special labs make a low dose allergen that is injected periodically into the dogs skin to desensitize the dog. Also keep checking your dog's haircoat for fleas, as they are sometimes easy to miss. Keep the dog's haircoat clean as possible. You might try a supplemental vitamin-fatty acid supplement, such as Pet Tabs F.A. to help the skin heal and put more natural oils in the skin and hair coat.

Answer 3

Ask your vet about antihistamines if your dog isn't already on them hydroxyzine is one they often prescribe or diphenhydromine (Benadryl). If she is not on an antihistamine ask your vet to prescribe one or see if they approve of you giving Benadryl (they will provide you with a dosage if so). If they have your dog on Steroids that will never solve the problem only eliminate some symptoms. You can ask your vet to draw blood and send it off for serological examination for allergies, to perform a skin allergen test in the office, or you can request a referal to a veterinary dermatologist. Some allergies can be kept at bay with hyposensitization therapy after diagnosis by a dermatologist or serological examination. Good luck!

Answer 4

My yellow lab has skin allergies too. The best thing I did for her was to change her dog food. Look for something with chicken and brown rice or lamb and brown rice. It's not something that will get better over night. I changed her dog food a year ago and she has had only one little out break since. Good luck.

Answer 5

try a lamb and rice diet, chicken and rice, or boiled hamburger and rice. it can take several weeks to determine if it's a food allergy. a lot of dogs are allergic to wheat, corn, gluten, and sometimes even the brewer's yeast in commercial dog foods. are you absolutely sure it's not a flea saliva allergy?? or mange? my anatolian shepard suffered for weeks before the vet figured out she was allergic to flea saliva. it only takes the bite of one flea to start the allergic process. has your dog been given any steroid injections to stop the itching? like cortisone or cortisol? it is so helpful, and cheap. you can also use an anti-itch product called sulfadene. my dog lost almost all her fur, and was so miserable i had to give her benadryl to stop her constant scratching. tea tree oil is helpful too, and repels fleas. if you find it's a flea problem, you're gonna have to flea bomb your house, wash all bedding the dog uses, and use a reliable flea product on your dog, like frontline...it's expensive, esp for a dog as large as yours...but, you can buy them in single doses from the vet instead of the entire package...try feed stores too. depending upon the state you live in...some feed stores are selling the former rx only flea and tick products. eucalyptus and tea tree oils are super good for keeping fleas out of your house once you get rid of them. much good luck to you and your pup!!

Answer 6

Our dog has allergies, too. We did stop giving him food and treats bought from Wal-Mart, etc. We now buy them only from the vet. We also have started giving him fish oil capsules. I puncture one with a knife and squirt it over his food. We also found he had low thyroid and give him pills every day. Another pill we give him is Amitryptiline which helps the itching. We spray him with Genesis, a steroid topical spray. Needless to say, we get all of this from the vet.

If none of this worked, and it has immensely, we would have taken him to a dermatologist or allergist. I hope your dog finds relief, too. How miserable for him.

Answer 7

You can look for a better brand of medicine

The solution for your answer would prbably be that she might scratch her fur to much and it irritates the skin so it causes the fur to fall out

Find a better brand that helps it not to irritate trhe skin so much

Answer 8

If you live in a warm climate-suspect fleas. They are the culprit most of the time. Use regular shampoo-any soap kills fleas. It just has no lasting effect-neither do flea shampoos. You must get the fleas out of your home, yard, dog yard-whatever. Try cutting your dog's hair off--!!!Wait til it is warm!!!!. Keep something on your dog like front line.
Some dogs are alergic to flea bites. I have 4 dogs, 2 are allergic to flea bites. We have a time with it. I live in coastal Alabama, flea country.

Answer 9

try contacting some breeders on line to see if they have ever seen this problem with their breed, and how they suggest helping ease the problem.
if you have no luck there, it wouldn't hurt to seek a second opinion, go see another vet.
I have also heard that some feed my be better for animals with skin problems- check out several pet stores and see what they say.
Best of luck

Answer 10

Here is a great program I used. I am a long haired rat terrier and had a few bad hair and skin days also....

http://skycforme.petinsur.hop.clickbank.net/

Meatloaf The Rat Terrier!