Has anyone done a restrictive diet and/or used IVD (Innovative Veterinary Diets) for their dog?

Question

My dog seems to itch constantly and the RX pills he has taken only work until they are gone. Then he is itchy again. He bites until there are scabs. My vet suggested IVD-a perscription diet food-to help with the itching. Has anyone else done this for their dog? What were the results?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Your dog has an allergy to something- it may be a food allergy, but it is more likey to be something in the environment. The idea of the restrictive diet is to eliminate all the regular things that are in normal foods. This means no dog treats or human food either. You need to do this for at least one month to determine if it is a food allergy or not. If not- your dog may need to stay on antihistimines year round. Sometimes it is difficult to find one that works for your dog- just trial and error. You have to use one for at least 2 weeks to see if it works. Some stronger meds are in the steroid category- prednisone, medrol, temaril-p, but these are not rec. for long term use due to some of the side effects. I have gone through this with my golden retriever and she stayed permanently on meds her entire life. Regular bathing-every 2 weeks also helps alot for an environmental allergy by washing away the allergens from the skin and removing any excess bacteria waitng for an itchy dog to scratch. Allergy testing and shots are also available- but honestly the success rate is not all that great and I havent seen a lot of dogs benefit from this. Good luck- I know how frustrating this can be for you and your dog.

Answer 2

I have a 12 year old beagle that we rescued that was the same way. I tried the vet food, but I found that purina has a food for sensitive systems that helped her more that anything, along with bathing her with shampoo for dry skin and I actually used gold bond powder on her for the itching. Not to say this is what you should do, but it helped her.