Skin Allergies in dogs

[Bonkers]

Anyone else have a dog that is having issues this summer? Seems every summer Spanky gets worse, at one time a vet had her on prescription vegetarian dog food telling me she was allergic to the meat products. :confused: then it was grass, and I spent months wiping her down completely after letting her outside. I finally figured out the vets were just interesting in making $$$ and stopped taking her in for her allergies. She wasn't getting any better and I was spending a bloody fortune!

She has been eating the same dog food for years for dogs with skin problems...She stays on flea preventative, so that is not the issue, she seems to lick and scratch more after a rain.

I have used brewers yeast and other vitamins for dogs, but was wondering if anyone has any tried and true treaments for their animals? I feel so bad for her, she gets quit obsessive about licking her paws and has actually licked the fur away now!

[Candleman]

Fish oil capsules

[Wilson]

Oh, dang, I should have thought of that! Great suggestion :)

[Bonkers]

Seriously?!? I have some in my pantry! thanks!!:)

[Wilson]

Maybe also some Tea Tree Oil directly on the irritated areas... but you might want to Google that for dog use, first. It also needs to be diluted with a carrier oil (like olive oil).

[Candleman]

Seriously?!? I have some in my pantry! thanks!!:)

Very. Recommended by our vet. The bonus is it's good for skin but also for bone, especially for dogs prone to hip problems etc.

[Bonkers]

Very good! I'm surprised I hadn't heard of that before but it makes sense! After all, I bought it for my skin/hair/nails.

I have also been using rescue remedy cream on her belly, but I don't like that she licks it...never sure what will cause more harm than good internally.

The tea tree ointment I have used between her toes - she hates the smell and therefore doesn't lick them, but it seems to dry ehr out really bad, maybe mixing it will anotehr oil would help, hadn't thought of that!

Great ideas! Thanks so much!

[IndianSpringsGuy]

One of mine goes into a scratching spasm. Her ears bother her and sometimes really bad. If I scratch her ears, clean her ears or bathe her, she will start scratching and end up in a ball with her hind legs scratching and I am sure she is about to die when she does that. I will stick a towel between her feet and her body and hold her to keep her from killing herself. Eventually she stops. I use some off-the-shelf hydrocortizone for animals to help her with her legs. She seems to be allergic to St Augustine grass.

[Realtorchick]

you can use tee tree oil on dogs

[msucowboy97]

as i reading this both of mine are licking their paws. Our yorkie has bad allergy right now. We have tried everything. I am going to try the tree oil. Where do yall get the tree oil. I have the fish oil here.

[Realtorchick]

i think you can pick it up at gnc or any pharmacy

[msmichellemiller]

I can suggest a product we use on our formerly itchy dog: Arm and Hammer Fresh 'n Clean Conditioner with oatmeal and baking soda. It also has aloe in it. You dillute it in water according to directions and just rinse them in it. Towel dry after that, don't rinse it out. The oatmeal does wonders for itchy skin. Another plus, is this stuff smells DIVINE! Visitors often comment how nice my dog smells when they pet her. I rinse her in it a couple of times a week just to freshen her up after she's been outside alot, since I can't bathe her with shampoo too often. I got it at Petsmart for about 7 bucks, I think.

[Wilson]

Yes!! Oatmeal!! I'd forgotten about that one - it's classic for the itchies! The instant breakfast stuff is not the same... you want it as whole-oats.

[Bonkers]

Well well, finally ended up taking the beeotch (that's lovingly in case anyone says different) to the vet.

She had to have her nails quicked - two of them were looking horrible and it turns out they were infected. I have been treating her "allergies" - the licking her paws was just a sign of what was really going on. Two toenails were cracked to the quick and with all of her licking - yup - infection had set in.

Her skin allergies have continued to worsen and doc says it is a staff infection, not allergies. So...she is on antibiotics and seems to be much more comfortable already.

Glad I finally took her in - she had licked the fur away from her paws - I had no idea the nails were split in the center and infected! :(

[Wilson]

Oh, how awful! I'm glad that you took her in and they figured it out quickly, though. I hope she continues to heal quickly!