Allergies

after 12 months of going to the vets with skin and ear problems my cocker spaniel has been diagnosed as being allergic to beef, potato and all grass and tree pollens. The vet just keeps prescribing more antibiotics, these don't clear up any of the redness on her skin. Has anyone else had/got a similar problem and can offer me any advice? Thanx kerry

Yes our Bichon has got allergies too He scratches his ears like theres no tomorrow and makes them all sore and scabby. He was on steroids a few weeks ago. He seems more itchy in summer than winter probably because of the high pollen in summer. There are quite a few things you could try. Evening primrose oil capsules, Piriton tablets (although these might only relieve the itching a bit) What food do you feed him? Some people swear by a raw diet for skin problems. Have you tried any special shampoos?

The shampoo we are using is malaseb prescribed by the vet and she is having to be bathed every 3-4 days. As she can't have beef we've just been giving her fresh chicken. We have tried most dog foods and she won't eat them. I 've just bought some of the hypo-allergenic dried foods to try with her. The evening primrose capsules you mentioned do you just buy them from any chemists? kerry

Hi Kerry, what is the antibiotic the vet has prescibed and how did the vet diagnose the allergens causing the problem....Cheers...Ian..

I get mine from Tesco - think they are about £0.98 for about 30 or £1.98 for 60. My dog has had allergy from being 17 weeks old and the vet said to give him an evening primrose oil capsule every day. I have tried Malaseb as well and Episoothe and I now bath him with something I bought on line called Dermocanis. Have you tried Nature diet (wet food) thats really good and my dog loves it and it comes in quite a few different flavours

Is frequent shampooing a good idea ?

I would have thought that this would remove a lot of the oils from the skin, making it more irritable.

If the antibiotic is not working, this may either indicate that the microbe is resistant to it or it is a completely different organism eg antibacterials will not work on fungal species. In fact over-use of antibiotics can upset the normal microbial balance, often leading to fungal skin infections.

The Malaseb is a miconazole (anti-fungal) based product. So, this would suggest that the vet thinks it is a fungal infection.

The dog may be allergic to things you put on her - eg Flea treatments or from the background environment eg carpet material (lots of chemicals are used in carpet manufacture).

If you can confine her to an area of tiled floor, does the allergy improve ?

Hello Ian, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The antibiotics Milly was on where Nisamox 250mg tabs she did 2 weeks on these and finished them last monday. Then Thursday just gone the vet prescribed Norocarp 20mg tabs. I've decided not to give her the Norocarp as i feel shes had too many tablets in recent months and want to try and sort it out another way. Do you know anything about these tablets? Kerry

The vet had a complete allergy test done and when it came back she was positive to all tree and grass pollens, beef and potato. The vet wants to start giving her some injections to help the allergies but we are wary about this.

I will try the evening primrose oil capsules. I will also try to find the Dermocanis that you mentioned. We have tried nature diet and she wouldn't eat it. I 've just bought some hypo-allergenic dry food and she seems to be enjoying it so fingers crassed.

We are bathing her on the vets recommendation of every 3-4 days we did wonder whether this could make matters worse as it doesn't seem to make much improvement.
The flea treatment we use is the advantage kind again from the vet.
I've not confined her to a tile floor so i don't know if it would improve or not. The allergy shows itself with a few spots on her tummy, redness between the toes and on the lower lip and occasionally as wax in her ear. Shes never scratched with it she just licks between her toes.
I'm losing all faith in the vet which is why i joined this site to see if anyone might have had similar problems and how they have managed to deal with it.