Contact Allergies

My Staffie (11 yrs) is suffering from a severe contact allergy. he is currently being treated with steorids, however, I think the steroids are making him aggressive and changing his personality. he is constantly looking for food and drinking a lot and has piled on the weight (he's not over weight though).

The vet does not know what he is allergic too. he has said there are test that can determine what allergies he has but there are no gurantees.

I want to take my dog off steroids but is there alertantives to steroids that would sooth the symptoms of the allergies?

Any advice greatly appreicated.

Steroids do make them thirsty & hungry. How longs he been on them & where are the allergies. I.e. Face, belly, paws etc?

We have two who are allergic to grass in growing season. Results mainly in Itchy paws but if they lie down or in Longer grass tummies & chest can be itchy

We use Pirition & if its only the feet daily bathing twice a day (or / and after walk) in saline (salt & water) or weak solution Malaseb or Episoothe (shampoo from vet) will help. Let feet dry naturally.

Summertime is worst for ours so fortnightly bathing in above shampoos can help. Although i dont believe in bathing a dog too much, sometimes you have no choice

Could be (rather than steroids) he just feels out of sorts & like us grumpy. Not easy being itchy & side effects from meds - hunger & thirst etc - however - see below -

What strikes me is you mention change in temperment. Temperment changes & skin problems can be signs of thyroid problems. Has you vet ever did thyroid tests? (t3, T4 & TSH)?

he is completly bald on his stomach, hind legs and under his arms which is accompained by a black rash. he is starting to loose hair on his ears slightly, rest of his body is fine. he is also licking at his paws constantly. he has shoes however these have been rubbing so he has not been using them lately. I have ordered him a pair of socks.

I have noticed his allergy has got worse since spring has arrived as he steroids are not as effective as they usually are.

He has been on steroids for about 1 1/2 years.

with regards to a thyroid problem the vet has not tested him for this. i have considered this after doing my own research on his symptoms. he is due to go back to the vets shortly for a top up of his steroids so i will mention this to him.

thanks for the advice

Is it a black rash or just the skin turned black? This happened to our hypothyroid dog. Skin went black in places

That is a long time on steroids, is he constantly on them or off & on?

the skin has turned black in places. he has steroids everyday 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. i do try and give him a break for a few days but he then excessivly licks and licks and scratches.

Hi, it is really important that you identify the cause of the allergies otherwise you spend a great deal of time treating the symptoms but never the cause.

The majority of skin problems are due to environmental issues and the house dust mite is a prime cause. Others are pollens both tree and grass.

There are various ways of identifying the causes of allergies which are an auto immune disease.

Blood tests can be done, however these are not always very accurate. York test are usually used in the UK.

Another method is to prick the skin with the most common allergens and wait for a skin response.

Treatment of environmental allergens are more difficult than those of say foods as of course it is not always possible to eliminate what goes on in the environment.

Black skin can be a result of scratching or a side effect of a condition.

Once you have identified the cause there are various methods of controlling the symptoms.

You can have regular desensitisation jabs with the offending allergen, this takes about a year but is not always successful with all dogs.

Homeopaths can make up a bespoke remedy, which may work.

If it is a dust mite issue then spraying the house with Indorex, freezing bedding and removing upholstery and carpet can help as can an air ioniser.

Has your vet checked for malasezzia which is a yeast overgrowth or zinc responsive dermatosis which can occur in SBTs?

There are some things you can give your dog that may help but will not REPLACE steroid treatment but could, reduce the amount the dog needs.

Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine, so speak to your vet about the possibility of adding 1000mg per day (or to bowel tolerance as it can cause dire rear)!

Fish Body Oils have an anti inflammatory effect and these can be given daily (not Cod Liver Oil), also give added Vitamin E with this.

Long term steroid use is a prime cause of ill temper in dogs and humans, so if you have identified this you need to speak to your vet.

As dogs really do not do sharing I feed my dogs separately and, if they have bones, one may be in its crate for safety.

HTH

my vet has mentioned it could be dust mites. This allergy started when i moved house. the only differences between my old house and new house is carpet. i am in the middle of decorating and putting a wooden floor down so i think this will help.

Your right in that we are only treating the symptoms and not identifying the cause. My vet has said he could have skin prick testing done however he has advised it is expensive and there is no guarantee it will identify the allegen/s. This is a bit off putting but im getting to the stage where i dont want him taking steroids any more due to aggression and constantly wanting food.

He is due back at the vets for more steroids soon so i think i will have a good chat with the vet about options and reducing his steroid treatment.

thank you for the advice.

We had skin tests done with no positivities at all. I wiuld still check with your vet re thyroid problem, if, only to rule it out. Sometimes all you can do is manage the condition.

You are welcome, skin problems are a real pain for both dog and owner. Let us know how you get on. I do not know if you are insured but insurance will cover allergy testing; for some reason a lot of vets are very reluctant to go down this route, so if you ARE insured, just insist or ask to be referred to a skin specialist.

Good luck

Reason is, as in our case (twice,2 different dogs) tests were inconclusive & we were under the care of a Specialist skin vet ongoing long term.*

You can get serums made up & the dog is injected & they do appear to have reasonable result for the first year during the
*treatment, however the effect after that first *12 months*
appear to be mixed. Ive heard this time & again from owners


The OP vet is right to be cautious.*

Some dogs will sit & scratch aimlessly with their hind legs in the air because theyre so itchy all over & dont know where theyre itchy Scratch / itch cycle as its called is most unpleasant