Our Story
The food part is fairly easy, you get a blood test, and find a food that doesn’t have any of their allergens. There are only two kinds of food they can eat: Natural Balance Lamb & Rice Limited Ingredient Diet and California Natural Lamb & Rice. Treats are hard to find so I make my own. (I’ll post the recipe here.) Plus, we have two kids that drop food on the floor and that always adds to the fun. The dogs of course love this, although it’s not good for them.
The seasonal allergies are a bit trickier. I still have not found the right treatment for them, and we’ve tried almost everything! Their allergy season is from August through October. They itch constantly, lose a lot of their hair and smell horrible. Although the smell seems to linger year round ( a milder form, thankfully), but nonetheless still stinks. We bath them weekly through these months, and have always washed their bedding once or twice a week. There is nothing I can really do to prevent this since they are allergic to things like grass, trees, and dirt.
My hope, is to meet some people here who are in a similar situation that have natural solutions to these problems. I would prefer not to use chemical treatments or allergy medications. So, if you’re in the same boat as us, feel free to join and help us out. Take care!
Andi
Hi Andi,
My pommeranian Callie also has Addison’s Disease. It has made me rethink everything I have ever seen her do, and I watch for signals every day.
She takes Percorten ever 21 days (injection) and its been a lot better than the Predisone. The Predisone made her heart race so I definitely didn’t like that.
We recently have been having issues with yeast, which the vets says stems from Addison’s disease – causes skin issues. I’m going to try your natural yeast cure. Thanks for the tips!
I have a 7 year old black lab that has had allergy issues since he was too. I had the allergy test done and the poor guy was allergic to everything. He had food allergies and can not have corn, pork products, brewers yeast or flax seed which is in almost everything. He is also has seasonal allergies. They seemed to hit in March and April and again in August through October. He had the loss of hair and hot spots all over his back, neck and stomach. He also gets terrible ear infections and has “the odor”. He also had terrible gas which can be associated with allergies. I have tried so many things. Recently I moved and have a new vet. It turns out the smell is from a mixture of yeast, fungal and bacteria infections on his skin. I got this expensive bottle of shampoo, Sebozole, and prescribed him with ketoconazole for the fungal and yeast infection and hydroxyzine, an antihistimine (sp). As much as I hate feeding my dog prescriptions, after fighting this for 6 years, it was worth it. He is a whole new dog. His skin and coat are healthy and the odor is gone! He recently started to get a hot spot on his front leg which he licks profusely, but I started him back on the rxs and he is doing great!!
I also started adding green beans to his dog food to help control weight and his gas. He has lost weight, no gas and he loves them.
Im gonna try the honey thing too.
Hi everyone. I have read your stories and can’t help but send this on to say, explore raw diets for your dogs! I switched my guy last year. It was easier then I thought and it improved his various problems almost over night. No diarrhea, no itching, no ear infections (yeast) and no bad breath. I just feel for all those dogs out there that might benefit from a more natural diet with no grains or fillers. There is lots out there for you to search. Good luck. Sue
Hi Christy,
I just wanted to check in and see how Callie is doing. Addison’s is tricky business, and I can’t imagine having to give pred and percorten. It was almost a year ago that Emma was diagnosed and thankfully she is still Atypical. I was wondering how Callie’s yeast issue was because I just found Oregano oil and it has almost cleared up Emma’s yeast. I just posted about it, so you can stop in a read it if you want. Take care and have a great day!
Andi
Dogs with Allergies
http://dogswithallergies.wordpress.com
Hi Crystal,
Thanks for reading the Dogs with Allergies blog. How is your lab doing? I noticed you had meantioned something about yeast, so I thought I would let you know that I just found Oregano oil and it has almost cleared up Emma’s yeast issue. She has been on it for a month now. I was also wondering if you had tried the honey. Time got away from me and I never got around to giving it to the girls. I would love to hear your results if you’ve tried it. Thanks for the tip about the green beans. Emma is so stinky, I will have to try that. Take care and have a great night!
Andi
Dogs with Allergies
http://dogswithallergies.wordpress.com
Hi Andi,
Thanks for the tip on Oil of Oregano. I’m going to give it a try. I have 2 adopted dogs, one way too many vaccines, the other, well, two rounds of puppy shots and one rabies vaccine was good enough to put them both into dis-ease. I have been fighting this for long enough. I began coconut oil, enzymes and a high quality 6 strain probiotic. I think the coconut oil is too much for my one dog. Both of my guys are on a speices appropriate raw food diet, and have been since the day they walked through our door. It never helped with yeast, the problem is bigger than what diet can overcome. I will buy the brand that worked for your dog, and let you know how they are both doing. Many thanks,
Jerri
Hi! I’m glad to find this blog. I have a 4y/o Golden Retriever, he has seasonal and food allergies. Dealing with this condition is challenging and sometimes frustrating. His symptoms are itching, scratching, skin rash, flakes, red paws, ear infections, anal glands problems, eyes discharges. Bath twice a week with an extra mild oatmeal shampoo and rinse with 1oz Betadine/1gallon water seems to help a lot, we soak his paws with the Betadine/water mix daily, recommended by an holistic vet, Dr.Becker in her website. We tried Natural Balance, Wellness, with good results until he started with allergies symptoms. Now he is on Blue Buffalo, grain free, high protein, low carb. He’s doing ok. He is scratching and has other symptoms but this fall weather drive him crazy too, so , it’s difficult to me to know if this reaction is only seasonal or if food can be involve. It’s sad that there is not a miracle food or a cure. I heard about add fish oil, but when he was in Wellness fish diet, he reacted very bad, so I believe fish is not good for him. Any other suggestions? Do you know how can I differentiated a food reaction vs a seasonal one? After switching diets, does it is a fact that we have to wait about 3-6 weeks to see changes? or it can take a little longer than that? Rotating foods it’s recommended, I’m thinking to start rotating brands and proteins each 3 months, or what do you suggest? It’s this really works? I appreciate your time, suggestions and thanks for been a good support for all of us, pet parents with dogs with allergies.
Hi Mary! I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. Fall has been a very busy time for me & my family.
It’s good to know that the baths are helping you Golden. It’s always nice when we can do something for them, even if it’s temporary relief.
Telling the difference between food & seasonal allergies can be difficult since they present them selves the same way. The eye discharge is from seasonal allergies, while all the other symptoms could come from that or food. The best route to take is to simplify everything. The Blue Buffalo Grain Free has way too many ingredients for a dog with allergies, unless of course you know exactly what your dog is allergic to & that those things are not in that food. Blue Buffalo is also one of the brands that puts chicken meal or chicken fat in most of their food, even the no chicken formulas. That’s a deal breaker for me. Try to find a food that has 1 protein & 1 carb. Buy a small bag & try it for a few weeks. If your dog is still itching a lot, try a different protein & carb combo. I’m not big on rotating foods until you know what your dog can & can’t eat. We have three brands that we go between, but both of my girls have been tested for food allergies so that makes it a bit easier for us. We are currently feeding California Natural Lamb & Rice.
Dogs can be allergic to fish so you could try olive, flax or pumpkin seed oil. All are beneficial to dogs & will help with skin & coat issues. I would also recommend a probiotic & enzyme supplement for your dog. That will help build the immune system, balance the digestive system & flush out toxins, plus it will make a huge difference with the ear infections & anal gland issues. I have had the best luck with the ones from http://www.nusentia.com, but you can use what is convenient for you.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. Take care & good luck!