dog allergies welts
31 Aug 2009
My dog developed an allergy and has been licking her paws.. any advice?
she never got rashes until we moved to California (from Colorado)… she is an active little dog and we play frisbee in the grass a couple times a week. now she gets redness between her toes and part way up her legs and some on her tummy… it usually gets better within a week, but she licks and bites her paws all the time now! I took her to the vet and they gave her Temeril which she had an even worse reaction to. She got huge welts on her tummy… any other suggestions? btw… we’ve tried several different soccer fields to play at, and they all seem to give her rashes.
This is definitely something to pursue further with your vet. When I moved from Phila. to a rural area of northern PA, my dogs went from having a small, mowed yard & mainly gravel or pavement around them, to having a big yard with many plants, plus a cornfield, a hayfield, & high brush surrounding the yard. Now, 2 out of 4 dogs have runny eyes, skin irritations, & yes, they do bite at their paws, as well. What medication works depends on the specific dog, its specific allergies, & any sensitivities it has to medications, specific allergens (things that cause allergy symptoms), etc.. One of my allergic dogs only has the problem in the summer months, but he is so itchy that the only thing that seems to help him is prednisone. Luckily, once cooler weather sets in, he doesn’t have to keep taking the steroid. The other allergic dog is mildly allergic to many things, year-round, but is especially itchy & busy biting her paws in the summer. I used to give her prednisone, as well, but I was concerned about the effects of taking a steroid year-round. My vet suggested trying dog-sized doses of various common human allergy medications, to see if any of them helped. It turned out that Benadryl human allergy pills, at a dosage of one milligram of medicine per pound of dog, did a better job of keeping my dog’s itching & biting under control, than the prednisone had done. WARNING: DO NOT try ANY medication on your dog until you have CHECKED with your VET, because what works fine for one dog might harm another. There are also topical “itch stop” remedies that you can spray or wipe on your dog’s paws oe belly to control the itching & stop the biting. Drs. Foster & Smith (drsfostersmith.com or catalog by snail mail) offer a variety of allergy, itch, & anti-biting solutions, including Bitter Apple liquid & Itch Stop spray or liquid. HOWEVER, again, it is best to return to your vet, explain that your dog had a bad reaction to the first medication tried, & get further advice, new medication, & possibly ask about allergy tests to determine exactly what your dog’s allergies are to, & how to treat them. Meanwhile, is there a park, beach, ballfield, or area of pavement or gravel where you can play with your dog (or even an area indoors), to keep her away from the grass? Good luck with this!
