Q: Itching

Answered by Barkly on 8/30/03, 12:46 pm

A: Itching

> > My 3 yr old Aussie has alergies! He is scatching all
> over,
> > chewing his paws (front mostly) and his scratching has
> > caused him small cuts. We prefer not to put him on
> > Steroids; did it the first season, he was not a happy
> pup;
> > so are treating w/ benadryl (25mg/tid) and have used
> > hydrocortisone and t-tree oil shampoos. We are limiting
> his
> > contact w/ grass (allergy is ''hay fever'' & regweed),
> and
> > have re-instituted his suplaments of shed-stop and
> multiple
> > vitamins. His itching has subsided a bit, but he just
> seems
> > miserable not being allowed to play at the park. Any
> > suggestions?
> -------------------
> If the vet and an allergist have positively identified this
> as being the issue then you are doing the right thing to
> keep the dog away from those areas however if it is an
> assumption I would rec you have the aforementioned check the
> dog over.
> Assuming it is this and the park is out it looks as if you
> would need to have a yard that is free from this and spend
> extra time playing games with the dog and if enough room
> even setting up a mini agility area that you can teach the
> dog to run through with you thereby giving him another
> interest and form of stimulation. You could even try to
> teach him hide and seek where you hide the object and the
> dog has to find a bit like sniffer dogs.
> Many allergists once they identify what the actual allergies
> are can make up a time of medication which can help with
> this issue so if you haven't been sent to an allergist it is
> worth arranging to see one.
> Vets normally also try antihistamines or prednisolone
> tablets sometimes both on different days. Personally if this
> is an all year thing I would ask about immunotherapy as a
> vaccine can be made up which will allow the dog some
> resistance to these allergens provided they are correctly
> diagnosed.
> >
> We took him to the vet the first season it occured. It is seasonal, so immunother. is not needed. We give him TONS of exersize and play all sorts of games, off the grass i think he just misses his friends. He is used to going to the dog park several times a week. Maybe I shouild teach him to web surf to distract him :) I was hoping there was some new product I didn't know about.