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Maggie is a sensitive dog. In Florida and NY she would get rashes on her belly from the grass. My vet gave me prednisone for when her rashes got bad. It was recommended that I put her on food for allergies too.

Now we are in a mostly desert environment, but she scratches and bites all the time. I added wheat germ oil to her food in case her skin is too dry, but it doesn't seem to help except her coat is soft.

Any ideas as to what will help her? Witch Hazel seems to quiet the itching temporarily.

Have you ever tried Lamb and Rice dog food? I use Diamond. Also you might try some "Missing Link" for dogs.

I used to give Bandit a baby benedryl

I've switched to the "no grain" dog foods--recommended for Tigg's seizures. Seems a lot of studies are finding that all the processed grains we/dogs eat are causing various problems. I also use benadryl for my dogs for itching & other allergy signs--recommended by vet. Sounds like otherwise, you're enjoying your adventure!

Maggie had that problem for awhile...I changed food to
Nutro dog food for sensitive skin and stomach...also
I found out that front line no longer works in Florida
so got new flea med..(Comforts) and those seem to
have done the trick...she was really bad with the itchy's
My DIL told me that Frontline does not work for their
dog here in PA...something to try any way...Maggie was
at that time getting hot spots all the time also..
You have to get Nutro dog food in pet store...

My Sophie has bad allergies. Changed food, didn't seem to make much difference. Vet put her several times on meds which helped for a short time. Now she is on a daily med, Atopica, which really helps. the downside is that the med is about $100 a month but totally worth it because it totally relieves the itching, scratching and chewing.

The most common cause of allergies in dogs is due to grains in the diet, wheat and corn are the worst. I inherited my mothers dog HoneyChild d'Pom (RIP) who was allergic to nearly everything and had the typical itchies, greasy fur on her rump and bad smell (due to skin infections). She was put on fish and potato food, but when she came to me I switched her to whole raw fish.
http://weloveteaching.com/mutts/mutts.htm I am a big advocate of the raw meaty bone diet. With rescues one of the problems are bad teeth so I grind their meat (mostly chicken legs) so they dont have such a hard time eating. On the road I get refrigerated (fresh pet) at Walmart and this freeze dried stuff (The Honest Kitchen Thrive Gluten-Free Dog Food) from Amazon. I have the prime, two day delivery and they are so reliable I have had stuff shipped to where I am camping!

Another big cause of itchies is fleas. We dont have "feral" fleas since our hard winter kills any free range fleas. But, I am on a Papillon list with people live southerly and they swear (food grade) Diatomaceous Earth (DE) works very well. Mostly they use it in their yards and houses but why not sprinkle it in our RVs? http://www.richsoil.com/flea-control.jsp He has more advice here, and experiments he has done.

JoanE wrote:Maggie is a sensitive dog. In Florida and NY she would get rashes on her belly from the grass.
Any ideas as to what will help her? Witch Hazel seems to quiet the itching temporarily.

How about putting a T shirt on her or something when she goes out? It most likely is the food. Wheat is also a "grass".

We are going through the same thing with Oscar and it has gotten so much worse over the last few weeks. We used to feed Beneful for years but with all the reports, we started trying to find something better. Mark has been buying an IAMS "natural" for the last couple of months. And Oscar is now driving us nuts with the constant biting, licking and scratching. So we are now trying a Blue Buffalo grain free. It's only been a couple of days so I can't comment on how well it's working yet. The downside is we have to go to the pet store for it.

Food is a big culprit for allergies in dogs and many dogs are developing allergies to what are common ingredients to many mid grade dog food. Besides the corn and wheat many dogs are now showing allergies to chicken! There is an allergy test for dogs. I avoided getting it done for years for my Herschel (a Golden Retriever) but finally went for it. It is completed from a blood draw (much easier than those skin tests that the human son endured 30 years ago. ) The results were amazing . As anticipated Herschel was allergic to many food products and air borne pollens. Specific tree and plant pollens were named plus, mold and fungus. He also was allergic to food mites (tiny mites that frequently show up in bags and tubs of stored dry dog food..... )

Allergy reactions in dogs show up in many ways from increased ear infections, increased scratching skin and chewing feet, hot spots, etc. and other skin break downs. As she has gotten older, Stuart's mom, Blondie started developing a sort of "fungus" on her skin around her neck or under her long ears or on her belly....that would break down and become hot spots. I switched her back to Herschel's old Taste of the Wild, Fish and Sweet potato, and she has no more symptoms. Like humans, dogs can develop allergies over time that they didn't originally have.

I always kept/keep prednisone and benedryl on hand. Both are good for allergy flair ups and to treat insect stings until I can get pups into see a vet if I need to.

Maggie is eating Nature's Recipe lamb Meal and Rice for seniors. For heartworm and flea control, she gets Trifexes. Sounds like many dogs are having these problems. When my sister's dogs wouldn't eat, she put them on chicken thighs, rice and sweet potatoe that she cooks and grinds. I might have to resort to that. I just feel bad when she starts scratching.

I believe this site is very good for determining which dog food might be best and how the food you are using is rated. It gives very detailed lists of the good and the bad of the food. It also explains why the questionable ingredients which are highlighted in red are not optimal. I would suggest for a really severe case of itching to try Ziwi Peak Daily Dog which is a dehydrated raw food. It is expensive but it is given a 5 star rating and it is grain free. The site also has a lot of good information and a place where you can sign up to receive recalls.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

Since it isn't always food that causes allergies I found this information on cleaning products. I also try to watch when we are walking that I don't let the dogs walk where they have used lawn sprays, there is usually a little flag like sign.

http://www.allergydogcentral.com/2011/0 ... -products/

"As you clean you home to eliminate dust and other allergens, you could be causing more harm than good. Perfumes and chemicals found in air fresheners and cleaning products can often trigger allergic reactions in sensitive dogs.

Many cleaning products today, like dust cleaners, and bathroom and kitchen cleaners, come in aerosol cans or sprays which make it easier to cover large surfaces. Unfortunately, these sprays are also good at sending chemicals into the air, which can then be inhaled by you and your pets.

Laundry detergents and dryer sheets also contain dyes and perfumes which can harm allergy-prone dogs. These chemicals can be particularly bothersome if you wash your dog’s bedding – since your pup will be lying directly on these allergen-rich fabrics."

If your dog is itchy year round, particularly after a house cleaning session, you may want to consider changing your cleaning products to those which are more allergy-friendly.

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Those are very informative sites. I'm going to ask my vet about how to transition The Beast to the Innova Prime Grain Free.
Thanks for sharing!
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I will also bring up again that if you have a dog that appears to have multiple allergies or is so all over the place that you have no clue it might be worth your money to pay for an allergy test. It is money or money.....there are just so many contact allergies, air borne allergies and food allergies... It also may help get relief for an animal faster.

I say this knowing that I should have paid for the allergy test years before I did.....