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Post by tracyb on Oct 6, 2014 12:55:57 GMT
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, and have been reading the posts on various allergies in some of your dogs. I have a 15 month old Fenlander (Weimaraner x german short haired pointer x springer spaniel) girl, she's an absolute loon bag but adorable, her name is Ruby. I will get the kids to help me later and post a picture up of her, I'm not very good at technology!!
I've been involved with dogs all my like, I've always had German Shepherds, but decided on something different after losing my Shepherd last year.
About 6 weeks ago, Ruby had a severe allergic reaction - face completely swollen, eyes red and bloodshot, ears three times the size, lumps and bumps all over her body and her skin was the same colour as her tongue. It came up so quick, it was like watching Gremlins when they get wet!! I immediately gave her some piriton which I had in the cupboard from a previous mild reaction to an insect sting that she'd had and rang the emergency vet. Anyway, after alot of stress and a very poorly dog she is now alot better. We had the allergy tests done and it turns out she has a very high allergic reaction to Grass pollen, perenial weeds and tree pollen. The list is extensive and the count was mostly over 3000 - a normal count being 0-150.
We have her on a daily antihistamine, with a back up supply of steroids. Don't know why she had such a bad reaction on that day as she had been indoors all day, we had been out for the day, and where we went was in the middle of a field and we think that the concentration of pollen on our clothes when we came home - four of us - and she gave us all big cuddles - maybe caused the reaction to be so bad.
What I am after is anyone who has had a similar expereince or someone who has used a herbal or non-medicinal treatment to help with this kind of allergy, and any suggestions on how to help poor Ruby enjoy her walks again as I am a little reluctant to let her off and possibly go in the long grass now!!??
Thanks Tracy
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Post by scallywag on Oct 6, 2014 13:11:43 GMT
Hi tracyb welcome to the forum. Sorry can't help but I am sure someone will come along and post. caz2golden dogs suffer bad with allergies , not sure if of the same kind as Ruby, but I know she has looked into lots of herbal remedies as have others on here. Looking forward to seeing photo's of Ruby, she sounds adorable. There is a help section on the general board for adding photo's, which may help ( although some instructions may have slightly changed, as these hosts keep updating their sites ) but shout if you need help x
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Post by caz2golden on Oct 6, 2014 17:25:06 GMT
Hi tracyb, Wish I could offer some sound advice but your dog obviously has severe allergies and a lot worse than my own dog. Some ideas below. If I was you I would take any ideas that people on here come up with and discuss them with your vet. I think as your dog has severe reaction you need to work closely with your vet with anything you try. Its not worth risking getting it wrong. I understand that you dont want to rely on drugs, I would not want my dogs to have to have them permanently. Have you said to your vet that you would like to consider alternative long term treatment plan. I think with such a severe reaction it may be that the use of antihistamines during Pollen season is sensible. Mine has skin allergies, get super itchy and cause themselves harm if I do not control their problems. They do not swell with their allergies. Other members (I will forget some I know) who I know have dogs with allergies who may be able to advise are gladysorpheous87puppypalPawsforthought Avansa Has your vet advised any other treatment plans such as desensitization? Not that I know if this is suitable for your case. Also it does not always make much difference (not best track record from what I have read). Have you considered looking into consulting a homeopathic vet? www.bahvs.com/find-a-vet/Pollen allergies are seasonal so you hopefully will only have to treat her with medication when its pollen season and during the winter will be able to give rest periods from the antihistamines. There are charts out on the net such as the below which may help you identify the periods which may be the most problematic (as you know what she is allergic to) so you can then plan when she will require medication. www.metoffice.gov.uk/health/public/pollen-forecastwww.zirtek.co.uk/hayfever/pollen_calendar Local honey has been known to help to desensitize an allergy. It does need to be produced close to where you live. It is worth making sure you have a good vacuum to clean house with (or at least replace Hepa filter regularly) www.allergyuk.org/ is a good source of information regarding products that have correct filters etc Wash dogs bedding, sofa throws etc regularly to wash away the allergens. You can wipe the dog down with a damp cloth after walks helps remove allergens from coat etc Dogs skin is not as thick as humans so it is worth making sure that your dog is getting enough omega 3&6. There are so many products on the market now which may help with skin side of things. For example I am currently trying (but having difficulty introducing) dog greens. I think next time I will try one or two components separately. May not help for you but just wanted to highlight there are natural things that can be given that may compliment the main treatment plan www.finerbynature.co.uk/supplements_superfoods_and_more/superfoods_C151.html I have not tried it yet but I considered trying MSM, usually sold for joints (how I came across it as one of my dogs have a joint issue). It has anti-inflammatory properties. I would recommend contacting Kate at Riaflex as she will let you know if it might be suitable or not for your situation. www.riaflex.co.uk/ambrowCart/products/canine-products/RIA-CAN-MSM/ Its worth looking into properties of different foods (say with anti-inflammatory properties) that may help if added to your dogs diet. I will put my thinking cap on, sure there are more things but brain has gone blank!!
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Post by tracyb on Oct 6, 2014 17:48:34 GMT
Thank you scallywag and caz2golden. That gives me a few things to be looking at. She is mostly white and in places her fur is quite thin, so she does have a lot of protection from the pollen getting to her skin. But she doesn't itch very much, just gets puffy and very pink!!
I will look at the products and websites and speak to my vet, thank you.
Ruby is currently laying upside down in between my two sons on the sofa. She is such a good patient, takes her pills everyday without a fuss. Its early days in the treatment, a lot of trial and error, although if I can keep the errors to a minimum it will be better for her.
Will keep you posted. Thanks again Tracy
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Post by smilesbetter on Oct 6, 2014 18:45:34 GMT
I'm not sure if it's okay to give honey to dogs (notice caz2golden has mentioned honey so perhaps it is okay) but I used to suffer hayfever and I took a teaspoonful of local honey every day over summer, and it actually went away. In fact, I now don't get hayfever anywhere, ever. Allergies are just your body over reacting to something, thinking it's bad, and so with most I think the body can be taught that the thing causing the allergy is okay. Would recommend finding out if honey is okay to give to dogs anyway, the small amounts of local pollen contained should help your dogs body to learn not to over react to it. I would check with a vet first though, although at the same time I'm not over trusting of vets haha, they do have money to make after all haha. Anyway the honey worked for me! Also you can buy dog bodysuit things which are designed to try to prevent allergens reaching the skin, and you can get dog shoes to protect their feet, as pollen etc can easily be picked up on the pads/between the toes. It might be a case of the allergy only being a problem when the allergen is breathed in though. As caz2golden says too, make sure to wipe the feet etc down after a walk to prevent allergens being licked up and ingested. If you do this, probably best to do it outside as it can release the allergens into the air again and you wanna be avoiding bringing them into the house of course. Oh, and as this reaction was caused by you and your family all turning up covered in pollen, I'd recommend getting a stiff brush to brush your lot he's down before you come in the door to greet your dog, hopefully this will at least reduce the amount of allergens you carry on your clothes and prevent a future attack like this. At least you'll have winter to look forward to haha, it will give you some time to prepare. Hopefully though the honey thing will work and you'll have no problem at all. Oh, and not sure the honey will work while you give antihistamines, I don't know though. Again speak with your vet, as I don't know your individual situation other than what you've written, but you shouldn't need to be giving the antihistamines over winter when the pollen count is much lower.
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Post by caz2golden on Oct 6, 2014 19:04:38 GMT
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Post by tracyb on Oct 6, 2014 20:07:57 GMT
Thank you for your replies. WOW!! Thanks caz2golden. That, was very interesting reading. I'm definitely looking more into the diet side too now. We're due to see the vet later this week, this gives me some talking points. Thanks. Tracy Ruby when she was about 3-4 months old. Ruby February this year - 7 months I'll put some recent ones up shortly. Notice she's not pink at all in these pics.
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Post by scallywag on Oct 6, 2014 20:34:03 GMT
Awwww bless her , those Spaniel eyes too LOL
will wait patiently for more photo's LOL
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Post by tracyb on Oct 6, 2014 20:34:46 GMT
Here is a couple of pictures This is on day one, when it started Her belly was getting red and lumpy in this one Difficult to see in this pic, but her face and head is swollen And this was taken on Sunday, she's looking much better, still a bit pink in places
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Post by scallywag on Oct 6, 2014 20:36:11 GMT
poor soul , well I hope you find something to help her . Lovely looking girlie x
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Post by tracyb on Oct 6, 2014 20:41:03 GMT
Thank you scallywag. She is a lovely girl. I hope I can find something for her too, I'm sure the advice and help on here will lead to something.
I'll keep you updated. Many thanks
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Post by tonib on Oct 6, 2014 23:09:23 GMT
Can't help but just wanted to welcome you to the forum tracyb Ruby looks lovely, what an allergic reaction! - at least you now know what can cause it but hope she doesn't get as bad a reaction again.
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Post by orpheous87 on Oct 7, 2014 22:54:23 GMT
Hi tracyb, sorry for the delay in replying after caz2golden tagged me in the post! Welcome to the forum! Ruby looks lovely (and a bit like a cross between my two girls)! I'm not sure I can really offer much advice as I'm very much new to dealing with allergies. My Springer, Pepper, has recently been diagnosed with allergies to various things (such as gluten, rice, oats and more) and I'm only just starting to sort them. I didn't have allergy tests done at the vets, but a hair test done by the Natural Medicine Man (http://www.holisticremediesuk.co.uk/info.htm). The price of this test includes a remedy if it's needed, which will address the problems found by the test. I can only speak from personal experience, but this has already worked for Pepper in other respects. Not so much her allergies, as these are very much diet related and will take a while to get sorted fully. Caz has already given you a lot of good links so I won't repeat her advice Good luck getting Ruby sorted!
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Post by tracyb on Oct 8, 2014 6:45:40 GMT
Hi orpheous87,
Thank you orpheous87 for that I'll have a look, your girls look lovely too.
Thank you tonib for the welcome.
Had an interesting conversation with a lady who works in my local pet superstore. She has an allergic Great Dane, who has similar allergies to Ruby but indoors too! I thought I had it difficult!!
She suggested a lot of the same things you guys did and I got some salmon fish oil supplement, and a fish based kibble to try. The antihistamines do seem to be keeping her skin under control at the moment and she is always happy.
Tracy
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Post by Pawsforthought on Nov 12, 2014 12:22:31 GMT
I would highly recommend putting her on a raw diet. For dogs with allergies, raw works wonders. Salmon oil is one of the best things for allergies (we have our two on it, one of which has seasonal allergies.) Brush her quickly after every walk to ensure allergens aren't stuck in her coat. Another thing you can do is make some tea and wipe allergy prone areas with the tea bag once it has cooled. Neem oil is SOO good for itchy spots. You must buy some if you don't have any! A little neem on pink, sore areas once or twice a day is a miracle worker. HTH
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