Home Remedy's ?

[glendabenda]

Our pup can get itchy and we have taken away beef and dairy and now feeding Artemis dog food which has no wheat, corn etc. When my husband cuts the lawn she does get itchy. But the best Ive found so far is salt water, a trip down the beach does wonders for the skin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stormie]

Rish - get a referral to a dermatologist for better advice. If you're going to change the diet, do a proper food elimination diet. That is, feed something to the dogs they've never eaten before. ONE thing, ie turkey mince for breakfast and turkey necks for dinner. But it has to be something they've never eaten before.

There's no use just switching brands, or feeding raw, if they are still allergic to the food you change them to. Will be pointless and a waste of money.

Be careful with supplements too. Omega oils can be great - but what if they are allergic to fish? My dog is, so any oils that use fish oil (and many do) made him worse.

Check your yard thoroughly for plants like wandering jew. If you're not sure what some plants are, take a cutting to your local nursery and they'll identify it for you.

I'd possibly look into a second opinion. Your vet has told you the dog has eczema, but have they started you on a process to find out WHY? There are many different antihistamines out there and some work better than others for different dogs. You should be trialling all of them to find one that works for you. Your vet should give you information about the antihistamine trial.

Cortisone doesn't always shorten the life span. If its managed correctly, they can live out a normal life. We have had a number of dogs who have lived complete full lives on cortisone. It's not ideal, but for those who can't afford to go down the desensitizing injection path, or have poor success with it, its the only option to keep the dog comfortable.

The process of finding out the causes of allergies is long. Get professional advice from a skin specialist and start the process now. It will be much easier and less costly if you do it right. I spent a lot of money on all different types of foods, supplements, shampoos etc when Orbit first started showing signs of allergies. It wasn't until I followed specialist advice that I actually saw results. Orbit's an extremely allergic dog and many dogs with allergies are allergic to more than one thing, eg pollens, food etc, so its important to cover all bases to get the best results.