Allergies

[DianeMcA]

I am not giving him any additives only kangaroo and cooked sweet potato , I am spraying calandular tea in his legs and he is very content, I am only wanting the best for this dog ,I am under the guidance of my vet and following what he says, he does not believe blood tests are that accurate

So much going on & so many things tried that will not give you a clue. You have been all over the place. Thing is your dog may be allergic to kangaroo or even sweet potato. Maybe even Calendula. I was allergic to Aloe Vera & it was advised for my skin complaint.

You or even the vet have no idea.

The blood tests do not always show an allergy but its a starting point & they may show something so its best to have them done & you may get some clue. You may not but try it.

Stick to one food for a few days it won't harm him. Maybe beef & beef bones.

Stop all chemicals including flea stuff. No chemicals around the floors either. Hot water with a little white vinegar in on hard surfaces & no carpet fresheners etc on carpets, only vacuum daily.

Any commercial dry food is no help as it has all sorts in & you would never know what exact ingredient was the culprit if aggravating.

Keep a diary & note reactions & introduce new things one at a time.

Don't put anything on his feet at all. Its a slow methodical process of elimination if you have the patience. There is no quick fix to these type of things. Good luck.

[DianeMcA]

The vet advised me to try a protein he hadn't tried before and suggested kangaroo ,human grade no additives,also the blood tests are almost $500.00, so I am trying one thing at a time ,off the grass and very basic diet , fingers crossed

Edited April 10, 2014 by DianeMcA

[Erny]

The vet advised me to try a protein he hadn't tried before and suggested kangaroo ,human grade no additives,also the blood tests are almost $500.00, so I am trying one thing at a time ,off the grass and very basic diet , fingers crossed

Blood test for what, in particular?

[persephone]

The vet advised me to try a protein he hadn't tried before and suggested kangaroo ,human grade no additives,also the blood tests are almost $500.00, so I am trying one thing at a time ,off the grass and very basic diet , fingers crossed

That's a good start :) I am glad he enjoys walking in the rain .

[DianeMcA]

The vet advised me to try a protein he hadn't tried before and suggested kangaroo ,human grade no additives,also the blood tests are almost $500.00, so I am trying one thing at a time ,off the grass and very basic diet , fingers crossed

Blood test for what, in particular?

[DianeMcA]

Blood tests for allergies ,not sure how they check it, maybe for deficiencies ?

[Christina]

,also I have 5 dogs,one is 16, so I do know how to look after dogs, Ralph is my first with allergies, and I was upset with a post earlier accusing me almost of abuse of him and suggesting I give him to someone else for him to spread his wings , :-(

Had to go back & look for this. Was not a very nice comment for you

All sorts of people are on forums & sometimes some are harsh or extreme in their comments or views. Ignore them & weigh up the more & less personal balanced views.

Hopefully something you see may help you & your dog.

[Erny]

Stick to one food for a few days it won't harm him. Maybe beef & beef bones.

"A few days" is not long enough for anything to be able to be determined.

Game meat is better than beef, lamb, chicken.

[Erny]

Blood tests for allergies ,not sure how they check it, maybe for deficiencies ?

Thanks. I didn't know they ran bloods for that sort of thing either. I've had a saliva test run (via Dr Jean Dodds) to check for food intolerances. It was a bit of a guide, but as USA produce is fed differently than ours and because the tests were only just new, I wasn't completely convinced.

The hair-DNA test analysis can point to food sensitivities. The cost is $125.00 and that includes a re-test. Not pushing nor intending to harp (I think I've mentioned the hair-DNA in this thread earlier??), but in my experience, it is worth doing.

[tdierikx]

Have either of your local vets sought advice from an allergy specialist? It's as simple as a professional phone call from one vet to another really. Especially as for you to visit the specialist yourself involves a 5 hour drive each way. Surely an allergy specialist could give your vet some idea of what tests may be required for your Ralph's condition - and how to gather the samples for testing (and possibly send them off to the specialist/path labs for said tests to be analysed).

T.

[Staranais]

To be perfectly honest, if you can't work out WHAT he's allergic to and avoid it, he will probably be on steroids and/or antihistimines on and off for his whole life.

Your best bet is to systematically rule factors out, one at a time, until you work out what's causing him to flare up.

The culprit has got to be either something he's exposed to in the environment, something he's eating, or an allergy to his natural skin flora (rarer, but I've seen it).

First rule out anything in the environment - wandering dew is top of the list of suspects, although they can also be allergic to most other types of grasses and plants. They can be allergic to any chemicals or cleaning products you use inside the house, and to dust mites in the carpet.

Changing to a novel protein diet can help, if he's allergic to a particular type of animal protein. Changing to a raw diet from kibble can help if your dog is allergic to grain or storage mites. With any diet change, you need to stick with the new diet exclusively for at least 6 weeks before you can be sure (even better - if you see a remission in the signs, add the suspect ingredient back in, and you'll see a skin flareup if you're right).

I don't personally put a lot of stock in allergy blood tests - I haven't had much success with them - although the intradermal allergy testing can be helpful in determining exactly what's going on.