Hayfever?

[Fee1902]

Hi all. I took my 9mth old aussie to vet the vet last week as he had crusty eyes on and off, it would come and go and they sometimes appeared a bit red. He then also had a couple of lumps in his ears, which the vet thinks maybe folliculitis. His tummy is fairly pink, and although he doesn't itch much, she thinks it's possibly hayfever. He has been on solone and antihistamines for about a week, and bactroban for his ears. I'm just wondering if anyone knows much about dog hayfever (I've never had it as a human so don't really know much about the symptoms). Does this sound like what it could be? I don't really like giving him tablet after tablet, but in saying that after 1 day on the solone his eyes looked great. He has started shaking his head every now and then, which I'm presuming could be itchy ears. Is there any alternative medicine/treatment I can look into that anyone has had success with? And is this something that will come and go throughout the year or is he destined to have it all the time? Many thanks for any responses :)

[Dogsfevr]

Dogs can certainly get seasonal allergies especially when trees are dropping leaves .

Diet can obviously give those kind of symptoms too.

Is your aussie in a natural coat & is it dropping coat or do you work on it weekly ,sometimes when blowing coat & the dead stuff isn't being removed they can get itchy ,.

The eys you can generally just go to Chemist warehouse and get Chlorisig .

You can also use hay fever meds & i would use them more so than any of the prednil family

[Fee1902]

Thanks for replying show dog. He is definitely dropping a lot of hair at the moment, more than he has before but he's only 9 months so I'm not sure what the norm is going to be for him. He has finished the last half tablet of solone today so is solely on iramine now. He's still shaking his head a bit so I'm thinking perhaps it is hayfever. Hoepfully I'll just be able to monitor it and give him tablets as needed. I don't really want to be medicating him everyday so fingers crossed this is a seasonal thing for him...

[denali]

Maybe book him into a groomer for a full de-shed, could help a bit :)

Generally, hay fever and seasonal allergies are just that,seasonal, and coincide with a specific flower or seed etc in the environment. But there is a chance he could be allergic to something present year round.

You can ge allergy tests done somehow. Not something ive ever done, but a clients dog has. But I'd just see how he goes for the time being :)

[Fee1902]

Thanks Denali, I know a great groomer so will do that :)

[SarasMum]

My staffy x gets seasonal grass allergies. This year I have had her on Claratyne once a day and she hardly scratches at all. I wish I had realised it earlier, it would have saved her years of itching every summer.

[Fee1902]

Thanks Sara's mum. So when do you start medicating her and how long for? Thanks again :)

[SarasMum]

My staffy is approx 25kg and gets one human Claratyne per day. Make sure it is only the 10mg Loratadine one with nothing added. I have given her the generic Loratadine and she itched on it so back to Claratyne for us. I did find a chart somewhere on dosing but can't remember where I found it. I will go searching.

Here is a good chart on dosage for different antihistamines

Antihistamine dosage chart

Edited March 15, 2016 by SarasMum

[Papillon Kisses]

While allergies can cause itchy ears/head shaking, folliculitis can cause itchy ears as well. So it still could be folliculitis.

Crusty eyes could be from allergies, the tears from weeping eyes dry to form crusts.

Itchy red skin could be an allergic response.

Our late papillon had hayfever/allergies which presented as a very itchy nose and sneezing. He was on half a claratyne tablet (he was big for a pap, 4.8-5kg). This dose is in line with what Sarasmum posted. He also shook his head (ears) but that may have been from his ear infections rather than the allergies, or both.

You could also try a calendula tea rinse for his itchy red tummy. See the thread on this sub-forum.

I know from having allergies myself that you do need to experiment with different antihistamines to see what works best. What helps one person with their symptoms may do very little for someone else.

If you're concerned that your dog has been misdiagnosed or that his treatment is wrong, take him back for a follow up or get a second opinion from another vet. :)

[Fee1902]

That's great thanks sarasmum and papillonkisses :)