allergies???

[BoxerBuddy]

My dog periodoticly has these bumps that appear on her hind quarters. They prolly look alot worse then the actually are, cause she is white, and such short hair.

The vet tells me that she has allergies and that if i give her some benedryl they should go away... I was just wondering if there are alot of boxers that have allergies? The benedryl seems to be a recative measure. Are there any proactive measures that I may take to keep her from breaking out like this? It seems that overnight she may get 20 of these "bumps".

Thanks...
Lumpy's dad. :D

 

[Alisha Mobley]

It seems to me that most allergies are due to diet. I would try to find out what she is allergic to first. Allergies, just like other health problems, have a source. The source needs to be discovered and treated instead of treating the symptoms. Leaving the source of a problem untreated can only make things worse. Although you may be successful in curbing the current symptoms, the source of the problem will eventually show up again in the form of different symptoms.:(

Sheeba's first summer she was very itchy around her muzzle and her eyes stayed red most of the time. Two vets told me she had allergies and not to worry about it, so I didn't. That next winter they all cleared up. Just before spring I changed all my dogs' diets (the change was made due to a health problem in one of my others)...the allergies have not returned. I figure Sheeba wasn't allergic to her food or she would have been itchy in the winter as well as the summer but tend to think the change in diet improved her health and her immune system so the allergies are no longer a problem. In other words, the source of the problem was treated (accidently :o but it was) not the symptoms.

 

[Saywinboxers]

Allergies

When you say bumps, are you referring to maybe hives? If so hives are usually associated with a bite/topical reaction or allergy. Pay attention to everything, like the laundry detergent,bleach,carpet fresh,things she may come into contact with, even hand lotion,perfume by someone petting her. Food allergies are again usually --- face itching,stomach itching,licking feet.ear infections.......most of the time when my dogs have had sudden hives, it was either a bug bite or when they were puppies and I felt it was a blanket issue........hope this helps some....Cindy

 

[Dana Lee]

Scout has food allergies, and will begin scratching, licking his paws incessantly and sometimes get hives around his neck if he eats something that doesn't agree with him. We've had to do a lot of experimenting with his food, and finally found one that works well. It's called Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato. As you can guess, it has whitefish as the primary protein source. He's been on it for about a year now, and we haven't had any major outbreaks. I like it b/c it has all human-grade ingredients. The tough part is that only two or three places in the Houston area sell it -- the one closest to us is about 40 minutes away! Needless to say, we stock up when we go. It costs about $35 for a 30 pound bag, but if you think about how much I'm saving from the vet -- he'd get hives, scratch and get a staph infection repeatedly or have chronic ear infections and antiobiotics aren't cheap for an 80 pound dog! -- and the fact that he's more comfortable, it's well worth the drive and the cost. They also recently began making treats.

Occassionally, he'll have trouble with contact allergies from being outside, but my vet prescribed Allegra (can you believe it?!), and I just give it to him as needed.

Allergies can be frustrating ... don't give up! You'll eventually figure out what works best for your pup.

Dana

 

[AMANDACAUSTIN]

My dog used to get bumps all over his hind quarters. I couldn't tell if they were red or anything because he is fawn, but he did scratch a lot. My vet said it was allergies probably to something in the grass and to give him tavist or benadryl to get rid of them. Once we moved from the apartments we were in to our own house he never again got the bumps. So I am pretty sure it was some plant that he was allergic to. They can be allergic to so many things it is hard to pinpoint without expensive tests. Good luck!!!

 

[Kellygirlsworld]

bumpies

My Mom's boxer gets lumpy bumps all over his body everytime he'd get ahold of bread! Turned out that he has a food alergy to wheat. He'd take benadryl and they'd go away. Maybe that's what yours is allergic too also?

 

[Nicky'sDad]

Boxer fine, Other dog has it...

My other dog is the one with the occasional allergy symptoms, Nicky the boxer is fine. But dog allergy problems is a pretty general area.

I live in one town, work in another almost 200 miles away; so we do a commute and stay at a trailer park when I am at work for a week or so at a time. The work town is a dairy town, and Wyatt (shepard/dingo cross) would begin to incessantly scratch, mostly upper arms/armpit areas. he would rock the camper so hard as to wake me in the middle of the night !
I work in (people) medicine, so the Benadryl was the first thing I tried for it. It had virtually no effect; therefore, likely not an allergy, so I am figuring, more of a dermatitis condition. I have some hydrocortisone cream, but creams are harder on medium-haired dogs, ya know. (by the way, the chain store Family Dollar has hydrocortisone tubes for 2 bucks, about 6 for the same stuff at a name-brand store...)
This town is windy, and with all the dairy/farm production byproduct/fertilizer in the air, it could be anything. I am always exhibiting skin and upper respiratory problems myself when here, and within 2 hours of getting back north to our Home, we all get better.

One thing I did try which seems to work is to add some regular old cooking oil to his food. He gets Iam's as his diet, pretty good quality for sure, but the added oil I put in seems to have quelled it quite a bit. And, I seem to be able to do it for a week on and week off. And Hey, a big bottle of oil is cheap!

Another thread I will start somewhere else is my experience when the BOTH were bit by a rattlesnake one night.... UG!

Good Luck All,
New Guy on the block,
Tom

 

[lola]

Benson's Allergies

My 18 month old Boxer is suffering from a food allergy, and we are not sure what it is. My vet has him eating only dog food and nothing else for the next 2 months. I was told that if the allergy does not clear up within 2 months that he will have to go on a hypoallegenic food that can only be purchased at the vet, it costs about $80.00 Canadian for a 30lb bag. I was wondering anyone knows of any other hypoallergenic food available.

 

[hrb]

Our dog doesn't get hives but his face swells. The first time it happened he was digging outside in the summer time so I assumed he had a bug bite. We gave him Benadryl and he was fine. He has had a couple of other reactions but we assumed because we are finishing our basement that he probably got into something. About a month ago was the worst though. He was just sitting in the sun in the house and his eye puffed up. Being old pros at this we grabbed the benadryl and my husband was holding him (maybe too tightly) so I could get the medicine in Jackson. He started to choke and when my husband let go so he could cough up whatever he was choking on he passed out and then he peed all over the place while he was still out cold. We started rushing around getting our shoes and coats so we could go to the Emergency clinic and then we looked behind us and Jackson is running along with us. We have NO idea what he is allergic to and it doesn't seem to have any pattern about when the allergies hit.

Iola, Not saying that your vet isn't looking out for the best interests of your dog but remember that they usually get a kickback for selling dog foods out of their clinics. Something to keep in mind

Heather

 

[DeniseL]

Allergies (bug bites)

Hey, you live in Wisconsin. I can relate -- I live in Minnesota. My Sadie is suffering big time from big bug bites all over her body which have swelled and covered most of her legs, up to her belly and some on her back and elsewhere. Vet is treating as an allergy - gave her an antihistimine shot and pills. The shot brought the bumps right down but now after being outside against, the bumps are swelling up again. I wish I knew some preventative measures. I am going to start using bug repellant but yet hate to use every day. I'm thinking perhaps it's mostly the gnats/sand flies. I can't find anyone whose heard of such a bad problem.