Holistic treatment for allergies?

[2boxerdogs]

Duke has developed a pretty severe rash all along his undercarriage plus on the back of all his legs. I went out of town along with my daughter and left my husband here to care for both of our dogs. He was cherry red by the time I got home. He was due for a rabies shot at our holistic vet last Saturday. Took him over there and she didn't give him his shot due to the rash (which was fine by me), seemed to think this rash is due to heat, stress, allergies (a combo of things). Told us to try him on Allermyl shampoo and she added something called Proanthozone (which she said he may have to stay on during spring and summer). She said to keep him on Benadryl as needed. He gets 3 of those in the AM, 2 more about 1:00 PM and then 3 more in the evening around 7:00 PM. He weighs 80 lbs. Can he have anymore of these or is he getting too much? Is there anything else besides Benadryl that may work better? How long can he stay on a big dose of Benadryl like that? Are there any other holistic meds that may help? Paula

 

[Ozzie]

Sounds like you got a "shotgun" diagnosis from your holistic veterinarian.

Stress from you being gone I guess is believable, and I'll assume it's been hot in your area?

I would be wondering about the "allergies" comment. Allergic to what? Food, pollen, bedding material, carpets?? There are just a myriad of possibilities; I'd at least ask what the potential allergen is...

As for the Benadryl, it sounds like you're giving Duke quite a bit (you didn't mention the mg dosage), but to be sure, I would call up your veterinarian and ask her.....she prescibed them, yes?

It seems that you got very conventional information from your holistic veterinarian(?) You've been given medications to deal with Duke's problem(s) from a symptomatic point of view; I thought holistic veterinarians would be more concerned about what is causing Duke's problem as opposed to prescribing medications to deal with the symptoms(?)

If I were you, I would do an internet search under homeopathy and/or herbal treatments. You certainly have nothing to lose by doing that.

Good luck to you; I hope Duke feels better soon!!

Bob.

 

[2boxerdogs]

I did an internet search and found lots of reading under "homeopathic allergies". It looks like Duke will be going back to the vet a lot sooner, rather than later. He has got to go back soon anyway. We may have to him tested for allergies--but it does look like there are probably different "remedies" she can try with him. I am also going to take out the 2 Benadryl in the afternoon and just give him those in the AM and PM. We found this vet after having lots of problems with our old vet. You can't imagine the problems we had with our old vet. I don't know what Duke is allergic to (don't think it is his food because he eats raw) but I do know it gets much worse after he has been laying down in the grass. It is like he has red "hot spots" all underneath of his belly and legs. I sure hope he gets better--he even makes me itch! Paula

 

[2boxerdogs]

still struggling some with rash

We are still struggling with Duke's rash. I talked to our vet a few days ago. She wants me to try "essential oils" on Duke's rash before we bring him back to her. We've been doing almond oil, tea tree oil and lavendar oil now for a few days and it is less red on his underside, but it is still there. I noticed on some spots where it was sort of oozy, those have completely gone away. I have also noticed he seems to get worse if he goes out into the grass and lays down and if he gets overheated, it gets much worse (more of it) and more red and a lot of times this rash feels "hot". I told one of my friends that he might be sort of raw looking underneath, but at least he smells pretty! He enjoys his "oil massages" every day. Sometimes he even falls asleep during one. Does anyone know how long it would take these oils to work if it really was going to clear it up completely? I am going to use them until about Thursday or Friday (that will be a week) and then talk to our vet again to see what she says. I just want it to go away! Paula

 

[WYearta]

We also thought Boomer was allergic to grasses, b/c every time he'd go outside he'd do the same thing as your pup. However, we just had an allergy test done, and it came back negative for EVERYTHING! He apparently isn't actually allergic to grasses, it just irritates his skin just like it can humans. Since their fur is more sparse in the underbelly area, it actually rubs their skin and doesn't have to go through their fur. Or so my vet says, anyway.

Good luck finding the culprit for poor Duke.

Whitney and Boomer

 

[AntJan]

Paula -
Try Flaxseed Oil for Duke. It boosts the immune system and it's very good at healing raw areas of the skin. When our Nikki started developing very flaky dry skin, we bought a bottle of Flaxseed Oil (1000mg), punctured & squeezed a capsule into her food (breakfast & dinner). Please try this. It will reduce his itching & inflammation.

If you do a search online for "hot spots flaxseed oil", you'll get a lot of info and maybe some products you might want to try. Hope Duke feels better soon... poor baby!

janet

 

[2boxerdogs]

That's great your dog's test came back negative for everything! I have talked to our vet again and she wants me to start an "elimination diet" for Duke. So I am starting with just feeding him his chicken first for 3 weeks. She said I could keep his other stuff that I add to it in there (just veggies now and then, yogurt, olive oil, occasional egg and Missing Link). He has eaten raw since he was a little pup, so I am having a hard time believing that he is allergic to a meat source, but I guess he could be. He eats more beef than anything, so maybe it is beef. I guess it could be every kind of meat he eats--I don't know what we will do then. These rashes have to be the most frustrating thing. I know we are about ready to pull our hair out! Anyway, I am going to be checking in with our holistic vet soon for an appointment and I want an allergy test ran. I hope ours comes back like yours did, but I need to prepare myself in case it doesn't. I just want to get Dukie straightened out. Paula

 

[2boxerdogs]

Jan, Can I still give Duke the liquid flax even though he takes Missing Link? Paula

 

[AntJan]

Paula -
How long have you been giving Duke the Missing Link? I know it has Flaxseed in it, but do you know how many mg per serving?

janet

 

[2boxerdogs]

Duke has been on Missing Link since I think at least spring. Let me see about the mg. It has a mg. listing for Omega 6 and Omega 3 but there is no listing mg. for flax seed. It just says on the package that there is no risk of oversupplementation. Paula