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My mom's old dog was tested. The little thing was allegic to everything EXCEPT fleas and vension.

So he spent the rest of his years getting homecooked, ground up deer meat for every meal.

What are you feeding him now?

My dog had a big scratching problem too and I assumed allergies but didn't want to spend the money on testing. I did some research and found that the most common allergies are corn (grain). I picked a food that doesn't have grain in it and gave it a try before having to shell out hundreds on tests.

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/dogs/dry_food/high_prairie_canine_formula/

This is what I started feeding mine. Maybe try a grain free food for a month and see if it helps. If that doesn't work then maybe try a poultry free food since alot of dogs are allergic to that as well.

I just did the research on this for my website. Turns out, most dogs are allergic to grains (especially corn), beef and milk products. Try keeping all of this away from your pooch and see. The food is expensive, but it's better than all the testing and vet trips! Good luck.

Hi EW,

My precious little Emmitt had terrible allergies. I had him tested at the vet, who told me that it was all about what he was eating. He was allergic to almost everything, so I had the list narrowed down and cooked for him. I also started giving him desensitization shots over the final years of his life. They helped quite a bit actually.

My poor baby suffered terribly, my heart goes out to you and your dog. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I would start with an allergy workup and go from there. Good luck!

E.

I have this same thing going on but with my cat? It's sooo frustrating.

Just wanting to offer my support!

EW,

If he has a smell then he has an infection, and it can be either yeast or bacterial. Your vet needs to do a cytology to see which it is and it can be both to see what medication he needs. His itching will increase with an infection, so until you clear that up doing anything else is useless.

Next is , has your dog had any steroids, whether pills or shots? And if he has, did they help? If they did, for how long?

Is your dogs itching year round or seasonal?

Those should get us started on where your dog is at.

I have to cook for my Boston Terrier. Poor thing has stomach and skin. It takes forever and is expensive going through a vet. It wasn't long I started researching.

I make a batch tht last 4 days. She gets ground turkey, rice, carrots, squash & zucchini. This combo gives me/her the best results. I also add probiatics/vitamins to her food each morning. Our local feed store has "spunk" and her coat is beautiful now.

She breaks out in hives when she lays in the grass... In the summer we rely on baths and benadryl.

slight t/j - reallytrying, Timberwolf Organics also makes cat food -

thank you pippa, I've done the same tests and shots with her as everyone with their dogs. I'll look into it.

really trying,

What have you tried with your cat so far?

tired girl, steroid shots, blood/pee tests, dr. felt a lump on her thyroid, tests showed nothing to produce the whatever that makes her want to scratch her face off. We moved last year in March and it started in August. The shots are good for 3 weeks and then she's a mess.

I haven't changed her food, detergent, cleaning supplies, soap on me, same wool blanket on my bed as at the other house, etc.

The doctor is calling me tomorrow and will instruct me on the dose for liquid bendryl.

It's just her face and ears, no hair, raw then scabs...

sorry for intruding but this thread is helpful

How old is she, have you had her since she was a kitten, when did it start and have you tried a food trial on her yet?

Prior to moving she had no symptoms?

[This message edited by tired girl at 2:35 AM, April 3rd (Wednesday)]

She's 13, and yes from a kitten and nothing prior to moving. The doctor said it's rare that she would develop a food allergy in her senior years. But I'm willing to give anything a try.

[This message edited by really trying at 11:25 AM, April 3rd (Wednesday)]

Our pitbull has wicked allergies but they are environmental, not food, however our cat has food intolerances...yay us!!

For our pit, who gets really red spots on her belly and then proceeds to itch and lick them and she gets sores in between her paws, our vet gave us a spray (for the belly) and some medicated cleaning pads (for her paws). We do it twice a day when it's bad and once a day when it's not. If you want, when I get home, I can look at the names of the meds!

really trying,

I am wondering if there is something in your new house that is bothering your cat. Did it develop at the same time? There can be a higher incidence of mold in your new place that you cat is having a problem with, or even if your new place has more or older carpet than the your previous home, it could be dust mites that the cat is having a problem with. It just depends if it really happened at the same time.

Now as far as food, yes it would be rare for her to develop a food allergy at this point, but possible. The best food to do a food trial with is one from your vet, if that is too expensive, then you can get one from a store like Petco and I would try one from Natural Balance. You want to go with a single source protein, and one she has never had before such as rabbit or duck. Switch her over very slowly, this is usually the trick with cats. Sometimes they don't like these foods and if you do this slowly so she has time to get used to it they will usually adjust. She can have NO OTHER food than this new food. No treats, and no canned food unless the food comes with a complimentary canned food. She needs to be on the food solely for at least 8-10 weeks before you will know if it is working. Make sure she is at the tail end of any steroid shots as that will affect what results you are seeing. And also that she has no infection present.

You can put soft claws on her nails and that will reduce the damage she is doing to herself. We used that often with our cats that we dealt with for allergies.

Hope that helps, if you need more recs for food let me know and I will look some up for you.

ETA: Has your vet talked to you about trying Atopica?

[This message edited by tired girl at 11:49 AM, April 3rd (Wednesday)]

thank you for all the information. I'll keep you updated.

My sister just dealt with this problem. Poor doggie was scratching and getting rashes.

First vet said it is probably food allergies. She tried all different kinds of food, injections, the works. Nothing relieved his misery.

I told my sis to take Ben to another vet, and this vet did a skin scrape test.

Poor Ben, even though he looked healthy, he had the mange. My sis had searched his body for any kind of bug, but she could not find anything.

Oh, and Ben transferred the mange to my sis, which is scabies. She is very scratchy herself. She'll heal up quickly, but Ben will take a while.

After two treatments, Ben is 100 percent better.

I have a friend who is a vet tech, and she informed me that usually vets, when confronted with itchy critters, perform a scrape test of their skin.

Check to see if your doc has checked for this.

I hope you find relief for your darling pet.

I am suprised that so many of us have pets with allergies!

I am glad that this thread is helping many of us and a big thank you to those that took the time to write about their personal experiences and victories over this horrible skin disease that is bugging out pets.

Yes, Had a lasapoo that was allergic to grass. She was on a low dose steroid for the rest of her life, and got benadryl when she got particularly itchy.

My MIL has Westies, and one of them has food allergies, and they have changed over his life. First he couldnt tolerate the corn, so he got Rx food, then MIL started working for a vet, and he pointed out that it is actually cheaper to make the food, so he got chicken with beans and carrots she would cook up a big batch on the weekend, and he would get it all week. Hell it looked good enough I would eat it! Then he developed a sensativity to the chicken, so back to Rx food. Didn't tolerate that either. Switched from chicken to pork for the meat, he did ok with that. Now about 2 months ago she tried switching back to regular dog food, and low and behold he is fine with it. Except now he's getting fat!! He's getting older, still acts like a pup, but is about 11.

I would definitely reccomend trying the homemade foods that are on the websites out there. It's easy, and better for them, and less expensive.

Hope everyone is working out some answers.

I had my cat tested and found out she is allergic to 19 grasses and trees. She starts weekly shots next week. UGH!