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Chicken was the one that was making my sisters dog sick as well. She couldn't figure out why he always had the runs at my parents place since they all feed Merrick. Then she realized that she was using a single protein Merrick at home (Lamb and something) and they were using one with several different ingredients. In her case it was easy to eliminate and it was the chicken.

On the dog forum I am on, quite a few people dealing with huge allergy issues have had success with limiting the food down to a single protein and grain free.

Also I've noticed it can happen suddenly where a dog who was fine with beef or salmon or whatever for years isn't all of a sudden.

That's the only reason I mentioned diet earlier. He's having such a systemic/all over kind of reaction it makes me think it's something he's ingesting rather than something he has contact with.

My new pup had a red bumpy belly for a week or so. It stopped when we went to the cottage and I am almost certain it was the freshly cut grass in our yard at home. We've been keeping it a little longer and bagging the clippings since we got back and the reaction is gone.

It's so hard to pin this all down isn't it? I hope everything goes well today and you get some answers.

With it being mostly his paws and belly, I would also suspect a contact allergy more than something he eats. (Inside the ears could also easily come from him scratching his ears - transfer from the paws.)

I know you mentioned pollen, tumbleweed, etc., but also consider sources a little closer to home. Have you changed what you use to clean the floors? Do you use any cleaners, carpet treatments, or anything like that? Or maybe febreeze or something like that on any surfaces where your dog might walk or lay?

Basically, put yourself in your dog's position, and think about anyplace/anything that he would end up walking or lying on. Anything that would touch his paws and/or belly.

Even you... does he ever lay on your lap? Or on the bed? Have you changed laundry detergent and/or fabric softener?

It could take quite a while to figure out what's causing it. But when you get a list of possibilities, start changing things one at a time to see if it helps.

Good luck!

You can give your dogs children's benadryl too. You just have to factor in for the size of your dog. My dogs are in the 40-50 lb range so a full tablet is ok but if your dog is smaller you should break it down.

Well here's where I'm at. He's got a skin infection and ear infection, which I guess are brought on by the initial allergy.

They did a skin test, definitely no mites.

I went ahead and bought some of the special hypoallergenic dog food and will feed him exclusively that for the next 6 weeks or so to see if it's food allergies. I got him the special medicated shampoo and he'll be getting the daily bath for the next week and then every other day for a bit. And then he'll stay on the benadryl protocol.

I also got some Atopica in case the food change doesn't work. I live really far from the vet, and also will be out of town for the next month, so I'm trying to prepare since I can't easily get back to the vet.

The poor person who's going to be taking care of my dog while I'm gone. He's going to have to do ear drops every day for 14 days, the daily baths for a week ... I loathe asking people for help so this is sending me into paroxysms of guilt and stress.

I'm also washing all his bedding and toys today, although that's something I already do fairly frequently. I use a dye free, scent free detergent so I'm pretty sure that one at least isn't a cause.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with this. It definitely helped me figure out what questions to ask and so on so I do feel like I got good service today. My vet bill today was only $270 so that too was a relief. I had been expecting so much more!

They also said that they had a dog dermatologist who visits once or twice a month so if what we're trying now doesn't work, then we can meet with him and do the testing to see if we can isolate the allergen.

The good news is if the food works, you can match the ingredients in something that isn't as expensive easily. If he clears up and does well I'm sure there is something in a pet store that will match it. I asked my sister and she's using Lamb and sweet potato.

Forgot that our vet told us that carpet fresh caused a lot of problems for some dogs.

Sounds like your vet was more on board today. Great!