I think my dog is suffering from seasonal allergies, his paws and face are quite itchy. Nothing has changed with his diet and the itchiness seems to coincide with the plants all going crazy with the sudden change in weather we've been having. He attacked his feet quite badly, causing them to be quite sore and raw in places. I can't see any foreign object and he isn't limping or favouring his feet, it seems to be a case of very bad itchiness. He's currently wearing a cone to keep him from his feet, poor boy! We will be seeing the vet on Friday but does anyone have any advice on soothing remedies we can give him in the meantime? And tips to combat seasonal allergy in the future?
We are in year 3 of seasonal allergies (still don't know what, but I don't think it's pollen). I bought an anti-itch hypoallergenic shampoo and wash her feet off with that in a bucket of water or just a warm cloth and wipe her face and eyes (which get a bit goopy). I have given her a baths in the past, but to be honest it only really helps for the evening until she's back outside. Her allergies start with bad dandruff and itch, and she chews her legs, hind and feet. She also gets hair loss, mostly on her chest. We use apoquel starting usually around June until October which relieves the symptoms. I don't want her to be on it year round, and this will be the third season of using the med for some of the year rather than year round and it has worked for us. The first year, we didn't know if it was food or not, and the allergies escalated to skin infections until we got it under control. Good luck at the vet!
A foot bath is very soothing, so you should start with that. You can shampoo his feet with a shampoo for sensitive skin - much like you’d shampoo your head if your scalp was itchy. Once washed, you can then rinse with a solution of water and apple cider vinegar, or - as I do - apply neat Apple cider vinegar to cotton wool and dab on and rub the itchy spots. Careful of broken skin - it can sting. But it’s not so painful - my go-to for myself is Apple cider vinegar and I can withstand a slight sting - the acid is good for averting an infection, should kill bacteria or a fungus. You could also soak his feet in a 10% povidone iodine solution or a chlorohexidine solution like Hibiscrub - all good for preventing infections. If really bad, rub on a steroid cream. They work very quickly to reduce inflammation and takes away the itch. I have a bottle from the vet - it’s called Curatex here. Apply before a walk so he doesn’t lick it off and it has time to sink in. Steroids should be used under advice from your vet, and only used when needed. First exhaust all topical solutions to see if they work before going the oral root.
Thanks for sharing your experience, that's good you have found a method that keeps it in check. It's horrible to see them suffering, especially when it's something like allergies which can be hard to pinpoint. Thank you for the suggestions, appreciated. I have heard ACV is good, as well as Hibiscrub. We have Leucillin spray on hand so I cleaned his feet with that, in the interim. Would he have reacted in pain/discomfort straight off upon encountering the nettles? It could be, but I somehow think it's an allergy, as he's quite sensitive to things. He can't have dairy or grains, for example, which is a shame because he loves cheese. Nor any cheap dog treats, which is for the best anyways, but he reacts with itchy eyes/ears. I imagine if the itching clears up by Friday, he must have encountered a one-off (eg, nettles), but if he's still itchy, it is probably environmental.
So interesting to read about this - first time for me to learn about commercialized HOCl. Do you find it’s very effective?
Biting insects and stinging plants would be a possibility this time of year for me. How old is your dog? Some Vets, more and more, believe allergies symptoms like itching are the result of gut issues. We battled seasonal allergies for four years till the gut issue worsened to the point it was obvious. It's cleared up now (Lymphangiectasia was the diagnosis) and the allergies are gone. It was very hard to pinpoint, our only possible early clue being mildly low albumin levels. You'd probably need a Holistic/INtegrative Vet or at least one with experience in gut issues to help explore this.
Molly started scratching in the summer as soon as she arrived with us as a pup. The vet's opinion is that she is probably allergic to grass and various other plants Not good news for a dog in the grassy country and with a home with extensive lawns and plants everywhere. Rather than constant steroids and other meds, we have used salmon and coconut oil (not together) from that 1st year. This causes her skin to remain softer and moisturised and appears to reduce the itchiness and gloopy eyes. We are now into the 3rd summer and although there is a bit of itchiness, it is nothing like it was in her 1st year and doesn't worry her much at all. As others have mentioned, we do give her a bath with the vet prescribed shampoo every few weeks and the combination of that and the oils seems to be working. Good luck with finding something that works for Beau.
Update: The vet has put him on a week of Apoquel and antibiotics. She wants to see how he does on this and reassess in a week's time. So fingers crossed!
I use a Silver Spray from the pet store that works really well for Axel’s allergies. This is the first year that I haven’t had to put him on antibiotics yet. As soon as I noticed he started to lick his paws and his stomach I pulled out the spray and sprayed between his pads and all over his stomach which was covered in little red bumps. The next morning it was all gone, where as without the spray I would have ended up at the vet for meds.
@Kelsey&Axel Is that colloidal silver spray? I’d definitely prefer prevention in the future. I’ve got a good omega oil supplement to add to his food which I hope will help, and I’ll be rinsing his paws after each walk per the vet’s advice.
Yes that is the name! I was blanking on it earlier I use it for allergies, bug bites (for me too, gets rid of the itch), cuts and the list goes on
Pongo suffers from this. I've only just realised that if I give his legs and feet a really good hose down after each walk out of our garden it reduces the problem a massive amount. I have hope that we can do away with the vet treatments if I just get a bit more organised and disciplined about washing his legs EVERY walk.
OK guys, just spoken to our farmer neighbour who's lab last year was driven demented by his itches. Allergic to grass pollen, tree pollen, wheat...among others....all of which are everywhere. His owner went to 3 different vets, had multiple tests, skin scrapings, patch tests, medication coming out his ears, nothing helped much. New vet tried CYTOPOINT which had just become available on the UK last year. Within 4 days it started to work. Met him today and he is a different dog. No longer moth eaten and constantly scratching and rubbing his belly on concrete for relief.He is brilliant. It works on the Interleukins somewhere in the allergy cascade. Not cheap at around £90 to £100 every 8 weeks....and some dogs need it 4 weekly but the response was astonishing. Just thought worth sharing this for info.
@Kelsey&Axel I’ve never heard of it before so thanks for the heads up! @Rosie I hear you...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. All the tests and medications etc if this doesn’t get resolved will cost around £500, not to mention I would rather my dog not have to be medicated if it can be kept on top off through diet/cleanliness. So I’ll be wiping him down after every walk as well, and before bed to keep on top of whatever he’s been exposed to just in the garden. @drjs@5 Our vet mentioned Cytopoint, I bet your farmer neighbour is over the moon at the change! It’s horrible to see our dogs suffer like this. The Apoquel and antibiotics seem to be doing the trick, he seems much more himself and has been leaving his feet alone for the most part, fingers crossed this is a one off experience and he won’t need any more drugs. He was seeming rather depressed and now he’s back to his full on ridiculous self. We’ll be going back to the vet in about a week for a follow up so I’ll keep you all updated. Hopefully this thread helps other itchy dogs out there.