[Woodyspond]

My Golden, Casey, is 1 yr, 9 months old. He started itching and scratching at the end of the summer. No hot spots, sometimes tiny dots on the skin if we saw anything at all. Many visits to the vet and I get the same thing, prednisone, antibiotics and antihistamines. Last visit, she told me to keep him on the antihistamines for the rest of his life! I don't want to do that. I feel terrible for him with all this itching. He is on Natural Balance food, Duck and Potato. There is no corn, wheat or fillers in it. He has always been on this food so its not new to him. I got treats that were the same and have not been giving him any people food at all. Does anyone know of any natural product I might give him? He also started with a weird new symptom. I caught him on the counter at 1:00 am looking for food in my kitchen. This is not normal for him. When you try to pet his back, his whole back twitches and moves like its too sensitive to touch.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ryley's Dad]

Ryley developed an alergy this past summer. He was about 16 months old at the time. He was continually licking his paws... the hair in between his toes ended up turning red.

We were feeding him grain free Nature's Logic Chicken dry kibble as well as yogurt and pumpkin. He has always had a sensative stomach... frequently would have loose stools that would develop into diarhea. Thus we were feeding him the yogurt and pumkin.

We decided to make a complete diet change for him. No more chicken and no more dairy products. We changed over to a mixture of grain free Acana
Ranchlands (beef, bison, and lamb) and grain free Acana Pacifica (salmon, flounder, and herring). He gets 1 cup of Ranchlands and 1/2 cup of Pacifica per meal (2 meals per day).

We also give him 5 pills per day of Benadryl.

The results have been remarkable! No more itching, red paws, loose stools, diarhea. And his coat has improved to. The improvement in his coat I attribute to the change in diet and the fact that we also started giving him 2 tsps per day of JBG Coat Booster. His shedding has been reduced cosiderably too.

 

[LibertyME]

Antihistamines are quite safe. (certainly far less side effects then antibiotics and prednisone)
If they offer him relief...why would you not want to keep him on them?
The back twitching is related to his extreme itchiness (speaking from personal experience)
The counter surfing could be coincidental - more then one Golden has been known to counter surf day and night...
How aggressively do you treat for fleas and ticks? Sensitivity to fleas and ticks can cause extreme itchiness.

 

[cgriffin]

I don't see a problem with the antihistamines either, they are safe. The prednisone should not be given for a long period of time, because it suppresses the function of the adrenal gland.
Once in a while, my golden gets itchy and even my vet does not want to prescribe the prednisone more than once, he always tells me to give him Benadryl instead. Works for him.
I think allergies in dogs, just like in humans, can occur at any age and out of the blue. Especially Goldens are susceptable to allergies and skin conditions. A diet change would probably be a good idea, also. And as aforementioned, are there any issues with fleas and ticks?
Good luck to you and your fur baby.

 

[vrmueller]

Has your vet suggested allergy testing? It could be food or environmental. The Pred causes extreme hunger and this may be the reason why he is counter surfing. Especially, if he has never done it before.

 

[Heidi36oh]

I had very good results with switching Chloe to BB Lamb and Rice and adding Fish Oil to her diet, we got though the summer without any hotspots and itches the first time in three years, good luck to you

ps I also keept Frontline on her the hole summer and she did great

 

[Woodyspond]

Thank you for all your replies. I will try the Benedryl again. They don't seem to work but I've never given him more than 2 in one day. Hopefully, they will help and yes, they have said to test for allergies but he has to be off Prednisone for 6 weeks first. He is currently on another dose for 6 days. He's been on dairy free and wheat free food since he was born so I don't think its the food. Thanks again!

 

[Ryley's Dad]

Thank you for all your replies. I will try the Benedryl again. They don't seem to work but I've never given him more than 2 in one day. Hopefully, they will help and yes, they have said to test for allergies but he has to be off Prednisone for 6 weeks first. He is currently on another dose for 6 days. He's been on dairy free and wheat free food since he was born so I don't think its the food. Thanks again!

We give Ryley 5 benedryl pill a day (2-1/2 pills in the am and 2-1/2 in the pm. I think 2 pills a day is probably insufficient.

 

[paula bedard]

I had the same itchiness issues with Ike. He eventaully developed ear infections from all the headshaking, scratching and rubbing. Benadryl will help. Ike is 78lbs and can have as many as 3 tabs twice daily for severe itching. He eats a poultry free, corn free, and soy free kibble. Your kibble has duck, which might be the culprit. I've fed both Blue Buffalo fish and potato forumla kibble and Merrick's wilderness blend (beef/venison/fish) kibble with very good results. Ike has seasonal allergies too, so I keep benadryl on hand for the occassional food mishaps and seasonal culprits. I was surprised to learn that winter is one of the worst allergy seasons for Ike, he's very sensitive to pine tree pollen and our property is surrounded by pines. =(

I hope you find what is causing the itchiness. Until then, benadryl works wonders.

 

[hubbub]

Thank you for all your replies. I will try the Benedryl again. They don't seem to work but I've never given him more than 2 in one day. Hopefully, they will help and yes, they have said to test for allergies but he has to be off Prednisone for 6 weeks first. He is currently on another dose for 6 days. He's been on dairy free and wheat free food since he was born so I don't think its the food. Thanks again!

I understand they can submit blood testing for allergies even if they are still on prednisone.

My girl was on benadryl for 10 years and prednisone for most of that as well. We've recently seen a dermatologist and are trying some alternatives, but were told she may just be a dog that has to be on steroids. Which, of course, if it provides her better quality of life, I'm fine with.

Realize that this is a puzzle, with the pieces changing shape, that you are trying to figure out. It's frustrating, but manageable.