So Coby has been itching pretty consistently now since I got him in April. I took him to the vet a couple days ago to address this issue and by the looks of the rash that is visible around his groin area and some minor stuff in the ear she thinks it could be either a food or a flea allergy.

He's on Revolution and I have found fleas on him in the past. We live in a community with lots of dogs and outside cats, so the vet believes fleas are a bit of a losing battle in this neighborhood. On top of which, he goes swimming pretty regularly in the ocean, so i'm sure the potency of the Revolution is compromised. (She didn't think so, but I have heard this from other people.) We're also in a climate where fleas are a year round issue.

The itching has persisted through a change from Natural Balance to Canidae to now a raw diet. If it's a food allergy, it's possibly chicken, since that has been the one consistant throughout those changes.

He got a steroid shot yesterday and was prescribed Atarax (benedryl for dogs).

Any suggestions? Feedback? I have a feeling it might be a flea allergy in which case I need something more effective than Revolution. Frontline? with HeartGuard? He also gets Bugs of Garlic and apple cider vinegar, so it could also very well be a food allergy. Is there an easy way to tell the difference??

I'm slightly annoyed since the vet didn't tell me anything I didn't already know... that it's either a food or flea allergy - and prescribed antihistamines. She also recommended a hypoallergenic diet (Science Diet zd or something), but I told her I wanted to stick with the raw so if I could possibly get a clue as to which meat it was, then I would simply eliminate it.

Perhaps one of my steps should also be finding a new vet.

Help!!
(& sorry for the long post)

PS - He does get rinsed down after his swimming. Also eats fish once or twice a week, gets vitamin E and sometimes salmon oil. Beautiful coat now with no flakey skin. But still scratching! Also bites occasionally by lower back/tail area.

Number One.... and this is a big one:

Why do you (and the vet) think it's either food or fleas?

It's true that flea hypersensitivity is the number one atopy trigger. But number two, and WAY ahead of food allergies, are inhalant/environmental allergies.

(BTW, the ONLY way to diagnose a food allergy (the absolute only way; RAST and ELISA and intradermal tests are not accurate for food allergens) is with a strict elimination diet. Any vet who says otherwise is woefully behind on allergy diagnosing.)

I agree with you that getting rid of the fleas is your top priority, and I also agree with your idea to try Frontline or Advantage instead (with Heartguard).

I would not be thinking about food allergies just yet.

I would be working on the fleas and on getting him off steroids. Pred can interrupt a terrible itch cycle, but it is not a long-term solution.

And there are much better antihistamines than benadryl with better history on dogs. But if it's flea hypersensitivity, then getting rid of the fleas is the goal. (One exposure can drive a dog with flea hypersensitivity nuts.)

1. Is there any yeast smell?

2. Is there debris in the ear?

3. Is there any particular time of day or season of the year when it's worse?

4. How old is he?

5. Does he lick at his paws, or just at his tail and the base of his tail?

6. Is he breaking skin with the scratching and biting?

Note: IMO, fish oil and Vitamin E are daily supplements.


P.S. QUOTE: He also gets Bugs of Garlic and apple cider vinegar, so it could also very well be a food allergy. END Allergies are to proteins. Not necessarily what we think of as a protein food, but, for example, a peanut allergy is to the protein in peanuts; a wheat allergy is to the protein in wheat. (Food sensitivities and food allergies are not the same thing.) Garlic and ACV might help with fleas, but I don't think they help enough to make me rule out fleas and think food. JMO.


Overview of how food allergies "work":
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:rc9_D2lOigYJ:www.allergyfacts.org.au/PDF/AAI%2520A4%2520myths%26facts.pdf+food+allergies,+protein&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us

A food allergy is an immune system reaction to a protein that the body perceives as a threat. When the food is eaten for the first time, protein fragments prompt specific cells to produce individual IgE against that food. The IgE attaches to the mast cells. The next time the food is eaten, the protein interacts with the specific IgE on the mast cells and triggers the release of histamine that produce the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Dogs' histamine receptors, unlike our own, are mainly in their skin. Ours are more in the mucous membranes.

Wow, Connie - thank you for the prompt and thorough response!

I think it's a flea allergy because I have found fleas (despite Revolution) and the itching is consistent - not seasonal. For the same reason, I think it could be a food allergy, and if it was, it would have to be chicken (at least), since he was on that single protein for almost two months and the itching persisted.

The vet thought it could be either flea or food due to the rash she found in his groin area and dirt in his ears. (Though it had been a few months since I had cleaned them.)

To answer your other questions:

1. No yeast smell

2. Ears were a little dirty, but not stinky.

3. No - it's consistent and evenly distributed through the day.

4. He's between two and three.

5. Doesn't lick paws. Kind of gnaws at base of tail and back area, but not as much as the general itching around back, pits and face area.

6. Not breaking skin.

What I meant with the Bug Off Garlic and ACV reference is that in addition to Revolution, he's also receiving the bug repellent benefits of these items, so perhaps the fleas are being kept at bay and it is the food. He gets E every day and salmon oil on the days when he's not eating fish.

The Atarax (Hydroxyzine Pamoate) is definitely giving some relief, but I'd like to eliminate the source, if possible, rather than alleviate the symptom.

And as far as flea prevention, any experience with K9 Advantix? I'd like avoid the harsh chemicals, but with the severity of the flea issue in my neighborhood, I'm feeling desperate.

Thanks for any and all feedback!

I would definitely be working on the flea problem. You might be helping keep them at bay, but again, one exposure is enough to drive a dog with flea hypersensitivity crazy.

It really sound more like fleas than anything else, although environmental is very common too. But having seen fleas on him, that'd be my first bet. The only reason it even sounds a little iffy is the pit involvement.

Still, I'd work on the fleas first.

I have not tried Advantix.

Anyone else?

Also, for some reason I read "benadryl" in your post. Atarax (Hrdroxyzine) is one of the better choices I mentioned.... meaning better than benadryl.

I'd be focused strongly on the flea issue, myself. By far the most likely, and by far the easiest to "cure." Then if that isn't it, we have a ton of info on this board about inhalant (and food) allergies. :>

P.S. Only some inhalant allergies are seasonal, of course. Dust, mold, and many other allergens are year-round.

When you added pits, I missed it. Is there any rash in the pits?

I'd be upping the fish oil because of the anti-inflammation benefits (a gram, or 1000 mg., per ten pounds of dog weight, and the Vitamin E, of course).

P.S. How long has he been on raw?

I strongly recommend trying avantage, frontline is a wonderful product but in experience at our clinic advantage seems to be better for flea allergic dogs. Advantage is spread in the hair folicule and the flea dies before it has to bite. Their is advantahe multi that has heartworm and flea control in one it is new on the market.

Usually with food allergies they are itchy around anus a lot of times.

Most dogs with allergies it is a combination of things, inhalents, insects, food ingreadients. You can test for allergies.

I would try the advantage first. My dog goes everywhere with me so he comes into contact with lots of fleas and ticks. With him I use advantage and 2 weeks later frontline for ticks. So he's getting each once a month. I probably wouldn't do this with the advantage multi. If I didn't have ticks I'd use advantage every 3 weeks but ticks are HORRIBLE this year. My boy gets one flea and he's crazy itching. I've also added grizzly salmon oil to his food and that seems to help as well.

Oh how old is your dog?

OK I am going to throw my two cents in, even though you have some really knowledgeable people helping you.

1. I think allergies can be an individual thing, but I had a dog who was allergic to chicken. He had very short fur (like a dobermann) and looked moth-eaten, as his fur was thinning in irregular small patches over his body. He was NOT overly itchy. I had another dog who was allergic to a supplement I was giving her, and her fur came out in clumps. She also did not itch.

2. I have heard garlic is toxic to dogs. Why are you feeding it (just curious?)

3. Personally I really hate those drip-on flea protecting things. Not only are they messy, smelly, and stain my dog's fur, I personally have found they don't work that well (for me). My dogs do not swim. The only thing I have found that works for fleas for my dogs is a flea collar that is a dual action collar (kills both fleas and flea eggs). It MUST be dual action. What I do is wash the dog with a dual action shampoo ($$). Then you wash everything the dog lays on in very hot water and bleach, and vacuum really well. Then you put the collar on ($$). Sometimes you may need to repeat the shampoo in 7 days (I do it as a formality). Expect to pay a LOT more for the dual action products but they WORK. I just got two foster dogs in August that were *teeming* in fleas. (And, they were itching and chewing the base of their tails - one dog even had a bald spot.) I went through my routine and have not seen one flea since.

Good luck.

 Quote: angela burrell

I had a dog who was allergic to chicken.

Yes, chicken is one of the top most frequent food allergens. Beef, too.

Since allergies develop over repeated exposure, two extremely ubiquitous commercial food ingredients would naturally be in the common allergen list.

So far I have not seen a dog develop food allergies on raw food, which is not to say it can't happen. Of course it can.

Again, though, although it doesn't help when it's your dog who has the miserable food allergy, food allergies are far less likely than flea hypersensitivity or environmental allergies. They are easiest to "fix," however, by taking the offending item from the diet.

Allergies (not intolerance or sensitivities) are almost 100% signaled by itching.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_food_allergies.html

Of course, there are many causes of itching. However, allergies in dogs just about universally cause itching.

I just want to point out again that there are as yet NO accurate "tests" for canine food allergies. The only accurate diagnostic tool is the strict elimination diet.

The RAST, ELISA, and intradermal tests used to have food ingredients thrown in as well as environmental allergens, but they are all now recognized as being useless on food allergens.

If a vet says s/he can "test" for food allergies, ask big questions. The vet is living in the 1980s. :>

Of the tests that do offer help (with environmental allergen IDing), the intradermal (skin) test is the gold standard. Blood tests are far less accurate.