i am at my wits end with capones allergies.

his skin is still AWFUL and he is allergic to any kind of fish oil. i tried flax seed oil for a while, and noticed absolutely no difference.

he sheds like crazy, and his skin is so delicate. his collars, even the soft leather can tear his neck up(they aren't too tight at all), the least little scratch will tear his skin.... plus it's just really dry.

is there something i can give him? a special shampoo that really does help the skin? baby lotion? anything?

Can you/have you increased the fat in his diet?

 Quote: Mallory Kwiatkowski

his skin is still AWFUL and he is allergic to any kind of fish oil. i tried flax seed oil for a while, and noticed absolutely no difference.

True food allergies actually are are to proteins. Is the dog allergic to fish itself?

Have you done the elimination diet (the only way to identify a food allergy)?

If someone has told you that the RAST, ELISA, or intradermal tests work for food allergies, I'm afraid that they have misinformed you. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=504


http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/section_home.cfm?section_id=3&sub_section_id=8

 Quote: mallory kwiatkowski

... his skin is still AWFUL and he is allergic to any kind of fish oil. i tried flax seed oil for a while, and noticed absolutely no difference.

Which dog is this?

Does "no difference" mean that he seemed to be allergic to flax too or does it mean that you saw no improvement with flax?


(Baby lotion is the wrong pH for a dog.)

If you've posted this, I'm sorry that I don't recall: What has led you to a determination of food allergies rather than flea hypersensitivity or inhalant/environmental?

What have you done/tried so far?

Maybe I've missed some info in a previous post? If not, which dog is this? How long has he had "allergies?" What do you mean by allergies? Scratching/chewing as well as dry skin? If so, in what areas of his body? What does "awful" mean besides delicate and really dry? Any smell? Any rashes, open sores, etc?
Raw fed? How long? and exactly what? Any other supplements? What oil have you used besides fish / flax seed oil?

Mike

Edited by Mike Armstrong (08/10/2008 07:07 PM)
Edit reason: writing while Connie posting :-)

I was at my wit's end with my golden's allergies too and thought it was food. I even thought it was salmon oil - but it ended up not being food at all. We finally did the elimination diet - put him on one protein/one carbohydrate for at least 8 weeks. It did not make a difference. You have to keep a log and write down the intensity of the itching/skin problems to really see what's going on.

The best money I ever spent was going to the dermotology vet these last couple months and getting counsel. She was able to assure us it wasn't food and we did the skin testing. He turned up allergic to 45 difference allergens and we have started the allergy shots. A little costly yes, but the mental exhaustion of trying to figure it all out is gone!

Connie asked why you are thinking food. Good question to ask yourself, because the dermo vet says only about 5% of dogs have food allergies (the kibble companies would like you to think it's a lot more!). The vast majority is environment/fleas and it happens to much that you tend to relate it to food.

 Quote: Lori Hall

the dermo vet says only about 5% of dogs have food allergies. The vast majority is environment/fleas and it happens to much that you tend to relate it to food.

Too true. But you know how many people go to the vet with their atopic dog and the vet says to switch to hypoallergenic food (which s/he just happens to have for sale)?

The best money I also spent was taking my dog to a dermetologist.

Mia's #1 allergy is to storage mites which is present in ALL kibble. We switched to raw, got rid of our goose down comforter and added an air purifier. Mia has been symptom free for two years.

Wow, that is one of Kasey's things he's allergic to also. I didn't even know what it was until now. I googled it and it seems that a lot of dogs and cats are having allergies to storage mites in their food. Here's a great article about it and how to help keep them under control:

http://www.irvingpethospital.com/library/storage_mite.htm

It's Capone(says so in the first line..... )

he is actually allergic to fish. All fish. vomiting, mudbutt, skin turns bright red, itchies, the works.

it can be raw fish, or kibble with fish in it.

(he has other allergies too, several grains, plus seasonal allergies. sneezing, wheezing when pollen is high, his skin will flare up when we go hiking too, bynadryl helps that though)

with the salmon oil, it's not as bad (as if he eats fish itself), but he gets the runs aweful, and his skin gets really inflamed.

Sonny just gets the runs really bad with fish(capone is his dad).

i tried the flax seed oil, for months, and i saw no improvement, nothing.