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..... Hes also had a few ear infections which go away with antibacterial cream.....

Ear infections treated with bacterial cream? I'm not following that, unless you mean skin infections on the ear flap or something. Ear infections aren't treated with topical cream.

The ear infections jumped out at me because secondary ear infections so often accompany canine allergies.

When you say "protein allergy," which has not been tested for because "they don't expect it to show anything," I can maybe explain that. The blood tests for canine allergies aren't precise; the skin tests (which many people refuse because of the shaving required) are more reliable. Both are expensive.

Food allergies in dogs are usually to a protein (one or more, actually), including the protein grains like wheat. Among the most common are chicken, beef, milk, soy, and grains. (Dogs can be allergic to preservatives and other chemicals, too.)

I'm surprised that with all the vet visits you've had, no one has mentioned an elimination diet. If there's any suspicion of a food allergy, then an elimination diet is really (IMO, anyway) the only foolproof way to "eliminate" any allergens from his food. You'll find info about elimination diets all over this forum and the internet.

Will's mention of thyroid testing is also something that you will want to follow up on, I believe.

I hope these links will give you some background that might help with formulating questions for the vet(s), and the first one explains what an elimination diet is (basically, that it's 100% foods he has never eaten):

http://www.cah.com/dr_library/fooddogs.html
http://www.vetinfo.com/dallergy.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/itch.html

While inhalant allergies are more common, my own experience with several seriously allergic dogs has been that an excellent diet (raw, IMO) with no grains can enhance the immune system enough to help reduce the dog's allergic responses to all kinds of allergens.

Of course, it may not be allergies; it was the elusiveness and the ear infections that shouted "allergy" to me.

I'm not a health professional.........I have had a lot of itchy, allergic dogs and I've learned how to help them.

Wow, that kind of makes sense. I will read up on the diet.. thanks!

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...that kind of makes sense.....

Well, thank you! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I called the vet to inquire about a possible test for allergies, he told me that when a vet does the testing they are not as accurate, but I needed to have it tested by a specialist. My JRT is a female...and teh spots are on her belly and the inside of her back legs, he said it could be caused from her coming into contact with something in the grass. He mentioned something about a toxin or something in the grass that is common when the weather heats up and cools off quickly.

My dogs nose has not been dry at all...but she does itch quite often, and she too had an ear infection.

Have you tested zinc and thyroid levels?

No I haven't. My vet basically told me it was probably caused by something in the grass and just to wash her belly everytime i bring her inside from being out in the grass.

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No I haven't. My vet basically told me it was probably caused by something in the grass and just to wash her belly everytime i bring her inside from being out in the grass.

I've had several dogs who came to me with both environmental and food allergies.

I have had some success with washing the feet off after the dog was on the lawn during pollen seasons. (Stomach, too, if the dog was lying on the grass.)

The reason the vet said that a specialist would do the test is: The more reliable skin test requires shaving and then a series of tests with the possible allergens, directly on the skin. The blood panel, which the vet can do and send to a lab, is less accurate. Neither one is perfect, but I have found both helpful to some extent. For example, I had a dog who tested severely positive for about 20 environmental allergies and about 10 food allergies. The test did not include every possibility, of course (how could it?), and it became obvious later that she had others.

However, as far as it went, it gave me a big head start. I eliminated every food allergen from her diet, and the lab made up a desensitizing solution to be injected at diminishing intervals. (I did the injections at home.)

Anyway, I believe that your vet recognizes the classic allergy symptoms, possibly asked whether it was intermittent (or seasonal), and concluded from talking with you that it was likely to be an outdoor contact allergy. The symptoms (the skin reaction and the secondary ear infections) do not narrow down the type of allergy.

Again, I have become convinced that an excellent grain-free diet can help the dog's immune system reduce allergic reactions*, regardless of what the allergy is.

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/itch.html
http://www.vetinfo.com/dallergy.html

P.S. Allergies to fleas, btw, is number one, and should be ruled out first, IMO.

Thanks so much for your info and replies. Currently she doesn't have fleas, and she's on the food (Purina O.N.E Puppy Formula) that she has been on since she was with the breeder. The spots before looked sort of like welts, and they would disappear after 2-3 days, they acted just like a bruise, they would just fade away. These new spots she is getting are actually different, they have been scabbing up, but I guess that could come from her scratching or biting at the spot. She never has any trouble w/ spots on her paws, only on her belly.

Just something to keep in mind young puppies while teething sometimes get a rash on the tummy, and the ears can get scaly,wrt the tummy it looks like pimples, some pups it looks red and pimply they eventually dry up, you can use some topical cream, to dry them out, I have had these with a lot of my puppies.I use a product call hippy scrub drys them up very quickly, if it continues, indefinitley then obviously it is off to the vet.