Ditto what Connie and Lori have said. I've posted a lot about allergies in the past, but no need to overwhelm you right now with information. I can dig it all up later. After years of frustration, I've found a combination of diet (raw, no grains) and supplements that work. We've had no allergy scratching or chewing and haven't touched prednisone or antihistamines in almost a year.

So for starters, just a couple quick additions to what's already been posted:
- Keep good notes about everything you do or change. It'll help a lot when you can look back 6 mos or a year from now and see what seemed to work or not.
- Know that some things may take affect in 20-30 minutes or so (prednisone) while others make not kick in for a month (LB's Clear Allergies here)
- Look for a yogurt brand with as many live cultures as you can find. I use one with 8 or more. Variety of probiotics is the key as too little is known about which specific strains work on which person/animal.
- Wait at least an hour after an antibiotic dose before giving yogurt or you'll kill all the good bugs, too

At http://www.pollen.com, you can put in your zip code and get reports for your area and even email alerts when the pollen count is going to be elevated. Interesting, but it's only somewhat helpful since most of us don't know the specific allergens are causing the problem. But every bit of info can be helpful.

Let us know how things are going.

Mike

Thanks for all of the information!!! I really appreciate it

I also realized yesterday that the worsening of her allergies kind of coincided with when I ran out of MSM (I give it to her for joint issues) which has anti-inflammatory properties. I not sure if that had anything to do with it or not, but I've got her back on it now.

So far she's still a touch itchy with the prednisone, but not nearly as bad as she had been. And she's on a lower dose of it because of her heart issues.

 Quote: mara jessup

. . . I also realized yesterday that the worsening of her allergies kind of coincided with when I ran out of MSM (I give it to her for joint issues) which has anti-inflammatory properties. I not sure if that had anything to do with it or not, but I've got her back on it now. . .

You may be on to something, but this is precisely why you should keep notes - when you restarted the MSM, how quickly you saw improvement, etc. I don't know how many times I figured out exactly what was causing the scratching/biting only to learn later that I was totally off base.

What is the frequency/size of what you are calling a "lower dose"?

Mike

If you are looking for a good milk product Lifeway Kefir has 10 strains of probiotic bacteria. Here in MA they usually carry it in regular grocery stores, Trader Joe's, and natural food stores. You can also buy kefir culture different places on the internet and make it yourself, it's easy.

 Quote: Linda West

If you are looking for a good milk product Lifeway Kefir has 10 strains of probiotic bacteria. Here in MA they usually carry it in regular grocery stores, Trader Joe's, and natural food stores. You can also buy kefir culture different places on the internet and make it yourself, it's easy.

Do they have plain unsweetened?

Plain unsweetened kefir is the least likely to be in stock where I shop.

Yes they do. I think I saw the culture on the Cheese Queen website and couple others, let me look around.

http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/p/146-Kefir-2-packets.html

Here you go. They also have loads of them on Amazon.

The vet started her on 5mg/twice a day (she weighs 40#). That amount did not make a big a difference so he said to go ahead and double it. I started giving her a higher dose this morning.

I restarted the MSM yesterday and upped the fish oil.

I'm also wiping her down after outside activity.

Thanks for the info on the kefir!

Though there are hazards in long terms effects of pred and other steroids, I didn't hesitate to use it temporarily to break a cycle of scratching and chewing to give the dog some relief. I got to where I would give my 65# GSD 1/8th or 1/6th of a 20mg pill once or twice a day when things were bad. My aim was to eliminate about 90% of the scratching, not all of it, so I could tell what dose was working without overdoing it.

For just a little scratching, I found that slathering on some witch hazel would provide a couple hours relief.

Mike