I have found that washing and rinsing the bedding a few times gets all the soap out and any softener you may put in. My dog cody had a rash on his stomach and we found out he is allergic to wheat, and not rinsing his bed causes him itchiness too. Also, we try and limit weed growth in our yard. he loves to roll in them and then itch up a storm.
I really recommend the raw diet, even if it is not food related, because it will really build up his immune system.
When other thing I do (do not know if this is right for your dog) is after their baths,to rinse my dogs in apple cider vinegar.(I buy it at health food stores) It really soothes their skin and helps my pups. Not sure if this is the remedy for you or not but just something I do. So sorry you and your pup are going through this, it is miserable to have skin allergies, I have asthma and can have reactions to many things, including my own persperation and get a rash all over my body, it is miserable. Fish oils and vitamin e really have helped. Hope this helps some. hang in there.

Thank you all so much for all the information and the tips, Spanky has an appointment at a derm vet next week. We live in mass and there are very few of tem in our area I'm still shocked i have never heard of a derm vet and with all the issues Spanky has had i can't beleive his vet has never suggested it. We are going to slowly start a raw diet for our three dogs i have been doing alot of research on that. Does anyone have an opinion on organic chicken versus regular chicken? To answer other questions Spanky has been on benedryl and clariden helped at times but not enough. I also have the special shampoos which really help him for a day or two. He has been on a probiotic for a week now that got at a health food store and silver 100. I agree getting his digestive system healthy and back on track is a key to getting better. I also do not want him on steroids or anitiobotics anymore. Again thank you all and i will keep you posted. Any info on raw diets would be appreciated to start we have decided to go with whole chicken and grind them up and make patties.

Hi Chris,

So glad to hear you have an appointment with a Derm Vet! Also, I think giving the probiotic will also help in ways that might not be immediately evident, but over time will really help your dog in the long run.
I am not sure what silver 100 is?

Here is a link to start reading over for starting the raw diet:
http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm

While feeding a raw diet is not hard to do, there are lots of things to know and I strongly encourage you to get acquainted with how to do it first before jumping in.
However, that said, if you want to jump right in, I would consider feeding one of the pre made raw diets like Nature's Variety or Stella and Chewy's first while you learn how to do it.

About the antisitamines; actually neither of the ones you mentioned have been shown as effective as both Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheneramine) or Hyrdoxyzine, which have been used in dogs to help with allergies.
I am sure the derm vet will be able to give Spanky something that might work better.

You will be in good hands with the derm vet.

Let us know how that appointment goes.

Just want to add that the ways things sound, you will probably have no choice but to use antibiotics and steroids for a time. But derma vets, at least mine, are very conservative when it comes to those drugs and only use them to get things cleared up. Then they go through the regime of finding alternatives that will work for each particular dog. Steroids are a godsend when used properly for short periods.

Thank you for this thread! I have the same problem. So sorry to hear others going through the stress and anguish as well! I will be trying some of these suggestions, we're booked into a Holistic Vet (that's been recommended, and apparently quite good at treating these sorts of problems). How do you 'rinse' a GSD before they come into the house? Do you mean more like wipe down with appple cider vinegar, or a proper soak?

 Quote: Luzelle Cockburn

Thank you for this thread! I have the same problem. So sorry to hear others going through the stress and anguish as well! I will be trying some of these suggestions, we're booked into a Holistic Vet (that's been recommended, and apparently quite good at treating these sorts of problems). How do you 'rinse' a GSD before they come into the house? Do you mean more like wipe down with appple cider vinegar, or a proper soak?

Some people actually hose their dog off after running through grass or fields, etc. I have a golden and can't really do that as it takes too long for him to dry. So many of us either march them through a shallow bin of water, or use baby wipes or washclothes and wipe their legs and paws down. You're just trying to get pollen, grasses, etc off their paws and legs so they don't inhale it and cause the allergies to be worse - this is of course for dogs that have environmental allergies and inhaling the allergens makes them worse. A derma vet is your best bet for evaluating and testing for that.

 Quote: Sharon Empson

I have found that washing and rinsing the bedding a few times gets all the soap out and any softener you may put in. My dog cody had a rash on his stomach and we found out he is allergic to wheat, and not rinsing his bed causes him itchiness too. Also, we try and limit weed growth in our yard. he loves to roll in them and then itch up a storm.
I really recommend the raw diet, even if it is not food related, because it will really build up his immune system.
When other thing I do (do not know if this is right for your dog) is after their baths,to rinse my dogs in apple cider vinegar.(I buy it at health food stores) It really soothes their skin and helps my pups. Not sure if this is the remedy for you or not but just something I do. So sorry you and your pup are going through this, it is miserable to have skin allergies, I have asthma and can have reactions to many things, including my own persperation and get a rash all over my body, it is miserable. Fish oils and vitamin e really have helped. Hope this helps some. hang in there.

Yes, I also recommend the apple cider vinegar (along with the fish oil and vit. E) from the health food store. You want one such as "Bragg's" that has the mother in it. You can also add it to the dog's water and/or food. If you do, start out with a very small amount to get him used to the taste. I had a Keeshond with severe flea and flea prducts (available at the time) allergies. The apple cider vinegar along with a natural flea spray (containing eucalytus) and food grade diatamaceous (sp?) earth were a God send for her.

And you won't go wrong with a correctly done (lots of good advice here) raw diet.

 Quote: Elaine Haynes

... And you won't go wrong with a correctly done (lots of good advice here) raw diet.

Absolutely!

Of course, no major diet change, beyond the switch I believe I read that you have made to a better and lower-grain commercial food, until after the derm vet. While there is a chance of doing a strict elimination diet (the only way to I.D. food allergens in dogs), then you don't want to be making any major changes or even using up any novel protein sources right now.