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But environmental allergies are almost never going to resolve based on diet change alone unless they are extremely mild.

I think we're both trying to tell the O.P. that a food change alone is not likely to eliminate the need to treat this, but that it's a good tool anyway

ah - got it!

My only experience was with a dog whose issues cleared up two different times after diet changes/tweaking. I guess we got lucky!

Well, there's a chance that you inadvertently cleared up a food allergy, too. They are much rarer than flea saliva and atopy, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. They still make up almost 10% of dog allergies.

Or with a dog who has a mild food allergy plus mild atopy, removing the offending protein (inadvertently or not) could make a huge difference.

Allergies are so individual (and so often mixed).

Connie, the vet recommended a derm test. I don't want to get into a bunch of my personal business, but up until recently I haven't had much to do with the lab. She's my wife's dog and her feeling was that if the medication got it under control she wasn't going through the allergy testing. She doesn't feel it's necessary. I just figured that since I'm thinking about trying the Honest Kitchen, I may as well do it for the lab too and see what changes it makes.

Kory, if you get a chance to bump this tomorrow, I'll see it and give you some info, including (and IMPORTANTLY) the fact that "derm vet" does not automatically equal intradermal testing ("scratch tests").

A derm vet is simply SO much more experienced and knowledgeable that s/he will know what;s probably wrong in 1/10th the time (and in a many fewer dollars) than a GP vet, who it isn't fair to expect to be a derm specialist. They can't be!

The GP vet recommending a "derm test" for atopy might mean blood tests. PLEASE do NOT go for RAST or ELISA (blood) tests without learning a lot more about their very narrow limits here.

There are other simple, mechanical things that can be done. Bump this and I'll fill you in a little more. Maybe Lori and a few others will pop on too; we have some very experienced and knowledgeable allergy folks here.

Please go for the fish oil and E. Long-chain Omega 3s are potent anti-inflammation agents.

And the paw between-toes rinsing and thorough pat-drying is too simple to skip, and often extremely beneficial.

A topical can be, too. I wish we knew whether the dog had yeast. Any paw odor?

Anyway, please bump tomorrow. A holiday will be slow on the board, but it'll be seen.

We haven't noticed any odor from her paws but I guess we didn't know to look for that. So I need liquid fish oil. What about the vitamin E? Is that pill or liquid? Where's the best place to get them?

A people-vitamin store is probably best. The E will be readily available in any drugstore. It's a liquid inside a gelcap. Dogs generally love it, pierced or not. Doggy caviar. Look for 400 IU of natural (d-alpha, not dl-alpha) Vitamin E, preferably with mixed tocopherols.

The fish oil (NOT cod LIVER oil) ..... you might want to get a bottle to tide you over until you can get Grizzly or the online liquid Lori mentioned, because the prices vary wildly.

You want oil of a named fish, not just "marine oil," such as salmon or the tiny fish like anchovies and sardines, Salmon is a low-heavy-metal fish, and tiny fish so low on the chain are too.

Remember: not fish LIVER oil.

I would say Costco, but at 90 pounds, even their reasonably priced gelcaps are gonna add up. Gelcaps are generally appropriate (in terms of cost) only for small dogs.

Treat fish oil carefully, as the high-quality but delicate food that it is. Keep it cool and dark.

Maybe others will pop on with suggestions for reasonable fish oil until you can get something like Grizzly or the one Lori mentioned.

I use Nordic, but I have no 90-pound dogs.

(I also use Grizzly sometimes just because they love that fishy Grizzly smell so much. It's not deodorized; many people ones are.)

I use the liquid fish oil from Vitamin Shoppe. If there are no retail outlets in your area, they have a website. It says it's made from sardines, anchovies and herring. I actually bought it to try for myself because it was the most inexpensive liquid I could find, but I can't stand the taste of it. The dogs love it, though, so I've been using it for them ever since.

Vitamin Shoppe also has Vitamin E in a dry capsule form, (d-alpha) which I like because I can open the capsule and split it between the two dogs. But last time, I mistakenly bought the gelcaps. No problem. I just put it in their food and they gobble them up. I don't bother piercing them.

This one at Vitacost is a good price and it's high in DHA and EPA. I just put in on his food and gobbles it up with the meat.

http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-liquid-finest-fish-oil-omega-3-dha-epa