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Battling Allergies

advrider28

Member
My Mastiff mix "Lagetha" has had allergies for a good while. The vet prescribed prednisone for bumps on her head and down her back. This helped but when she goes off the meds the bumps came back. I've tried going on a grain free and poultry free diet which had little effect. I then put her on an allergy supplement that cured the bumps but now she scratches constantly. I hope people have may have dealt with this problem could suggest anything or have any advise. I would well appreciate it.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
i know a pit been on low doses of prednisone his whole life , he's 10 .... the vets really frown on that approach ........ i've seen apoquel work ....
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
My daughter has a dog with extremely severe allergies. She's a veterinary professional and tried everything hoping to find something that would help before starting Apoquel because it's extremely expensive. Nothing worked very well. He's on Apoquel now and the improvement was dramatic within a few days of starting it.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Okay. I didn't have a weight to go on so she did a price check for a dog between 50 and 100 pounds. Her quote for the first month, which is 1.5mg twice a day for two weeks and then 1.5 once a day is about $197 for 60 pills. Just to give you a basic idea to start. Not everyone can afford the cost and I wanted you to have some idea what you're looking at when you speak to your vet.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
I've tried keeping her on prednisone and she developed a bladder infection. I'll talk to the vet about apoquel.


what dosage was the dog on ? the pit weighs about 60-70lbs and gets 5mg a day .......... they kept reducing the amount until they found the lowest dose that worked ....... there has been no need over the years to increase the amount ......... i don't disagree that there can be adverse side effects , but this dog was in a situation where the alternative was a miserable short life ... in his case it worked .....

.....
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
My Cane corso had skin allergies, I've moved him to a raw food diet. Glyphosates are a big problem when it comes to pelletted food. The result has been incredible. Absolutely no sign of scratching. I found a homeopathic vet to advise me, also huge amounts of info on the net. My personal opinion is that a lot of issues with dogs now days has hot to do with diet. We live in strange times, where we have been convinced that dog food is a kibble and comes comes in a bag. I believe food is food!
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
Just to add, I "make" the food every 3 days, and take frozen meat out of the freezer in the morning to be fed later on in the day. My dogs coats are so shiny they blind you! The cost is competitive with the top end pelletted food in South Africa, where we live. I personally really love preparing and feeding them food.
 

advrider28

Member
Thanks for the info. Lagetha is on Hamburger, ham ant pork chops with wet Wilderness & 1 cup of Purina salmon and beef dry food twice daily. Or when she decides to eat. Any thoughts on this?
 

Loverboy Skyline

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. Lagetha is on Hamburger, ham ant pork chops with wet Wilderness & 1 cup of Purina salmon and beef dry food twice daily. Or when she decides to eat. Any thoughts on this?
If it works, stick with it until it doesn't. Beef would not be my first choice because it's actually the meat that triggers the most allergies among dogs; chicken is #2. But like I said, go with whatever works until it doesn't work anymore.
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. Lagetha is on Hamburger, ham ant pork chops with wet Wilderness & 1 cup of Purina salmon and beef dry food twice daily. Or when she decides to eat. Any thoughts on this?
I stay away from mixing kibbles with real meat, they digest at different rates in the gut.
The road to figuring out exactly what she's allergic to is a long one, and really worth it. I would find a homeopathic vet who will really help you get to the bottom of it.
The thing about kibbles is you don't actually know what exactly you're feeding her.
 

onyxbfly

Member
Has anyone done the intradermal allergy test? If so what did you think of the results? I was considering it but the vet told me that they will not do the procedure on my pup until he's at least 1. He's currently 8 months so we're working on the elimination diet.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Has anyone done the intradermal allergy test? If so what did you think of the results? I was considering it but the vet told me that they will not do the procedure on my pup until he's at least 1. He's currently 8 months so we're working on the elimination diet.

I think sjdavenport did. I'm not sure if you can do a search for her posts a few years back.
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
I've done a lot of reading in the Dogs Naturally magazine. Here is a link to some herbs you can use for soothing the skin.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/herbs-for-dog-skin-problems/
There is a lot of info in this magazine about feeding, good gut health, good skin biome. I find one of the positives Corona virus has brought to SA is the powers that be are encouraging independence from the medical institutions, and there is a lot of info out there about our gut biomes and immunity. Allergies are related to immune function... for dogs too. Articles are written by different experts in their fields. It can be overwhelming!! But I hope it helps.
 

advrider28

Member
Just to add, I "make" the food every 3 days, and take frozen meat out of the freezer in the morning to be fed later on in the day. My dogs coats are so shiny they blind you! The cost is competitive with the top end pelletted food in South Africa, where we live. I personally really love preparing and feeding them food.
What type of meat do you feed your dog?
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
What type of meat do you feed your dog?
I buy a minced mix made by a raw food company.. it has the correct mix of muscle and organ meats.. I then chop up and blend 5 different veg types.. across the colour range, orange, green, red, yellow, and apple, mix this with the mince,. The dogs get this with whole chicken pieces with bone, or beef or Turkey, rabbit sometime s. Linseed oil, and inteflora powder finish this off.. an egg and sardines a few times a week. A healthy gut biome is really vital, as is a healthy skin biome. I read that it's very beneficial for your dog to go to rural places, different farms, wild natural places, you can literally rub them down with the soil, leaves, cow poo, let her eat fresh horse and cow poo. A good skin biome creates a barrier. We have a little place in a nature reserve, indigenous forest, grasslands. We spend a lot of time there. I stopped kibbles all together. It is very important to get the calcium phosphorus balance correct. It has to be 1:1. Meaty bones makes this doable. There are lists you can find on digs naturally magazine, to see the bone to meat percentage. This is the part that can be intimidating , why getting advice from a holistic vet helps. Once you know, it's easy and very satisfying. Good luck!