Dog Allergies

We're taking care of Hubby's Family's dog for a few weeks and she has very bad seasonal skin allergies. She's getting Benadryl (or the no-name one) 1 in the AM 2 in the PM right now, we're going to change her schedule so she's getting it once 3x a day.

My main concern is making sure she is ALWAYS medicated (the scratching only lasts 2 - 3 weeks every year) but the allergy meds only last about 8 hours. When they wear off she'll start scratching herself raw.

Does anyone know if there is a longer lasting type of allergy med that would be safe to give?
(I'm thinking I'll just ask our vet next time I see them).

I'd also be really interested in any theories about what could be causing her scratching this time of year?

a late summer tree or pollen??

Possibly ask your vet about hydroxazine ( spelling?) or maybe prednisone??

I was thinking of something like that.

They do give her steroids sometimes, but they don't seem to help a whole lot more then the allergy meds (and their are side-effects).

Regardless of when she gets her pills (we're doing 8am/4pm/10pm) she seems to scratch the most at night and hardly at all during the day. It's very strange!!

do you have access to a natural or homeopathic vet?

hmmm, I don't know! I've never tried to find one around here, I better look .

I discuess with hubby last night, more acurately what is wrong is a fungal infection she gets every year. I have a feelign a natural/homepathic vet would do allot of good!

what is she eating?? I know it is a one time of yr thing but food can play apart ( ie strenghthen or weaken)

Nutro, I did get a suggestion to switch her to a non-wheat (which our dogs get so would be super easy) but no explination why that would cause the problem if it's seasonal.

We're going to see if we can get some anti-fungal shampoo tonight.

which Nutro.... Wheat often has fungas on it ( ie the plants have it sometimes in the dna ie GMO) ...

Oh sorry, I actually bothered looking at it's "Nurtram" Adult Dog which has rice, corn...

http://www.nutram.com/petfood/_n_/candradult.aspx (shelly's food)

It is supposed to be a very premium dog food, but I don't know there are some weird stuff in here! Cheese?

Ok now I'm just making stuff up, our dog food has wheat - I don't know why I thought it didn't... Shelly's doesn't seem to have any wheat though.

do you have a way to post ingrediants or a link to them??

Yes it can be

It's up /\\ (I think I was slower then you though)

Our dogs are on ProSeries, but need a new bag anyway - maybe I should get them the Holistic and try that on Shelly? (right now my dogs are on maintenance, it keeps good weight on two energetic Collie crosses).

http://www.proseriespet.ca/en/proseries-holistic-dog (ours)

I think yeast imbalances can cause these kinds of problems?

I am completely having an Internet search overload right now

lol... I overload alot

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Meal, Fish Meal (Herring & Anchovy), Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Whole Wheat, Chicken Fat preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Brewers Rice, Dried Brewers Yeast, Kelp Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Chicken Liver, Malted Barley Flour, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Propionate, dl-Methionine, Flaxseed, Dried Yeast, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Choline Chloride, l-Lysine Hydrochloride, Inactivated Yeast, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, l-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C activity), Vitamin E Supplements, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Methionine, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Selenite, Manganese Methionine, Copper Lysine, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.http://www.proseriespet.ca/en/proseries-maintenance



http://www.proseriespet.ca/en/proseries-holistic-dog
INGREDIENTS:
Fish Meal (Herring & Anchovy), Brewers Rice, Whole Barley, Whole Oats, Fish Oil (Herring), Dried Brewers Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, DiCalcium Phosphate, Kelp Meal, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Malted Barley Flour, L-lysine Hydrochloride, Inactivated Yeast, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C Activity), Vitamin E Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Methionine, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Selenite, Manganese Methionine, Copper Lysine, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione, Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

pink = HIGH allergen or a yeast

orange is potential allergen

Personally I would avoid fish as your dog has been exposed already

natural balance has a few "allergy" foods

We mixed up foods, sorry! Proseries is OUR dogs, Nutram is Shelly's (she's the itchy ones).

Actually one of our dogs had a BAD reaction to pedigree, and ProSeries seems to have helped her allot and we've never had another attack.

I was just talking to Shelly's daddy and we're going to try an anti-fungal shampoo, if that doesn't work she's going on steroids, it's gone too far for this year to do anything - maybe next year we can prevent it