Seasonal Allergy!?

JellyBen

JellyBen

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Been lurking, and not my usual section, but, after just reading another thread thought its worth a shot to ask here, if anyone replies!

Have a staffy thats had some form of allergy for most of her life, cause is unknown, but last vet we see said it would be silly trying to rule out everything and try to find out whats causing it, as it would be rather exensive..

Shes been on everything, piriton, various washes, and different diets, and nothing has actually worked! so for the last year shes had nothing..

But over this year ive noticed it flaring up with seasonal changes!
Warm to cold weather mainly, which should mean its only a few times a year (summer to winter, winter to summer etc) but being in England, especially this year its flaring up quite often!

She gets very itchy, mainly her ears, and she has quite bad scarring from the years, her white bits, (chin and paws) get very red and sore looking, and over the last few months its been her belly..

I know it could be any number of things, but even if anyone has any ideas that are unusal to even try to soothe the itching etc, or even anyone who has had seasonal itching? :)
 
I think trying to work out what causes the allergy is very important if you dont know the cause of the allergy how can you treat it? I know many people who go for long term steroids just to keep it at bay and this is bad for the pet in the long term and again doesnt resolve the allergy just the symptoms. Allergy testing is expensive but i think its worth it. There are so many causes of allergy and once you find out the cause it may be quite simple to fix.

I would go for skin workup if it was my dog, i suspect not everyone will agree xxx
 
Would definitely like to know the cause, but my last vet wouldnt do it purely for the cost and she didnt know if wed ever find out, like i think i put, shes not actually being treated, nor has she been for about a year now, but it is only when the weather changes, if it was a constant thing we'd probably have opted for trying to find out sooner, but we can control it to a degree..
but that you for your opinion, and ill look into it :)
also open for any other opinions of what to do, or what to suggest to find out, but apart from our management, the vets have looked at her for a long time and tried numerous things, and yeah i know covering it up with medication/lotions & potions isnt ideal :(
 
Have you tried an exclusion diet? I've heard of many Staffies with dietary allergies that present as itchy skin, ear infections, etc.
Doesn't explain the seasonal nature but I have also heard of chronic allergies to have a bit of a domino effect - with the immune system constantly being 'attacked', the dog becomes sensitive to more and more items. I know of cases where dogs have had allergy tests, and when the main culprit has been ruled out, the other allergies have actually cleared up as if they never existed.
I would definately, at the least, consider switching to a food with a novel protein and carbohydrate source - e.g. if he has chicken and rice, try something with fish & potato. Try to exclude all sources of poultry so scour the ingredients for "meat", "animal derivatives", "poultry fat", etc too.
Otherwise, a homemade diet ensures you know exactly what your feeding, either raw or homecooked. Something like boiled potato with fish (raw or cooked), or another novel protein/carb combination (turkey, rabbit, beef, pork, etc. with potato, quinoa, sweet potato, etc.). They're not complete diets themselves but won't harm a healthy dog short-term for diagnosis purposes. If the dog's symptoms clear up, you can slowly introduce other foods one at a time until a reaction occurs, and pinpoint the triggers.
It might not be the cause but it's one of the easier allergies to rule out as it's something you can change quite easily. Don't forget to avoid treats too - you can make your own within the elimination diet, e.g. if you're feeding fish, cook little cubes of fish at a low temperature until dry for little titbits.
http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id37.html
 
Grass pollen used to affect my JRT really badly (red rash on belly and chin, very itch paws etc....), so he wore a t-shirt around this time of year for walking and I kept him off the long grass. He seems to have grown out of it, though at it's worst I found a glub of honey and liquidized spinach in his feeds helped (no idea why a friend saw the suggestion in a dogs mag and I figured it couldn't do any harm to try)!!!
 
I've heard of a dog that was allergic to most meats so stranger things have happened! Mine don't tolerate lamb well, it causes awful
 
Thank you krlyr, have tried a few different types of hypo allergenic dog food etc, but not exclusion istself, nor to that extent, so would be very good to try!

thats interesting, piebaldpsparkle, she gets just that, aswell as the inflamed/sore ears, that she then scratches!

Will try the feeding, and excluding more/everything and working back up again..
what sort of fish? (not a fishy person :o lol )

But thank you again! :)
 
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