My dog is constantly scratching...I think it's allergies?

My poor 1 year old Bichon is constantly itching and scrathing! The poor thing can't even sleep. I've taken her to the vet numerous times.They can't seem to pin point anything. Their solution is to give me two weeks worth of anti hystimines and call it a day. It seems like evertime I go to them I spend $50 and get no answers. They tell me to go to a dermatologist. I can't afford this- it's $800 and up. I'm struggling as it is takeing her to the vet and the groomers all the time. Is there anyone who can help? Is there a way to tell if it's skin allergies or allergies to food? Are their different signs or symptoms? I recently adopted her and in the last month I've spent at least $300...I love her to death and want her to be peaceful and comforatable...but I just don't know what to do for her??


Any advise is greatly appreciated! But please- leave the rude and sacrastic comments out, I'm just trying to be a good mom :)


Oh and yes, I've had her checked for fleas she's all good there.

My dog is constantly scratching...I think it's allergies?
Guarantee its the food. Try this vet approved recipe:





http://www.freewebs.com/itworksgood4me/D...





You can substitute chicken instead of ground beef. Just be sure to use antibiotic free meats.





It has worked wonders with my 4 dogs. My Pumpkin used to scratch herself bloody and my Shasta they wanted to give predisone to, but it made her have peeing accidents at night. Now, none of my dogs have itchy skin. They have thick beautiful coats. My vet was by yesterday and wrote down what I am giving them because she is always looking for homeopathic options for her patients.
Reply:Winter dry skin, mange, fleas?
Reply:What type of food are you feeding her? Have you looked at dogfoodanalysis.com? If she's that itchy you need to be feeding her the best of the foods on there. I recommended it below in another question, but California Naturals seems to work really well for dogs with allergies. Its a high protein food, with no fillers, and a simple formula.
Reply:oh yah well i think its fleas
Reply:check your dog food. i'll bet wheat is the first ingredient. go to a pet supply store and get a wheat and soy free food. since i switched all 5 of mine to CANIDAE dry, all itchys and hot spots have disappeared. it's only a couple of dollars more than commercial foods, but the dogs are happier and i'm not spending $ at the vets. and your vet can give your dog a cortisone shot to soothe him. its good for about 30 days and by then you should be on your way to getting the poison out of his system.


and don't feed ANY people food. too many preservatives.
Reply:I've heard a LOT of Bichon owners with the same problem. I think its a breed problem. Have you tried fatty acid supplements? (Derm Caps or a similar product?) Have you tried an elimination diet to see if she's allergic to a certain food ingredient? A lot of dogs are allergic to grains...which are in most commercial pet foods. You can do allergy tests which will tell you exactly what she's allergic to, and how strong a reaction it is, but this doesn't cover food. Just grasses, pollens, etc. I think it's pretty pricey though. Have you tried giving her Benadryl or Claritin for the itch? Your vet can give you the proper dosage for her size. Usually vets start with Benadryl, and if that doesn't work they try Claritin.
Reply:Well it *might* be dry skin. Though our dog was pretty itchy for a while...he's now on allergy medication and is a heck of a lot better. Supposedly I think they found that he's allergic to dust mites.
Reply:I have an allergic dog and it's a confounding problem. Here's my approach.





First is high quality food. I feed California Natural that is formulated for allergic dogs. My dog has done much better since we switched to this brand. It works well because there are no artificial ingredients and there are a low number of ingredients, so fewer things to be allergic to. My friend also has an allergic dog and this food works for her too.





Next flea control - keep your dog on Frontline Plus or Advantage all the time. One flea can cause a lot of allergy misery. Checking for fleas isn't enough. You need to treat all the time and all other pets in the household too.





Finally, seasonal and environmental allergies can be a problem. My dog has worse allergies in spring when pollens are prevalent. Biweekly baths with an oatmeal shampoo formulated for dogs removes allergens from their coats and can help a lot. I now have a mobile groomer come and bathe both dogs to keep allergens down. And during spring allergy season, I give my dog benadryl daily to keep the the problem at bay.





If none of this works, you may need to spend the money for the dermatologist. A friend of mine who could not get anything else to work did find help for her dog this way. Expensive but effective. Good luck. I hope this helps.
Reply:Has your vet checked for skin mites by completing a skin scrape?


If so and it has come back negative, it could be an allergy but the problem is from what. There are quite a lot of hyper-allergenic dog foods on the market so that could be a place to start although you would probably have to keep her on it for a good week or so before you'd see any results as whatever is causing the allergy would need to leave her system. It could also be something as simple as washing powder (like with humans). Have you washed her bedding in a particular washing powder or cleaned your floors/carpets with something different.





Unfortunately with allergies, it is a case of trial and error and carefully eliminating things until you hit on the right one that stops the scratching.





Hope this helps a little.
Reply:Well your dog must either have a disease or maybe he has an itching problem. Like me, well my head is really bad with itching. See what you might want to watch for is if he has like red under his hair. Because that is what I have and then I started using a special shampoo and now my hair is nearly as itchy as it was before. So maybe if you go to a pet store you can ask one of the workers there if they have a special shampoo that you can use to help your dog to stop itching. Or when you go to the pet store you can ask them about your dog's itching. Hope this helps you and your dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:It might be fleas, dry skin.... Or, just like my dogs, recently, they've started scratching, as well. Does your Bichon have an odd growth on her belly, where it looks kinda dotted, and is she losing any hair on her rear end, etcetera?





If she is, it's ringworm. Don't listen to most of the vets, they only pull money out of you, as me and my mother have recently noticed.





I know it sounds weird and crude, but there's a spray for athlete's foot that you put in their water once daily, and it grows their hair back, and... Advil, i think it was? some type of medicine that began with an a -- stops the ringworm.


Vet's medicine for it costs over a hundred dollars or so a month.


Those two little human treatments cost about five dollars, and it's worked before.





I'll come back with the right brands for the athlete's foot spray and the human pills later. (: Good luck.
Reply:Had exact problem with my dog long ago.


Even a dermatologist could not be definite,.. so that was waste too.


I've even ripped out all the wall to wall carpets in the entire house,.. thinking it was a rug allergy.


Pediatric liq. Benadryl will give temporary relief as an anti-histamine,.. but as all anti-hist.'s will make poor pup drowsy.


Try keeping dog in a cooler room, I found the central heating in some houses contribute to discomfort and skin/fur probs.


Also, try human grade lamb and rice, chicken and rice, beef and rice ONLY.


Absolutely no processed dog foods with fillers, like corn, wheat grains, etc. Or with food dye coloring.


Be consistant and try this for a few WEEKS (at least 2-3).


I hope this helps and your dog too,.. I know what you are going thru.


Gd. luck.
Reply:Hi there firstly well done for adopting her i can give you a few suggestions and i hope that they help.


1) is she coming into contact with any dogs/ cats that could have fleas, that are bittin her then jumping off?


2)Is she getting overly hot, dogs can get heat rash like humans.


3) If you try her on a different dog food does she still do it? If she does then try her on wainwrights it has everything taken out that could cause allergies, aditives, wheat etc.


4) are you using a carpet freshner? It can play havoc on some dogs skin, especially if it gets caught up in the fur.


5) Are you washing her all the time? You could be getting rid of her natural oils.


6) is she running in any long grass? I know it sounds silly but some dogs react to the grass on their skin.


7) Is ahe stressing over anything that you have noticed?


8) unlikely, but has she got plenty of toys to play with? sometimes they do it out of boredom, however they would not usually take it to this extreme.


9) have you found any kind of sticky wet bits where


she has been scratching, wet eczema can be very itchy.


10) definately get a second opinion.


Go through them and if still nothing, let me know and i will ask around for any other ideas.


Hope this helps.
Reply:my mini doxie had the same problem, she even scratched all the hair off of her belly and neck. i changed her to a food called Canidae , it is the best thing i ever did for her, her


coat is BEAUTIFUL, almost all of the hair has grown back . and she has even gained a few pounds(she needed it ) . I got it at my Vet 's office and it was around $ 25 for a 40 lb bag


ask your vet about it..
Reply:Sorry, this is going to be long.


Small, white dogs are notorious for allergies. Indications of allergies include, itchiness/scratching, chewing and licking of the paws - they may look brown from her saliva staining them, and chronic ear infections. Fleas are a common cause, but you've already ruled them out, so here's what's left: food, contact allergens and inhaled allergens. Food allergies are difficult to pinpoint and feeding a hypoallergenic diet will take a few months to make her significantly better. The 3 most common food allergens are beef, dairy and wheat, followed by chicken, chicken eggs and soy products. Corn, has always been blamed for food allergies, but in 90% of the cases, it is one of those other 6 ingredients that is the culprit. It will not hurt to put her on a hypo diet for 3 months to see if she improves. Your Vet should be able to offer you a few choices. Do not forget that she should be fed this food exclusively ie: no treats, no veggies, no nothing! Just her hypo food - or you're just wasting your time and money. One more quick tip: dogs get allergies to foods that they HAVE been exposed to, not something new that they've just tried.


Next: contact allergens. This refers to things that she comes into contact with that will make her skin flare up. Wool, plastic, mites, fabric softener on her blanket...etc.


Finally, inhaled allergens. These are the pollens that she breathes in and then cause her body to react.


So, how to know. Dogs with inhalant allergies are bad at the same time year after year. Unfortunately, your guy/gal is too young to know if this is the case, however, these "seasonal allergies" to tend to get better in the winter when everything is dormant. Food and contact allergies are year round.


Because the possibilities are endless, it is difficult for your Vet to tell you what exactly is causing the allergies and...most dogs with allergies are allergic to numerous things, not just one thing! So, this leaves your Vet with two options: refer your dog to a dermatologist who will run tests and give you a better idea as to what the culprits are, if this is not an option, than you leave your Vet with the second option: treat the symptoms as they present themselves. This usually means antihistamines and steriods to decrease the itchiness and reduce inflammation. (prednisone, vanectyl-P). I would talk to your Vet about a trial diet with a hypo food and also adding fatty acid supplements (omega 3, 6) to it. If she requires steriods, try giving her Benadryl as well. Only 30% of dogs respond well to Benadryl, but if she is one of them, it is certainly better for her to be on anithistamines rather than steriods. Even if the Bendryl helps a bit, you may be able to reduce the steriod dose.


Bottom line: allergies are difficult to treat - as you are certainly finding out. Its not a case of, "here's her meds, problem solved". This is a life long condition that will be "managed" through diet and medication. And, if you truly feel that your current Vet is just taking your money and not helping you find the answers you need, then by all means go elsewhere.