[somebodysme]

I was just wondering if my dog could have some sort of disease/illness which would be causing her to be so allergic to everything. She doesn’t seem like she feels bad but I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything with dogs.

So besides having her thyroid tested…what are some things I might have her tested for? It just seems ridiculous for a dog to be allergic to so many things like bones, antlers, raw hides, peas and no telling what else. It seems like every time she chews on anything, she breaks out in a rash. Now I even think she’s allergic to a chew ball that she was chewing on and maybe even her nylabone? GAH!

[theBCnut]

Autoimmune problems cause allergies and malnutrition can cause allergies. Malnutrition can be because of long term diarrhea or a heavy parasite load, as well as an unbalanced diet. Actually anything that causes inflamation to the gut can cause allergies/intolerances. A gluten or grain intolerance can lead to other allergies because of the inflamation that the grain caused, same with others. So having one untreated intolerance can lead to others, which is one reason I’d like to throttle vets who give cortisone shots instead of having the owner do the work of getting to the bottom of the problem. And also why my intolerant dog always gets digestive enzymes with his food, even though he isn’t eating anything he is intolerant to.

[somebodysme]

But what are the autoimmune diseases? I keep hearing autoimmune but really I don’t know what that is telling me? I mean does she have AIDS? HAHAHA!

She doesn’t have any diarrhea and she was treated for giardia back in January and was then tested with a negative result so she shouldn’t have that anymore. She doesn’t get any grains or glutens. Her allergies manifest themselves as rashes and hives and raw itching feet. Just when things appear to be getting better, they will suddenly get bad again for no apparent reason.

OH and digestive enzymes…sheeesh, those gave her diarrhea. I gave it for a few days and she had diarrhea so to test if it was actually that, I stopped it and it went away and started giving it and it came back. They were the Swanson’s digestive enzymes. So now I’m taking them myself…HA!

Yeah the vet, they just know how to give drugs, same with doctors. It’s like they don’t have time to be bothered with actually figuring anything out or getting to the bottom of an issue.

It’s just so darn frustrating!

[theBCnut]

I think they really don’t know enough about autoimmune illnesses to even know what to test for or what to do even if they did diagnose something, other than using immune suppressing drugs.

The digestive enzymes are often extracted from ox bile(read beef) so no wonder they didn’t work for you. I wonder if plant based enzymes would work, but have no idea.

[somebodysme]

Shoot! You are right, she had that reaction to a bone and an antler so that ox bile could be it! Do you know of a good plant based enzyme to buy? If it doesn’t work for her, I can always use them for myself. I use them for when I eat beans…HA!

[pugmomsandy]

I think Nzymes is just plant based. Nzymes.com And you might look at Garden of Life brand too.

[neezerfan]

Hi Somebody, Have you considered a consult with a holistic vet? You can find one here: http://www.ahvma.org . Also Dr. Karen Becker will do phone consults. They will help you get to the bottom of the problem rather than just treat the symptoms.

[theBCnut]

Hi Neezerfan

Somebodysme has been trying to get to the bottom of this for quite some time. Every time she figures out something that her dog is reacting to, she finds that there is still something more. She has a pretty good list going now.

[somebodysme]

Yeah tell me about it Patty! Being on the very LID food, it does make it easier to see what reacts. Like when I gave her that bone…it was a drastic reaction and the elk antler…very bad! That elk antler reaction is taking it’s time running it’s course too!

I’d love to see a holistic vet but there aren’t any anywhere even remotely close to us that I can see. I’ll look again! The allergy specialist is nowhere near either…POO!

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she is allergic to grass too! ACK! I wash her feet after each walk, that is what seems to make her toes red rather than just going out in our yard. It does seems as if when I don’t wash them after her one hour walk, they get irritated.

[neezerfan]

It seems her question is; could an underlying illness or condition be responsible for her dogs reactivity? That’s an excellent question. Maybe other holistic vets would do phone consults,too. That could get you started.

[theBCnut]

Phone consult is a very good idea!

[pugmomsandy]

somebodysme,

Animal Essentials has a plant based enzyme and probiotic:

Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics Digestive Powder for Dogs & Cats

[michaelfl80]

As to your exact question, I was told by a vet who specializes in dog allergies that some intestinal parasite infections can cause allergy type reactions in dogs. In fact, when I took my dog in, they gave me an anti-parasitic medication to give him for a few days without even testing for parasites (it’s easier/less expensive to give the treatment and see if the symptoms go away than it is to test). In my case, this didn’t work, but it might in yours.

On another note, my guess is that your dog likely isn’t allergic to all the things you mentioned (bones, antler, etc.) but is much more likely to be suffering from an environmental allergen (pollen, dust mites, grass, etc.). The only way to find this out is to take your dog to a vet that can test for a reaction to environmental allergens. It’s very much the same as how they test people for allergies – they have to shave off some of the hair, then they prick the skin in a bunch of small spots with various possible allergens. If your dog is allergic, there will be a skin reaction in the corresponding spot.

Basically, you’re going to go crazy if you keep trying to guess. I strongly recommend heading to the nearest vet that can do a skin test for allergic response – even if that means driving a long distance.

[somebodysme]

NO she is definitely allergic to the antler and the bone! She had a severe reaction just right after she ate them with hives! She was given benadryl and was ok the next day. She is on an elimination diet and doesn’t eat anything besides her food so when he gets something like a bone and has a reaction that night I know it’s the bone or antler. I was talking to vet a few days ago at a pet event and told her my dog was allergic to an antler and she did not find that to be at all unusual.

I do want to have her tested for the allergies. She was given treatment for parasites back in January then tested two months later and was negative. I suppose she could have them again? She does SO LOVE the cat poo! GAH! Which also doesn’t help with the allergies.

[Dr. Vickie]

The inherent problem with allergies is that the body allows it in the first place. Food, pollen, carpet cleaner, the baby as a source, in my experience, is a red herring. The GI is inflamed and that inflammation is what can allow the gut to over react to, well, you name it. Get rid of the pro-imflammatories in the diet and environment, as best you can, and they should be able to handle benign substance exposures. How to? I tell my clients to start, avoid processed oils (corn oil, canola, vegetable, low grade olive…) and animal protein sources that are fed grain, especially corn fed diets themselves aka “corn fed critters”; Cornfed beef, chickens, lamb, duck, fish (yes salmon too)…. The reduction in omega 6’s alone will improve most allergy issues. Add a wild caught source of omega 3’s to the reduction of omega 6’s and anywhere from 3 days to three weeks your allergy issues will be greatly reduced if not mostly gone.
I recently sold my successful holistic practice and I only prescribed antibiotics or steroids once for skin allergies (dog had maggots living under over 40% of its skin HELLO!!!) and only for a short time.
This is a great site! Cudos for it and all of you who are pursuing answers for your pet!
p.s. it applies to your health too! 😉

[Sallynova]

Seriously, do yourself a favor and consider an all natural, organic, grain free food. We use Dogs For The Earth Dehydrated Organic Dog Food. I actually talked to the owner of this company who is an animal nutritionist and I will never switch foods again. Many, many health issues are cause by improper nutrition like skin sores, loss of hair, GI issues, itchy paws, goopy eyes – I was amazed at all the problems proper nutrition can solve – all my neighbors and friends have switched to this food and we have all been so happy. You should read their web about all the ingredients they use. We get our food delivered every 2 weeks and we get their treats too. I can’t remember all the stuff in it but everything is organic 100% and it’s all based an the exact nutritional requirements dogs need. It’s perfect – once you try it you’ll never switch back to anything because that’s what happened to all of us.

[somebodysme]

Interesting about the GI inflammation causing her to be allergic. I had not read, or most likely don’t remember reading that before but that makes a lot of sense.

I’d never dreamed it would be such a monumental task to feed a dog? And with her, the more highly regarded food that I buy for her, the worse she does on it. She is a rescue and according to the rescue group, she was fed dog chow at her foster home. Honestly, when he got her she was beautiful and had absolutely no rashes at all. They brought her here with a bag of Pro Plan and it’s been down hill ever since. I’ve tried Blue Buffalo, Simply Nourish grain free, Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch, Avoderm Trout, Avoderm Duck the rotating menu on both those, Nature’s Variety LID Turkey (digestion was an issue with this one) then I bought Natural Balance which she did the best on until the last bag which smelled totally different than the rest of the bags of NB and now she began to scratch like mad! So here we are, on to the next “high quality” dog food. Though NB isn’t that great, it was so limited in ingredients that it was working and her feet were just about healed up. I suppose now that Del Monte took over, they have changed something. I’m going to write then and ask if the ingredients have changed, the label is exactly the same as all the rest. She isn’t allowed to have anything else but her food now. She cannot even gnaw a bone. This is just insane!

I have my suspicions about certain ingredients but I can’t really know until I find something that doesn’t have them.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by somebodysme.

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