Dog Allergies???
 

Ok. so I am a first time dog owner.....as an adult. Had dogs growing up. My dog is just 1 yr old. Around 7 months old, he developed something commonly called "puppy strangles" or the medical term" Juvenile Cellutis". The disease affected his eyes...terribly! After 3-4 months he was better. Now, all of a sudden, we have noticed in the morning his eyes are weepy...kind of wet, oozying. So, we were thinking....On No, he never got rid of puppy strangles....so we went to the vet. The vet believes it is allergies! Who would of thought!

We are now giving him meds called "Neopolydex Opthamic". And it seems to be doing the trick. I never knew that dogs can get allergies. I never allergies growing up as a kid, but I do know I have them now. So who knows...maybe dogs can get them!

Just wondering....anyone else out there with Dogs that have alleries?:)

My dog has an allergy that only shows up in late summer, early fall. When the milkweed starts blowing around, his eyes get "weepy" and sometimes I have to wipe away mucus from the corner of his eye. Not a pleasant description, I know, but it's been like this ever since we've lived here.

He's also allergic to chipmunks, squirrels, ground hogs, and bears. The sight or smell of any of these critters makes his back hair stand on end and he regresses into the hunting creature that lived in the heart of his ancestors. Fortunately for him, I am usually nearby to restrain his primal instincts, especially when it comes to the bears.

Take care and good luck with your "pooch!"

Sky

Oh yes - they can have allergies just like we do and even catch colds.

My mom had a Pekingese that was allergic to grass - her belly would get red and she'd itch. I think we had a hydrocortisone cream for that...

When I worked as a vet tech I remember explaining to an owner how to figure out the dosage of benedryl that a cat needed because he had seasonal allergies. The lady said: "Well, won't that make him drowsy?" And I came back with: "He won't be operating heavy machinery right? Besides, don't they sleep 19 hours a day anyhow?" ;):laugh:

Bee's,hornets and wasps are deadly to our dog Cooper and our neighbor's boxer is allergic to EVERYTHING
He even has to eat special food but we love them like our kid's and do what ever it takes as I'm sure you do :)

Dogs have allergies and cats can too
 

I know this thread is about dogs, but I have a cat that is actually allergic to canned cat food if it has fish in it. She gets runny eyes and nose and has a tough time breathing. Our vet gave us steroids if it gets too bad or just a decongestant for the easier days.

Our dog has summer allergies when the pollen flies, he sneezes and his eyes get runny. I guess the statement "Pets are people too" really is true:rolleye2:

Yup, You're Not Alone
 

Our Cairn Terrier started having trouble a couple of months ago. The vet did a bunch of tests and Mac was put on the eye drops along with oral antibiotics. $192 later... ouch! His eyes did clear up, but a few weeks ago it started again. They suggested giving him one Benadryl tablet a couple times a day and washing and using eye drops. He doesn't mind too much because he gets Charlie Bear training treats before, during and after this process. (Trader Joe's carries them.) I picked up sensitive eye saline solution, which I thoroughly soak a cosmetic pad and leave on his eye until the crusty stuff softens up. Don't rub. Once the eye is cleaned I put in a drop or two of Thera Tears. His eyes are so much better, but you have to keep up with crusty cleaning or your dog will try to remove it himself. That can result in scratched cornea and raw looking wounds and costly vet bills.

The Benadryl, it works pretty well if you can get him to take it. It took me a couple days to realize Mac was taking the pill in the food, but sometimes was able to spit it out. The best way I have found to give him the allergy medicine is in cooled oatmeal, which is pretty much like pudding. He swallows the spoonful without chewing.

Good luck!

RG

Thanks for the info RG
 

The amount of benadryl you give your dog is suggested here. Its based on the weight of your dog. As always, its best to consult a vet before self medicating :)

We used to have an old vet who is gone now. He told us that many cats are allergic to fish and he doesn't understand why they make so many cat foods out of fish. Our cat was allergic to it. Our cat is long gone too.

Pill Pockets work well for my dog...but my cat sees right through them. I have to grind up the pill and put it in canned tuna for him to take any meds. He's on Methimazole for hyperthyroidism for the rest of his life.

As a side note, I had my Golden on Benadryl to try to keep his ears dry enough so he wouldn't get so many ear infections. When we upped his dosage of Tramadol for his arthritis last fall, his skin became very flaky. I cut out the Benadryl, the flakiness cleared up, and he hasn't had a single ear infection since. If I had known that would be a side benefit, I would have doped him up years ago!

Rose - Methimazole can be put into a liquid suspension form that can be mixed with food or a topical cream that goes in the cat's ear.

We have a cat that also has hyperthyroidism and she is on the same medication. We tried Pill Pockets but she is a true calico cat (meaning that she's very particular and mean as a snake!:eek:) She will only take the Pill Pockets if they're super-fresh and we found she wasn't getting a consistent dose of medication.

So we use the liquid form and put it over a little chopped chicken or turkey for her - we've had good luck with that, at least. (I wouldn't dare to try the topical application because she's wouldn't tolerate us doing that to her!)::emb:

Wish I would have known about the topical cream.After a week of putting the medication in her food she totally stopped eating the food.The only way I could get to eat was to not put the methimazole in the food.I couldn't get her to take the medication and felt I was puting her through more than she liked.She did eventually sucumb to the hyperthyroidism 6 months later.:(

I looked into having the drug put into suspension, but when Nick was receptive to eating the tuna with the ground-up pill in it, I figured that was good enough. He actually went hypothyroid for a while there until we got the dose correct.

It sounds like your calico should meet my Nick. He can be a rather nasty bugger when he wants...that's why we got a female cat...he beats her up instead of me! :eek:

I'm sorry for your loss. It can be difficult to know exactly how far to go with pets. When Nick had some lumps removed from his back, the vet started talking about chemo if they turned out to be cancerous...at a starting price of $6000. I love my pets, but that was closing in on my limits, and I know Nick would have been miserable if he had to go through that. Luckily, the lumps were benign.

Here's what he looked like after the surgery...we called him FrankenKitty.

I thought this was a dog thread?
 

LOL. I am a true cat lover, and will take any excuse to look at and talk about the wonders of the kitty. Looks like quite a surgery, glad he is doing OK.

But allergies are one of those things that are hard to figure out whether it is a cat or a dog. I just feel so sorry for my kitty when she has to breathe out of her mouth because her nose is so stuffed up.

Benedril is a good thing for drying up the eyes, but I would not just start giving it to them without getting an Okee Dokee from the vet.

Thanks
 

Can I just saw that I love this forum....and I love the Pets thread.

SIKSUKR......I feel for you. Sorry about losing your baby. I just had to put one of my kitties (18 yrs old) to rest about 6 weeks ago.

ROSE...I hope Nick...aka Frankink-Kitty is doing well. I agree...vet bills can become crazy. When my dog was a pup, we talked about insurance, but never did any thing about it....then around 7 mos old he got "puppy strangles" and it was to late for us. Let's just say we spent ALOT of cash we really did not have. Advice to new dog owners.....get the insurance.

To all that have responded....thank you. This forum is great. I appreciate all posts. You are great. (Don...thank you.):D

Preventative Ear Drops
 

Fortunately our dog is not prone to ear infections. I have been very curious about swimmer's ear prevention drops for humans - would they work on our canine friends too? Has anyone tried them?