Yesterday we took our 5 year old Boston Terrier Jet to a specialist, the poor little guy has been sick for long enough now that we just couldn’t let it go on…
Jet suffers from pretty severe food allergies and after having him now for almost two years we finally stopped listening to our regular vet’s opinion and pushed to get a referral to a pet dermatologist. After spending $100 dollars a month on Hypoallergenic dog food, $400 allergy testing, countless lotions and potions, return trips to the vet to put him on antibiotics, etc. we finally put our foot down and pushed our vet to take this to the next level.
Apparently I am not alone, a Google search for “does your dog have allergies” results in 1,510,000 hits, there are forums for specific dog breeds, numerous articles about symptoms and every opinion in the world on the subject. Although we knew he had allergies, we read through all this online information and just weren’t sure what to do next. We relied on our vet to point us in the right direction and thought they were, all it took was one visit to a dermatologist to verify what we could have done right from the beginning, put him on a daily pet allergy medicine pill (we are using ATopica).
If you suspect your pet has allergies I highly recommend spending the money on a specialist and going this route, there is such a high success rate and for $2 a day we may end up saving money in the long run. The peace of mind of not having to holler at him to stop licking in the near future or having to give him a bath twice a week will also pay for the medicine in a priceless type of way.
Here is some high level information:
Signs and symptoms of dog allergies may vary but are often marked by persistent itching and discoloration of the skin (most common in skin allergies), coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and mucus discharge (most common in inhalant allergies), and nausea, lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea (common to food allergies and other ailments.) They may also have redness of the skin, hair loss and scabby lesions.
Although some breeds of dogs—Labrador retrievers, cocker spaniels, pugs, and poodles—are more susceptible to allergies, dogs of any breed can be affected, research your dog’s breed common health issues to see if allergy issues are common.
The moral of the story is that all pets have health problems of some sort and as your pet’s guardian, it’s up to you to take the initiative to help them, they can’t communicate and many vets won’t suggest referring you outside of their practice. Taking an interest in solving their health problem will ultimately benefit you too, you will be surprised with what a difference it can make in your daily life and enjoying your furry family member!
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Very good advice. At our website we try to provide information about dog food allergies and allergies dogs have in general. An outside opinion is definitely needed when you suspect an allergy. By so doing you save costs and time. Many other things can be symptoms. Ear infections on a frequent basis, runny eyes or discharge. Again check with your Vet but if you don’t get solid results or answers seek other sources of expertise.
Cheers,
Jamie