Any tips for my goldendoodle who is allergic to dust and grass mites?

[Anika]

Hello people, Floris and I are new on this forum, we allready love it here. I have my doodle for two years now, and he is my best friend. But he is allergic to grass en dust mites, we did a blood test, because he liks en bites his paws an his hole skin, it is very hard to see this.

From my vet I got pretnison, but is there an other way? He is only two years old, and now already a heavy medicine, I don't like it at all. The vet recommend also atopica, I have read about this medicine and it is for me a big no go.

Floris get raw meat, and that's is a big relief, the itch is staying, I am looking for answers in holland but it is here a rare dog breed. can somebody give my some advice, do you have the same problems and what do jou give your dog to ease the horrible itch?

I hope to hear from you people soon, greetings form Anika en Floris

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Anika, Floris has an immune-mediated disease called Atopic Dermatitis, often referred to as "enviornmental allergies", "seasonal allergies" and "inhalant allergies". My Jack has it, as do dozens of other doodles here on DK. We have a group here for owners of dogs who have been diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis, you are welcome to join. http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/atopicdermatitissupportgroup

I don't know if you have veterinary dermatology specialists in your area, but that's the best bet for treating dogs with this disease. The preferred treatment is immunotherapy, in which skin testing is done under sedation to determine the exact allergens and the degree of the reaction (the blood tests are not accurate), then a serum, or antigen, is custom formulated for your dog based on the results of the testing, and the dogs gets regular shots that help to build up a tolerance to the allergens; this is known as "desensitization". The nice thing about this kind of treatment is that it doesn't involve immunosuppressant drugs like prednisone or Atopica; it's bascially a kind of homeopathis treatment, in that the antigen serum consists only of the proteins for which your dog has tested positive, and after the intial induction phase of the treatment, there are rarely any side-effects and the shots are given only every 2 or 3 weeks. 

There is no cure for Atopic Dermatitis, you can only manage the symptoms. However, the immunotherapy has been extremely successful for my guy. He has not had to take prednisone or any other drug for his allergies in almost 4 years; he gets Omega 3 fatty acid supplements and generic loratidine occasionally, and that's basically it. 

Omega 3 fatty acids and OTC antihistamines can help with the itching, as well as topical sprays, frequent baths, wiping the dog down when they come indoors, keeping the house as dust free as possible, washing bedding, etc. But these things won't really address the allergic response without some type of ongoing treatment.

Hopefully you can locate a good veterinary dermatologist in your area. Good luck.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some basic info on allergies in dogs: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Hi Anika and Floris, welcome to DK!

There are many doodles on DK with similar problems and we have a support group were you can get lots of information and advice.

Here is the link:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/atopicdermatitissupportgroup

I'm sorry your sweet girl is suffering and  hope you can find help for her without needing to use strong drugs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, Anika, Atopic Dermatitis is genetic and runs in Labs and Goldens, so you should also let your breeder know that Floris has it. 

[Anika]

Hi Karen, my breeder knows about it but doesn't care about it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sadly, that's often the case. :-(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a veterinary good article about immunotherapy:

http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Medicine/ArticleStandar...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Karen, could she try over the counter allergy medicine or does it sound like her dood is too allergic for that to help?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sure, she can try the OTC antihistamines; they can provide some relief, especially in conjunction with EPA & DHA Omega fatty acids. But for a flare, that's usually not enough. 

[Willow and J]

Karen is DK's expert on allergy, and she's already given you what to look into. Here's our saga with Willow's AD.

Willow has scratched herself sick for several months starting from about 1.5 year mark. During that time, prednisone was prescribed 2-3 times, but the effectiveness was reduced every time she was on it. Allegra and Claritin helped some, but two other histamines didn't (Zyrtec, Benedryl).  Earlier this year, we started putting her on strict limited ingredient diet (kibbles made with kangaroo and lentil).  About 6 weeks into limited food diet, her scratching reduced dramatically. This also enables us to test which food items she's allergic to. We now know that she's allergic to chicken, eggs, beef, and fish.

In March, we found a dermatologist (long story short) who recommended Atopica, and we chose not to do that. Instead, we found another out-of-town dermatologist who would do skin test and immunotherapy shots for seasonal / environmental allergy. Willow is about a month into shots, and so far so good. We'll see the result how she'd live summer months, which are worst time for her allergy.

It takes several things to try, and it can be overwhelming in the beginning. But after having done those several things, it wasn't so hard to do, and seeing Willow almost never scratch is like a dream! I was never able to manage my allergy and thus had been skeptical about results of immunotherapy and diet, but I am very glad I followed several DKers' advice on this.

[Christine & Camus]

Anika, I also have a doodle with allergies.  I followed Karen's advice and took him to a specialist for skin testing.  He tested positive to a multitude of allergens for which the dermatologist prepared an antigen solution.  I give him his injections at home and thankfully he has responded beautifully. Since he plays outside at a park and is exposed to a lot of pollen I also have to bathe him often, every 2-3 weeks.  If you can, I would recommend that you follow Karen' advice as well.