Doodle has skin allergies,

[Mona Haight]

My doodle has epilepsy and skin allergies, he is on phenobarbital and now we are giving him Benadryl, which helps a bit and a spray benadryl on the tummy area that is very red and has sores on it.  I feel so bad for all the scratching he does.  Anybody have any other ideas on helping his skin problem?  We changed his food to the vet recommended sensitive food and it didn't make a difference.  i don't want to give him benadryl every day along with the epilepsy meds.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Mona, it's possible your doodle has environmental allergies, otherwise known as atopy, or atopic dermatitis. It's a genetic disease that runs in Labrador Retrievers among other breeds, and quite a few of us here have dogs who are affected. A couple of them also have seizure disorders.
Environmental (also called inhalant) allergies are much more common in dogs than food allergies; out of every ten allergic dogs, only 1-2 are allergtic to foods; the other 8-9 are allergic to common organic substances which are inhaled, such as plant pollens, dust mites, molds, and even cat dander. Symptoms most commonly show up between 1-3 years of age. Symptoms are primarily intense itching, especially on the face, feet, base of tail, axilla, groin, and stomach. Eye & ear infections are also common.
I suggest you join the Health & Medical Issues group, where you will find more info on both epilepsy and atopy in dogs. We also have a support group for dogs with Atopic Dermatitis, you will need to request membership, but that's no problem, lol.

[Mona Haight]

thank you so much