Itchy doods

[Bonnie and Kona]

Owen has two hot spots and an ear infection. (He is not prone to either.) I took him into the vet today for the ear infection because I am managing the hot spots fine with having Owen wear a cone and shaving the spots down and applying a antibacterial powder. But the vet said if he is having hot spots, itchiness and an ear infection it is probably an allergy and I should put him on the vet limited ingredient dog food for 6 weeks. Of course, I said I didn't want their dog food because you can't belong to DK for long without figuring that out! I just ordered Solid Gold Venison since she recommended it be a protein source they haven't had (which I also know because of DK). The thing is I am aware of the many discussions on DK about the reality that allergies are rarely food and mostly environments. What I don't know is if that includes the kind that make ear infections and hot spots at the same time. Sorry to have missed this. Do you think I need to put them on a new food or treat them with Benedryl? They are both taking fish oil. Kona is itchy but I am 90% sure that it is environmental. Thanks in advance for the help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If Kona were here, I could tell you that there is absolutely no question that his itching, hot spots, ear infections and all other symptoms are from environmental allergies and not food, because it's peak allergy season here: ragweed and other noxious weed pollens are bursting into the air as I type. But I don;t know if that's true in HI. Nevertheless, it is true that 90% of all allergy symptoms in dogs are caused by environmental allergens and not food. 

There is no harm in switching foods just to cover all bases and rule out food as the cause. The problem is, the Solid Gold Venison food is not really a limited ingredient or single protein food, which is what you need for this. It contains turkey meal as the second ingredient after venison, so unless Kona has never has turkey, which I doubt, it won;t make a bit of difference, whether he has food allergies or not. You have to choose a food with a single protein source that he has never had. Some good lines to look at would be Acana's Singles line, Wellness Simple Solutions line, and any Zignature formula other than ZZsentials.
An antihistamine is a good idea, but NOT Benadryl. And Omega 3 or GLA supplements help too. Here's a link to my discussion about all this, which includes the following tips on how to treat allergy symptoms short of seeing a dernatologist, which is what you really need to do if the symptoms continue or get worse. 

For temporary relief of inhalant allergies, here are some things that you can do:

Give Omega 3 fatty acid supplements. You want the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA & EPA, which are only found in fish. You can also give GLA in the form of evening primrose oil supplements. In both cases, use human softgel supplements. 

If you feed dry dog food, check the Omega 6:3 ratio. You want a ratio of 5:1 or less, the lower the better, and the Omega 3 content should come from fish.

Give antihistamines. Different antihistamines are more effective for different dogs. Typically, you want second generation antihistamines that do not cause drowsiness, like Claritin, Zyrtec, Atarax, etc. rather than Benadryl.

Use OTC anti-itch sprays on the affected areas. These are available at most pet supply stores.

Wipe the dog down every time he comes in from outside, paying particular attention to the feet. Brush the dog daily.

Keep the indoor areas where the dog spends the most time as clean and dust free as possible. Wash bedding weekly, wash food & water bowls daily. Vacuum as often as possible.

Keep dry foods in air-tight storage containers and don;t buy more than you can use in a month unless you can freeze it. 

If the feet are affected, you can soak them in tepid water with epsom salts. Be sure to dry thoroughly afterwards.

Bathe the dog often, weekly if possible, with a shampoo formulated for allergic dogs. (I like Douxo Calm). Do NOT use leave-in conditioners or other grooming products. Use a cool dryer setting or air-dry. 

As much as I hate doing it, keeping windows closed really helps with pollen allergies. Run the A/C in warm weather especially, the allergy symptoms are exacerbated by humidity. Use a furnace filter with a high allergen rating and change it monthly. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/some-basic-facts-about?gro...

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thank you Karen. I am assuming it is environmental allergies. You have taught me that much!   I will put them on Zignature Duck. I don't know why I am having trouble finding the ingredients on the websites I'm looking at. Thanks for the heads upon the Solid Gold Venison. I can't get Acana sent here. Both dogs have been on Fish Oil ... ever since moving here. Kona can't take Evening Primrose Oil. It makes him sick. 

I keep the food in an airtight container, but everything molds here so now I am wondering about that! Ugh. 

We don't have air conditioning and no heating system so that doesn't help one bit. It's pretty much and indoor/outdoor life style here. We don't have many bugs so the doors are just open all day long. We have no carpeting...all hardwood floors. I'm a little obsessive with cleaning the floors so that's an advantage for the dogs. :)  They dogs swim in the ocean at least twice a week, and we shampoo with "allergy" shampoo once a week and never using conditioner.

I'll look for the anti-itch spray and switch to Zyrtec.

Thank you so much for all of your help Karen. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd keep maybe only 1-2 weeks worth of kibble in the container and freeze the rest if possible; I know it's a pain, but you could put it individual zip lock bags in the freezer. And you never want to keep the bags the food comes in anyway, which I need to add to the above discussion. JD's dermatologist told me not to even bring them into the house, but there's no way I'm debagging (is that even a word?) kibble out in the garage, so I do it in the mudroom, lol. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

I do only keep 2 weeks of food in the air tight container. Because we have 90 and 75 pound dogs, that is easy to do! Putting it in the freezer is not an option for us. I can just buy one bag at a time instead of two. Good to know. Foolishly, I thought the food was safe in the bags. I remember several years ago it was obvious the dog food we got was air sealed ... no air in the bag at all ... until we opened it. That is not the case with what we feed now. Thanks so much Karen. 

[Tammy Leiter]

Karen,

I'm curious as to why you don't want to keep the bag the food comes in?  I open the bag and put the whole bag inside a airtight container.  Is that wrong?  I thought the bags were made to help keep the food fresh??  I feed Orijen, in case, they might do something special with their bags?? Thanks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The bags are a breeding ground for storage mites, which are a noxious allergen similar to dust mites. The thinner and less "air tight" the bag (think cheap paper ones as opposed to heavier, well sealed bags like Orijen), the more storage mites, and once any bag is opened, all bets are off. Storage mite allergies are now thought to be as much to blame for asthma symptoms in children as dust mites. 
For humans with mite allergies, it's also recommended to store all dry, "cereal type" foods with particulate matter (dry cereals, crackers, chips, etc) in air tight containers or bags and get rid of the bags and boxes. 

Some info: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/storage...

[Tammy Leiter]

Thank you.  I wasn't thinking about mites, just freshness of the food. 

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Interesting that some brands (not on the recommended list ) put zip-lock closures on their bags.

[Shari Becker]

This is fascinating. I have the worst mite allergies, and I've been doing sublingual drops for years, but am still struggling. I need to try this!

[Shari Becker]

Lexi is definitely allergic to dust mites and outdoor pollen. She is most itchy in May/June, but it is now hay fever season, so I could imagine that an allergic dog could be suffering now. Everything Karen says also works for us: bathing your dog, bathing the dog's bed, blankets, will all help with dust mites. I have terrible seasonal allergies, so we use a/c AND air purifiers in our home. My vet has a Benedryl approach that is interesting. Shel likes to give it for 2-3 NIGHTS in a row and then stop. She says sometimes it just stops the itching cycle. We do it about once a season, and I have seen that work for Lexi. Just takes the edge off. I haven't tried 24-hour meds. I recognize there is no logical explanation for this, but our dog does best off traditional kibble. She had chronic ear infections until we went off. I read a hypothesis somewhere that kibble collects small amounts of mold or even tiny mites, but who knows? We chose to go with commercial frozen raw, but she does quite well with the dehydrated brands, too. Sojos has limited ingredients, but is very high fiber. Honest kitchen also has a fairly new line of very limited ingredients (6!), and we are trying one now. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thanks Shari! Kona is itchy in May/June but neither one was itching this time of year until this fall. We live in Hawaii so I am so confused why there would be seasonal allergies, but clearly there are. Our dogs don't sleep on beds or blankets. We have a dog bed for them but it's too hot so they generally sleep on the tile floor in the bathroom. I will look into the frozen raw and dehydrated food options. We are limited for availability on the island. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

From what I am reading, it seems that pollen is not an issue in your area at all. Besides pollens, the other major allergens that affect dogs are molds (which are everywhere, including inside water pipes), dust mites and storage mites, dander from humans & other animals, and certain insects. I don't know how helpful that info is, but you probably don't have to worry about wiping them down when they come in from outside, lol.