Skin allergy in dogs?

my shih tzu has a skin allergy, vet said. its only by his rear, and he is biting that area silly to the point where they're raw and red. i took him to the vet and he prescribed clavamox pills and children's benedryl.





only, it doesn't seem to be working. its been almost 2 weeks [he's due back for a checkup next wednesday] and there doesn't seem to be any improvement what-so-ever.





i don't want to take him back and the vet prescribe other pointless meds and waste our money, because we suspect that that vet clinic is overpricing us.





so im wondering if there's anything i can do? vet didn't tell us what was the cause of his skin allergy, so i'm wondering if there's anyway we can find out?





also, we're feeding him beneful, (i know it's bad, we're switching as soon as it runs out) and he's been eating that for maybe about 5, 6 years now and im thinking it might be that, but i need to know for sure. does beneful have a history of causing skin allergy in dogs? and in the meantime is getting

Skin allergy in dogs?
Yup its the Beneful! Beneful is full of fillers like corn and soy which are typical allergins to dogs and cats.


It sounds like you are describing a hotspot which can be cleared up with switching food. By switching foods you will helping the skin allergy from the inside out instead of just treating the spot with some medicine.


Do some reading about what is actually in foods like purina, iams, alpo, ol'roy...usually I recommend staying away from foods that are sold in mass quanities at large petstores and grocery stores because those are the foods that have lots of fillers and byproducts that can cause allergies even if a pet has been eating these products for most of their lives.


I would look in your phone book for some smaller pet food speciality stores..they are out there and they will have better quality foods to help with your dogs allergies. You might need to find a food with an alternative protein source like lamb or fish or rabbit to help with those allergies and add fish oil to your dogs diet to help his body repair its self from all the garbage quality food he has been eating.


Also try giving him purified water, sometimes chlorinated water does make pets have skin allergies and it is cheap to just fill his bowl from the Brita filter.


I really hope you do some reading because in the long run you'll find that if you feed better quality food your dog will be eating less to get good nutrition which also means less waste which makes a happy owner.


Look up a few of these brands and see if they are in your area


Canidae, Wellness, California Natural, Innova, Nature's Variety, Chicken Soup for the Dogs Soul, Timberwolf Organics... there are so many good foods out there that people don't know about until their dog has a problem like this and it forces them to go outside the box and look good food.
Reply:the food is probably causing the allergy. My dog eats Purina One and he has allergies too. But he bites at his stomach and legs.





Once I get money I am switching him to a grain free food like canidae.
Reply:Beneful is crap, and yes, it has a history of all kinds. Throw the rest of the bag away, and never look back. You, and your dog, will BOTH be happy you did!
Reply:if you really want to know the root cause of the allergy itself. take your dog to a animal dermatologist. it's kind of expenseive but WELL worth every penny. I'm a Vet Assistant and we see tons and tons of animals with skin allergies and no matter what the owner does, it wont go away. call around other vets to see if there are any pet dermatologists in your area. I've also got a dog who's ears are really bad. i've spent over 600 dollars to help his ears and nothing is helping. so i've made the decision to take him to the dermatologist. in my area its about 300 dollars, but that also incudes what exactly he's allergic to, and they will prescribe something for that allergy. i really do believe its well worth every penny. if you dont want to do that, then change the food asap. just like you mentioned you will be doing. but i'd personally just throw that stuff out. theres a food from Science Diet called Z/D. i've got my dog on this and it has been helping. it's a food just for dogs with skin allergies. or just get a medium to most expensive brand of dog food with fish as the ingrediant. go back to your vet and see what he/she says. if they want to prescribe another prescription then just say no, and walk out. but i would give them another chance. Clavamox is just an antibiotic. and the childern's benedryl wont work miracles. so see what else they say for you to do. make sure next time you see them to ask what the cause of the skin allergy can be. did they do a skin scraping? maybe it's yeast and that when giving something like Animax will go away in time. If you have anymore questions, just email me. God Bless
Reply:If you're feeding beneful then there's your answer. You need to switch his food to a food that is made with Fish and has little or no grains. My dog had a bad allergies. After spending $1,000 for treatment i switched her food to "Wellness Fish %26amp; Sweet Potato" formula and within a month her skin was completely back to normal. She stopped itching and all her hair began to grow back. That happened about 9 months ago. She is still on that food and she hasn't had any skin problems or itching episodes since then. That food is miricle stuff.
Reply:For one thing, beneful is NOT inherently bad, but it does have a lot of flavor so some dogs tend to overeat. And it does contain corn and beef, so dogs with food allergy will react to it. The skin allergy in the rear is often caused by fleas, and no it does not mean your dog is crawling with them. You may not see any fleas at all. An animal that is allergic to fleas will itch for up to 6 weeks from a single bite, and is typically raw, red and bald over the butt. If antihistamines aren't working, the next step is to try a short course of steroids to calm the immune response. Most vets will try Benadryl or Chlorpheniramine before jumping to a steroid because of the side effects. Antibiotics are often prescribed if the skin is broken or there's a secondary infection.





Several other things can cause allergies in dogs, and they tend to be the same things that make us allergic-certain foods, pollen, dust mites etc. Common food allergens are beef, chicken and corn. Thats why the fish-and-potato diets provide relief to some dogs. You don't have to buy the most expensive food, just read the labels and eliminate those 3 proteins (yes corn IS a protein source in dog food, NOT filler). Z/D is specially processed so the proteins are too small for the immune system to recognize, and it is a very expensive prescription food. It can be tricky to figure out what a particular dog is allergic to, there are blood and skin tests to help with that but they can be costly. Skin testing is more accurate, but requires you to visit a veterinary dermatologist. Blood tests can be drawn by your regular vet and sent to an out of house laboratory. If you can figure out the cause (or often, causes) of the allergy, then you can take steps to reduce or eliminate it-keeping your dog on Frontline all the time if he's allergic to fleas, for example, or getting a beef-free diet if he's allergic to beef. Hope I hepled.





*edit* The cone is not a bad idea if he's chewing, but just keeping him off the area won't be enough for it to go away. You have to treat the cause.
Reply:Sometimes its a process of elimination to see what might be causing it. Try changing food first and see what happens.Corn is in most dog food and is a common food allergy for dogs.
Reply:What it sounds like are hot spots, which can be caused by an allergy.





Yes, I suspect it is caused by the horrible food you feed.





Remember, when switching foods, switch GRADUALLY over a course of 1-2 weeks.





Try a food without corn, wheat, soy, dye, digest, by-product, etc.





Try a single protein based food, and a single carb.





Yes, a cone will help keep him from biting at it.





Children's Benadryl isn't always effective for some dogs, which was the case with mine.





I took her to an Animal Dermatologist, had her allergy tested, and have her on a stronger antihistamine which is working WONDERS. And, I take the same meds myself.





Two weeks is not long enough to see an improvement for such a bad reaction/allergy. Give it more time.

crocus