# Environmental Allergies



## RoxieVizsla (Apr 17, 2011)

I am curious to see if anyone else is dealing with environmental allergies effecting their Vizsla? 

Roxie is 10 months old and has recently been getting hit pretty bad with symptoms (pollen count is high in our area right now). It started a few months ago with a random bump under her skin here or there on her body, but over the last few weeks has progressed to more bumps (mostly on the top of her head). The bumps are very small, do not bother her at all, and go away on their own after a day or two. We started to get worried though since it seemed to be progressing and spoke with the vet after her nose and eyes were runny, sneezing, red ears, and licking of her paws became symptoms. The vet prescribed Hydroxyzine (25 mg 2-3 x per day) as needed for itching. She has been on that medication for about a week as needed. Last night she developed a pretty irritating cough, which kept her up a good bit of the night so I called the vet today and described the coughing so she prescribed Prednisone (20 mg) and instructed us to stop taking the Hydroxyzine for the time being. So far the cough is still present and she has even vomited mucus a few times, but generally does not seem to be affected by all of this. I am hoping that the medication will help to descrease the cough very soon. 

Has anyone else experienced allergies in their V's?

Thanks!


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Dozer is a year old and having terrible allergies that we can't seem to ID. We've been to the vet twice in six weeks and the next step is an allergy test next month. His symptoms are terrible itching until he gave himself a staph infection. We have a lot of pollen issues in the Shenandoah valley, he's fed grain free and he received no food but his dog food for several weeks and the symptoms came back. Our vet said the blood draw allergy test is really helpful but will set us back 280 which I think is better than too many steroids.


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## vinnie (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi

Ginny is 13 months and recently started with a similar problem. First of all a few bumps and then lots on the top of her head. I tried various tablets but none seemed to make that much differnce. I have tried various high grade foods but still the problem continued. I have now tried Kilpa Kennel after meeting a vizsla with a similar problem. The bumps have seem to disappear. Kilpa is a cheap food but it sems to work for my dog it might be worth a try.

John


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## Big Rick (Apr 14, 2009)

Dexter has terrible allergies. He's constantly scratching and occasionally he gets the bumps. Once the bumps appear he has to have an antibiotic (currently cipro) to make them go away. He was having good success with Temaril managing the scratching but it has been taken off the market. Now he has prednisone when it's really bad or 3 generic Benadryl tabs when it's not so bad. This winter we're going to spring for the allergy testing to see if we can eliminate the problem altogether.


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## deeco3307 (Jun 13, 2010)

Our dog has pretty bad allergies. At first our vet thought it might be a food allergy, so we switched to a high quality grain free food, but no changes. We've determined its mostly environmental, and probably grass, as he has been the best the last 3-4 weeks and the grass in the Midwest has become dormant. Now its starting to grow a little more and the scratching is back. I personally don't think an allergy test is worth the money unless you are positive the allergy isn't environmental, which should become more clear as you observe when the symptoms worsen.

We primarily manage his problem with Benedryl. 1 25 mg pill as needed knocks down the symptoms usually, occasionally we'll give 50 mg, but that is pretty rare. We've tried zyrtec before, but it didn't seem to do as much as spot treating with Benedryl, and it was more expensive.

We also try and wipe him off with Pet Head hypoallergenic wipes. Baths should only be used as necessary, as with our V, it makes the itching 10x worse. We've tried 2 different (John Mitchell Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Petsmart Oatmeal shampoo) and we have 2 more that we are going to try. I'll post again if one of those seems to work better.

Finally, make sure you are regularly cleaning your home's air filter. We notice a difference when a new filter goes in, especially if it was a bit overdue.


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## RoxieVizsla (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks for sharing all of your experiences. It seems to be a common thing with Vizsla's I guess. Today she has been MUCH improved with the coughing, thank goodness! It seems like the medication is really helping. 

Thanks for all of the suggestions too!


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## Big Rick (Apr 14, 2009)

deeco3307 said:


> We primarily manage his problem with Benedryl. 1 25 mg pill as needed knocks down the symptoms usually, occasionally we'll give 50 mg, but that is pretty rare.


Just an FYI, dogs can handle more "Benedryl" than humans. 1 25 mg tab for each 20 lbs of your dog's weight is the proper dose. I have never noticed any lethargy in a dog as a result. Myself, if I take two 25 mg I'm out for at least 8 hours!!!


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## deeco3307 (Jun 13, 2010)

Our Vet and most internet sites i've read all recommend up to 1 mg/pound 1-2 x per day. My dog will get a little lethargic with 2 benedryl. I personally try to limit the amount I give him because of the long term side effects any medication can have on the liver/kidneys.


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## AfroViz (Jun 26, 2011)

All of Avery's myriad skin issues cleared up when we started to add Efazol (which actually has a Vizsla on the label ) to her food. I'm not sure if it's available in the US or Europe but it was a life saver for us.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Looks like Efazol contains Omega 6:3 ingredient I recognize. Costco brand (US/Canada), according to my breeder.
The other ingredients may be anti inflamatory.I was told buffered aspirin 325/40lb or 20kg. 

A grain free diet was also proposed... Kidney stones are a problem with inactive dogs on grain free. That's why many breeders use Iams brand (corn as filler)
I use orjen brand (grain free) found at global pet foods here in Canada. Mix it with pumpkin or sometimes metamucil to add fibre. 2-3 dried prunes or apricots also tend to make stools firmer.


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## AZViszlas (Sep 5, 2011)

One of my two girls has developed a bad wheezing, mostly at night, and she seems very lethargic. She's almost 12 and I'm praying its not just old age. I took her to the vet, and they didn't spot anything, or have any recommendations for me....I didn't know to ask about allergies, we are in AZ, and the pollen/dust levels are high right now, even my allergies are acting up. I'd like to try some medication for my dog, do you have to get these by prescription, or do they have some at Petsmart? Or am I reading above that you are just feeding them the same Benadryl that you buy at Walgreens?


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## RoxieVizsla (Apr 17, 2011)

The medications that I was giving Roxie were prescribed from the vet, but we often use Over the Counter (OTC) Bendadryl or a generic brand.


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## ctracyverizon (May 26, 2011)

*Environmental Allergies | Steroids*

Summit has been fighting the bumps for two weeks now. It started on his back and the Vet gave him Temaril pills (Steroid+ Antihistamine) but it did not get rid of it so last night we took him back and he got a steroid shot.

He had bumps all over him. Mostly on his back, sides and legs. He was not scratching very much and had no other symptoms.

He looks much better today.

Anyone have any good information on how steroids can effect a puppy?

UPDATE:
I found these two.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/prednisone-side-effects-in-dogs.html

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petal...c=ss&ysmchn=affiliate&ysmcpn=ss&ysmgrp=389818


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## KonasPop (Aug 9, 2011)

same bumbs at 10mo. Grass started going dormant and things are better - we used benadryl tabs with cheese and it brought them down within a few hours. Lasted about 2 days. We walk every day regardless and its probably all the bush she gets into on the walks - she is also highly (we carry a childrens epipen) allergic to wasp/bee. Her face blew up to the size of a mellon at 7-8mo and that was a bad night at the ER. 

I think having some basic allergy meds and good eye should help you through the years.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

My baby girl (9 weeks) has started itching ever since we took her to play in my mom's grass. Could she be allergic to it? We also have 2 cats, so that might be the issue. Her eyes/nose are clean, but I have noticed extra discharge in her ears. Is she too young to give Benadryl? We bathed her this morning with Johnsons Baby Shampoo (No More Tears) and that seemed to help a little. I just want to make sure we catch this before it gets worse. She is currently on Iams puppy food, but we are slowly switching her to Organix grain-free puppy food and then Primal Raw when she is older. I hope this will help as well.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh allergies...we've been battling since July. Finally got the blood test and it's mostly food related. Although there can be false positives. Trying to find a diet to meet the results is tough and involves trial and error which takes forever. Raw is an option but I'm not confident in my knowledge of that and the "Atkins" diet is not enough calories for him. Been on pred since July so he lost weight and even snapped at me (although vet says it rare for pred to cause this I can't rule it out). And you cant get neutered on steroids. But he can't manage two days without it. So I feel for all the allergy sufferer parents and even with all of the troubles dozers getting a sister in february. Good luck in everyone's trial and error.


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## orconectes (Dec 16, 2009)

We've been to the vet several times this fall and winter for red/itchy ears (and other areas). Steroids clear it up, but it comes back. Shes needed antibiotics when the scratching creates infections.

After reading this post, I am going to try to get hold of some Efazol. Apparently, this is from South Africa. I am in Pennsylvania USA!


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