# I'm lost. Allergy/Hives or something else



## [email protected]

Hi everyone. I am lost... My 5 months old pup, Bentley, has had these bumps for a while. I had him for 3 months and these bumps have gotten even worse I think. A bit of history: breeder told me he was fed royal canin for adults. I bought him a 35lb bag that he finished. But then decided to give him Royal canin for puppies. I figured they were both chicken based that it shouldn't create more problems.. I initially would give him various treats, then decided to make my own from chicken livers. The spots on his back never went away, as i thought treats were the problem. So I decided to just stick to dry food and water no treats of any kind. That did not help either. Meanwhile as I forgot to mention, I did take him to vet for shots once a month and the vet knew of this. She told me to give Benadryl which did little to nothing. I'm a pharmacist, so I asked what the vet thought about steroids. She said to give hydroxyzine which is a stronger antihistamine than Benadryl. Again no positive outcome. Finally about a week ago, I decided to switch to hypoallergenic diet. I bought natural balance LID dry food that was lamb and brown rice. He's been on it for just a week, but I feel his hives/bumps got worse. I called the vet and she couldn't really advise me on anything.. Blood test are expensive for allergens and lots of times useless. So I mentioned steroids again to the vet she wasn't really happy about it but told me that I can try warning me that hives will likely go away but may comeback as we don't really know what allergen cause these hives. 

So I'm asking for your help, as I am simply lost.

P.S. The bumps don't irritate him and he does not scratch. I'm just afraid they can become infected, or hives can follow a bigger allergic reaction.
Thank you for all you input in advance


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## emilycn

If antihistamines aren't working, then it seems like this might not be allergies. Has your vet suggested a skin infection perhaps? Texas Red has some good advice on dealing with those.


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## jean

Our puppy used to get similar bumps, although that looks like a bad case. Zyrtec seemed to help, while benedryl did not. YMMV, different remedies seem to work for different dogs. We had him on it daily for a period, but phased it out 4 months ago.

Other V puppy owners I know in the area had the same issues, and I've been told it is not uncommon and they sometimes grow out of it. If you haven't, search the forums and see what worked for others.


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## texasred

emilycn said:


> If antihistamines aren't working, then it seems like this might not be allergies. Has your vet suggested a skin infection perhaps? Texas Red has some good advice on dealing with those.


Just from looking at the picture, it may have turned into a skin infection. Keep in mind, I'm far from being a vet, just have went to mine enough to be on a first name basis. If it is, and that wide spread your going to need antibiotics. I keep Cephalexin on hand (vet prescribed) if I see this on one of my dogs. In the summer dogs can pickup all kinds of things that lead to skin infections, especially from swimming in ponds. In the winter the outside cold/wind, combined with our heaters inside can dry out their skin, and make it more susceptible to infection.
You can do somethings, to keep it from becoming a skin infection. Nothing is 100% full proof every time, but this has sure cut down on it turning into a vet visit , and the need for antibiotics.
To keep their skin from becoming dry in the winter,you can use coconut oil, or even fish oil. Just a small amount on their food works well. Mine get salmon at least 2-3 days a week, but the other is easier. 
I wipe down my dogs with a Providone iodine solution. Its just Betadine, mixed with warm water until it looks the color of tea. Just mix a good size bowl of it up, and wipe down the dog with it daily, avoid getting it in their eyes. If your inside the house towel dry, or they sling that stuff everywhere when they shake. It helps stop, or slow bacteria growth on the skin. You can use it along with antibiotic, if you need to. Mine would get those bumps from swimming in ponds over the summer, and Lucy after she had bumps from allergy that turned into infections. I use it now more as a prevention.


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## texasred

Here is a link for you to look at for allergy testing.

http://www.hemopet.org/hemolife-diagnostics/nutriscan-food-sensitivity-intolerance.html


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## [email protected]

Thank you all for your suggestions!!! I very much appreciate that... I am going to take a bit from everyone. I have zertec in the house as well as cephalaxin. I will give it to him for a course of 7 days and daily regimen of Anihistamine. Povidine sounds like a great idea. Simple yet effective! I also went to get him another dry food today. It is fish and sweet potato by the same company. I will keep everyone posted and thanks once again. I will hold off the steroids for now.


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## dextersmom

I'm surprised your vet was willing to let the hives stick around that long. In my experience, they do usually turn into a skin infection if they persist for more than a week or two.

Have you tried a grain-free food? Grain-free helps a lot of dogs with food allergies (also not a bad idea to cut out chicken and see how that goes).

We also find Benadryl doesn't work that well for our V. Hydroxyzine works better but upsets his tummy. We usually have to do Temaril-P/steroids to clear up a bad case of hives. We always try to avoid steriods, but they just get worse and then we have no choice. We're trying Claritin right now (NOT Claritin-D - very bad for dogs!) and have been advised to try Zyrtec as well. Claritin already seems to help more than the Benadryl did. I would consult your vet for the dosage on any allergy meds, especially since he's just a pup.

Adding fish oil/coconut oil to his meals is a great idea.



TexasRed said:


> I wipe down my dogs with a Providone iodine solution. Its just Betadine, mixed with warm water until it looks the color of tea. Just mix a good size bowl of it up, and wipe down the dog with it daily, avoid getting it in their eyes. If your inside the house towel dry, or they sling that stuff everywhere when they shake. It helps stop, or slow bacteria growth on the skin. You can use it along with antibiotic, if you need to. Mine would get those bumps from swimming in ponds over the summer, and Lucy after she had bumps from allergy that turned into infections. I use it now more as a prevention.


We do the same if our guy has been running in tall grass, laying in the yard, etc. Only we use Hibiscrub/Hibiclens instead of the Betadine. Works like a charm! It's really the only solution we've found for preventing hives/pustules due to outside allergies - the meds are not nearly as effective for us.

I'd see a different vet in the meantime and get the hives under control sooner rather than later though. Then you'll be at a better starting point to know what might be triggering it and what allergy meds seem to help.


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## texasred

[email protected] said:


> Thank you all for your suggestions!!! I very much appreciate that... I am going to take a bit from everyone. I have zertec in the house as well as cephalaxin. I will give it to him for a course of 7 days and daily regimen of Anihistamine. Povidine sounds like a great idea. Simple yet effective! I also went to get him another dry food today. It is fish and sweet potato by the same company. I will keep everyone posted and thanks once again. I will hold off the steroids for now.


You need to go by weight, when giving a pup medication.
I don't know the MG dosage of cephalaxin for a puppy. My 45 lbs dog takes 500 mg twice a day, if it were prescribed for her.
Also dogs digest things quicker than humans. Some human meds that are extended release would pass though a dogs digestive system without the full benefit. 
When you change a dogs food, it can take up to a month before you see big changes in the dogs allergy's. If you change to quickly, you have a harder time figuring out the allergy.
I have one thats allergic to chicken, and something else. Don't know what the something else is, just found the right food by trial and error. And it did take a long time to get it narrowed down. Lucy has some allergy thats environmental, but doesn't effect her all the time. It normally happens over the summer, and we just rinse her off after she's been out for a run.


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## gingerling

I have a different take on this.

Clearly there's something very obviously wrong with your dog, and for a while, too. The issue is how and who to properly diagnose and treat this. If your vet isn't doing anything and is taking a wait and see approach or just wants to test for various allergies, I think you have 2 choices: Go along... or find another vet. But, attempting to treat this on your own (or with online advice) seems, at best, hit or miss. And, the idea of treating with various OTC meds for a period of a week or more doesn't sound like a good plan, either. They still are medications, and if they don't work, your dog still has the problem. And you've experimented with him by introducing powerful chemicals into his developing body.

My advice..and I think it's the safest course of action...is to not monkey around with food changes or medications regardless of how familiar or comfortable you or others might find them to be, but find a vet who can do a proper assessment and treat this effectively. He's a puppy, what happens now to his developing body will have long term effects on his future well being.


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## texasred

I agree that medications need to at least have a vet consult before giving to a puppy. Some vets will confirm dosages over the phone, but others will not. 
The rinses I feel differently about. Your not going to do any harm by using them. I've had regular vets and a dermatologist vet confirm they are good to use. Along with using a Epson salt Bath separately (different day) for a number of skin issues.


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## lybec009

I haven't been able to read everyone's response so I apologize if this has been stated or rebuffed already but I wanted to share my story. 

My husband and I have a 2 year old vizsla and when she was 6 mo old and experienced her first spring/summer she got bumps that looked exactly like your pup... With Benadryl and a little time the bumps went down and we chalked it up to spring allergies. The following spring the bumps returned and with help from our vet we tried a few medications, special shampoo, adding coconut oil then olive oil to her diet, switching the type of meat source in her food (we were feeding her a grain free good dry food). Nothing was working. By January I was concerned that the bumps were still there in the dead of winter. Our pup isn't irritated by the bumps but to me the bumps meant she wasn't healthy. 

Then after a lot of research we discovered that the brand of dog food we were feeding her goes through a company called diamond which sources meat products from China/elsewhere and that seemed so strange to me. But actually there are a ton of what I considered good quality dog foods that now outsource to diamond. So we switched Remi to orijen dog food which is a Canadian brand and does not outsource anything. After three weeks her bumps were completely gone, it's been six weeks now and we're still going strong. I don't know how to explain this other than I think she needed ridiculously high quality food. It worked for us, it may or may not work for others. But we struggled with this for so long and unfortunately our vet wasn't able to help so I wanted to share this story! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jean

Of course, consult the vet before giving zyrtec (or whatever). We had him in to the vet at least 3 times for bumps, and this was at her recommendation (after benedryl did not work). The dosage was the same as benedryl by weight, but definitely confirm with an expert. She also recommended and antimicrobal shampoo to prevent infection. The thing is, it could be anything causing them, and it is really hard to figure out. Other advice we received was to wipe the dog down after he was outdoors, as it could be from a grass or chemicals in a grass. We already were doing grain free quality food. 

My point is, I would talk with the vet about a different OTC medicine before trying steroids. Our breeder thought a steroid shot was a good idea, our vet disagreed. Others take a different approach, but the vet said if they aren't itching, spreading, or painful we should avoid being too aggressive in treatment. Allergy testing was something we thought about, but it is expensive and might not have been conclusive, so we decided to wait and see.


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## [email protected]

I appreciate everyone's inputs and suggestions. My pup is on his new diet that I mentioned.its been 3 days he's been eating sweet potato and fish, and I see a tremendous difference. I also picked up prednisone and cetirizine, to speed up recovery. Keflex I am gonna hold of, the bumps don't seem to be infected. I am hoping for a full recovery within a week. I thank you all once again


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## SandraDee

My five year old boy has the same thing and it is accompanied by frequent ear infections










we have spent two years changing his diet, doing elimination diets, trying OTC allergy meds, lots of vet visits etc. 

In addition to the hives, he also has a skin condition called sebaceous adenitis, which causes his hair to fall out (yeah he's a total mess).

We have finally decided to switch him to a raw diet, because we believe (the vet, the dermatologist and us) that the ear infections and what appear to be hives are being caused by both an allergy to something that is not food related an possibly yeast issues (which are being fuelled by the dry dog food) 

Our vet does not want to put him on a steroid or other prescription medication before we have exhausted all other possible solutions. 

so besides the raw diet, he also gets an Omega 6 oil supplement, a Vitamin E, and Vitamin A supplement everyday and once a week he gets a shower using Vetoquinol Care shampoo, which is a medicated shampoo that is antibacterial and anti fungal and helps with removing any crusts or scales that form.

The shampoo has helped a lot with the skin problems as has the switch to the raw diet. The picture above was taken about five minutes ago. he is due a shampoo, the bumps pretty much disappear after the shampoo for a few days.


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## Brandy0216

*Lots of Hives!*

Hi there! I know that this post was some time ago, but did you ever determine what these hives were caused from? My dog has those identical bumps. Benadryl did not work at all for him and they didn't want to put him on a steroid being that he is only 8 months. 
The vet says it's an allergy, but we have no idea what from. Just curious if you ever figured it out. I would love to know!


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## Bushclass

I think this is a super common Vizsla problem! Our 8 month old gets them too, not as bad but they get worse the more he has them. He's been on Raw for a while now as he had some Poo Problems and now we've just been eliminating and testing which supplements and proteins to see which cause it - if any! Our vet said most people jump to food first, but more often than not it is an environmental reaction. She's also hesitant to give him any steroid as he's quite young and said once he's a year we can revisit and see if they've gotten worse and actually send him to a specialist. Some dogs grow out of it. 

It's pretty impossible to figure out what it is unless you've got lot's of time, patience and money aha, but we're in it for the long haul! Same thing for Banjo, they seem purely cosmetic as they don't seem to bother him. But he does have dry skin which we use coconut oil on. 

If you figure out the magic answer, let us know!


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## rustedduck

My 6 month old experiences the same bumps (although not quite as severe) after visiting a local dog park after a rain. Normally
they come up pretty quick. When I start seeing the bumps I give him a bath with medicated shampoo. By the next morning most
bumps have all but disappeared.


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## tknafox2

I have had 3 V's... 2 have been allergic to chicken... 
My first v, I started feeding her lamb, which was an easy switch... eliminated chicken completely, and she cleared up right away.

my current v has just developed signs of allergy... I have now eliminated chicken from his diet, and he is showing signs of improvement.

My vet told me chicken has one of the highest protein contents, and besides... chickens are pumped so full of additives... 
I seriously do not believe ORGANIC... makes any difference in regard to this allergy.... Maybe it is just a V thing

just my 2 cents


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## Tennesseetexan

I am in the same exact boat with my girl and at a loss at what do next. We did steroids twice, but as soon as the steroids were out of her system, the hives came right back. :-(


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