Posted By Lizzie1228 (Kansas City, MO) on 10/04/2022

I will first list the problem and then I will do what I've tried.

I have a long haired chihuahua. He is mostly white with some black spots on him. He's a couple pounds overweight. We are working on this. He just turned 6 in September.

I have fed him a raw food diet of Primal Freeze dried Nuggets since he was born. I'm not going to lie, I've given him scraps here and there which I'm working on. Most of the time it's just meat.

I have been staying in a hotel for a year looking for a place to live. I wouldn't be surprised if there's mold everywhere. It is an old hotel so I'm sure the carpets are infested with who knows what. We came from a basement that was semi moldy. Let's just say we both haven't felt our best. I Did secure a place to live and will be moving November 5th.

I usually take him on five to six walks a day. I try my hardest to keep him away from any sort of mulch, cedar or pine trees. I feel horrible for him sometimes.

There is one thing I've noticed when he's outside in the grass. I see a bunch of bugs jump up about 10 in and jump down into the grass. I have no idea what they are. There are lots of them and I've never seen them before. Except for the last 2 years.

Every time I bring him in I wash his feet either with warm water or an iodine solution mixed with water. I give him baths about once a week and try not to unless he's itching really bad. I use Zymox shampoo which is a natural shampoo. I cannot find any fleas on him. I do not like to give him vaccinations and I do not like to put toxic flea and heartworm medication on him if at all possible.

4 years ago I took him to the vet for his itching. They gave me apoquel saying it was okay for him to take and that there was nothing to worry about. After I read the side effects I immediately took him off of it after being on it a year. I then started him on Prednisone for a year and he blew up like a fat tick.

This summer I was going to do whatever it took to keep him off of pharmaceutical medications.

I do not know what's outside in our environment but it is causing us to deteriorate at a fast rate. This includes our animals. I have an idea but I'm not going to go there.

I forgot he also sneezes a lot outside and when we go up and down the halls.

A year and a half ago I started giving him an allergy supplement from pet parents. It has colostrum, salmon oil, Quercetin, probiotics and other natural things. It seems to work really well except for in the middle of summer.

When he is itching and I check him I feel like there are actual bites on him. I'm currently giving him Benadryl and I'm not happy about it. I have been giving him baths in apple cider vinegar.

He is my best friend and when he's stressed out, I get stressed out. I don't have a whole lot of money but will do what I have to provide for him. I just want him to be comfortable.

I absolutely refuse to put flea poison on him unless it becomes a problem. It seems like he has a skin reaction to it. I've worked in a vet before so I know about vaccines and I know about fleas and what to look for.

Several years ago I started studying natural ways to heal my body, therefore I have passed this on to him.

I worry about giving him certain things just because of his sensitivity but am willing to try if anyone has any good ideas. I would really appreciate it. He eats his food and his supplement very well. Other than that it's hard to get things on him and down him without him throwing a fit. He is a Chihuahua after all.

I guess he could have a yeast infection but I don't see any signs of that. Also the last time he was at the vet he said that in the summer 98% of his clients are due to allergy issues.

This is so frustrating. I had dogs when I was younger and they never had these issues.

I apologize if I rambled on too long. I'm just trying to cover every angle.

If you take the time to read this, and offer any advice, I truly appreciate the time you've taken and it means a lot.

Thanks"