Dog Allergy Remedies

Hi Ted, the house. I have dogs with Walking Dandruff how do you treat them and do you suggest giving them 1/4 teaspoon of Borax which I have purchased in their water per litre. Thanks.

I have a 3 yr old golden retriever who is suffering from severe hot spots.. Just when I get one under control another appears. Very frustrated and feel so bad for him. He seems to be worse after coming from grooming so I am wondering if he's allergic to something they are using. I also like the sounds of a RAW diet. What exactly do you feed your golden? I have him on fish oil and a probiotic. He was recently diagnosed with hypo thyroidism and takes a pill for it... today I just decided to give him some aloe vera juice with his food as I heard it can help the skin internally as well as externally.

Thanks Sharon I have a Russel/Beagle that shares a very similiar seasonal allergy experience as yours and has now extended into winter which it had never did before. Thanks for the tips. Think I wil try Halo brand Lamb Recipe food and see how its works & sprinkle some ground flaxseeds on it(natural source of omega-3). I'm also giving him a colloidal oatmeal bath(ground up oats to bath water for a soak after I wash him with a natural shampoo, & a natural oil in the rinse water like glycerin or sweet almond oil.. and no it doesn't build up on his coat if anyone's wonders).

Thanks again for your tips. I truly believe fixing our pets from the inside out will help & lesson the need for harsh meds...

I found that all meats bought in most leading stores have already been experimented on and being introduced to antibiotics. I just read where a cow has aids & being treated with antibiotics. For me meat is out of the question for humans and my pets. Here is a web site used for giving all cattle antibiotics, but the plus side is we can buy these for our pets; but in smaller doses per body weight, I use this site for my cat that has upper resp. issues. I would never feed my pet raw food. Animals in the wild eat untouched animals by the government yet.... I tried using vaseline on my cat to smother mange/mites as suggested and its a total nightmare getting it off my cat, I would say its not very good for animals ingesting this greasy blob and bad for the system, if any thing the mites increased more;here is the site of antibiotics used on our meats!! ..... http://www.jefferslivestock.com/search.asp?camid=LIV&ss=antibiotics for cattle&search-submit=GO.

Dietary changes for dog................

I have a Shihtzu, that also had a bad yeast/allergy problem. After doing much research, I discovered that the vet, was actually making my baby worse! The steroids and antibiotics 'feed' the yeast. So, I stopped them completely. I ONLY feed raw meat now. Some vegetables contain sugars. So, I would stop, all, kibble.

After the tea tree shampoo. Rinse well. Mix, half white vinegar/half water and pour over your dog and allow to dry. You can also make this solution and put it in a spray bottle, to use daily on any areas that need it. It can also be used to clean the ears. I squirt half a syringe full, in both ears. Massage under the ear and then the dog will shake it's head. Wipe away any 'muck' with the same solution. Probiotics are needed to recover from the anti-biotics. A probiotic yogurt is a good option. I also, give half a clove of garlic every day. Once a week, I give 1 raw egg. And, once a week, I give a tin of tuna in oil, drained, to replace a meat meal. My dog is a 100% better, doing this. Think about what wolves eat? I also, only give filtered water to drink. Regards, Debbie. Brighton. UK.

I am dealing with yeast with our 10 yr old mixed breed, (german shepherd, lab) he is 130 lbs and is miserable. He also suffers from seasonal allergies, food allergies, and hair loss. I am a follower of a holistic vet from Il. She has a wonderful website and offers natural treatment, verses medications. Recently, I gave him a Tea Tree oil shampoo, followed by a rinse of 1 gallon water, 1 cup of vinegar, and 1 cup of Hydogren Peroxide. After his rinse, I just patted him dry. He is soooo much more comfortable. He was on antibiotics, steroids and Diflucan, but nothing really helped, and made him worse. I made the mistake of giving him watermelon, in hopes of trying different snacks, but soon reailized watermelon is too sugary, and feeds the yeast. He now takes Probiotics; and I use Witch Hazel for his ears with cotton balls. I feed him Instinct Raw Duck, and Instinct kibble Duck. He loves raw food and transitioned perfectly. I really didn't have any problems, until I gave him the watermelon. Be careful when choosing snacks for your allergy and yeasty pets, since diet is sooooo controllable and an easy solution in keeping them healthy and comfy.

I am interested in contacting Sharon from Panama City, FL as I live in the area and have a rescue Westie also who is 5 with skin problems we're working on. If you could give her my email address and see if she will contact me. Thanks.

Who would have ever thought dogs can be allergic to CHICKEN? Our Jack Russell had skin condition due to allergies and it took years to discover he could not tolerate chicken. He seemed better in the cooler months, can't explain, but true. Problems began in the spring with his feet, they began itching. It continued until his entire body was itching to the point, he chewed hair off huge portions of his body, one entire side was bald. It was suggested to remove chicken from his diet, he began improving. It worked! The poor dog has suffered enough. Finally, he is normal for the first time in his life. I regret it took me so long to find the answer. If you've tried everything, and I mean everything, remove chicken from the diet and hopefully it works for your pet.

We use oatmeal bath for my dogs allergies, she is a Boston Terrier and loves rolling in the grass but she is allergic. The oatmeal bath helps relieve the redness and itching. Now just gotta try the ACV to get rid of fleas.

Please never feed your dog garlic in any form. It contains theosulphate which is a toxin for dogs. While small dosages may be fine, I would never take the chance.

Can you tell me more about the primrose oil? How do you give it to your dog, I have a shitz about 6yrs and has terrible skin problems and stinks, spent thousands at vets and meds.....

I feel so bad for her all my vets think it's allergy. They have had the allergy test, mine is pollen, grass, certain grass and trees. I think its more.

Any info is worth thanks.

Look up Grape Seed extract and you will find that it is a good for allergies, also diet plays a big part in illness.

I have a dog that's been scratching almost obsessively since he was a puppy and after 2 years of wearing a cone, we narrowed down the possibilities from diet, exercise, anything the vet could think of.

We have gone through maybe 4 vets and so much medication and it's not right for anyone to be taking so much medication because of liver or kidney damage in the long term.

We did an allergens test to detect ALL the possible allergens our dog was prone to and found out he was allergic to pollen, the poor thing.

So it's worth talking to a good vet and really monitoring your pet. We now give our dog evening primrose oil about 3 times a week and it has helped tremendously. There were other treatments such as injecting him with a pollen vaccination everyday for a year but we didn't find that too humane.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution :)

I "inherited" a giant schnauzer 6 years ago. He was 3 at the time. He came to me with ears swollen and black inside, bleeding, scratching, etc. He's been a mess for years. We've done the allergy thing, the shampoos, the diet change, etc. After much research I determined his problem was a SEVERE yeast infection. My vet reluctantly prescribed him an oral anti-fungal.

I also started him on a RAW diet of venison, hardboiled egges, organic brown rice, and organic yogurt. He's like a different dog. I can't believe what has happened to him. He doesn't smell anymore, he doesn't itch, his ears aren't bothering him. When I bathe him - which is down from 2 x per week to once every 2 weeks - he doesn't have that nasty crusty black stuff on him. I'd recommend a raw diet to anyone. Just be careful of what you put in it. Stay away from anything starchy. I use organic brown rice so as to not put any gluten in his system. It's amazing.

Thanks for your post. Just wanted to make sure I understand the recipe correctly. Where you said: The solution is 2 ozs of pure Neem oil, a little olive or coconut oil and tea tree oil, one tablespoon of Goldenseal extract, then make up to 16 ozs with organic apple cider vinegar" -- does that mean I would add 14 oz of organic apple cider vinegar to these ingredients (2 oz of which is oil so then 14 oz to make it a total of 16 oz) or do I add 16 oz apple cider vinegar? Thanks!

I have a rescue westie who is 8 and came to me with black skin, itching and ear infections. The vet said allergies. I know she has had a poor diet and poor care so I have put her on the California westie diet that is vitamin E, barley, missing link, dream coat xtra c. Mix with lamb and rice food. Has anyone tried this diet with your westie ? It's been a week noticed a little difference but still rubbing her face and scratching some. Any advice ? I have another westie who has never had any skin issues. Thanks.

Hi Teri- My 12 lb Cock-a-poo female (Sasha Marie) had terrible skin allergies. It got so bad that she scratched herself until she had bald spots. Thankfully her vet knew exactly what to do about it. I was instructed to add 1 tablespoon plain vegetable oil to her food at every feeding, until I noticed a difference. After that, I was to add the oil once per day. I was amazed at the results. Within two weeks she stopped scratching completely. Within a month her coat became soft and silky, and the bald spots were unnoticeable. This is a quick, cheap fix for a problem that can cause your pet a lot of discomfort, if left untreated.

Good luck, and Merry Christmas to all!!!

Carol Ann

I have a cat that had an allergy: he started sneezing so hard that the blood would comes out from his nose. He got this allergy one day, later I found out that he went on the stairscase when they just polished the floor there and he got this on his tummy - the allergen. I took him to the doctor a few times, gave him different antibiotics that didn't help. And I decided to wash him with baby shampoo (I do it monthly) and all allergies disappeared!

Does your state require a rabies vaccination in order to get a dog license? What kind of bones do you feed?

Hello,

My dogs had horrible allergies with nasty ear infections that would not go away. My poor dogs suffered for so long. I switched to numerous "holistic dog foods" trying to help them. My research showed that all the preservatives in dog food was causing all these problems. I finally switched to a species appropriate diet which consists of feeding my dogs like wolves eat - whole prey. I found out that there are thousands of people feeding this way. We all feed our dogs a diet that is 80% raw meat, 10% edible raw bone and 10% raw organs. After just a few weeks, the ear infections that my dogs suffered with for 4 years disappeared!!! All the itching all over their bodies disappeared!! Their coats are shinier than they have ever been, they have more energy and all the tarter is gone from their teeth too! I have now been feeding this way for 3 years and my vets can't believe how healthy my dogs are. we also no longer vaccinate. We had titers done on my dogs and they have enough antibodies in their system, from the previous vaccinations they have had, to last them the rest of their lives. :-)

Zango, I would add a pinch of milled flax seed for the cleaning of the colon. Hope this helps.

Hi Zango,

I have a golden retriever that had severe allergies that came about when he was 2. He was thought to have various disorders like Cushings and Addisons but the tests proved he didn't and no matter what we did he was getting worse to the point where he could no longer move and wouldn't eat.

I found a book called "The Holistic Guide to A Healthy Dog" by Wendy Volhard and followed the instructions for a cleansing diet to rid my dogs body of toxins and allergies.

He was COMPLETELY better within 12 hours. Running around like a puppy, normal stools etc. I proceeded with the natural diet that is outlined in the book and he has led an amazing life since. When people see him walking down the street they ask how old my "puppy" is. The transformation is remarkable. He is now 8 and his only vet trips in the last five years have been to weigh in and make sure I am balancing his vitamins properly.

I highly recommend this book even if a dog doesn't have issues but just to give it back the life dogs are meant to live.

The diet takes a while for humans to get used to... A bit more work than we are accustomed, but it's worth it!

Also in the appendix are herbal, holistic, mineral and vitamin remedies for all kinds of ailments and issues. You may find it very interesting as well because of what you do for a living.

Take care and good luck!

Alison

Aloha,

I hope some of you can share experience & wisdom. I have taken in a severely allergic dog to board and although I am a certified herbalist and have many years in kennels, I would appreciate feedback on this situation :-). This is the tropics, so pathogens live year round.

1st: 1/2 pitbull & 1/2 lab; 85 lbs; current food: 4-Health Lamb & Rice Puppy - there are 3 young dogs boarding with me and they all get this. His owner said he was doing okay until finances forced them to a lower quality food - they just got him back up on 4-H 3 weeks ago.

Additionals: MAJOR recent flea infestation. Owners treated environment with orange oil, neem and diatomaceous earth (DE). Got fleas knocked back [yes, they wormed for tapeworms] and he is now out of that environment boarding here. I insisted they clear that up before the dogs got here yesterday, 10/19.

Now: I think maybe DE irritation, so rinsed his poor eyes with simple saline solution [sensitive eyes] and homeopathic similisan [sp?] Dogs eyes are a mess - yellow pus, so today I upgraded to veterinary Tri-antibiotic-optic just to knock out an obvious infection. Keep in mind, staph is endemic here everywhere. Poor big baby rubs his face and rolls in grass to relieve itching - we think there may be additional allergies to grass!

Hot spots on skin, some open sores, both treated topically with witch hazel w/aloe and goldenseal.

I have initiated an experiment with owners permission:

Liver: burdock. Kidneys: cranberry and cornsilk. Skin: Bioastin and fish oil. This to try and clear his liver and kidneys and support his skin. Next step milk thistle. TRYING TO KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Any additional ideas?

Mahalo - Thank you

I am a Dog Behaviorist and have had dogs my whole life. I have seen allergies, skin problems, yeast issues devestate many families with dogs and having 4 French Bulldogs of my own gives me tons of experience with this area as well. My one little girl has had an awful time with "allergies" and skin issues... After thousands of dollars in useless tests, damaging steroids and other prescriptions I discovered the amazing healing abilities of feeding my dogs a Natural, Species Appropriate or RAW Diet aka B.A.R.F Diet.

Dr Richard Pitcairn DVM wrote an excellent book on caring and feeding your pets naturally and now my allergy/yeast prone dog is happily living symptom free! I urge all pet owners to consider this way of feeding.

Hi Everyone: I'm grateful to have found this page, and if HALF of what I'm hearing about ACV is true, my life and my Yorkies will change. Lily is 10. She was my mothers, who passed away 4 years ago so I adopted her. She is a precious gift that came with lots of skin issues. Lily has had "allergies" since she was very little and has been on more doses of anti-biotics and steroids than you can imagine. Living in South Florida she was not only allergic to grass and mold, but chicken. We changed her diet to Venison and Sweet Potato or brown rice but se is still chewing her feet, shaking her ears, goopy eyes, stuffy breathing. To make matters worse, when my mother passed, we now take her between our Idaho home and our Florida home so she is exposed to lots more airborne things and she is misrable.

Between me and my mother, we have spent THOUSANDS of dollars on her but how can you not. She has to be comfortable. We've been in Idaho since April and I've probably spent 3 thousand dollars on vet visits, medicine and cultures because nothing seems to be working. The last culture indicated she had a bacteria that was resistant to all traditional anti-biotics because she had been on them so many times that they don't work any more.

She is now on Chloramphenical oral and topical (which is so bad for humans that I have to wear gloves when handeling it. Very scary) Atopica, Fluconazole, Temeral P, topical steroids for her feet because she chews and eye stuff for the goop, AND NOTHING IS WORKING. She has pustules which the doctor said was common with Atopic Dermitis and her belly skin is turning black with darker patches, which he said was due to age, but maybe not. I have to stop this madness for both of us. I am going to change her food again and her treats because they have oats. I'll give her Coconut Oil and use Ted's solution to bath her and use the ACV for the eyes and feet. I cannot see her this way and it's making me crazy.

I'll keep you posted. Just started today.

Thanks for all the postings. We love our animals and need to keep them comfortable.

Please make sure you are adding at least 40IU of vit E daily, otherwise the fish oil with spoil in the gut. Reasearch it.

I know this post is really old but this may help others - my dog has yeast infections in his ear and was 99% deaf - I had been giving him biscuits for treats - turns out he was allergic to the wheat/grains - about two weeks after I removed these from his diet the infection was gone and his hearing had returned to normal.

Our six year old mutt eats a raw meaty bone diet ("RMB", a combo of raw meat, raw bone and organs), and many health concerns other owners face have disappeared. She used to have eye infections and bad breath. We haven't seen an infection or cold in years, and her breath is absolutely neutral. Her teeth gleam. People mistake her for a younger dog. And never once has she had to have her glands expressed. I believe many of the skin problems people report here will disappear with this species-appropriate diet. Many allergies are due to grain found in kibble. Even grain-free kibble is highly processed. Feeding raw also provides our pup with the extreme satisfaction of ripping and gnawing. There are several books out there to learn about this diet, which can be frightening to many folks. It takes a little practice, and a freezer certainly helps. By getting familiar with cuts of meat I'd never heard of (tripe, turkey necks), we feed her for under $2/day. I was scared at first, but wouldn't dream of feeding any other way now. Best of luck to all!

One of my German Shepherds had an awful time with gooey ears, crusty lips & itching/scabs on her lower back & neck. Once I placed her on raw meat & bone diet all symptoms disappeared. It took about 3 months for her skin to heal. Suppose it took that long for the grains to get out of her system.

I have even tried grain-free food but, the crusty lips & ears start up again after one serving.

RMB diet works.

Also, food-grade DE is not harmful if mixed in food. I use it several times a year to clear intestinal parasites in my dogs. In fac, t I add it to my own smoothies. It's silica. Food-grade DE is used in the midwest to treat cows & hogs for parasites. It is perfectly safe. One has to take precaution not to allow the powder to enter the eyes or breath it in. Add to moist food or broadcast in the yard & lightly water into soil.

Use common sense when using DE.

Just wanted to comment on this: We experienced exactly the same problem with tea tree oil. We have a 108 lbs Newfoundland (big dog) who has skin problems. Several months ago I had the bright idea of applying some tea tree oil on his skin, without doing any further research. Trust me that was not smart and a very scary experience. I applied maybe 7 or 8 drops of tea tree oil to a cotton ball and rubbed it on the spots that bothered him. Within an hour our big boy had trouble getting up and walking. He literally walked like a drunk and very soon did not want to walk or get up at all. After calling the emergency vet and they did not know anything about tea tree oil, one of the vet techs recommended to wash him with dawn dishwashing liquid to get the oil out of his coat (makes sense, they do the same for birds that are covered in oil). So we did - it helped but it took a total of at least 24 hours for our dog to be back on his feet.

I did look this problem up online afterwards and yes it is a neurotoxin to dogs, so be very careful with it. Some dogs may be ok but I would never ever try this again on any of my animals. So just because something works on humans does not mean it has the same effect on animals, and I usually trust tea tree oil.

I don't know what you feed your beloved pet, but I venture to say that his diet is most likely the cause of his issues. The following links can provide some insight. At the first link, download the Rex Healthy foods happy dogs (or all of them as I have). Veeeery interesting [EC: Link/website no longer exists]. Gets down to the nitty gritty-valuable information.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawpetfood.html

My dog is a 4yr old husky and pit mix has a very bad scratching problem. He does not have fleas nor ticks. We pay good money to prevent that. But the thing with his scratching is that as soon as I let him outside to take care of business before he takes care of business he will drag his stomach all across the grass. Sometimes he does this from the front of the yard to the back of the yard. It can be a bit much for me to watch him go through this. He has scratched so much he does have a few abrasions and hot spots. So I hoping the ACV remedy will help. At one pet the vet gave me some meds to an extent they were helping but not enough in my eyes. I dont want him to be on meds the rest of his life either. Well I really do appreciate earth clinic for there chat boards. I hope this will help my dog.

We wanted to thank all of you that have posted about curing "allergies" in dogs. We have a 7 yo Lab who has suffered immensely for the last 4-5 years from what we are told are allergies. Itching constantly with sores all over his body. We even tried the expensive allergy shots and daily prednisone steroid. Nothing helped. It's gotten worse over the last year too.

We found your posts and started giving him daily Apple Cider Vinegar spray on his skin with half water mix, twice daily. We also give him about 1/4 cup of plain yogurt in his food twice a day. He used to smell like yeast, he was dx with a yeast infection a month ago. He had a yellowish color that would come off his skin in the shower from it. Within a few days we started noticing less itching and the smell went away. We have been doing this remedy for two weeks now and it's a true miracle!! He itches maybe a few times a day now, if at all. His sores are healing and going away and his skin is clearing up. He no longer smells too. We are amazed that we have spent thousands on curing him and the Dr never mentioned this remedy. He is like a new dog. More energy and sleeping through the night!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who posted on this!! WE and our dog appreciate it and are forever grateful!!!

An even better choice of oil for dogs and cats is fish oil! Dogs and cats are carnivores, and do not process plant matter efficiently. Their bodies can use the omegas in fish oil much more efficiently. Since my dogs have been on fish oil their coats are super soft and shiney!

Hi Julie, you are right wormers flea treatments are just poisons for the animals. I just dealing with hot spots and massive hear loss with my two golden retriever! Every thing looks great and in a day or two they get very bad, especially the old boy - 11 years. Bathing ACV with some borax hidrogene peroxyde. With Herbal shampoo give them big bath, with 15/20 min. Living with shampoo.. After the bath even worse! Then I go to the vet and buy Advocate from Bayer - flea and fam. killers! So I make down my dogs for couple of days especually the old one! I fill very bad! I stop to consult vet's ( in Thailand where I live now, no holistic vet or some who accept RAW food ) for least two years. Just week or two two dogs was in excellent shape, skin and overal health was pretty good! Appreciate any help! Thank you and god bless

Hello everyone,

There are a few general food companies I would recommend. First, cats and dogs should be eating wet food, not dry. The food should be holistic, human-grade and meat based too. I recommend Evo, Innova and Wellness. All lines have grain free, meat based and age related formulas.

If your cat has severe crystals or UTI problems, I recommend Wysong Uretic, which is specifically for urinary tract and crystal formation support.

Not sure but I have 25 lb. Shih Tzu's & I give them 1/4 to 1/3 of a tablet of "1 Billion Organisms per caplet at time of manufacture" Acidophilus Dietary Supplement.

I guesstimated the dosage based on other internet stuff I read on what people gave their dogs. It's good to help the healthy bacteria in the gut flourish & fight yeast infections... like my dog gets in his ear.

I was putting it in cheese, but I think I will switch to those "pill pockets" or peanut butter cuz of my dog's constant ear infection... I think from the dairy he gets now--I've been putting his meds in string cheese.

Hopefully it will help someone...

Hi, Laura, although your vet may have great credentials he maybe of the opinion that only drugs etc are the answer. In my opinion, your English Pointer needs his immune system boosting. Avoid booster jabs, wormers and flea treatments, these are just poisons your dog cannot cope with. Your food sounds good but try adding tumeric, cayenne pepper, ground flax seed (organic)@1tsp per cup of food, organic coconut oil, ester C@100mg per 10lbs body weight(non acidic vit. C)and natural vit e @100 per 10lbs body weight also add a good probiotic all these will reduce the inflamation in autoimmune disease. No carciogenic airfreshers and sprays and try washing his bedding in natural soap ie. Soapnuts. Bathing your dog use an oatmeal shampoo and if hot spots occur brew a strong cup of tea and dissolve an aspirin dab on skin 3-5 times a day. This old fashioned remedy dries and disinfects. Then try Aloe or calendula cream. Hope this helps.

Hi, I refuse to use flea treatments such as frontline and advocate. Full of poisons. Same goes for wormers. Ivermectin is killing Collie and Collie cross breeds. The best natural treatment is sprinkling Cayenne pepper and Tumeric into my dogs food, no ticks or fleas. Another of God's little miracles.

We got two kittens only to find out that our 4 year old son was allergic. He would sneeze, cough, get congested, and his eyes would get swollen, puffy, and red. I started having him drink lukewarm chamomile tea when I read that it was a natural antihistamine. It seems to reduce his allergies significantly. When his eyes get swollen, I also apply a used chamomile tea bag to his eye/eyes. It brings down the swelling immediately.

I adopted a 22 lb. peekapoo in September 09. He had terrible skin allergies. Constantly scratching and licking his paws. The shelter where we adopted him from fed him store bought kibble. The main ingredient in this kibble was corn. I totally changed his diet to raw and also premium kibble (without, wheat, corn, soy or dairy). His allergies are about 85% better on this diet. I buy him raw frozen food (chicken or lamb medallions)at a pet supply store. I give him 3 medallions in the morning (with a little of the high quality kibble) and the same amount in the evening. It basically adds up to 1/2 cup morning and evening. I also add 1/4 tsp of organic aloe vera juice and 1/2 capsule of food enzymes for dogs to each meal because he also has a sensitive stomach. He is doing very well. The diet change has been going on for about 6 months. It takes patience and it is well worth seeing him so happy and healthy.

Thanks for your post. I am having a horrible time with food allergies and environment with my Maltese. Can you please let me know the name of the allergy test that you had done. I want to request it for my dog when I travel to Canada next month. I am suspecting most of the same allergies, also. Knowing what to serve her would be a great help in solving her problems.