I have meds from the vet for my dog’s seasonal allergies but does anyone know how I might boost her immune system so that she is not so affected? I.e, supplements, food choices, anything else? It is always this time of year, environmental, itchy skin and coat…
My childhood beagle had grass allergies, which were worse in the spring. We eventually found a food that helped her (I believe science diet for sensitive skin). It took a lot of trial and error. When it wasn’t allergy season she was never bad, but I think the minor food sensitivities + pollen just sent her immune system into overdrive. But we occasionally had to resort to using the “cone of shame” for a couple weeks in the spring to keep her from licking her little tummy raw. We tried vitamin E, for a couple years, but it didn’t really make a difference for her.
In addition to meds, we would wipe her down or even give her a quick belly and feet bath (just rinsing thoroughly with warm water) after going for walks, especially if she got into tall wet grass. When we did give her a real bath she got oatmeal shampoo and then double rinsed really thoroughly after shampooing, I think that helped a fair amount as well.
She did eventually grow out of them some, in her senior years we were able to switch foods pretty easily, and she really didn’t get reactive for the last 5 years or so of her life.
Best of luck to you and your dog. It’s so sad to see them itching themselves raw.
Paw soaks every time your dog comes in from outside to get the allergens off their feet. If mine is bad and itchy and feet get yeasty I’ll also use a spray of hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar with mother, and water (will use as paw soak or as a spray over his inner thighs and tummy where things get really bad). Bathe frequently during the high allergen times. You can do benadryl although it doesn’t work for every dog - talk to your vet about doseage. I’ve not had any luck with supplements helping serious allergies - I’ve tried krill oil, coconut oil, yucca, quercetin, etc… none worked for my guy who has really bad allergies. You can always try them and maybe they will work for yours?
One thing that sometimes helps in a flare up is a baking soda paste. You can do as a true paste or make it in a spray bottle to spray all over. For the paste you mix 1tbsp baking soda with a touch of water to get a consistency that you can spread and leave on your dog in their areas that are red/inflamed (not open wounds). After a few hours wash off your dog. Any dry baking soda that crumbles off can be vacuumed up. For the spray you mix 1tbsp baking soda and 8 oz water into a spray bottle. Shake before each use and spray where your dog is inflammed.
Our dog (Boxer) starts her day with a vigorous ear flapping and then prolonged scratching of her ear and jowels.
We resorted to Apoquel (she just needs onebhalf-pill dose every morning) and life is far simpler…but I’m not sure if it is good for ever – studies say it is. (?)
I was wondering if a little apple cider vinegar with mother dripped into her ear would help - anybody?
You can do an ACV drip into the ear. Combine equal parts ACV & water and drop about 10 drops in your dogs ear. Do not use if there are any open wounds from the scratching. You could also do the same and soak a cotton ball instead of the dropper and gently wipe around your dogs ear. Worth a try to see if it helps!
Honestly, my dog is going to be on Apoquel for life. There is just no way without it to make him comfortable. I can minimally relieve issues and try and prevent flare ups, but when he flares oh goodness he flares and no DIY home care is a match for Apoquel. I do vary my dosage based on symptoms and environmental factors (high pollen and already looking red = 1.5 pills, little to no symptoms for two days cut down to .5 pills) but can never go without giving him at least a half.
That is about where I am with our dog. She does seem fine on the Apoquel and it works so fast it’s like taking an Aspirin.
Half a pill is enough and she is 50#.
I think I will try the ACV but it will have to be administered deeper; the itch seems to come from waaaay within.
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If you do the drops it should work its way down the ear canal.
There is something that is supposed to help people’s immune system called the Buddig Diet which is essentially eating a cup of low fat organic low fat cottage cheese and 1-3 tablespoons of organic flax seed oil (obtainable at Trader Joe’s if you have one by you). That’s for people. I make shakes for the hubs and I every morning with that combined with shake mix and berries. It’s sort of an anti-cancer diet. I believe it helps our immune systems.
For my dogs… despite not knowing if it works… (and my vets have been given this info and never said a peep about it not being good) – I give them about a quarter of a cup of the organic low-fat cottage cheese and a tablespoon of flax oil (for the big one that the oil gives him gas I give him his flax in seed form) and mix it up with kibble for their night meal. They love it and their coats have been great. Does it help their immune system for sure? I don’t know. It doesn’t hurt, they digest it (except for the big one and the oil) fine. We have had too many die of cancer, so if it helps their immune system, that would be nice. We had a brindle boxer for a time, (now deceased) and I kid you not, that made his coat absolutely luminous. Prettiest brindle I’ve ever seen. With Rotties… black coats looks healthy and shiny, but they don’t have color so it’s not like the brindle. I believe cottage cheese is a different sort of milk product and dogs do not have problems digesting it. Ours do not have gas and Rotties are known for killer gas, so I believe I’m feeding them well, if that’s a sign of decent digestion. Ours sleep around our bed… I can’t have them have bad gas!!! I wouldn’t be able to sleep! Ha!
We have two currently that have issues certain time of the year with allergies. I give them 4-5 Benadryls in melted cheese twice a day to make sure the allergies don’t progress to hot spots and/or ear infections… and then they need to get a vet visit and stronger meds. Dogs need a lot more Benadryl than humans (isn’t that weird?) The 138 lb one gets 5 Benes and the 85 lb gets 4. The 85 lb girl really has allergies worse than the boy though.
As an aside re Benadryl: For bee stings I keep it on hand (in liquid form) -
5 ml per every 10#.
Our 50# Boxer got stung this week on her foot - within a few minutes I had dosed her and she did not swell or get itchy:
Saved the day.
But day to day she gets Apoquel.
I third the Apoquel. SO many people suggested going grain free, which we actually tried (and it didn’t work). I told my best friend (a vet) that we were trying it and she told me not to waste my money. Benadryl is also not helpful for general allergies with dogs–the derm dept at UGA vet school now shows that all it does is make dogs drowsy…so they aren’t scratching, but it does nothing for the allergy.
Our pup has always been itchy, and its year round, and randomly gets more severe. Apoquel took him from an episode where he was scratching til he BLED, to being 80% better in 8 hours. My vet friend said theres also an injection we may be able to try. I cant remember info right now though.
Oh, just want to add, weekly or twice weekly oatmeal baths seem to help a little bit too!
Just make sure your dog isn’t allergic to oats (thus, oatmeal) 
Mine is and found out the hard way! I buy a shampoo from the vet that is an anti itch one and doesn’t have oatmeal or any other ingredient that would cause a reaction in my dog. Chewy sells some as well that I’m going to try out. None of them are all that expensive as I don’t bathe too regularly, mainly I do paw soaks and bathe maybe every month in the summer and as needed in the winter (only if there are allergy flare ups - rare in winter, mud puddle dirty messes, or he smells like he has rolled in something).
@AliCat518 if the injection you are thinking of is Cytopoint don’t waste your money. It did nothing for my dog and my vet up front let me know that for most cases of severe allergies it doesn’t seem to help that much. If you have the extra $$ to put towards it might be worth trying, but for me it ended up being $100ish flushed down the drain.
Our girl was put on Claritin. 1 tab a day helps her a lot, and it’s cheap to boot
My Bull Terrier with pink skin who rubbed himself raw was helped by shampoo that had ketakonozole (an anti-fungus) in it. Eventually, pre Apoquel days, he was put on prednisone which, despite any side effects, was the better of two evils.
(Mal-A-Ket from Entirely Pets)
Has anyone ever had a dog whose allergies manifested as respiratory discomfort/irritation? I know most dogs itch, but I have a young border terrier girl who has been sneezing and backwards sneezing since May or so. She’s seen the vet to make sure she hadn’t inhaled an irritant, and we’ve tried prednisone, Benadryl, and Zyrtec. Nothing has really given her relief so far. On bad days, she’s backward sneezing so much that it really interrupts her day and her participation in her dog sports. Wish we could find the right treatment to give the poor girl a break!
My seasonally itchy Corgi does great on Apoqel mid Sept to November. Similar experience with Cytpoint as @rockonxox, didn’t do a thing. Then had to wait several itchy weeks to start Apoquel.
I’ve had lots of success with a medicated shampoo called ProHex 2% that I get from my vet for my yeasty itchy environmental allergy dog. I did have to start with two baths (wrestling matches) per week and have scaled back to once weekly, but he hasn’t needed ANY steroids or antibiotics since starting it. His itching is almost non-existent now. And as a bonus, he smells pretty nice all the time now, too! Highly recommend giving it a try for the environmental allergy sufferers.
Interesting - I have a dachsie mix (border collie?) who is allergic to outdoor florida stuff. Fortunately he hasn’t gotten yeasty, just itch and red skin, some chewing, etc. Did the Apoquel route for several months, and it just didn’t seem to knock things down satisfactorily. Tried the Cytpoint injections and they have worked incredibly well - I can go close to two months between them. Even my vet was sort of surprised.
I use the Douxo Chlorhexidine 3% paw wipes and shampoo for my guy that work well. I mainly use the wipes when he starts to get yeasty and bath as needed. They help him recover from flare ups for sure, sadly not strong enough to only use those (but he has food + environmental issues including being allergic to human dander sigh). I want to try the mouse especially for his under belly area when it gets red and inflamed. Chewy carries this so it is pretty convenient and I’d definitely recommend it. Chlorhexidine Gluconate is the main ingredient in ProHex as well.
Thanks for the tip about the wipes- I’ll have to track down some for the winter and see if they can reduce the frequency of baths! Unfortunately he’s a super hairy Shih Tzu and takes about half a day to dry unless he’s just been clipped haha, so that might be a solution!
