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Health

A pup with allergies needs your help!

Hello Golden lovers!

Miley, one of the pups from a Wednesday Friendsday feature, is having some allergy issues and she needs your help! Her mom Jen wants to know if anyone else is having the same problems with their dog. Please read about the allergy issues Miley is having below, and comment on this post if you have had the same experience or have any advice for her. Thanks for your help!

Here’s what Jen wrote me:

Miley started itching about 6-7 months ago. Our normal Vet gave her a steroid injection and started her on Benadryl daily. This resolved her itching for about 2 months until one day we ran out of Benadryl and couldn’t get to the store. In that one day her allergies caught up to her and we could never get it under control again with just Benadryl (or any other antihistamine available over the counter). The Vet was reluctant to do another steroid injection due to the side effects of excessive steroid use.

This is when we took her to the Dermatologist. She had itched herself so badly that she had the red, pimple type bumps on her tummy (his was a Staph infection on her skin that was treated with antibiotics). The itching and licking had gotten so extreme that she was bleeding between her paws, under her armpits and on her belly.

The dermatologist started her on a low allergen diet to rule out a food allergy. For 6 weeks all she was allowed to eat was Rabbit and Potato (brutally painful for Miley who was accustomed to treats and bones on a regular basis).

She has now finished the diet and a food allergy has been ruled out because she is still extremely itchy. Miley was also treated for parasites with an antibiotic to rule out a parasite allergy. So now we are left with environmental allergies…

My question, and point in rambling on, is…Has anyone ever had their dog allergy tested? If so I’d love to hear from someone who has. I’m wondering if it is worth it? Not only from a financial aspect but also from the results aspect. Has anyone been successful in pinpointing an actual allergen in the environment and treating for this specific allergen?

It sounds like the allergy testing and desensitizing is a long drawn out process (sometimes 1-2 years to actually see results). Are long term steroids a better option? I’ve heard that the steroids have horrible long term consequences…

We want to make the most informed decision possible and do what is right for Miley so any input is appreciated!

Categories
Health

Swollen Face from Allergic Reaction

Last weekend we had a bit of a scare with Roxy. She was fine when we woke up, had a nice morning walk, and her usual breakfast. I left for a quick trip to the grocery store, and when I came back Roxy greeted me at the door. But, it didn’t look like our Roxy – her face was so swollen! She almost looked like a cartoon version of herself – her muzzle had at least doubled in size, and the rest of her face (around her eyes, forehead, and cheeks) were really, really puffy. She wasn’t acting like she was in pain at all, but I FREAKED OUT! (I apologize for not having photos to show you – I was in such a panic! Didn’t even think of it!) Brad calmed me down.. after doing some quick research online we discovered it’s pretty common. Online forums suggested that we give her Benadryl, so I rushed to Walgreens to buy some.

Within five minutes of giving her one 25mg tablet of Benadryl (basic over-the-counter Benadryl pills), the swelling drastically went down.We gave her 1 more tablet about 6 hours later because she was still a little swollen, and when she woke up the following morning she was back to herself again. (Note: Online resources suggested to give 1 mg of Benadryl per pound that the dog weighs. We only gave Roxy one 25mg tablet and it worked just fine even though she’s nearly 3 times that. I’d be safe and start with small doses).

Although we’re not sure what caused this reaction, it’s very likely that it was a bee sting. Roxy does this thing where she nips at bees that buzz by her. I think this time she finally caught one!! Hopefully she learned her lesson. But just in case, I will always make sure to have Benadryl in my medicine cabinet!

Here are some pictures I found online of other dogs that looked similar to Roxy

Swollen Face from bug bite

Has this ever happened to your dog? I would have taken her to the vet, but like I mentioned before she was acting normal – she just looked like Sloth from “The Goonies”! 🙂

"Heeeey yooooou guuuuuuys!!"