Allergies and lab retriever

I have a chocolate lab that has had issues with allergies. She starts out with itching around her eyes, muzzle and ears. She usually goes on prednisone during the summer months. The vet seems to think it's caused by something around the yard. Although it seems to be seasonal, I'm thinking of changing her feed, to see if that may be a contributing factor. She has been on TLC from the get go. The breeder started her on this food. Has anyone had similar allergies in their labs, and what would be a good food alternative to try ??

Put her on a grain free kibble to determine if that is the cause. Lots of them on the market today. Lots of dogs seem to have these issues and sometimes switching to a grain free will help.

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Originally Posted by yellow dog

Put her on a grain free kibble to determine if that is the cause. Lots of them on the market today. Lots of dogs seem to have these issues and sometimes switching to a grain free will help.

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Thanks for the info, I'll try that !

Same problems with my setters from May to Oct. Grain free didn't make any difference. It's ome plant in the bush or grass oozing oils.
I use Benadryl . It helps a lot. Less risky than prednisone.

edited : I'm not saying you shouldn't try grain free; just saying it didn't change things for my dogs.

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Same problems with my setters from May to Oct. Grain free didn't make any difference. It's ome plant in the bush or grass oozing oils.
I use Benadryl . It helps a lot. Less risky than prednisone.

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Thats what we have been thinking...obvious environmental issue. How much benedryl and how often do you give ?
I have tried it, but it doesn't seem to help much.

I'm not a vet but : It is administered by giving 1 milligram for every pound of a dog’s weight after every 8 hours or three times per day.

I buy it in liquid form at Walmart for 1/2 the price of tablets. My dogs give me a hard time when administering tablets. (Yes I tried everything. You can put it in a wiener etc and they will still spit it out.

Thanks Sharon..I'll try that before I change her diet .

I have had nothing but allergy related issues (ear infections) and licking of paws
with my chocolate and i am happy to say since he is now 100 % on grain free food and treats i have not had an issue with him....i have switched him to Natures Choice made by Kirkland from Costco.....he adapted quite well to the new food and his coat/ears look great not to mention his shedding has slowed down tremendously.....grain free is a simple cost effective way to try first before doing expensive testing from a vet.....good luck

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Originally Posted by Deerslayer99

I have had nothing but allergy related issues (ear infections) and licking of paws
with my chocolate and i am happy to say since he is now 100 % on grain free food and treats i have not had an issue with him....i have switched him to Natures Choice made by Kirkland from Costco.....he adapted quite well to the new food and his coat/ears look great not to mention his shedding has slowed down tremendously.....grain free is a simple cost effective way to try first before doing expensive testing from a vet.....good luck

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I have to agree with you it's well worth trying the grain free in conjunction with an over the counter product such as benedryl if needed.

I would suggest that you may want to check with your vet. There are some foods available for dogs with allergies.

you could also do some allergy test through your vet and actually find out what your dog has issues with then change diet and treat as needed properly.

Thanks for all the information. She has been to the vets on an ongoing basis. The thoughts are, it's an environmental issue, as she is much worse during the summer months. Of course, they brought up the allergy tests, but I'm hoping to get a handle on this, and make sure it's not a dietary issue first.

Save yourself time, hassle and money and your dog going through yo-yo diet blends and potential discomfort. My current girl was put on so many 'holistic' and 'natural' 'sensitive' blends....she was always allergic to one or more ingredients. It is difficult to do a true diet elmimination. Go get an allergy test done.

+3 for getting the allergy testing done. We fiddled around buying different foods for a couple of years, and could have saved the dog a lot of suffering if we had just done the testing first. She has food allergies, but also has grass, tree and animal allergies. It is a very difficult ailment to control, and I wish breeders would choose against it when deciding which bloodlines to combine, although I don't really know how heritable the allergy trait is. I was approached by a stud owner who wanted to use our yellow lab female for breeding and I told him that she was a great dog, sound in every way except for her "deal breaker" allergies. He replied that he didn't care about that and it was too bad I had spayed the dog. Nah.

Good luck finding help for your dog. We doctored for a long time before I requested and got allergy testing. I think our vet would have been happy to continue exams, advice and prescriptions which didn't help. $$$

My brother did the same thing with the allergy testing and the vet wanted to do a whole list of other testing prior to allergy testing. It cost him a small fortune with tons of prescriptions ,shampoos . His lab was also allergic to a variety of similar things such as grass, trees, corn, etc. His dog still has complications but at least he found a food that agreed with his dog.

Allergy testing generally isn't that helpful for diagnosing a food allergy. The results of intradermal or blood testing for allergies don't correlate well to what the dog may react to for dogs with food allergies.
Generally "allergy testing" is recommended after a food allergy has been ruled out by an elimination dietary trial.
The purpose of skin or blood sample allergy testing is that with the results, a custom immunotherapy product or "allergy shots" can be made based on the individual dogs reaction. Immunotherapy is usually only part of the treatment plan and many dogs with environmental allergies or atopic dermatitis will still need some medication to manage things in addition to the immunotherapy.
Allergic dogs can be a challenge to diagnose and treat as they can have a combination of food allergies, seasonal allergies, atopy, skin barrier defects, and bacterial or yeast infections that also cause itching.

There's a new product hopefully due soon to be released in Canada by Zoetis called Apoquel. It been a game changer in the US for treating dogs with allergies as it works by blocking the pathways that create inflammation in the skin and preventing nerve stimulation that creates the "itch". It's not a steroid or an antihistamine and works for both skin and food allergies.
It was so popular in the States when it was released 2 years ago that it quickly went on backorder and the company is now getting enough inventory supply again to launch it in the Canadian market.

https://www.zoetisus.com/bmst-minisi...uel/index.aspx

Good info be2man and hopefully this product is soon released in Canada. It will save many dog owners lots of money trying to alleviate the "itch" and the back and forth switching dog foods. My brother's lab after many years of suffering looked like alligator skin on his underbelly from years of suffering. Very sad as i see more and more dogs with this issue.

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Originally Posted by be2man

Allergy testing generally isn't that helpful for diagnosing a food allergy. The results of intradermal or blood testing for allergies don't correlate well to what the dog may react to for dogs with food allergies.
Generally "allergy testing" is recommended after a food allergy has been ruled out by an elimination dietary trial.
The purpose of skin or blood sample allergy testing is that with the results, a custom immunotherapy product or "allergy shots" can be made based on the individual dogs reaction. Immunotherapy is usually only part of the treatment plan and many dogs with environmental allergies or atopic dermatitis will still need some medication to manage things in addition to the immunotherapy.
Allergic dogs can be a challenge to diagnose and treat as they can have a combination of food allergies, seasonal allergies, atopy, skin barrier defects, and bacterial or yeast infections that also cause itching.

There's a new product hopefully due soon to be released in Canada by Zoetis called Apoquel. It been a game changer in the US for treating dogs with allergies as it works by blocking the pathways that create inflammation in the skin and preventing nerve stimulation that creates the "itch". It's not a steroid or an antihistamine and works for both skin and food allergies.
It was so popular in the States when it was released 2 years ago that it quickly went on backorder and the company is now getting enough inventory supply again to launch it in the Canadian market.

https://www.zoetisus.com/bmst-minisi...uel/index.aspx

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Really appreciate your contribution here. Thanks.

Thank you be2man, I will be asking our vet about this as soon as possible. Our dog's itchiness has flared up badly in the last week; now she has both elbows oozing and is about to chew her feet off. This time of year the plants outdoors really get to her, even with the precautions we take. Yikes.