Q. My Lab/Husky developed an allergy.. My vet put him on Benadryl for 2 weeks and it helped drastically. It’s back. Ok to put him on a permanen…

ANSWER : A. For every flea you see on your pet, there are 100 more in the environment. Get your pet on a good topical or oral flea control through your vet. In flea control, you get what you pay for. Consider asking your vet for a dose of Capstar. It helps get the problem under control by killing the fleas on the pet starting in five minutes but only lasts for 24 hours.

You need to treat your home environment. If you use a pest control service, tell them you are having a flea problem and they can adjust their treatment. Use a premise spray that also contains an IGR, insect growth regulator. This keeps eggs and larvae from maturing into adults and helps break the life cycle. Also, vacuum EVERY DAY, throwing out the bag or emptying the canister every time into an outside receptacle and spraying the contents with insecticide to kill the fleas you’ve vacuumed up.

Treat your yard too, since fleas are opportunistic and will hop a ride into your home on your pant leg without you knowing it. Concentrate on areas under bushes, in the shade. Fleas are less likely to be located in open sunny areas where it gets hot.

If chemicals are a problem, you can use borax. Sprinkle it into rugs, into corners and under furniture, use a broom to work it into the fibers and let it sit for hours, days even. It won’t hurt you or your pet to have it present. Then vacuum it up, reapply as needed. Food grade diatomaceous earth can be gotten from a health food store and worked into the rugs and corners in the same way as borax. These treatments aren’t as fast and effective as chemical insecticides but they can help.

You might want to consider boarding your pet for the day at your vet, to give you the opportunity to flea bomb your house without having to worry about your pet being exposed. They can bathe your pet and give a dose of Capstar while you treat your home.

Be patient, you may have to repeat these steps multiple times 10-14 days apart to help break the flea life cycle.

Skin problems can have a variety of causes, sometimes more than one. It is important to have the problem checked by your vet to determine if there is a medical cause for your pet’s skin issues and treat accordingly.

In pets of all ages, fleas, food allergies and exposure to chemical irritants such as cleaners and soaps can be a cause. Any one of these may not be enough to trigger the breakouts, depending on how sensitive your pet is, but a combination can be enough to start the itch-scratch cycle. Finding out the cause and eliminating it is the best course of action. With flea allergies, if your pet is sensitive enough, a single bite can cause them to break out scratch enough to tear their skin.

Check for fleas with a flea comb. Look for fleas and/or tiny black granules, like coarse black pepper. This is flea feces, consisting of digested, dried blood. You may find tiny white particles, like salt, which are the flea eggs. Applying a good topical monthly flea treatment and aggressively treating your house and yard will help break the flea life cycle.

If you use plastic bowls, this is a possible cause for hair loss, though this tends to be on the chin, where their skin touches the bowl while they eat. If you suspect this to be the culprit, try changing the bowls to glass, metal or ceramic.

Food allergies are often caused by sensitivity to a protein in the food. Hill’s Science Diet offers some non-prescription options for sensitive skin as well as prescription hypoallergenic foods for more severe cases. Royal Canin carries limited protein diets that may also offer some relief. Your vet can recommend a specific diet that will help.

If there is no relief or not enough, consider getting your pet checked by a veterinary dermatologist and having allergy testing done.

ANSWER : A. Do you live in a region where fleas are prevalent. Where I live the fleas are truly horrible, and I see many animals developing a flea allergy. This usually presents as relentless itching especially at the base of the tail, although it can be all over the body. Often on exam I won’t find a single flea, just red bumps, hair loss and itching. In response, I will start animals on an oral steroid such as prednisone (I think your doctor has administered an injectable steroid), while at the same time bathing the animal and starting on an oral flea preventative such as Comforts which I then re dose at 3 weeks instead of 4. Additionally, the environment needs to be decontaminated- flea bombing the house, vacuuming often and washing bedding on hot. The flea life cycle is short, however, so this needs to be one frequently as they will just continue to hatch in your home. Most importantly, I tell my clients, that any steroid (oral or injectable) does not fix the problem, but rather suppress your dogs reaction to it thereby making them more comfortable. Just the steroid alone changes nothing except giving them a brief break from their symptoms.

Now that I have spoken in depth about flea allergy, there is a potential that it is something else. Food allergies are slow to develop, and slow to change. If you wanted to eliminate a potential food allergy I would switch to a novel protein, limited ingredient diet. For example, lamb as the protein source if your previous food was always chicken or beef, and in a formula with very limited ingredients such as lamb, rice and veggies. A pet store should be able to help you with this. While on this diet they cannot have any additional treats for 1 month, to see if you have eliminated the allergy. From an Eastern Medical perspective, I also recommend novel proteins that are “cool”, such as fish, lamb, or duck while avoiding “warm” foods such as beef, chicken, pork.

Finally, all animals with allergies should be on an Omega 3 supplement. Given regularly, this can help reduce overall inflammation in the body both in the skin, joints, and other tissues. Good for allergies, arthritis and overall health. My dogs are on fish oils, but one of my dogs who is allergic to fish gets flax oil instead. I would be happy to consult with you further, but I hope this helps to some degree.

ANSWER : A. Finding out what he’s allergic too and minimizing or eliminating the cause is the best course of action for your dog’s health in the long run. However there is no known detrimental effect associated with long term benadryl use in dogs.

ANSWER : A. Licking the feet and legs can be caused by a number of things in dogs including allergies, illness or even stress behaviors. Allergies are the most common in dogs, with yeast infections coming in second. Allergies can cause the area to become red and itching, making your dog want to lick and chew on them. Over time, the area may become stained from saliva, especially in lighter or white-coated dogs. Yeast infections are also common between the toes, and may cause a smelly “corn chip” smell to appear near your dog’s feet. Again, dogs will attempt to lick and chew to relieve the itch. Keeping the feet clean and dry can help relieve both allergies and infections and pet wipes or a baby wipe of all paws when your dog comes in from outdoors may also help. Keeping your dog from licking the space with either dog booties or an Elizabethan collar is also good as it will prevent secondary infection and staining of the paws and legs. If your dog is determined to keep licking and keeping the feet clean and dry do not help, then your vet can help by providing a medication to treat any infection or provide relief of allergies.

ANSWER : A. This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites.

First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat her with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get her to the vet to perform a skin scrape – this might revile an infection or a mite infestation.

If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy.

Some medications can be given by the vet in order to stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months.

There is also a nice topical spray available if the problem remains in the groin area, it’s called Cortavance and you can get it at the vets.

Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

ANSWER : A. Dermatitis can be caused by a number of things in dogs ranging from allergies, skin infections caused by bacteria or fungus, skin dryness from changes in the weather or too frequent bathing or even from external parasites. Determining the cause of the dermatitis first is best before treating it.

If allergies are thought to be the cause, allergy medication can be given to help relieve symptoms. Your vet can provide you with the correct dosage for your dog’s size of over the counter medications. In more serious cases, stronger allergy medications may need to be prescribed. For dry or flaky skin, using a shampoo that is for sensitive skin or oatmeal based can help soothe it. Lowering the frequency of baths and instead using a pet wipe or baby wipe to keep your dog clean will also help sooth the skin. For external parasites, starting on a preventive treatment plan of flea and tick medication will help stop fleas from biting and allow the skin to heal.

If you suspect a more serious causes such as bacterial or fungal infection, or your dog does not improve with treatment, making a wellness check with your vet is best. Your vet can thoroughly examine the skin and may also recommend additional tests to check for any underlying causes such as infection, hormonal imbalance or illness.

ANSWER : A. This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites.

First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat her with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape – this might revile an infection or a mite infestation.

If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy.

Some medications can be given by the vet in order to stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months.

There is also a nice topical spray available if the problem remains on a specific area only, it’s called Cortavance and you can get it at the vets.

Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

ANSWER : A. Call your vet back and explain your concerns. Sometimes itching at the ears could also be a food allergy. Ask your vet if they think it could be a food allergy and what they would recommend. Your cat more than likely eats a mainly corn and/or chicken diet. Higher quality foods are grain-free which could also help. Maybe try switching to a food with the main ingredient of duck. When your pet has a food allergy you must not give them anything but their specific food (Such as duck only canned and kibble diet). If you’d like to investigate it further with your vet you can ask to do an allergy test to see what your cat is specifically allergic to.