By Admin on Nov 28, 2009 in Medicine
My dog has really base inhaled allergies and is getting hot spots everywhere. My doctor said to give him two 25mg tablets of benadryl twice a day. This is not helping and I was wondering what other allergies medicines can I give my dog (ones that I can buy over-the-counter)?
Thanks!
He definitely has inhaled allergies and not food or flea allergies. It is seasonal and has been getting worse as it has been getting closer to summer. I put Sulfodene on the active spots, which clears them up pretty quick, but I want to prevent them from appearing in the first place. Other then that, I put antiseptic on his underside twice a day and have just started bathing him twice a week (up from once every two weeks, which is the normal routine).
Mostly, the raised, red and moist spots are on his underbelly and chest, but he has scales and crusty patches (not the oozing red sort) all over his back too. Yesterday, a large red spot appeared on his ear, which has got me worried that it is spreading to his face.
He is a 8 year-old black lab and this is the first summer it has been this bad (mild symptoms last year and never before that). He’s inside most of the day, gets walked for about an hour five times a week and is at a healthy weight.
I’m pretty desperate for a solu
I did some further research and have discovered that there are three kinds of OTC allergy medicines recommended for dogs:
1) Diphenhydramine (a.k.a. Benadryl®):
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/diphenhydramine-benadryl/page1.aspx
2)Chlorpheniramine Maleate (a.k.a. Chlor-Trimeton®):
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/chlorpheniramine-maleate-chlor-trimeton/page1.aspx
3) Clemastine (Antihist-I® , Dayhist®, Tavist® ):
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/clemastine-antihist-i-dayhist-tavist/page1.aspx
It should be noted that while Tavist is recommended for a dog, Tavist-D is not (the "D" stands for decongestant and shouldn’t be given to animals. So get just regular ol’ Tavist.)
The links provide a lot of information about these medicines including dosage info.
I have started washing and putting Gold Bond powder all over my dog’s underbelly twice a day and this has helped a lot. Alot use triple anti-biotic ointment on the open sores.
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No sense giving a medication if it’s not working..
I would change the food and put applecider vinegar in the drinking water before I would even think of giving Benedryl.. I don’t give the dogs anything that they don’t absolutely need.. I don’t like the mentality of certain vets that think pets are guinea pigs and send everyone home saying ‘ try this ‘ If it’s not going to work for sure.. Don’t give it.. You would be better off to get rid of the allergen than to medicate the symptoms.
DP | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
Could he also have some sort of food allergy going on? Many dogs are allergic to the ingredients in low quality dog foods. I don’t know what you feed, but he may need a change in diet as well as the benadryl.
tbjumper0514 | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
our dog gulps down sudafed. he loves it when we feed him a couple, then after an hr. or less stops sneezing and wheezing. he’s allergic to dust and mold, sand and grass
deirdrefaith | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
I have given my dog children allergy medicine. You can try one and see if it helps.
S R | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
If the Benadryl isn’t working, I’d talk to your vet again and ask if there is an alternative he’d recommend. My vet has recommended Tavist-D as an alternative to Benadryl, but I really think you should always check with your vet before trying a new medicine.
Buddy28 | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
Call the vet and ask… but if it’s that bad, antihistamines may not be strong enough. He may need steroids to calm it down. Better to try the antihistamines first, because they don’t have the side effects that steroids do, but the steroids hit MUCH harder. Definitely better to avoid the allergens if you can, but sometimes that’s not possible.
lizzy | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
Any of the human OTC allergy meds should help but if he has hot spots the pet store has a spray that works really good on them. You just spray it on and it starts working against the itching right away. Have your vet check to make sure he doesn’t have some sort of allergy to fly or flea bites as well which will cause itching and hot spots. Make sure you are also feeding a good quality food and he is not getting any human food which he may react to. It could be corn allergies if he is getting this all after he eats.
sun_and_moon_1973 | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
My yellow Lab has bad allergies and like your they are not food. I tried everything the vet told me to including steriods. All of them did not work and had side effects. I feed my dog all natural foods so I decided to start using holistic care. Trust me it really works, and there are NO side effects. It does take a while to build in the system but it is worth it. I go to an all natural pet store but you can also go to the web, http://www.azmira.com. They make Allerg’ Free and you use that with Yucca Intensive. My dog has no side effects has been a 100 times better. He also had sore from itching and I started to use Richards Organic Incredible Skin Spray. It stops any itching and has natural antibiotic properties that help clear up infection. Keep it in the refrig and it instantly cools and relieves itching. Omega 3 supplements also help with allergies and coat/skin. I tried everything else for over a year and they did nothing for my dog. I started this and he is doing great and feels alot better.
TritanBear | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply