I think our B is sick

[luzmery928]

Last night we noticed our B was scratching alot. He's going through his dry stage or at least that's what I thought. We had been in the park earlier that morning and had some dry doggie druel from the other dogs on his fur, plus he had rolled in some kind of dirt so we figuered we need to give him a bath. We did not have doggie shampoo so we used our's. Anyway 5 min. after the bath he started scratching again and then began to jump like if he was being bit or was being stung, he started running around the house and crying. He looked at us like please help me. I began scratching him and he loved it, but when I would stop he got all paniky again. We were going to take him to the emergency vet but decided to give him benadyl. After coming back from the store he looked better so we did not give him the benadryl but about 1am he started again, so we gave him 1 pill. It took about 45min to kick in all the way our B was in such distress. He finally laid down and went to sleep until 5am when he started with the whole thing again. My husband is taking him to the vet in 15min and we are worried. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[basenjishunt]

You did the right thing. Time to go to the VET!! I have not heard of dry skin being that distressing to a dog. Allergic reactions to chemicals can be acute however. What does the skin on his belly look like? I'm sure the vet will be able to help.- Tim

[nomrbddgs]

Let us know what happened, please! This time of year could be a bug bite!

[luzmery928]

Well the bottom of his belly has little pink spots..now did he have this before? I swear next time I'm going to take pictures of every little part of their bodies because my memory is so poor. All I saw a little wotm on the bed. Checked his poop this morning nothing, but then he could have dragged it in or maybe it fell from the ceiling. I will keep you posted.

[luzmery928]

Yes I just hope he didn't get worse due to the human shampoo, guess that wasn't smart move.

[basenjishunt]

He'll be fine… they're resilient little creatures.

[luzmery928]

O.k we've got the verdict. He's allergic (like his human mommy) to pollen, grass, etc. Tha't insane, a dog allergic to grass. Thank God he is fine now and he'll be on cortizon meds and got a cortizon shot so he'll be able to enjoy the outdoors. I tell you even though it was costly, I'm glad he's fine and nothing more seriouse happened like a severe allergic reaction that might have had dier consequences.

[basenjishunt]

Great news!!! Just like having a human kid, is it not?…..

[luzmery928]

Yeap except I can't put him on my medical ins.

[nomrbddgs]

Good, I'm glad to hear it's an allergy-and not something worse! Up here I get the vet to assign the meds to me then go to the pharmacy. It's cheaper than the vets even when I have to pay!

[luzmery928]

good ideas for next time although the cost issue here is due to the allery test. They took blood test to see exactly what he's allergic to. Going to definetly look into ins. plans.

[luzmery928]

Well the results are in and our B is allergic to almost everything under the sun. To make a quick list of my major concerns which deal with food:Barley, poultry mix, carrots, green peas, corn, kelp, soybean…what now? any suggestions on food Of course the vet suggested some rabbit thing that we can only purchase from them so wanted to check with any of you to see if you might have some words of advise.

[tanza]

There are a number of foods available that are straight meat…. Is Potato on the list? Try www.wysong.net and see what they have to offer… also there are rabbit and sweet potato or Venison and potato....

[luzmery928]

great. I guess I'm being too dramatic it's due to the fact that I have 2 bags of dry food and about 5 cans of wet food all with the listed no no foods. Well at least we can live with his allergies, not really a big deal. I also think now that we switch his food his coat might get that nice brown/reddish shine it used to have and maybe the shedding will cease a bit. I'll tell you though this B is a whole lot of work, in every way manageable. The little brat is lucky he's so darn cute and we love him so much.

[tanza]

My youngest, now 12 has a terrible allergy to corn… she would rip the pads on her paws, dig like crazy on the rug (in order to scratch the pads) rub her ears, twitch them all the time... especially directly after eating... she was a mess until we figured out it was corn... once we stopped that she was fine.. however, she does have allergies to other things, just nothing like the corn... most grains she does have problems with.... she is fine with all meat and rice also... That is how I started with California Natural food and at that time I used Chicken and Rice... that was the only grain type product. Over the years she is not as bad, except for the corn....

[tanza]

Another food to look at is EVO, it has no grains at all….

http://www.evopet.com/

[basenjishunt]

IVD food is available from the vet. I use it. There's rabbit, duck and potato, venison,,,etc. The ingredients have no extra stuff that can irritate allergies…

[luzmery928]

Basenjihunt that is the food my vet suggested. Good maybe we will go that route since it's just down the block. If you don't mind, how much do you pay?

[luzmery928]

I went to the pet store yesturday hoping to find some food that doesn 't contain the allergens but everything contains carrots and peas. Wanted to get some snacks and sure enough they all contain soy which our little one is also allergic too. Wanted to get some doggie bones, pig ears..didn't have the ingredients listed so didn't want to take a chance. I will be ordering the IVD food from the vet but now what about the treats. I'll start giving him some turkey hot dogs for snacks, cheese, but what about store bout treat, any suggestions?

[basenjishunt]

Depends on how much work you want to do, but I take some cheap supermarket chicken breasts, put them on a sheet pan with a little garlic powder sprinkled over them. Slow cook them at about 200-250 degrees, cut them up into chunks, freeze them, or just refrigerate. They'll go nuts over them!!!:)