[sully]

Just a general question about allergies, has anyone had success with going to the vet for this kind of stuff?  Oggie has had mild allergies all winter, I think it's a dust/environmental thing but I can't know for sure.  I hoped it would just go away but he gets excess tears from the eyes, often thick, and he almost always has a runny nose that runs clear.  It's always worst in the morning when he wakes up, it seems to get better as the day goes on.  I've tried benadryl a couple of times but never really improved much. Other than the obvious signs he's fine, eating and drinking and healthy and playful.  I made an appointment next week but I thought maybe I should read up before I go in before they try to make me buy some medication I never heard of.  Can they do allergy testing at the vet? Any stories or suggestions are appreciated!

 

[HannaBanana]

Dont even get me on allergies!!  I just bought a new vaccume to pick up dander.  Our house is very dusty and think the root of Hanna's alergies are resulting from carpet dander.  Until she goes out and gets herself a job to contribute to the cost of hard wood flooring, we are just gonna have to wait.

I do many of things for her alergies.  I just got that Chinese Herb from the UK - only been on it for 5 days, so still going to take some time.  Adding more fish based ingreadients and echinacea to build up immune system.   She is on 100% raw.   We vaccume everyday.

So if and when I find a cure - I will def. let you know!!!     Poor Oggie, welcome to the itchy club!

 

[JettaAndOscar]

Jetta gets pretty bad allergies in the spring, mostly serious eye discharge.  The vet prescribed an ointment that I put in her eyes(she doesn't like it, but who can blame her) its called Neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and bacitracin zinc ophthalmic ointment.  I have a feeling you won't want to use something like that since you don't bathe your dog with doggy shampoo to avoid unnecessary chemicals.  There are a lot of chemicals right in the title of this ointment!

 

[sully]

I have mostly wood floors but it's still dusty in my house.  I mean we try to clean but you know how it goes. I think the heating system vents are dirty, I tried putting up filters but that can only do so much.  Forced air just pushes the dust around.   I was considering one of those HEPA air filters for the bedroom, I have read the good ones work for people so maybe they'd work for dogs too?  I know it's not a food issue because I've switched food a bunch of times and have been on 100% raw for a few weeks now.

Oggie already was on that neomycin stuff back in December when he seemed to have a bout of conjuncitivitis.  At least the vet and I thought thats what it was.  Actually, ever since then it seems like his eye issues never went away.  I talked to Sharon about it a bit and she thinks its allergies and suggested Visine-A which did seem to help a bit but the problem is still there.

I just have this feeling this is going to be a wasted trip to the vet.

 

[PhoenixsMom]

[quote="JettaAndOscar\";p=\"99044":1o5zumri]its called Neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and bacitracin zinc ophthalmic ointment.

 

[JettaAndOscar]

Besides Jetta's allergies above she also is allergic to Nylon and a lot of foods!  So, I understand the feeling of going to the vet is a waste some times.  When I took Jetta in for the neck thing it was pretty much this: "She's allergic to Nylon, goodbye"

 

[Barbs2Ks]

After all of my vet visits, we didn't find any causes but did rule out mites and skin infections.  Most of her problems cleared up after changing foods and not taking her out when there was dew on the ground (she got hives when in dewy grass).

 

[sully]

I've noticed this winter that Phoenix's eyes are always full of little eye-boogies and her nose is running alot but I think that might have something to do with our forced-air heat...which would make sense because we don't have it on in the summer and it blows dust and dirt around.

Yep, that sounds familiar!  I was hoping I could wait until spring/summer when we don't need the heat anymore, but I can't listen to him waking up every morning and sneezing like 10 times.  But then again, I'm not sure if anything can be given to remedy this.

 

[JettaAndOscar]

After all of my vet visits, we didn't find any causes but did rule out mites and skin infections.  Most of her problems cleared up after changing foods and not taking her out when there was dew on the ground (she got hives when in dewy grass).

i feel for you with the grass problem, my dalmatian that I had when I was younger was allergic to certain varieties of grass and she loved to roll in grass and she'd get stuff in her ears and then they'd have to put tubes in her ears to drain all the fluid out.  Thats how she got her nickname "tuber" she'd be walking around draining ear yuckiness as she went.

 

[Guest]

Sully I know your smart to your dog's diet, but ever since I changed Bruce's food, there has been no eye junk since.  From Canidae to Solid Gold.

It was very severe since December when first changed over, now we never see it.

 

[PhoenixsMom]

[quote="sully\";p=\"99054":36vpmxj7]I can't listen to him waking up every morning and sneezing like 10 times.

 

[Guest]

I notice the sneezing/snorting every morning.  Its usually 6 a.m., and you hear the head shake like he's soaking wet, followed by some 3 or 4 deep snorts.  Normal?

 

[sully]

I don't know, is it?  Every morning I wake up to the sound of him licking his own face.....which wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't licking the snot from his nose that runs like a faucet.  Then the sneezing and I try to shield myself with the blankets.  Yuck.  Then I look at his eyes and he has globs of yellow/green crap all over them.  I know I know, yellow/green is supposedly an indication of infection but he's been to the vet for that, it was treated, and it still continues without any eye redness so I'm at a loss.

 

[JettaAndOscar]

I don't know, is it?  Every morning I wake up to the sound of him licking his own face.....which wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't licking the snot from his nose that runs like a faucet.  Then the sneezing and I try to shield myself with the blankets.  Yuck.  Then I look at his eyes and he has globs of yellow/green crap all over them.  I know I know, yellow/green is supposedly an indication of infection but he's been to the vet for that, it was treated, and it still continues without any eye redness so I'm at a loss.

yellow/green is like Jetta's eye goobs!  And she eats them if she can, its pretty gross.

 

[sumyasmom]

allergies are such a pain! everytime i turn around sumya is alergic to something else.it really drives me crazy.i spend more time washing her blankets and preparing her food than i care to think about! hope oggie feels better!

 

[samsonsmom]

Sully, try the air purifiers, they really do help a lot..I'm considering them for our house as well

 

[sharonL]

It somewhat holds true with dogs, but not the exact same as in humans, dogs can handle a longer term use because their eyes tear more then human eyes....but........He was going to try it for a few days in a row and then reduce to once a week or as needed...It appears that it is not helping the underneath issue, but it can give relief if the eyes are red or itch.....



On allergy testing.....Yes it can be done and your vet should be able to either do it or refer you to someone who can....The only thing with it that I have found is that they come back allergic to so many things that they would have to become "the bubble dog" to get away from them.

 

[sully]

You never mentioned if Oggie scratch's or if it is just "head cold" type items???

Thanks for the info Sharon.  He doesn't scratch at all or have any skin issues that I can tell, he will rub his eyes from time to time to get the junk out, but other than the head cold symptoms he seems to have no problems.  I have read chewing of the feet and scratching are often food allergy issues and he doesn't do either of those.  The visine did seem to help at first but even after a few weeks of using sparingly (a couple of times per week) I didn't see any improvement so I gave up.  It didn't help that he absolutely fought me tooth and nail every time I put them in, but I would have stuck with it if it worked.  I probably woulld not pursue allergy shots unless things got worse, his symptoms aren't that bad but I do feel like I should try to help if possible because I do feel bad for him especially in the mornings.  It'll be interesting to see if things get better or worse as the weather gets better, the heat doesn't come on, and I can open the windows.

 

[sharonL]

That is a tough one Sully...I would not think food allergy at all and it sounds more enviro allergy (dust/dander)...Alot of times they will outgrow this as the head and nose area grows and changes...Hopefully that will be the case with Oggie...

There are a few ways to tell if it is a common sneeze, allergy sneeze or infection.....With a common sneeze there is very little discharge from the nose.  With the allergy sneeze it will have discharge, but it should be clear and it should come from both nostrils....In the infection it is usually cloudy, green, pus and sometimes blood and although it can come from both nostrils, alot of time it is only one side.....

The only other thing I could think of would be some sort of Brachycephalic Syndrome.  Where his nasal passage is to shallow or his nostrils are to tight....Your vet should be able to tell you if they think that is the case.....

 

[sully]

Oh yes, his sneeze definitely has discharge.  If he sneezes on you, it is not a pleasant experience!   It runs clear and comes from both nostrils, it often just looks like he has a wet nose but after a while you realize it's just slowly running off and on.  I will ask the vet about Brachycephalic Syndrome when I go on Monday.  I agree with you thought, I believe it's an environmental thing.  It seems like all of this stuff started when the heat came on, he would literally sneeze when air came through the vent.   That would be great if he grew out of it!  I'm going to ask the vet if maybe I should try benadryl again, I only tried it a few times but maybe it has to be given for an extended period to work.  The air purifier is also an interesting possibility as well. Thanks again Sharon