Ways to Help Your Itchy Dog With Allergies | Mum In The Madhouse

Ways to Help Your Itchy Dog With Allergies

Our Bichon Frise Alvin is a much-loved dog but he suffers from numerous allergies which mainly affect his skin which is called atopical dermatitis. We have been dealing with these for the last eight years and want to share with you some ways to Help Your Itchy Dog With Allergies that really work for us and some options that haven’t but might work for you that we have had recommended from other dog owners.

Effective ways to help your itchy dog with allergies. Practical tips for when your vet feels that an allergy is the cause of your dog's skin problem.

Top Tips to Help Your Itchy Dog With Allergies

My first top tip is to find yourself a great Vet. It helps to have a vet that understands how allergies and skin issues can affect a dog in everyday life. Ours is amazing and very understanding, they have researched treatments including holistic ones for him.

Get good pet insurance. I am going to admit that having never used our pet insurance for our cats we were in two minds to insure Alvin and we went with the cheapest provider which was a massive mistake. When he turned three (before his skin issues) they doubled his premium and we cancelled as the excess was prohibitive. So don’t do as I do, do as I say and find a reputable insurer and read the small print. Your vets can usually recommend a good one.

Alvin can not have a topical flea or tick treatment so has his by tablet form every three months. Our vets offer a buy three get the fourth free deal. We have found that not using any treatment on his skin unless prescribes has been the best for us. We use Malaseb Shampoo on his affected skin and Allermyl Dog Shampoo on the rest of his skin and leave both on for 10 minutes paying attention to between his toes. we have to bathe Alvin twice a week during allergy season and dip him in a water bath after every walk in the hight of summer or take him for walks on the beach away from his main allergyns.

Effective ways to help your itchy dog with allergies. Practical tips for when your vet feels that an allergy is the cause of your dog's skin problem.

When it comes to food we had to operate an exclusion diet for Alvin and he now has a tailor-made food from Tails which we adore. The exact amount and type of food he needs is delivered monthly to our door for less than we were paying for an equivalent vet provided food. If you want to try it then you can get 50% off your first month’s food with no tie in at all. On the suggestion of the vet, we put his dry kibble in a zip lock bag a portion at a time and freeze for 12 hours before feeding it to him and keep it in an airtight container. Alvin also doesn’t get any treats other than carrot battens.

There are so many supplements available it can be a minefield but our vets suggested YuDerm by YuMove and we have found it makes a big difference to the dryness of Alvins skin. We get ours on subscription for a saving.

Alvin also gets a monthly Cytopoint injection for the Vets which is designed to turn off the itch signals in his brain. He has also had Apoquel tablets and numerous courses of steroids. The unfortunate fact is that we have been unable to pindown just one alleryn, he has protein allergies, heat allergies, pollyn, dust and mite allergies (poor fella).

We keep everything scrupulously clean and use metal bowls which we wash in the dishwasher each night. His bedding is washed twice a week on rotation (he sleeps in a crate) and we have hard floors. He doesn’t wear a collar as that aggravated his skin. Even with his allergies and canine atopic dermatitis you couldn’t meet a more placid and happy dog.

Effective ways to help your itchy dog with allergies. Practical tips for when your vet feels that an allergy is the cause of your dog's skin problem.

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1 thought on “Ways to Help Your Itchy Dog With Allergies”

  1. Thank you so much for these tips! My 3-year-old dog suffers from seasonal allergies, and I always feel so bad for him. We give him a supplement from the vet, keep all the windows closed, and get regular carpet cleanings to eliminate the dust in our home. These things do help, but his allergies got worse this season for some reason. I honestly had no idea that changing his diet could help or that he could get injections to help! I wish I would have known sooner, but I’m going to go to PetSmart later to pick up better, healthier food for him!

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