Question:
Can anyone recommend a course of treatment for my dogs mild skin allergies?
I would like to know of any natural remedies or herbs that can help. I am
trying to avoid getting her a cortosone shot.Any suggestions or tips would
be greatly appreciated :)
Answer:
Often changing diet to a wheat and corn free food will do wonders for
skin allergies. Both wheat and corn are common allergens, and one of
the major symptoms is skin irritation, dull coat, excessive shedding,
foul body odor, and sometimes even hair loss. Nutro's Natural Choice,
Sensible Choice, and I believe California Natural and Avoderm are all
allergen free. (not completely sure on the last two, but I've heard
they are). Also, some food additives such as Dermaplex and Mirra Coat
will often help immensely. Many people have also added cod liver oil
to the food with good results, although I've never tried this.
If you can't find a wheat and corn free food (you won't find one in
the grocery store, only in pet stores) then at least stay away from
any food which has corn or wheat among the first three or four
ingredients, and don't feed a food in which a wheat or corn product is
mentioned more than twice in the ingredient list (ie, ground corn,
corn flour, corn gluten, flaked corn or wheat flour, wheat middlings,
wheat bran, etc.. you get the idea). If you change foods, give it a
good month and a half before you can expect to see any results...
change is slow but dramatic when it does occur.
On the external side, try bathing with an unscented oatmeal shampoo.
It's very gentle on the skin. Don't bathe too often, that'll dry out
the skin and make the problem worse. You may want to stay away from
tar shampoos... some people swear by 'em, but in my experience not
only do they reek to high heaven, but they can often irritate the skin
even worse. Denna's advice was great if your dog is suffering from a food
allergy. However, that might not be the case. Two of my dogs
have allergies to pollen, which causes them to have skin
problems. In their case, I am supposed to give them baths
every 3 days with a mild oatmeal shampoo to wash any pollen
out of their coats. And keeping them inside for as much of
the day as possible also helps them. Before being given a cortisone shot, I would hope that your
vet has tried a good antihistamine? Just like in people,
antihistamines taken every day for several days should begin
to have a beneficial effect; just taking them here and there
won't help much at all.
Of course if your dog is allergic to some food ingredient then
hopefully changing foods will help. But changing foods won't
help at all if that's not what your dog is allergic to. An increase in lanoleic acid and fatty acids will almost always help
itchy skin, even if food allergy isn't the problem. A better diet can
sometimes help the situation a little, even if food isn't the actual
source of the problem. Also, it's truly amazing how often allergies
are misdiagnosed. An allergy which has been assumed -or even
diagnosed- as something else will sometimes "miraculously" dissapear
after a "food upgrade." I'm not saying that changing food is going to
be the miracle cure-all for allergies, but it certainly couldn't hurt,
and you never know how much it'll help till you try it. :-) My Black Lab has skin allergies that were not getting better with
cortisone (shots & pills) so I tried Wheat Germ Oil. One table spoon once
a week and have seen quite an improvement. When I mentioned this to my vet
who perscribed all the other drugs and shots she said that adding trace
minerals to his diet would probably help.
