Yep, it's that time of year again. The sun is out, I'm away from school, the grass is growing, the humidity is through the roof, and Annie is allergic to whatever the heck is in the air.
The food we fed her had to be switched around because the Purina Pro Plan we were feeding them has been discontinued. So the switch has been made to:
With no corn, wheat, soy, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, it's a good alternative to what we had been feeding her. We're pretty sure she's not allergic to chicken on it's own because she doesn't seem to have any problems when she gets chicken with a bland diet. But still in the summer time, she continues to itch.
Annie and Paul get 2 bathroom breaks and 2 walks a day. After each one, Annie has her paws and legs wiped down with baby wipes. I've washed both collars, leashes, bedding, and vacuumed. Annie and Paul are both being bathed about once a month (trying not to dry out their skin.)
And the itch goes on.....
Anyone out there have any more ideas of how to slow down the itch?
Lily feels Annie's pain. We feed her the same food year-round and she only gets the itchies (and the sneezies, and the eye-running-ies) in the spring and summer, so I'm pretty sure she's allergic to something in the air, not in her food. We use benadryl on an as-needed basis, and our vet prescribed a medicated shampoo that we bathe her with about once a month (like you, we're trying not to dry out her skin) and that seems to help. Poor allergic doggies! (And allergic owners-- I have to take allergy meds almost every day myself!)
ReplyDeleteAside from diet and prescription drugs, the only other thing I can think of is Fish Oil type products. Jake really benefits from them, I'm not sure they make a difference for Melvin. Maybe it's a short hair benefit. We of course had Melvin allergy tested and did shots. The shots worked for a while, and then they didn't. Common first freeze of the year!
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