stupid allergies!?

[Natasha]

I have an english bull terrier. I realize they are known to have skin issues. Mine sure does.

Well, after contacting my breeder, she suggested it could be a food allergy, so I changed her food to Canidae Lamb & rice kibble. She's been eating nothing but that food for nearly a month and her skin issue is showing no sign of slowing down.
After taking my pup with me up to work [pet parlor] everyone said it was some type of allergy, just by the way it looked...

How do I go about figuring out what she's allergic to? Skin allergy tests are freakishly expensive, and don't alway help figure out the cause and I personally don't have that kind of money to spend.
Whenever shes outside, she sneezes uncontrollably that it's crazy. So, duh, my thought is that it's something outside that's bugging her. How can I get her to stop itching?



I've tried every type of medicated shampoo out there with no luck. I've also tried lessen her baths to once a m
-onth and that didn't help either
Im sorry, but who really has $1000 just laying around the house? I know there are ways to help my pup without spending a fortune... and it's not like she has mange, she just has an allergy.
I have heard of people giving their dog Benedryl but I wasn't sure why. I'll definitely give it a shot, at this point I have nothing to lose.

[brieisaninja]

One of my dogs has a sneezing problem, and her previous owner, my boyfriend's brother who works with dogs and has his whole life said to give her half a pill of Benedryl. He said it won't hurt her and it should work. We haven't tried it yet because her sneezing has slowed down a bit naturally but she occasionally gets this horrible sneeze attacks. I would try that or maybe see if you can get some free vet advice, maybe look online :]