Dog allergy Question: Do any of you have a dog who has suddenly started...

[Roscoe, the talking dog]

...scratching and biting at themselves? Roscoe's sister, Lucy, has been for a week. In AZ, we are having spring weather with new blossoms out. Nothing else in her environment or eating has changed. Had a lot of dogs in my life and this is a first for me..benadryl is not helping...is this allergies or what do you think?
Not fleas as Roscoe isn't doing this...
Not shampoo, either, but the rest of your answer worries me.....
Benadryl was vet recommended over phone.

[Just Me]

I have had two in my life with allergies. One developed food allergies over his lifetime. Started small then progressed to he couldn't eat any commercial food. The other is inhalant allergies. Both were helped by a medication called ketaconazole. You need to take yours in for an exam,if the the benadryl isn't helping then you will need medication from the vet. The inhalant allergy dog is also on prednisone as all other allergy meds made her sedated. Allergies can manafest even if the food hasn't changed so it could be food. Best advice is office visit. Hang on for a long ride this type of condition does not just disappear and it is the hardest to diagnose and treat.

[sadtohappycat]

Bear was bald from waist back, in no time; allergic to fleas and grass
~

[dobiegang]

I'm wondering if you happened to change brands of dog foods.
I know I had to switch a few years ago because one of my dogs was allergic to the food I was feeding. He has been fine since I changed food brand.


Vets do prescribe Benadryl to dogs.

[Hippie Chick the Original]

You have some good answers here. The temps. are rising, everything is in bloom, the air is dry, so all of these things can affect your dogs. If the benadryl is not helping, you might need to take the dog to the vet, they might put Lucy on some steriods for a short period of time. If using steriods, be sure you don't miss a dose and be sure you get all the information you can from your vet as far as side affects to steriod use. Good luck, let me know it turns out.

[goldstcy]

Change of shampoo maybe. But if not take it to the Vet Some dogs have illness that will cause itching.

[BennBJBear]

It could simply be dry skin. Both our boys go through cycles of it, and my old dog when I was kid did too. We found that giving them Vitamin E and Cod Liver Oil will clear it up..but without seeing Lucy of course I can't say if she is acting the same way.

Does she have any sign of 'dandruff' on her fur, particularly on her back when you either brush or give a length long pet?

[wolfkiss]

My first guess would be fleas. Allergies in dogs are very hard to pin point what the cause is. I tell people to think what they might have that is different, example cleaning supplies. Outside, has she been walking in an area that she might have gotten into something. Good luck....Food allergies is another thing to really think about.

[gone 4 good]

I have a beagle he also has bad allergies...he had to be taken to the vet a few yrs back..I just did not know what it was...sure enough allergies...she 1st gave him a predisone shot and now he is on allergie pills 2 a day and he is always ok now..so please take your baby to the vet. Seems some dogs get this so bad they will bite and chew on themselves due to the itching that drives them crazy. If the dog is on heart worm meds every month make sure you get the ones that prevent ticks and fleas...you will never have that as a issue. I used to use the 6 month shot for heart worm prevention, then found out it does not protect against ticks and fleas...so I went back to using sentinel which covers all.
Hope I helped.

[Stinkerbell]

Maybe fleas?