Wednesday, March 11, 2015

For Those of You Who Have Dogs With Skin Allergies

Apache Junction, AZ  High 87  Low 54

Having a nice talk with Dad

Jim and Skitz

I am always amazed at what I don’t know about everything. But at least that gives me a chance to constantly learn something new.

We had to take Skittlez to the vet this morning. Juniper and Ash are joyously spreading their pollen everywhere and it really is worse than it has been in the past. We have had two really warm winters and the trees and plants love it.

But – Skittlez has terrible skin allergies which are driving all of us crazy. She is scratching and licking continuously and has sores from all that scratching. Her little body is so hot and red. In the past we’ve been able to control the problem quite easily with Benadryl and anti-itch shampoo. But not this year.

skitz

She is also keeping us up at night with all the scratching and licking which is not a good thing cause I get grumpy without enough sleep. So to the vet we go.

The vet informed us that Benadryl is definitely not the answer! Now, I have done a lot of research on line about trying to ease her problems and almost everywhere I looked it said to use Benadryl. The vet said that Benadryl was good for humans for head symptoms from allergies but almost all dogs have the itchy skin problem and Benadryl doesn’t work on that problem. All it does it make the dog so dopey all they want to do is sleep which means that they scratch a little bit less but does nothing to help the dog.

So she told us to give Skitz Zyrtec. The dosage is 1 mg for each pound that they weigh. Skitz weighed in at 11.9 lbs so we will be giving her 12 mgs. You only give it once every 24 hours. Zyrtec also does not dope up the dog which is wonderful.

CAUTION! Do not give them Zyrtec-D. The D is toxic to dogs.

Just thought we would pass this info on in case some fur kid out there is having the same problem.

Skitz1

25 comments:

  1. Good to know, Thanks for the tip. I hope she makes it through allergy season better now.

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  2. I saw this article and thought you would be interested in reading it. Amazing what some people do with their animals. Sad!

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/dieting-dachshund-in-ohio-goes-from-obese-to-svelte/ar-AA9EtcH

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  3. Poor Skitz. Giver her a tummy rub from me. Unless that would aggravate the problem.

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  4. Poor pup, hope the new meds do the trick.

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  5. Very interesting. We have to take Bella to the Vet tomorrow for the same thing. Dry skin, hair missing and she is always biting the same place. She had this a few years back. We will be interested in seeing what he says.

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  6. I hope this helps poor little Skittlez.

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  7. Allergies are horrible and can drive you crazy with the itching. Imagine a poor dog that doesn't really know what to do or how to stop it. I hope the Zyrtec helps. Please keep us posted.

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  8. I sure hope Skittlez feels better soon. Sure glad Bennie doesn't have that problem.

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  9. Poor little pup. Fred has the itchy watery eyes and I was told to use
    Visine allergy drops. works wonders One drop every morning or afternoon when ever it seems to be a big problem.

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  10. Poor Skittlez. Looks like her eyes are even a little swollen. Hope she gets better sooner than soon.

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  11. Poor pup. I hope that does the trick for her.

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  12. It's not fun to be itchy. I'm never amazed at how often I don't know something. It just happens too often anymore.

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  13. I'm so glad that you told us about the zyrtec. Hope your baby feels better soon! ( and that you sleep better)!

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  14. No pets for us right now but great information.

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  15. Thanks for the heads-up. Luckily Molly never showed any sign of allergies, but years back we had a Riesenschnauzer who suffered a lot.

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  16. You're going to need all the rest you can get before your visitors arrive. I think you're going to be busy.

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  17. I hope that Skittles is doing better. I know how she feels. Just the mention it and I start scratching.

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  18. Poor Skittles. I hope the Zyrtec helps her. Also....do NOT give either to cats. They can't take the same things dogs can.

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  19. Keeping my fingers crossed that you've found the right solution for Skittles.

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  20. Poor pup--I hope the Zyrtec works. I hear the snakes are out. Yikes!

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  21. Aww...poor puppy dog! Cute pics! We will still be coming to Mesa April 1. Tom's BBQ, here we come! Check out my trip to Sedona. It sure was beautiful country!

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  22. Hello, Just got home from a nice trip to Arkansas to celebrate George's birthday. I will blog about it tomorrow.

    Now--it's time to start working in the yard, cleaning up all of the 'junk' from the ice storm. What a mess!!!

    Hope you are doing well. Sounds like your pups keep you hopping... Something new to learn everyday, huh???? I've never heard of a dog having skin allergies. BUT-- I haven't had many dogs in my life...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  23. Something else good for us dachsie lovers to know. Mine have skin allergies so we do the grain free dog food.

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  24. Poor baby girl...hope the itch has subsided. A great tip about Zyrtec for us dog lovers, thankfully our Ziva girl is good to go.

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