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Comment by Lisa B on October 1, 2012 at 6:32pm

As I have posted previously, my Corgis problem was food allergies. We use Natural Balance as they use unusual grains and protein, we use the duck and sweet potato. I noticed a difference within a week or two of switching foods as far as comfort level. His hot spots cleared up and hes great! I too tried fish oil pills didnt really help but the food was his issue. Good luck!

 

Comment by Beca and Mishka on October 1, 2012 at 11:09am

Hot spots take a long time to heal - usually longer than a couple weeks.

If you like your vet, but they aren't super-experienced with allergies, ask for a referral to a dermatologist.  We ended up going that route even though our vet does have extensive experience with allergies in dogs.  The specialist will be expensive, but the best way to diagnose environmental (pollen, mold, dust mites, etc) allergies is with the skin prick test, and you would need a dermatologist for that.

To save us some money, our vet ruled out flea bite allergies and had us do a food trial before sending us to the dermatologist.  You might consider asking your vet for help with those, as a first step.  Flea bite allergies are more common than food allergies.  The food elimination trial will require prescription food, 10 weeks of patience and constant vigilance (it can also be done with a limited ingredient food but if there's no improvement you have to do it twice, to rule out the limited food ingredients - 20 weeks of feeding your dog ONLY one thing with no treats?  Difficult!).

In hindsight, I wish we had seen the dermatologist earlier.  Mishka was diagnosed with atopy (environmental allergies) with a skin test and we've had him on allergy shots for almost a year now.  Significant improvement, if slow.  The derm.  also had us put him on fish oil supplements (supports healthy heart, skin, and all that good stuff) and a different antihistamine, which is a better match for him than the Benadryl was, and we have a topical powder for his itchy paws when they flare up.

Comment by Dianne Cauzillo on October 1, 2012 at 10:30am

Hi all - new to the corgi community, and here after rescuing my dear Rocko, a 3 yr old tri-color...he was found, so i have no medical history for him, no history at all, really, except that he was clearly loved and trained at one time...

so, the food dilemma. Feeding him Fromm. He took a bit of time to come around to it, but the latest is the skin issue...took him to vet for hot spots, and was told it may be seasonal allergies. Was given tablets and ointment, but after almosta  week, they just dont seem to be helping. We're outside all the time, chasing balls and walking and hanging out, he's scratching and licking and seems so uncomfortable - what is my next move? New vet? Grain free food? Someone suggested fish oil....I so would like to keep it as organic as possible...any help ?? Thanks so much~

Comment by Jay & Bentley on January 9, 2012 at 9:42am

My Bentley had bad allergies during the summer months -- he itches mostly on his back, ears, tail, and paws.  He also sneezes a lot.  He has always had allergies, but they were never bad in the past.  Since most of his issues were topical we gave him oatmeal bathes more often and that seemed to have worked in the past.  This past summer his allergies got really bad to the point where we had to take him to the doctor's office to figure out what was going on.  The doctor told us it could be anything -- weather, environment, food, seasonal, etc.  Since he usually only gets his allergies during the summer months I felt I could rule out environment and food. I wash all of his bedding and blankets with minimal unscented detergent in hot water and make sure everything is cool before I give them back to him.  And he gets fed Innova brand dog food, along with Venison medallions once in a while, which I think is a pretty healthy diet.  So I pretty much decided that the cause of his allergies is weather/seasonal.  It could be the temperature/humidity or it could be pollens in the air.  Either way, the doctor started Bentley on a Vetalog injection -- basically an antihistamine injection -- that thing worked miracles.  His allergy symptoms were pretty much gone within a couple hours.  Then a few weeks later we started Bentley on Cetirizine HCL tablets, which basically took place of the Vetalog injection.  Bentley also had open sores/redness on his paws and tail due to his constant itching and biting -- he was given Gentamicin, which is an aqueous topical spray which I believe is used to reduce inflammation and administer a type of antibiotic.  Anywho, it worked!  He's good as new and has been allergy-free since.  The big test will be this upcoming summer months!

Comment by Bella Doggie on October 2, 2010 at 4:08pm

Hi all, I just wanted to share that after years of having on and off skin issues with Bella I have finally got her allergy tested at the vets office. It cost about 125.00 but was well worth it because now we are sure what she is actually allergic too... so here is the list! She can't have corn, wheat, soy, duck, white fish, milk or egg. So we have her on Natural Balance Venison and Potato and she has been doing really well on it.. I would recommend it to anyone who has the same allergies as her :) Take care everyone!!! :)

Comment by Angus on September 8, 2010 at 10:40pm

Angus is about 25 pounds and gets one 10 mg tablet Zyrtec a day. But ask your vet for the correct weight/dosage first. I'm just using them occasionally and so I don't know if extended daily use makes a difference in the dose.

Two vets suggested that alternating antihistamines might be helpful when my sister was trying every available antihistamine for her German Shepherd. She finally gave up (none of the drugs worked) and just started washing the dog's feet after every grassy romp.

Dunno if it's late in the season for allergies but lately I've been sneezing and Angus's skin has been turning pink and itching. We seem to share the same allergens. Ah, the cold, crisp air of winter is coming soon.

Comment by Nancy on September 8, 2010 at 10:14pm

What dosage do you use for the Zyrtec? The Benadryl just isn't doing the job anymore. Her poor feet! I'm hoping that with the weather getting cooler her allergies will stop. Its just the last 2 weeks that her allergies have flared up...isn't this late in the season for it?

Comment by Angus on June 7, 2010 at 12:17am

My sister's German Shepherd suffers terribly from all sorts of allergies, including pollen/grass/"spring" allergies, and chews holes in her skin. My vet recently suggested wiping her coat with a damp washcloth and washing her feet after she's been out in the park. Remarkably, dogs have histamine receptors in their feet: they chew on their paws because they itch. (Poor design, if you ask me. Where are a dog's feet but in the grass?)

Corgi Angus gets the occasional Zyrtec because he also seems to have "spring" allergies--when I'm sneezing from high pollen counts, his ears and the skin on his belly turn bright pink.

Comment by Alyssa & Chris W. on April 14, 2010 at 12:43pm

Hi everyone! We just joined this group. Finding out what Murphy was allergic to was a very long process and got kind of expensive because of all the vet trips we had to take. The vet let us try giving him a mix of a antihistamine and steroid pill which worked the first week and then didn't anymore, then we tried giving him Zyrtec but that was only temporary also. We asked people on this site what they thought it could be and everyone generally pointed toward his food and possibly grains which made sense since he didn't start acting this way till we started feeding him an oatmeal and grain based food. So, we switched him to a grain-less food with Salmon instead of chicken and he's been fine since. Wouldn't it be a lot easier if they could just tell us what's wrong? Before we figured it out, he was scratching and biting constantly. I felt terrible for him. I'm glad he's feeling better now. I just hope the vet notices on Friday when he goes for his annual check up.

Comment by Lisa B on March 23, 2010 at 12:39pm

Remember now too it may take a while for their stool to harden up when i switched my dogs over it took about 6 weeks for their stool to be normal, it was pretty soft serve like for awhile, so dont be too worried. It shouldnt be liquid though.

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