year old with food allergies

Question
Hi Doctor,

Thank you for your time. We have a 7 year old aussie shep mixed with a Britt spaniel. The poor thing has awful food allergies so I make his food. Right now I make a diet with protien, carbs and veggies he loves fruit also. As long as I stay away from dog food we keep the body sores away.

But his back is always warm and he always is asking us to scratch the places he can not reach. He has been on medication we have choose to try other ways because all the meds make him tired and he gains wieght. If it gets really bad we give him Benadryl which works well and does not knock him out for days.

Is there anything else we can do for him? Our vet has checked his thyroid as well as complete checkups. He is on advantage he is allergic to frontline. We bath him once a week and use a shampoo from the vet for itchy skin. We use a tea tree oil spray that seems to help in between baths.

He is happy but sometimes so itchy he does not want to play ball just wants his back stcratched.

His diet is
30% protien from chicken, turkey or fish
30% carb or starch form rice, pasta or potatoes
30% veggies like Carrots or Squash (which he loves)
10% fruit he really really likes watermelon and bananas.

So far no dog food has worked regardless of special order or off the shelf. He is really healthy otherwise and quite playful one on one when he is not itchy.

Again if there is something else I can be doing ot make his life a little more pleasent please let me know.

Thank you
Laura

Answer
It sounds like you have his food allergies under control.  I would remind you that dogs can have 4 different types of allergies at once.  Food, pollen/mold/mite/,contact, and flea allergy. So you might consider having him tested for environmental allergens to see if there is something in the house that is also affecting him.  That is now done through a blood test (I recommend the Allercept test). Many dogs with dermatitis on their lower back are flea allergic.