Scratching / Itching problem

Question
Hi Marjorie,
I recently adopted a 4 year old male english bulldog from someone who was allergic to him. After about 1 month he developed a constant itching and scratching problem with his feet and face. The vet put him on prednisone and benadryl which worked until he finished it and then the problem came back worse than before. He get's these swelled areas between his toes and now he's scratched his face so bad that I have to put a cone on him. I clean his feet with medicated shampoo and use hydrocotisone cream for the itching. I clean his face with baby wipes and use desenex and now neosporin. The vet had me change his food too but said that it could take a few weeks to tell if that would help.  I know he is miserable and I just hope to find something that will help. Thanks very much!

Answer
These issues are so difficult to pin point.  First of all, if your vet didn't do a skin scraping, that would be my first goal in order to rule out any type of mange.  Secondly, it could be carpet cleaner, laundry or floor detergent, Fabreze, lawn fertilizer, plastic dishes (feed/water him in stainless steel only). Prednisone and benadryl only address the symptoms.  It would seem that if it were a food allergy, he would be having the itching all over his body. Don't give him any flavored treates either. I had one puppy that had similar symptoms and was allergic to peanut butter flavored bones! I wish you good luck in finding a solution to this one.