skin itching

Question
We have battled our dog's itching and chewing for the last couple of years.  Our vet thinks it could seasonal, and "knee-jerk" hands me prednizone, but it has minimal effect.  His skin gets bright red and he chews his feet, legs and back.  He rolls all over the floor and furniture trying to get relief.  He wimpers constantly, obviously in complete and total discomfort.  I tried supplementing his diet with "Dino-vite" but that was an expensive experiment that went south $75 dollars ago.  I like my vet, but I'm not sure she really has a clue.  She has suggested having him allergy tested, but I'm not convinced that will tell us that much.  His itching has become a year-round condition.  I have tried non-allergenic shampoos, anti-itch shampoos, ad nauseum....nothing is working.  Any ideas or suggestions?


Answer
Hi Mike,
I'm sorry you're going through all of this! Unfortunately you're probably not going to like my answer either, sorry! Allergies are probably the hardest of all conditions to diagnose and treat! It's so frustrating!! You can go through the painstaking task of eliminating one thing at a time in his diet, but it takes forever and is sometimes not very conclusive. Usually wheat gluten is the main suspect and the first to be eliminated, and you might then get lucky and only have to just change his food to no wheat and the problem is solved; but it could be any number of things and you will go crazy trying to figure it out. Allergy testing is expensive and timely but it WILL get to the bottom of what your dog is suffering from. Most vets when treating an allergic dog start off with treating just the symptoms and making the dog comfortable. Sometimes the one time fix works great and thats the end of it but of course there are those cases that are more serious and hard to figure out and never get actually resolved. Unless testing is done. He could be allergic to one component in his food or up to 50 different components. It could be a seasonal allergy and come and go - they treat the symptoms but never find out what the allergen is.  Again, allergies are one of the hardest things to diagnose and treat. Even in humans, we treat the symptoms but don't understand what it is we're allergic to unless we are tested (ragweed, mold, pollen, grass, or food allergies like wheat or soy, etc.).
I know how heartbreaking it is to watch your dog itch, scratch and whine, it's just horrible because we feel so helpless!! I hate allergies and what they do to dogs, but I have honestly never heard of a cure for them except to completely eliminate the source from the diet or environment, and sometimes that's just not possible.
I don't think your vet is clueless, but I definitely agree that she doesn't know what the allergen is. Most people, like yourself go through the pain and money of trying all the over the counter remedies to make their dog comfortable but it rarely ever completely conquers the problem. I'm so sorry, I really feel for you and wish I could give you a more definitive answer, but you (and your poor dog) have stumbled into the allergy black hole. So, all that said.... the first thing to do is to change his food to contain NO wheat gluten. See if that helps and continue to treat his symptoms with the over the counter relief. If you're lucky you'll see a dramatic change. Another thing is rawhides! Make sure your rawhides are made in the USA. Any rawhides shipped in from China or Brazil or anywhere else usually contain chemical additives for preserving the rawhides and can cause serious allergies in dogs! If none of your elimination techniques work, you should go for the testing and get to the bottom of it. It's going to be very expensive but sometimes there is just no other alternative. I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart wish you all the best luck I can send you. I know how very hard dealing with all of this is. Hang in there, and let me know how you make out one of these days down the road.
Take care, all the best,
Carol