Hives and My JRT

Question
My baby girl (spayed) Cheesecake is going to be 1 in a few days, she is getting really bad hives breathing is still good. I took her into the vet because it now is effecting her nose and eyes and maybe her feet because she is chewing at them and about 2 months ago she had an ear infection. The vet gave her a steroid shot and benadryl and sent me home with benadryl (25 mg) every 6 hours. last night she started up again and they got bigger and more it is 9 am and she still has alot of them I did do a cool bath last night and she was shaking for about 2 hours after. She is on heartworm and flea pill once a month no tracks of fleas or eggs I'm at a lost anything you can recommend that I can do for her the vet didn't seem like it was a big deal. No new food, doesn't get people food, but we did just move and the carpets were shampooed and they had just cut the grass?

Answer
Hi Tracy,
It absolutely sounds like allergies; and hopefully it is being caused by the carpet and/or shampoo, because you can change that. If she wasn't allergic to the grass at your old house, she most likely isn't now either.
Re-wash, rinse the carpets and use a non allergic brand or simple vinegar and water to get the soap out. Also think about if you have made any other changes like your laundry detergent or are you or someone else giving her snacks that she didn't get before? I don't want to scare or make you sad but Jack Russells seem to have a predisposition to allergies, and sometimes they don't show up until after a year old or if the dog is experiencing stress or some major change (moving?) in their lives. I've seen it happen with new a new baby arrival, a new dog, a new place to live, change in owners work schedule etc...
Unfortunately once they "come out" it's a matter of controlling the symptoms and keeping the dog comfortable. Allergies are hard to treat but it's not a helpless situation.
If they get worse you'll have to take her back to the vet and get something stronger than what he/she gave you previously. I'm sorry you and Cheesecake are going through this, it's not an easy thing to deal with. I wish you both the very best of luck. Don't hesitate to go back to the vet, you have a right to keep her comfortable.
Take care,
Carol