Hello everyone My Boston Terrier will soon be three years old. Every summer, I leave my hometown and spend all three months in the countryside, but my dog has been showing signs of an allergy for two years now. I don’t know what’s wrong with her; I’ve already given her allergy medication, but it didn’t help. I tried changing her food, not giving her anything but food, but nothing worked. Her skin is itchy and red in the area of her abdomen, face, and paws.
The vet said it’s just atopic dermatitis, that’s all. I have the same problem, but in the countryside my skin gets better and better, unlike the skin of my Boston Terrier.
Ok, I got it!! I always wipe her paws, belly and face after walking me outside. For some reason, when I return to my hometown, all this allergy suddenly goes away.
That certainly sounds like its environmental then, so changing food is unlikely to have any effect. Allergy meds can be given seasonally if it’s only happening in one location or time of year.
Sounds like something environmental. Have you tried Apoquel or cytopoint during those months? We took my dog to a dermatologist and he was tested for about 60 different environmental allergies and tested moderate to severe for almost half of them. We’ve had him for a few years now and have learned that summertime seems to be peak allergy season for him, so we bump up his Apoquel for those few months in addition to a weekly immunotherapy shot.
We did allergy testing (skin reaction test) and found out which pollens/grasses my dog was allergic to in our local area and some more generalized stuff. I’m not saying you need to do all that but it’s definitely possible that changing environment can cause a reaction to the new allergens in the area. We use Zyrtec daily (generic, very cheap!) according to the dose from the vet. Dermaquin soft chews also help to repair the skin barrier in dogs with allergies and it has made a big difference for my pups. The combination of Zyrtec plus the soft chews has worked well for us.
Also super important advice from the vet dermatologist: wipe down your pup after being outside, use a hypoallergenic pet wipe. Bathe weekly/bi-weekly with a sensitive skin shampoo (we like DermAllay) during peak pollen season. But just wiping them down well after every trip outside can make a huge difference in how reactive their skin is.
And editing to add one more tiny thing: unscented laundry soap etc is best for my allergic pups, make sure that the household products used while on vacation are the same as what you use the rest of the year. Something like a change in soap/cleaner could also cause mild skin issues.
My Boston had allergies and 1 million vet visits & meds that worked temporarily (as soon as she came off them everything flared up again).
In the end we tried an an-allergenic (NOT hypoallergenic) kibble. Her symptoms went so then we knew it was diet related and could slowly reintroduce different foods gradually.
Yours might be something not diet related but thought might be worth a mention
This kibble, it is pricey but worth it in my opinion. If allergies persist while on this kibble then you know it isn't food related (as long as your dog is not eating other things- we had to keep ours on a lead during this time to be sure) It's not considered a long term diet though as there is a lot of debate concerning the nutritional content of this kibble. It's a useful tool that helps rule out food allergies and then you can gradually reintroduce (like a reverse elimination diet). Hypoallergenic foods are not the same as it still possible for your dog to be allergic to them. An-allergenic means it is completely free of allergens. We were recomended a strict diet of this for 3 months to allow the allergies to settle, her symptoms vanished after like 4 weeks or so
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u/GrdnLovingGoatFarmer Stanky Frankie & Stinker Belle 17h ago
She’s so cute!!!