Hi all,

My little one year old has had itching problems and licking feet since the
day I got him. The vet I had been going to when I first got him (changed
vets from the one I always went to with my previous pets since I had moved.
I have recently moved back to this area and now back with my original vet) -
had said that it would not be allergies because they almost never show up
until at least age 6 months. Finally, they told me to give him Benadryl and
put him on a hypo allergenic food. Things did improve, to a point. They
did not want to do anything further at the time due to his age.

When my old vet saw him for the frist time (a couple of months ago for
Heartworm/flea prevention), they suggested I continue with Benadryl but said
that he might require something more during allergy season. For the past
several weeks he was getting sick pretty much every single morning (whenever
he gets very itchy and uncomfortable, he often gets sick - though he still
ate and drank okay). The vet suggested I try getting some Chloropheniramine
to see if that worked any better. I tried it for a few days, but other than
getting far more tired than with the Benadryl, he did not improve.

On Monday they suggested I pick him up some Prednisone. He started that
Monday afternoon, anad by Tuesday afternoon, there was a noticeable
difference. By Wednesday, he was a different dog. He became more friendly,
sometimes even sits beside me - which he never did before. He never wanted
to be touhed too much because he was so itchy and uncomfortable. Now he
loves to be petted and rubbed all over. And most of all he has not even
thought about being sick, not once! He doesn't twitch his back anymore when
he is rubbed or petted.

I almost always bring him to the store when I buy his food. It is just a
small store, only selling pet supplies. They have always loved it when I
brought him in. Today he was running up to all of them and wanting to be
petted and played with. He was having a blast running around and greeting
everyone and getting all the attention. Even the staff there noticed a
major difference in him. They asked me if something had changed that he was
so much more personable and just seemed so happy. I told them about the
new medication and they were also amazed at the difference in him.

The only thing I am not all that impressed with is the fact that he has to
get up 2 or 3 times in the night. But that is a minor inconvinience when I
think of how much different he feels! What concerns me more is what might
happen when he goes off the Prednisone. I called the vet and told that
inside that tiny little pill bottle was a completely different dog. I did
mention that I am also concerned about what will happen when he goes off of
them. They said that he probably would remain the same, and not go back to
the way he was.

He is supposed to be on it a total of a month, which includes the gradual
decreases. Hopefully that will get him through the worst of the allergy
season. Given his complete turn around, is it likely that he would get
really bad again once he is off the medication? Or is it just that he needs
a "boost" to get through the bad season? His skin generally does not get
the big red or hot spots that a lot with allergies get. But he does get
very dry skin and coat, and as I mentioned very, very itchy to touch. (I
give him the Dr. Maggies oil, which does help his coat tremendously, but I
have to keep his hair short or it gets dry and stringy and matts up very
quickly).

(I had his thyroid checked at the same time as his heartworm testing etc. I
was concerned that given his skin and coat, constipation, frequent vomitting
etc. that maybe.....But those tests came back normal. )

Thanks
Andrea & Charlie