The two of us make quite the pair. It's ragweed season. I'm walking
around in an antihistamine induced stupor some of the time, succumbing
to itchy sneeziness the rest of the time. The weather is perfect for
opening every window in the house, but I'm keeping the outside outside
in hopes that the inside doesn't irritate my nose and throat so much.


Cubbe's licked a raw spot on her forelegs. At first we were only giving
her her special doggy antihistamines when we saw her licking, but when
we saw the hairless spot, we started giving them out 3x/day like it says
on the bottle. This is O.K. with her as they come wrapped in cream
cheese. They do seem to be working. We were thinking that if her
licking kept up, we'd ask the vet about lotion or steroids.


It's hard to say if she's feeling drowsy from the drugs. She's always
been low energy in the house. She's fine on walks, and I've been
letting Jim walk her since I'm getting to the point where I need
prescription goggles outside to keep me from wanting to scratch my eyes
out. Jim's at a Xlinx conference so there's no avoiding that I'm taking
her out for her afternoon walk. This is getting ridiculous since I LIKE
walking my dog, but I'm getting suspicious of wind as wind brings the
pollen and pollen brings the sneezies-- or lickies depending on which
species one belongs to.


Allergies used to be worse for me in Florida, year round and more sinus
headache involved, so I shouldn't be complaining. This really isn't so
bad compared to what I'm used to. (I was going to say this is a breeze,
but then we're back to the wind and breeze business.) Maybe I'm getting
less tolerant of annoyances, no matter what their form, as I age.


Cubbe gets a sort of moth eaten look when she's feeling allergic. It's
hard to describe, but I swear I can see it on her.


--Lia

Lia mentioned her allergies and Cubbe's. Lia, you described Cubbe as
looking moth eaten. You also mentioned that Cubbe had licked a raw spot
on her forelegs.
Jubal Early looked moth eaten when he came to live with us. He had
patches of hair missing out of his back. I described it as moth eaten
when talking to the Vet on the phone. I even thought it was mange when
I first looked at him. It is allergies. I live in Fl so you know how
it is. I tried a lot of things. I did not want to do prednisone unless
I had to. Anyway, an OTC product works well for JE. It is called Calm
Coat. It is kind of messy (oily) and it smells delightful. I just read
the label, it is canola oil, lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree. The
feed store lady introduced me to it. It is for horses and cats, too.
Good luck.


Be Free.....Judy

Judith Althouse wrote:
Lia mentioned her allergies and Cubbe's. Lia, you described Cubbe as
looking moth eaten. You also mentioned that Cubbe had licked a raw spot
on her forelegs.
Jubal Early looked moth eaten when he came to live with us. He had
patches of hair missing out of his back. I described it as moth eaten
when talking to the Vet on the phone. I even thought it was mange when
I first looked at him. It is allergies. I live in Fl so you know how
it is. I tried a lot of things. I did not want to do prednisone unless
I had to. Anyway, an OTC product works well for JE. It is called Calm
Coat. It is kind of messy (oily) and it smells delightful. I just read
the label, it is canola oil, lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree. The
feed store lady introduced me to it. It is for horses and cats, too.
Good luck.


Thanks, but I don't think I'll look for it. Maybe moth eaten was the
wrong term to describe Cubbe's coat. She only has slight raw spots on
her forelegs where she licks them. The rest of her is all fur, but it
doesn't have the healthy, shiny, sleek, thick, look that she normally
has. It's like it's poking out in all the wrong places. She could just
be shedding. (Though she doesn't normally blow a coat. She sheds
evenly.) The trouble with oil or anything we put directly on her is
that it encourages more licking. For now, we're sticking with the
antihistamines. But thanks.


--Lia