I have a 1 1/2 year old border collie with terribly itchy skin. Skin does
not appear to be dry as there is no flaking. I am trying to sort out if she
has any food allergies, am also bathing her with oatmeal shampoo.
Occassionally I also use a spray-on skin conditioner.

The real question is how do I track down the cause of the irritation? and is
there anything I can add to her diet that may help?

Anyone else have similar issues?

thanks

The real question is how do I track down the cause of the irritation? and
is
there anything I can add to her diet that may help?

One way to find out if it is food allergies is to go on a diet like Hills
Z/D (RX diet) and nothing else, even treats. For treat action you can take a
portion of the alotted food for the day and store it in a zliploc bag in the
freezer. Stay on the diet for at least a month and if it is a food allergy
you should see relief within 2-4 weeks of the start of the diet.

There are blood tests available for environmental allergies. Those for food
allergies are not quite as reliable.

Get together with your vet and see what she/he recommends as well.

-Sharon

The real question is how do I track down the cause of the irritation? and
is
there anything I can add to her diet that may help?

One way to find out if it is food allergies is to go on a diet like Hills
Z/D (RX diet) and nothing else, even treats. For treat action you can take a
portion of the alotted food for the day and store it in a zliploc bag in the
freezer. Stay on the diet for at least a month and if it is a food allergy
you should see relief within 2-4 weeks of the start of the diet.

There are blood tests available for environmental allergies. Those for food
allergies are not quite as reliable.

Get together with your vet and see what she/he recommends as well.

-Sharon

Itchiness is unfortunately very common, to almost any breed. Most often it
is caused by allergies, but there are other things that can cause it too.
Fleas, ticks, various types of mites, thyroid dysfunction, just to name a
few. If you are trying a hypo allergenic food, be sure that you are
feeding her ONLY her food for at least 8 weeks. I also started giving my
little guy a Dr. Maggie's oil supplement which has really helped the
condition of his coat. (It's an Omega3/Omega6 supplement). The people at
the pet store had suggested that some dogs have trouble extracting the
necessary nutrients from even the best quality food. A few weeks ago, I
stopped giving him his oil for about a week or so because if excessive
vomitting. I stopped his regular food, giving baby pablum for a couple of
days (due to his allergies I could not give boiled hamburger and rice).
After just that short time, I could notice how his coat began looking and
feeling worse. Apparently in some dogs, this Omega3/Omega6 fatty acid
supplement is all that is needed to help the itchies. But as in my case, it
is not.

The vet suggested I started giving him Benadryl twice a day (he started that
at about age 3 months). Starting at age 6 or 7 months, he started on a hypo
allerginic diet. (There was no hypo allergenic puppy food, and the vets did
not want him on an adult food too early). All this also helped some, but
now during this time of year he needed more. Now he is a year old, and I
just got some Prednisone early this week. Right now that is a miracle cure.
Its changed his life completely.

Charlie never had the red or hot spots that are often associated with
allergies, but his coat was very dry and coarse. (His oil helped that part
quite a lot), but he was still very itchy. Anytime you touched his back,
he would twitch his skin and move away. Because of that, he never wanted to
be rubbed or petted. Now witht he Prednisone, he loves all that. Another
problem is that when he gets so itchy like that, he gets sick. Throwing his
bedding in the wash became an every day ritual. Now since the Prednisone,
he has not been sick once!

Best of luck with your little beast. I hope she gets some relief soon!

My mother had a Shiht-zu (sp??) that had terrible allergies. We had to have
allergy tests done, then began allergy shots.

Andrea


"jj" wrote in message news:T_%3b.304402$o%2.138623@sccrnsc02...
I have a 1 1/2 year old border collie with terribly itchy skin. Skin does
not appear to be dry as there is no flaking. I am trying to sort out if
she
has any food allergies, am also bathing her with oatmeal shampoo.
Occassionally I also use a spray-on skin conditioner.

The real question is how do I track down the cause of the irritation? and
is
there anything I can add to her diet that may help?

Anyone else have similar issues?

thanks

Itchiness is unfortunately very common, to almost any breed. Most often it
is caused by allergies, but there are other things that can cause it too.
Fleas, ticks, various types of mites, thyroid dysfunction, just to name a
few. If you are trying a hypo allergenic food, be sure that you are
feeding her ONLY her food for at least 8 weeks. I also started giving my
little guy a Dr. Maggie's oil supplement which has really helped the
condition of his coat. (It's an Omega3/Omega6 supplement). The people at
the pet store had suggested that some dogs have trouble extracting the
necessary nutrients from even the best quality food. A few weeks ago, I
stopped giving him his oil for about a week or so because if excessive
vomitting. I stopped his regular food, giving baby pablum for a couple of
days (due to his allergies I could not give boiled hamburger and rice).
After just that short time, I could notice how his coat began looking and
feeling worse. Apparently in some dogs, this Omega3/Omega6 fatty acid
supplement is all that is needed to help the itchies. But as in my case, it
is not.

The vet suggested I started giving him Benadryl twice a day (he started that
at about age 3 months). Starting at age 6 or 7 months, he started on a hypo
allerginic diet. (There was no hypo allergenic puppy food, and the vets did
not want him on an adult food too early). All this also helped some, but
now during this time of year he needed more. Now he is a year old, and I
just got some Prednisone early this week. Right now that is a miracle cure.
Its changed his life completely.

Charlie never had the red or hot spots that are often associated with
allergies, but his coat was very dry and coarse. (His oil helped that part
quite a lot), but he was still very itchy. Anytime you touched his back,
he would twitch his skin and move away. Because of that, he never wanted to
be rubbed or petted. Now witht he Prednisone, he loves all that. Another
problem is that when he gets so itchy like that, he gets sick. Throwing his
bedding in the wash became an every day ritual. Now since the Prednisone,
he has not been sick once!

Best of luck with your little beast. I hope she gets some relief soon!

My mother had a Shiht-zu (sp??) that had terrible allergies. We had to have
allergy tests done, then began allergy shots.

Andrea


"jj" wrote in message news:T_%3b.304402$o%2.138623@sccrnsc02...
I have a 1 1/2 year old border collie with terribly itchy skin. Skin does
not appear to be dry as there is no flaking. I am trying to sort out if
she
has any food allergies, am also bathing her with oatmeal shampoo.
Occassionally I also use a spray-on skin conditioner.

The real question is how do I track down the cause of the irritation? and
is
there anything I can add to her diet that may help?

Anyone else have similar issues?

thanks

One way to find out if it is food allergies is to go on a diet like Hills
Z/D (RX diet) and nothing else, even treats. For treat action you can take
a
portion of the alotted food for the day and store it in a zliploc bag in
the
freezer. Stay on the diet for at least a month and if it is a food allergy
you should see relief within 2-4 weeks of the start of the diet.

That sure doesn't read right! It should say that after a month you should
start to see relief if it is food allergies. Once on the hypoallergenic diet
and there IS relief .... there you stay.

-Sharon

One way to find out if it is food allergies is to go on a diet like Hills
Z/D (RX diet) and nothing else, even treats. For treat action you can take
a
portion of the alotted food for the day and store it in a zliploc bag in
the
freezer. Stay on the diet for at least a month and if it is a food allergy
you should see relief within 2-4 weeks of the start of the diet.

That sure doesn't read right! It should say that after a month you should
start to see relief if it is food allergies. Once on the hypoallergenic diet
and there IS relief .... there you stay.

-Sharon