Why does my dog have allergies, and how much does vet care cost?

Hello! Canine allergies can be a really difficult problem to manage, so I sympathize! There are two main classes of allergies- environmental and food. If allergy testing hasn't been done, it is an expensive investment, but it can give you a report of the most common environmental allergies. Most environments that are colder and snowier tend to have less pollens, allergens, and insects overall and many allergic dogs may cope better in colder climates for that reason. Dogs with environmental allergies benefit from regular baths and having their feet wiped down with hypoallergenic baby wipes after they go outdoors to mechanically remove any possible pollens, etc that may be stuck to the feet and triggering a reaction. Dogs that are primarily allergic to ingredients of their food may do much better on a different diet. Dogs tend to be allergic to proteins in their diet, such as beef or chicken. Grain allergies are possible but exceedingly rare- grain free diets are widely considered a marketing ploy by vets and not actually helpful. My own dog has a beef allergy and does just fine on over the counter food with no beef products, for example. It takes 8-12 weeks after exposure to the food allergen for the reaction to completely go away- for this reason, many people get frustrated with new diets too early and give up. The diet also will not work if she is being fed any outside table scraps or treats, so compliance is key. Trying a diet with a new protein she has not had before, such as fish or kangaroo, for an entire 12 weeks may be a beneficial idea to discuss with your dermatologist. If you do this, transition the food slowly over 7 days to let her GI flora adjust and make sure if you have a dog food bin, you clean it well between the two foods as to not contaminate the new food. The most important thing to remember with allergies is that she is likely constantly being exposed to them, so treatment needs to be just as constant to battle it. I hope this is helpful! Let us know if you have any more questions after your dermatology appointment!

I am so sorry to hear that Rio is having allergy issues. By allergy testing I assume you mean bloodwork? The price for this can vary significant depending on what tests are bing run and what company is used. The blood tests are also really only useful for environmental allergens such as grasses, pollens, mold etc. food allergies do not show up reliably on blood tests. There are certainly a number of inexpensive tests hour vet can perform on your dog though, to help determine if there are any complicating factors such as a skin or ear infection, or perhaps mange. A skin scraping, skin cytology and ear swabs/cytology are all things your vet may recommend. If your vet feels that Rio's issues are related to a food allergy they will discuss options with you and may recommend trying any number of prescription or other the counter foods. The important thing to remember when dealing with any allergy (and food allergies especially) is that response to treatment is not going to be immedieate, and the problem may not ever be fully resolved. A food trial can take 4-6 weeks before results are seen, and you may need to try a number of different types of food before finding one that is compatible with Rio's issues. Good luck, and I hope you are able to get Rio feeling better soon!

Allergies can be very frustrating and unfortunately also expensive to treat, especially since there is generally no cure for allergies and animals will need to have treatment throughout their lives. I would guess that Meeka might have environmental allergies in addition to her food allergies unless she has been exposed to something she is allergic to like a new food or treat recently. Vitamin E oil is unlikely to help. You could consider seeing a dermatologist - while this might be more expensive short term it could be less expensive in the long run if the dermatologist can help pinpoint the allergy and prescribe medications or even immunotherapy (allergy injections) to try to eliminate the allergy. You could also look into Care Credit as an option to help with financing: www.carecredit.com

There are a couple medications that can help dogs with allergies - prednisone (which is a steroid and low cost but high on side effects), cytopoint and apoquel (which work in a more controlled way, so less side effects, but much higher cost). Allergies are definitely an expensive, but the allergy meds above may not be more than the antibiotics you've been doing, so I'd recommend talking to your vet about those options. Good luck!

I am sorry to hear about your pup. One of our major rule-outs/possible causes in these cases is an allergy. We can have allergies to things in the environment like grass, pollen, dust (called atopy) or food allergies. We can also have flea bite hypersensitivity where just one or two flea bites can make a dog break out all over and itch. Often a secondary skin infection with bacteria or yeast develops in these cases, which require antibiotic therapy. There are some lower cost antibiotics available ahttp://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.htmls generic drugs at many grocery stores, so if you let your vet know your financial limitations, they can try to find the most cost effective options. Sometimes once the secondary infection is under control the itching may be managed with a lower cost drug like an antihistamine such as hydroxyzine, benadryl, or zyrtec, along with a fatty acid supplement. Being on an effective flea preventative is also crucial in these cases. You can read more about allergies at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952662 . I would look around to see if there are any low cost clinics in your area. Sometimes the human society or APL or ASPCA will have these. Some vet clinics will also take payment plans or work with companies like Care Credit to offer payment plans. You can read more about ideas to help pay for vet care at http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html

There are many anti allergy medications which can help relieve symptoms if topical creams are not sufficient after 48-72hours. It is helpful to try to narrow down the type of allergy - food is best treated with a specialist diet, environmental allergies with prescription tablets/injections and flea allergies with meticulous parasite prevention. If symptoms are not resolving I recommend a recheck with your vet to fully investigate any additional compllications such as surface infections and to formulate a long term management plan. Allergies are rarely if ever cured but can be well managed with ongoing care

If the reason is fleas indeed the consultation should cost you between 35-50$, the flea products should cost you about 50$ for 3 months. by the way it looks, i would not be surprised if your dog had mange rather than fleas.