How can I treat my dog's chronic allergies without huge vet bills?

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

I would recommend the following to see if you get improvement without having to get these allergy shots. These can be quite beneficial and I've seen many dogs on these alone for allergy relief. 1. Douxo Calm PS shampoo 2. Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent 3. Krillex krill chews 4. Redonyl ultra soft chews I hope this helps! You can also use an antihistamine such as Benadryl along with all of these if the symptoms are still bad. ( https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ )

Poor girl! Allergies are so frustrating but can be rewarding if you can find what works best for her. I would strongly talk to your vet about long term steroids and anti-fungals. Steroids long term are not ideal for her liver and kidneys but if it is the only thing that will keep her comfortable then it may be the only choice. If you don't want to do that, you can also try apoquel and cytopoint together. I have success with this combo as well and have been told by a dermatologist that it is safe to do together. From the picture, it looks like she is covered in yeast and needs some anti-fungal medicine as well. I personally like terbinafine and recently had a dermatologist tell me it is okay to use long term. I have 2-3 dogs currently on it long term and it has helped a lot. Talk to your vet about proper dosing for Kiley. I usually do it daily for 1-2 months then decrease the dose to every Monday and Tuesday long term. I would also be bathing her with a medicated shampoo like miconahex-triz 2-3 times per week. If you don't already, put her on some omega-3 fatty acids. Also, I know you mentioned some food changes but if you haven't tried a food trial with a PRESCRIPTION hypoallergenic food, I would also talk to your vet about this as well. Once you get the itching and yeast under control, you may be able to switch her to from the steroid to apoquel or cytopoint and they may work better. I hope this helps!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Allergies are extremely difficult to manage especially with a dog that is not amenable to treatment. The strongest oral sedatives available can only be gotten from your veterinarian. They cannot be purchased over the counter without a prescription. The best over the counter medication I have seen work well is called Zylkene. It is not cheap but I think it is worth a try. He would need the large dog size and would get one per day. I would give one per day and use it everyday until the bottle runs out (30 days) and if it works, great, you can keep him on it. If it doesn't work, then you can stop. ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=115875 ) I would also recommend a leave-on mousse instead of a shampoo. These are medicated and work very well either in between baths or for dogs that are not amenable to bathing. I would use the "CALM" when he has no lesions on his skin. If he does have lesions on the skin (hot spots, etc) then I would use the S3 PYO until the lesions are healed and then go back to the CALM. You don't have to do his whole body - just the major affected areas. You need to make sure it gets on his skin and not just on the hair. You can use it every day if necessary - you will just need to see how he is doing which will dictate how often to apply it. ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=153532 ) ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=145608 ) Finally, I would recommend putting him on a fatty acid supplement if he is not already on one. This helps to maintain the integrity of the skin. I like this one: ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=118404 ) Honestly, the best option is to take him to your vet and discuss with them a medication called Apoquel. It works great at keeping allergies under control, it is an oral tablet so typically easy to give and it will keep him from scratching and itching and having all the allergy symptoms. This way he is comfortable and you don't have to force topical treatments on him. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi there. In terms of over-the-counter options, you could try bathing her a hydrocortisone "anti-itch" dog shampoo to help relieve the itching. The effects of this are usually pretty temporary, but it's inexpensive and generally safe. If you want something more effective, I would recommend taking her in for a vet visit to find out what's causing the itching and get her started on prescription medication to treat it. If she does have an allergy, there are often simple options like prednisone tablets and/or antibiotics that can be very effective at treating the symptoms. This shouldn't need to be an expensive visit, especially if you let the vet know that you have cost concerns. Costs will vary depending on where you live - but to give you a general idea, in my area, an exam and short course of meds to make her feel better would typically cost less than $100 total.

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!

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