Considering a German Shepherd with allergies? What are treatment costs?

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 very sorry to hear about your pup's chronic issues. I think the major question we need to ask ourself is, "Why is this happening?" The main reasons for rashes and itching in dogs are flea allergies, food allergies, and atopic dermatitis. We always want to rule out the first two before considering the third, as it is much more difficult to deal with and assess. With that said, you should first make sure that you are using a good flea / tick preventative medication. Given the current skin issues, I would go with something oral or a collar in terms of formulation. If this helps clear things up, great new! In terms of food allergies, this requires a systematic and methodical approach in order to rule out one food type at a time. You will have to pick one protein to feed over the course of 6-8 week periods, and feed ONLY that protein. Any addition of anything else will throw off the food trial and would require it to start all over again. There are many different food out there to try, so food trials can often take a long time before ruling this out as the cause of discomfort. If we are convinced food isn't the cause, significant diagnostics and medical therapies will be required to address atopic dermatitis. Typically, itchy disease processes such as these are better dealt with when in conjunction with an anti itching medication. This can include something like a steroid, antihistamine, or preferably a drug called Apoquel. I understand you can not afford regular vet visits for constant dermatologic work-ups. However, it might really beneficial if you can get her in there just once to have a professional get a look at what is happening. They might be able to guide you in the right direction relatively inexpensively. You can also consider reposting on her with some photos of the lesions to better allow us to help you and your dog. Hope this helps.

Hi there! I'm so sorry to hear about Sarge's itchiness. Let me see if I can help. It is always important to get our pets in to see their veterinarian if they need medical attention, so when you are able to, I'd definitely set up an appointment. In the meantime, you can try to give Sarge some benadryl (diphenhydramine). Since Sarge is so big, I would start out by giving him 75mg up to every 8 hours. If this seems to help, great. If not, you may increase to give him as much as 100mg up to every 8 hours. In addition you may want to try an over the counter moisturizing shampoo, and also try an omega 3 fatty acid supplement in his food. The supplement may take up to 6 weeks to kick in, but at least you've started it! Hopefully this will provide him with some relief until you are able to get him in to see his veterinarian! I hope you find this answer helpful! Best of luck!

Skin problems can occur for a number of reasons other than mange including allergies, infections, fleas and autoimmune problems. I would try to talk to the staff at the shelter to see if they can give you a better idea of what the underlying cause is. Some problems such as allergies or autoimmune conditions can result in a lifetime of care that may be expensive well others may be managed relatively easily.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Allergies can be caused by many factors including skin parasites, food, plants and other environmental factors, often it is difficult to impossible to find out the cause of the allergy. treatment with antibiotics and allergy meds at the vet's should cost about 80$-130$ depending on the medications used.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!