[Dailydrool] What I just learned about allergies

[Sabrina]

We just adopted Gumbo, a 5 year old boy, from Basset Hound Rescue of 
So. Calif. When he was surrendered by his owner, he was suffering 
from allergies, chewing his foot until bloody. The rescue vet told me 
that here in Southern California, only about 20% of allergies are 
food allergies, most often grain and sometimes chicken. Currently, 
Gumbo is on antibiotics, steroids and a grain-free restricted diet. 
The vet said that when he has finished with his medications and if 
he's not chewing, we can try adding things to his diet slowly, one at 
a time, to check for sensitivity. But in our warm climate, 80% of 
allergies are environmental, allergies to pollens, grasses, airborne 
particles, etc. Allergy shots work about 60% of the time, and it 
takes up to a year to know whether they're working. Human allergy 
drugs like Claratin, Zyrtec, Benedryl work for some dogs. If the diet 
doesn't keep his allergies under control, we may need to keep Gumbo 
on prescription Atopica. I've had Bassets for over 30 years and 
didn't realize that such a small percentage of allergies were to 
food, at least here in our warm climate.

Sabrina, Ellie, and Gumbo