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<DIV>As much as we hated to do it last month when the Benadryl wasn't working
for Freddie's itching we had to get Hydroxyzine from our vet (actually vet gives
us scrip to take to Sam's club, much cheaper). Then when that alone didn't
work we had to add prednisone. Freddie was on the pred for about 3 weeks,
but only full dose for one week to get the scratching under
control. We went down to half a tablet daily, then every other
day. He has been off it for a few days now and I'm praying the itching
doesn't return. Our vet has us bathing him once a week and a drooler
suggested we use dandruff shampoo. They suggested that oatmeal shampoo
actually makes it worse. The Selsun blue works - he feels great.
Still has a tiny bit of itching but the weekly bath usually takes care of
it. We also wipe him down after he's been running in grasses outside.
</DIV>
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<DIV>I have heard that some dogs are allergic to chicken. I know when I
removed it from Freddie's diet he did much better. We found Avoderm
dogfood. We spend $27 for 17.5 pounds. Not cheap but not the most
expensive either. Its lamb and rice is specifically for sensitive skin and
sensitive stomach dogs. I have one of each, so this works great for
us. The only thing is their stools are a bit bigger, but their skin and
tummies are much happier. They are so soft to pet. So I deal
with the larger stool as long as they are doing well on it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I know prednisone is not a great drug but when you have to use it short
term, it really works. We really tried to avoid it this year but poor
Freddie couldn't take the itching. Daisy may just need a couple weeks of
meds to get over this allergy season. You should speak with your
vet. I would also change the food back to Iams if she wasn't having
trouble. I know its not as great as it was 15 years ago but if she's doing
well on it, why change.? Sounds like she's reacting to the BB. That's just
my opinion, I'm no pro but we have tried several foods and found any with
chicken were giving Freddie skin issues.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best of luck to you and we hope she feels better soon!</DIV>
<DIV>Helene, Freddie and Ellie</DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="d7acb68b10523bfaaa06e2fda5820156"><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">New <B>MapQuest Local</B> shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. <A title="http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000001" href="http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000001" target="_blank">Try it out</A>!</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>