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<DIV>Our Chester has allergies Big Time. He also has no tear duct function, so has to have tons of eye drops,</DIV>
<DIV>lubricants, etc. We did not have him tested, as our vet was really not excited about and thought it was</DIV>
<DIV>inconclusive and not worth the money (Still wondering if that is true, but--) </DIV>
<DIV>We give him something called HydroOXYzine Pamoate. 100 capsules for $27.00. (the OXY is in capitals) Can have them every 8 hours. I think it is kind of a doggie benedryl. </DIV>
<DIV>We also tried Atopica, which is an immunosuppressant.</DIV>
<DIV>It is expensive ($130 a month). It did work, but it is kind of like Prednisone and pretty expensive, so I</DIV>
<DIV>was not excited about it. Last year, from October to May, Chester miraculously had NO allergy symptoms. (We just adopted him in June of that year--he is 7) </DIV>
<DIV>As soon as there was snow on the ground, his symptoms cleared up and he was off ALL allegery</DIV>
<DIV>medication for the winter. This year, I was hoping for the same--but for some reason, his allergies this</DIV>
<DIV>winter have been terrible. No change in anything in the house, same snow on the ground, so I have no idea. (This is part of the reason my vet doesn't think the testing is worth it). I also have some Prednisone that I give him 1/2 a tab every once in awhile if he is really bad. From what I have read, long term use is bad and if they become accustomed to it, you need to get them off gradually. A good friend's mother was on Pred for 20 years and died when they were trying to wean her off it, so I am scared of it. I paid for the Atopica and he was getting it--then we had a foster dog with kennel cough and Chester got really, really sick. I would try the OXY stuff, but if need be, probably pred in low doses and as little as possible. My personal feelings are that a shorter, non-itching life may be better than a longer one when he is not comfortable. Chester can be pretty .miserable.</DIV>
<DIV class=signature id=signature><BR>Marilyn Briggs <BR></DIV>
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