I am skeptical, what do you guys think/know?

[SnapV]

Koopa has allergy issues, we don't know yet what are causing them but he gets ear infections, skin and fur issues and he licks his paws like crazy whenever he's not on allergy medication.

We're switching his food to salmon and grain free to see if that helps but I have a nagging suspicion that his allergies are actually environmental allergies to weeds, dust or something like that. And the medication for that 1. costs a lot and 2. contains cortisone which I'm pretty sure is harmful in the long run. A guy I know at the dog park told me his vet had told him in the past that you could give human Reactine/Cetirizine to your dog to counter these allergies instead, have any of you guys tried this or heard about it? And if you guys do think it's ok and it works, what dosage do you give your allergic dog?

Thanks!

BTW I know I haven't been on the board a lot this past month (as life and work are pretty hectic) but I miss you guys and I want to try to get here more. Other than his allergies Koopa is doing great and he made really good dog friends at the park nearby (all girlfriends actually :P) I'll try to snap some pictures soon and share them

[SunDance]

I would ask the vet about the human med.

[Maxx&Emma]

What are his symptoms like during cooler/colder months? Many times allergies are not food related but environmental.

[POPTOP]

Was thinking about you and Koopa just the other day. Sorry, no experience with that degree of allergy. Wanted to say hello.

[Sue-Ram]

Have you thought about having an allergy test done on him? Maybe there's something you can avoid, and not have to give him any medication.

[smartrock]

I haven't given it to my dogs but I take it myself for allergies. It's called Zyrtec in the US. Here's one article I found about it but it recommends checking with your vet for dosing. Cetirizine Hydrochloride for Dogs

[Sue]

Dosage chart. Same one my vet uses.




ETA:
Dogs require a higher dosage than humans. Also, they may not be very effective for itching. If one doesn't work, try another.

Frequent bathing with a gentle shampoo is also recommended by most vets.

[smartrock]

And, I'd say try one approach or the other, at first, because if you do both simultaneously and Koopa improves, you won't know if it was the food or the medicine. I don't know how quickly you'd see improvement with food switching (maybe someone else who has done it can give you an idea) but with medication, improvement would probably start pretty quickly (within a day or 2), if it was going to happen. Obviously, if I could cure symptoms with changing food, I'd prefer that over medication, although if I was certain it was the food, I'd do both to lessen the symptoms until the old food "washed out", then I'd stop the med.

[shellbell]

I would say it is most likely environmental. If it was food related, you'd most likely see some sort of digestive upset. Tux is on raw, but still has environmental allergies. We tried the people antihistamines, and a couple prescriptions from the vet, but they didn't seem to help. If he is licking his feet a lot, he could have a yeast infection down there. I took Tux to a holistic vet since the regular vet wasn't too helpful, she took a swab from his feet and there was a ton of yeast and bacteria. Now I shampoo his feet weekly with Ketochlor to keep it away. And the frequent bathing does help, even just a good rinse with water. There are lots of different supplements out there to help with allergies too. Fish oil, quercetin (QBC Plex by Solaray is great), and Tux takes Antronex from Standard Process. It is for liver support, as the liver helps to regulate histamines. Allergies are very frustrating, and what works for one dog doesn't always work for another. First thing I would make sure of, is that there is no secondary yeast or bacteria infection present.

[Doreen Davis]

Ceterizine is Zyrtec, an antihistamine. They treat symptoms, not root cause. You may have environmental allergies or a combo of both. The itch/scratch cycle opens the skin up to secondary infections, yeast and bacteria. They should be confirmed and then treated and confirmed again that they are gone. With the severity my older dog was dealing with we went to a derm vet. They know what they're doing and there was never any steroids done. She got allergy shots and we are no longer licking and scratching.