Hello from cali

[Bentley]

My yellow lab is 2 1/2 years old and he has allergies according to his vet. He has very itchy eyes and does bite and scratch as if he has fleas. Absolutely no signs of fleas. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there anything I can do to help him? Vet said to give him Benadryl but doesn't seem to give him much relief. How long can I keep giving him this without any side effects. I also just started feeding him grain free dog food. Hoping that might help soon.

[barry581]

These issues could be caused by a number of things, my first guess would be a food issue. Going grain free could help, but this type of issue could be caused by the type of protein too. Chicken can cause issues in Labs, as can potatoes/sweet potatoes.

What were you feeding? What did you change to??

[Rosy]

I agree with Barry! Ask your vet if this a sign of food allergies, and what are the best treatment for this.

[Doreen Davis]

Benadryl will only treat the symptoms. You need to get to root cause. Has he scratched and itched and licked so much that he's opened up the skin to bacteria and yeast? Could it possibly be environmental and not food? I'd ask the vet to check for yeast or bacteria in the skin. There are some oldsters here who remember our Amy, we used to call her the allergy queen. The only way we got a handle on it was to get her to a dermatology vet. It's another cost but in the end it saved us. You can also google allergy in dogs and take a look at some of the websites that describe possible causes.

[ronmcq]

Welcome to the board.
I had the same issues you are describing when Buddy was a year old. The vet diagnosed allergies and the screening came back showing allergic to many things. He prescribed immune system suppressants and antibiotics WOAH! He then mentioned a yeast infection in his ears (they smelled like Fritos). I threw away the medications and started treating the skin with Malaseb shampoo baths and changed his diet. Gave him probiotics to get the bacteria levels in his intestines to a manageable level to control the yeast. It took several months but now 1 1/2 years later he has been free of itching, has a beautiful coat.
Do a search on the board for 'Yeast Infection' and you'll find how common it is, the causes and treatments.
I hope you get your boy healthy soon and again welcome. Ron

[JenC]

Definitely remove chicken from the diet. ALL forms.

[Bentley]

Thank you for your response. I was feeding him Kirkland brand from Costco. I've changed him to Pure Balance with salmon & peas. Still in the transition stage but I do believe it might already be helping. (fingers crossed) Bought a product called Licks recommended by Petco for skin & allergies.

[barry581]

Thank you for your response. I was feeding him Kirkland brand from Costco. I've changed him to Pure Balance with salmon & peas. Still in the transition stage but I do believe it might already be helping. (fingers crossed) Bought a product called Licks recommended by Petco for skin & allergies.

I looked up the ingredients and it shows poultry fat and white potatoes. Hope this food works for you, but these two things can also cause issues.

[Bentley]

What brand of dog food would you recommend?

[Snowshoe]

Environtmental allergies are more common than food allergies. If you do suspect food you might consider the NutriScan saliva test.

NutriScan Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Test for Cats and Dogs - Dr. Dodds

We seem to be over the allergies, which is quite rare. But if you want to change food, what we did, though for another reason, was a home cooked diet of just one novel protein and one novel carb, for three months. No itching and we were sure the allergies were seasonal environmental but it was a gut issue and some Vets now believe the gut is a source of many such problems. In fact there is an article in the Toronto Star just today on research on the same connection in people. Good Luck.