Allergic reaction

[goldenbear2013]

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Hi all.

My dog Bear started throwing his food up a few days a go, then started eating grass to make himself sick, followed by a hacking cough which I thought could be kennel cough.

He has now developed a rash on his belly and under arms and the poor guy won't stop scratching. He is continuing to make himself sick by eating grass too.

I have soaked his food so it's easier for him to eat and he has brought that back up today however before his breakfast this morning he ate grass to make himself sick twice!

The rash has covered his lower half and isn't as red today, but I have put his cone on the stop him scratching which I assume is the reason it isn't as red as it was.

I'm convinced he has had an allergic reaction to something and we are seeing the vet this afternoon, but I wanted to see if anyone had experienced the same thing with their dog and what the cause was?

We haven't changed his diet or any cleaning products for his bedding so I think it's something from outside?

If anyone has ideas I'd appreciate the feedback as my poor guy is not a happy pooch right now

Sophie & Bear x

 

[eingana]

Oh, poor Bear

I have known dogs have allergies to grass, or just to grass pollen so they're safe on grass the majority of the time but react desperately to it when it's not kept trimmed and is allowed to seed. Or it could be bracken pollen- that's not just a potent allergen, it's carcinogenic too, or a whole load of other things from pesticide sprays to a food allergy. It's a physical impossibility to develop an allergy to a substance that you have not met before. An allergy happens when your body creates an antibody to something harmless, but it can't do that without having the first presentation of the item. The downside of this is that you don't know whether it's the second time of meeting on which the allergy expresses itself or the 10,000th time. It could literally be anything, including household detergents, food etc. I have an allergy problem and have apparently random whole body or torso rashes for no apparent reason and nobody has ever been able to work out what is causing it, I just get itchy once or twice a year and it hangs around for a couple of weeks before disappearing with steroids and antihistamines.

Have you given him an antihistamine to make him more comfortable? Human Piriton is safe for dogs, at one tablet daily for a dog of lab size or half for a smaller dog. It's Piriton or equivalents which is well tested and safe, not Piriteze or Pirit-anything else- the generic name you're looking for is chlorphenamine or chlorpheniramine (same agent)- and tell the pharmacist that it's for you or they will refuse to sell it to you for a dog. It's very cheap and can make a huge difference to rashes and the like and has the added side effect of very slightly sedating them so they are more likely to rest and not fuss at the rash constantly.

I hope that Bear is a little less itchy soon

 

[goldenbear2013]

This is a very late reply, as I have had problems with my lap top, but thank you for such a detailed response.

We took Bear to the vet and they gave him Piriton like you said, steroids and some anti biotics.

It soon cleared up and so he hasnt had another reaction.

Thank you again x