Judy Smallen

by Judy
(La Mesa, California)

I have a 9 year old Jack Russell terrier and she is allergic to just about everything. I got her when she was 4 months old and she was always very happy and playful. Now all she does is sleep. For her allergies I give her 1/2 a steroid every morning. This seems to control the scratching, however she has gained some weight. Could this have anything to do with her depression? Please help, as she is my baby and I am very worried about her.

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Jan 24, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Diet
by: Anonymous

My Jack is now 16 3/4. Fortunately my insurance covered for blood tests and she was diagnosed at 18 months at being allergic to all meats except turkey. She has mainly been on an egg, rice, blue whiting and turkey diet. She used to scratch continually until she was bald and sore. Try 'Hills prescription diet Egg and Rice' which is for skin support.
Jul 18, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Dog Allergies
by: Dolores

I agree with the diet elimination. You need to find out what he is allergic to. My JR scratched, threw up, etc at about that age. Through diet elimination we discovered he was allergic to chicken, also known as meat by product in alot of dog foods. We have used for the past six years Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance that allows us to get dog food with no chicken. They also have treats as well. The other thing I did was change to Prince Lorenzo Borghese Shampoos that you can get at the www.royalpetclub.com. I originally found it at Petco but they dont sell it any longer. The shampoos are organic and are formulated so you can bathe your pet every day if necessary. He had a dog with skin allergics so developed this shampoo. When Petco stopped selling it I had to buy something else and no matter what I tried my Chester still itched. So I got online and found the actual place that makes it and no more itching. When your dog has allergies you do have to really pay attention to what you do in his enviornment. Another source for allergy was that I switched from confortis to trifexis for flea control and discovered the trifexis made him itch. Went back to confortis and no more itch. Another trick during the times of year when pollen really blooming every time I let my Chester out when he comes back in I have baby wipes by the back door and I gently rub his fur to remove any pollens that may be lingering there. Then they dont work down onto his skin. This is a trick my vet told me. I do also keep benadryl on hand for the times when he itches. My dog is seven years old this month and has been doing great over the last six years. Hope this helps.
Jul 15, 2013
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starstarstarstarstar 		Jack Russell allergies
by: John

My Jack has lots of allergies too. Have you tried an elimination diet to see if there are any food allergies? We switched our Jack to a high quality grain free diet and that has helped ALOT! It is more expensive but worth it in my opinion. We also pour a little bit of fish oil over her food to help with her coat.

I would check with your vet to see if there are other options out there instead of the steroids. Because steroids can have long term effects including weight and behavior changes. There could be some over the counter stuff = like we give our Jack an over the counter anti histamine (benadryl). It has helped.

We also space out his walks throughout the day to help increase his energy levels.

Hope this helps!

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