Ridgeback with various allergies, end of my rope, please help!!

[AlienananaReflux]

so, we can't afford the £500 for blood tests to find out exactly what he's allergic to, definitely know it's dust mites, and wheat......

so, he's on wheat free food, and then there's his bed.... grrrrrrrr..... bought dust mite sheets, but they only seem to make it a bit better, not cure it, have to change his bedding ALL the time, we have laminate, so no carpets, and he only lays in his bed not on sofas or our beds.

He flaps his ears when he's having an allergic reaction, and they're so sore at the moment, I've tried sensitive washing powder, and we give him piriton type pills.

does anyone have any experience of this? any ideas?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Have you sprayed the house with Indorex or Acclaim both work against dust mites.

[AlienananaReflux]

No lonecat!! thanks for that I'll have a look, I did buy some dust mite spray when we were going to a caravan for a holiday, thought it was crap though, but I did get it from Ebay.

[daisydotandgertie]

How have you established it's dust mites?

Which wheat free food is he on?

Has he been checked for harvest mites?

Do you have him insured?

Sorry for questions ....

[Cuebill]

Dust mites is an easy one to deal with - especially with laminate. Plastic dog bed with vet bed in it = washed on 60 degree wash every other day.

Vet bed car if you take him out in that regularly.

If he has a flare up check it will take a while to settle down again but once under control it is one of the easier allergies to deal with

[Piffle]

Get thyroid tested!
My RR was mega allergic - frequent pyoderma, injections
Inflamed paws ears tummy
Piriton 8 mths a year -allergy tests showed allergy to beef fish bamboo dust mites and grass
Since thyroid medication
No symptoms at all
Healthy 4 yr old no skin issues
Feel free to PM me :-)

[AlienananaReflux]

thanks for the replies.

To answer your questions daisy

He had a terrible flair up when some friends had him for the weekend, they had carpets, so we went down that road, and managed to make a big improvement, so in sure dust mites is one of them.

he's in wainwrights, cans and biscuits, as he was so miserable in just biscuits!

No, never had harvest nite test, and yes, he's insured, but because we had taken him once before policy,to get ear drips, before we knew, they said it was pre existing and won't pay for tests. bastards!


Thyroid test eh? is that cheaper than blood tests?

Thank you all fir your help

[MyNewVenture]

My parents once took on a dog with allergy problems and it turned out to be the floor cleaner the previous owners were using ...

[MyNewVenture]

PS: what is his bed and bedding made from?

[AlienananaReflux]

his bed is not great, admittedly, it's a soft one, where I can wash covers but nit sponge inside, hence dust mite sheets, thought they couldn't get through them?

[lifeistooshorttodrinkcheapwine]

my ridgeback, when she was alive, had endless allergies - puffed up eyes, sore ears and rashes in her armpits and groin - it was grass seeds and weedkillers etc. The vet kept giving her steroids everytime it flared up until i got fed up paying endless vet bills and i didn't like her being doped up on medication all the time, and a friend suggested i try homeopathic remedies - just the kind for humans that Boots sell - i tried her on graphite and the rashes cleared up!! its worth experimenting to get the right combination for your dog

[Piffle]

Thyroid test is a blood test
I also moved to raw feeding after allergies to certain foods
Now aged 4 she's very healthy indeed. At one point her skin issues were so severe we were thinking about putting her to sleep as she was so poorly and miserable and nothing fixed her...

[LadyTurmoil]

I have no experience with this but someone I know has a Shiba Inu (4yr old neuteured male). He was biting his legs and had bald patches and other skin problems. Since they've switched to a varied raw food diet (with seaweed extract added and other stuff I can't remember) his skin/fur has got much better. He's stopped biting at himself and doesn't have a red a**hole either (sorry TMI, I know).