Doggy skin allergies

[WeimaranerLover77]

I have a Weimaraner who is 18 months old, he is such a lovely dog well trained and full of character however he has skin allergies . These allergies are not only driving him mad but us as well. After many expensive tests we have found out he is allergic to dust mites and mites that can live on fabrics such as carpets, bedding, towels etc. We have purchased new tuffies beds for him, luckily we have wooden floor downstairs so he has to stay down there now and a leather settee so thats good, oh and also my house is not covered in loads and loads of dust just to set the record straight I am clean . He has his 2 piriton a day and also currently has steriods which are not ideal for a dog to continuously have throughout the rest of his life. The vet has suggested a new treatment that could cost upto £3k a year!! Does anyone have any advice?? I have heard if you bath them more regular it tends to help.
There is no doubt we will sort out the treatment for him even if it does cost such a huge amount of money (I'm sure we could find the same medicine on the web cheaper) however its such a shame for him and would ideally like to see if there is an alternative option instead of loading him full of meds.
Thanks

[Justfornowitwilldo]

I think that finding an antihistamine that works for a particular dog can be a bit hit and miss. Other than that, I'd suggest the same things I do for me as I have a dust mite allergy.

Regular cleaning (daily) of hard surfaces to get rid of dust, using a water mist and wipes on any areas that look dusty to keep it out of the air. Regularly opening the windows and airing the house, unless he also has pollen allergies. Bedding that is suggested for dust mite allergy sufferers, thrown out onto the washing line on sunny days to air it. Minimising any soft furnishings like curtains and regularly cleaning them. Soft toys can go into the freezer overnight in plastic bags.

Basically, any trace of dust to be removed whilst trying not to just stir it up into the air and anywhere that dust mites can live kept clean and dry.
If you have a spare bed for him you can alternate them so that they don't get moist.

[WeimaranerLover77]

Ooooo I never thought of using water mist instead of those awful dusters that do just seem to spread the dust everywhere else.
The beds I have are for allergies anyway they just make a terrible noise everytime he moves but better the noise that the itching.
I have noticed on another post someone mentioned this website www.aromesse.com/skin-problem/petnat-shampoo-itchy-skin.html
so I may give this a try.......
Thanks for the comments anyway they will be a great help!

[poweredbytoast]

One of my dogs developed allergies and scratched himself raw. After initial steroids we avoided long term drugs by using a combination of avoiding the allergens (cleaning a lot and keeping inside on high pollen days), changing his diet to wheat free (I think his immune system went into overdrive and he became allergic to lots of things) and copious amounts of Sudocrem on all his itchy bits. It worked better than stuff from the vet and he got used to me slathering it on. We thought we were in for a long ride but his immune system seemed to stabilise after about a year. We re-introduced wheat to his diet and he had a long and happy itch-free life. So I think what I'm trying to say is don't despair, it might not be a life-long problem.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I'm guessing the suggested medicine is Atopica it is very effective and can often be reduced over time to one tablet a week.
Have you considered immunotherapy which would be cheaper and is often very helpful for this kind of allergy,

[WeimaranerLover77]

Poweredbytoast - I was thinking about cream but then I worried what would happen if he licked it. I may give it a go though so thanks and I also hope it is something he grows out of.

Lonecatwithkitten - yes it's Atopica. I may discus immunotherapy with the vet. Isn't this where they have injections?

[MintyChops]

My dog was on Atopica and half a steroid a day for 4 years then we tried the immunotherapy and kept him on the half steroid plus Piriton. We also bathe him in Malaseb every so often. To be honest, after a good initial response to the immunotherapy, we think it is really the half steroid and Malaseb that has stopped him from scratching and nibbling himself raw. We did get a spray from the vet as well to treat the whole house which helped a bit.

I guess in summary, both Atopica and immunotherapy are very expensive and neither really did the trick. We are wondering what to do next as we don't want to keep him on even a low steroid dose.

[WeimaranerLover77]

It's a tough one isn't it. And as you say we don't want to keep him on steroids as its not any good for them in the long term. I think we may start bathing him more too and try Malaseb. Thanks mintychops for your info

[MintyChops]

Oh I know Weimaraner, it's such a horrible thing to watch him ripping at himself. I'll try to find the name of the spray as it targeted dust mites which he is allergic to just like yours. I'll get back to you....

[WeimaranerLover77]

Thanks that would be great!

[FragileTitanium]

I'm allergic to dust mites. I instituted a new cleaning regime (groan) which means I no longer have to take daily medication. In addition to the usual washing and vaccine (make sure the vac is right for dust mites otherwise you'll just be shooting them into the air and make it much worse), I sweep and steam mop the hard floors everyday - this seems to kill any dust mites left on the floors. I bought a Bissell Little Green carpet and upholstery cleaner (around £100) and shampoo all soft surfaces and carpet around every six weeks. I also make a solution from a Swedish all purpose cleaner called Grumme (Waitrose/Ocado) and fill an old Method All Purpose Spray bottle and use this to spray and wipe all hard surfaces everyday (with paper towels) - doing it this way means that it costs about 1/10th of the price of using the Method Lavender spray. Once you get used to doing this, it takes around 1 hour per day. I breathe so much easier and don't have to take any medication so I think it's worth it.....Another point is that you either have to have a brilliant cleaner or do it yourself. Cleaning for allergies is a whole different level than just general cleaning.

[FragileTitanium]

Sorry, I meant vacuuming - silly autocorrect.