So, I need some brainstorming... Bulldog allergies.

[Danefied]

A shot in the dark, but how about supplementing him with MSM? That stuff does wonders for the immune system. If you buy it at a feed store its pretty cheap, and its good for them anyway even if it doesn***8217;t do anything for the allergies.

[yoko]

This is the second dog I've heard that is allergic to human dander O.o that just seems crazy to me.

My bosses dog sounds like your dog. I know there are side effects but have you tried using steriods? I think her dog is on allergy shots and steroids. The dog still isn't great looking but definitely looks better than it was.

Originally Posted by yoko

I know there are side effects but have you tried using steriods? I think her dog is on allergy shots and steroids. The dog still isn't great looking but definitely looks better than it was.

Ohhh steroids are a bad idea for this dog, in terms of aggression side effects, or he'd be on them.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by SevenSins

Ohhh steroids are a bad idea for this dog, in terms of aggression side effects, or he'd be on them.

Sorry about that. I just text my supervisor to see if there was anything else they were doing with their dog that might help but it sounds like it's pretty much what you are doing now.

I don't have any more ideas but will send vibes. My neighbors dog had grass allergies when I was growing up and I know it can be miserable for the owner and the dog.

Originally Posted by Danefied

A shot in the dark, but how about supplementing him with MSM? That stuff does wonders for the immune system. If you buy it at a feed store its pretty cheap, and its good for them anyway even if it doesn’t do anything for the allergies.

Never really thought of it, I'll give it a look. Can't hurt right? Poor dog is going to be on more supplements than I am. LOL

[JessLough]

Renegade is basically allergic to the world. His coat looks like **** cause of it. I just feed a fish based food and daily Benedryl

I also give him benebac to help

[elegy]

Atopica. It's effing expensive but it works.

[Ratboy]

I hope you find some solution, but I never did with Molly. I tried several different foods, special supplements, etc, and all they really did was give her gas, or do nothing at all. I don't know why, or how it happened, but at the age of almost 13, all her scratching, itching, losing hair, etc, stopped/disappeared. It's like a switch was turned off. At almost 14, she has the best coat she has ever had, over a year now without any scratching. I turned the heat on about a month ago, and kind of expected her to start scratching within a day or two, but it never happened, so I guess it really is over with. If only her hips would fix themselves like that.

Originally Posted by elegy

Atopica. It's effing expensive but it works.

It also can cause kidney and liver damage and higher incidence of cancer, so that's something I'd definitely have to think about before I gave it to him. Relief from being itchy from existing allergies now vs. potential but not guaranteed cancer and/or kidney and/or liver failure later. That's a tough decision.

Just to update... Ended up putting Mr. Boodawg/Beezer (American Bulldog) on Triamcinolone pills and discontinuing the allergy shots for now as per his dermatologist. He looks amazing. Coat is thick and WHITE instead of yellow, greasy, dull, and brittle. He's perky and bouncy. He's actually bordering on fat now so I have to readjust his meals, rather than practically shoveling food in like I was feeding a leaking steam engine just to keep him slightly above emaciated. He also has ZERO itch response when I scratch his underside, which was his most affected area. When I thought about it this morning I realized he hasn't scratched at all that I can remember in almost a week, since starting on the Triamcinolone. The worst side effect I've noticed thus far is panting for no reason, which is listed as a common side effect, but it doesn't happen often and as side effects go that's one of the most mild ones... I'll take it.

This was a trial round, because we were worried about putting him on any type of steroid. In all honesty, it was a "what's the worst that can happen?" When taking the alternative into consideration, because we were slowly but surely getting to that point. Not really looking forward to what's going to happen once he weans off them at this point, in a few weeks, but my derm vet is probably going to discuss the pros and cons of keeping him on them long term. I know the nearly inevitable long term effects, and if I had to make the decision right now, they would definitely be worth it. We'll see what happens when he's on the lower dose before weaning off.

Part of me feels terrible though, just because I "could have" alleviated the misery he was going through a lot sooner if I had just tried this first rather than trying the allergy shots, antihistamines and medicated topicals first. I obviously couldn't have seen into the future and predicted that it would help this much, with nearly no side effects (aside from what may happen long term), but it still bothers me.