my dog has allergies?? :( (Sarasota, Port Charlotte: tile, live, price)

[walkingmedley]

Does anyone have a dog with allergies in the area? We just moved to Florida 4 months ago. We were in Port Charlotte for 3-1/2 months and then moved to Sarasota 2 weeks ago. He was fine in Port Charlotte. Within a week of moving to our new place in Sarasota my poor dog has gotten some sort of allergy. He is a westie, and they are prone to skin problems, but he has never had problems before. He is 4 years old. Im switching his food to grain-free to make sure its not a food allergy, but I was told by a girl at the pet store that a lot of dogs get pollen allergies around here. Is this true? I also have a TON of different plants and shrubs outside. Are there any ones in particular I should watch out for that he might be reacting to? He has these bumps and scabs all over his body. He was scratching at them and they would bleed, but I have been giving him Benadryl and oatmeal baths to soothe it and he hasnt been scratching as bad, but the scabs and bumps are still there.
I just want to know if anyone has any idea what could be causing this, before I spend the $400 on allergy testing at the vet.

I will add that I have another dog and she has no symptoms of this at all, and I have checked him for fleas and dont see any or any flea dirt. Any help or tips appreciated. Or if anyone knows of a reasonably priced vet in the area, that would help too!
THanks!

[blueherons]

The fleas.

One of my three cats gets a horrible rash when the fleas hit and she is very lethargic which is going on with her right now. She is bumpy and scabby.

The fleas are quite bad right now.

Hers started about two weeks ago and we are fighting the fleas and her skin is in the process of clearing up.

[walkingmedley]

I certainly considered it, because it possibly could look like flea bites, but I dont see any on him. He is white and I looked him over pretty well and I dont see a single flea. Did you notice the fleas on your cat or just the rash?

[mt971x]

Same thing with out dog, her eye looked red/irritated and like a blister under it.

I'm not too sure what it was, but we could only think it was allergies before we took her to the vet.

Well, we gave her an asperin ( wrapped inside food) and sure enough it got better.

[Honeycrisp]

We noticed our 4 yo spinning a few times, we took in a fecal sample which was negative, then thought maybe it was anal glands and took her in for them to be expressed and neither was full so we didnt know what to think except perhaps it was fleas, we had the grass sprayed, their dog bedding but still noticed a few on them, thankfully they (especially the one) had no blisters but I felt bad for the younger one in particular, she seemed to scratch more on her belly area, our senior girl seemed totally unbothered by them, they're on pretty good food w/ no corn, soy or wheat and we use mild detergent and dont use spray powders or foams on the carpet so I dont know what the heck it was, right now we're back north and all seems fine, knock wood, but will be returning to FL in the summer and I hate to have it happen again. My only thought is that the Frontline Plus isnt working as well as it used to - have heard that from others as well and will be changing to something more effective but I'd like to finish it up as I bought a few pkgs but of course if it's not effective, will have to rethink that scenario. Allergies in FL also crossed my mind but she's hardly outside there except for some very brief walks etc, the flooring is a combination of tile and carpeting.

[SunshineandBlueSkies]

my vet told me to give benadryl for the itching; it works. My dog itches like crazy.
He also gets yeast infections on his feet all the time. (reddish brown areas). Ketoconazole works for this, I gave him 2 pills a day for 30 days and the symptoms do not come back for a while. My vet has them for like .30 cents a pill. It took me a whole year going to a lousy vet, to find a good one who helped.(i dont live near Sarasota) I also use Zymox when his ears get infected. I swear by that product. Poor thing is so sensitive to everything.

My other dog has no problems at all, go figure.

also, little did I know... but the Sago Palm tree...well the seeds are actually toxic to pets. I have a few in my yard, but my pets have stayed away. please be aware of this.

good luck

[TamRE]

Yes, many dogs get allergies in FL. It is worse certain times of the year. Fleas can cause allergies, but most often the dog is allergic to something outside. Our last dog had allergies and the vet said the testing wasn't worth it because it won't pinpoint the exact plant that he may be allergic to. He said to wipe the dogs feet with a non-scented wet wipe every time he came back in from being outside. Also, you can wipe the body. He also recommended giving my dog a pill like benadryl. I used the Walmart brand. The vet also gave me a special shampoo for my dog. I had bought the oatmeal shampoo at the pet store and the vet said, DO NOT use that. He said the oatmeal dries the skin and makes it worse, contrary to what the label says. My moms dog also has skin allergies and her vet recommended the same, taking a benadryl and wiping the feet and body. Not much else you can do. It makes you feel so bad when the dog is helpless and I know it drives them crazy.

And yes, there are a lot of plants in Florida that are poisonous to pets. My brother's dog got permanent liver damage from eating one of the orange berries off of a Sago Palm. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

[CheriC]

Yes dogs get allergies. I have seen my dogs chew their feet during pollen season. I rinse their feet with the garden hose after they've been out, it's helped this season.
The best way to check for fleas is to scratch your dog and massage their skin while they are sitting or laying on a surface floor like tile or wood, then take a damp papertowel and wipe the floor where your dog was sitting, if you see specs of red on the papertowel your dog is being bite by fleas.
Hope your dog gets well soon!

[nphomeowner]

We've been using the frontline plus year round here and so far NO fleas. Our neighbor's dog and cats have them bad though. I'm just glad the frontline is working for us.

[walkingmedley]

Thanks for the tips guys. I will definitely try wiping his feet before coming in. I need to figure out what kind of plants we have outside, since tehre are so many and I have no idea what any of them are!
I have to really limit his outside time to just going to the bathroom now and watch him well, since he tends to go and roll around in the grass and dirt now since hes so itchy. Im sure that doesnt make it any better.
Poor thing, I feel so bad for him. For those of you that give Benadryl, do you give it to them once or twice a day? I have been giving a dose of 1mg/lb, so since he is around 12 pounds, half a 25 mg tablet. I usually just give it to him in the morning, but am thinking of giving another dose in the evening and see if that helps.