Dear Dr. Becker,

My puppies are in bed shape and we don't know what to do anymore. I have a 8 month old St. Bernard and 3 1/2 year old Newfoundland. We live in South Florida. Allergies are so bad here, both for people and pets. My newfoundland is constantly on antibiotics. She has really bad skin problems and breaks out in sores all over. Her most recent breakout was the worst ever. Now it's healing cause she is on antibiotics and her skin is flaky. She also develops ear infections.

My Saint puppy already had allergy tests done at 6 months; he is allergic to basicallly all the grasses! We are thinking of taking him (actually both of them) to a specialist/dermatologist to have special immunization done for him with the grasses so that over time he becomes immune to it. He sneezes and scartches all the time. He is congested. Our vet just did an xray of his chest and it shows congestions. She said he may have chronic bronchitus because of the allergires. We were  giving him 12 benadryls per day ( he is over 80 lbs) and our vet said to switch to chlorpheniramine, which we have done. He takes 5 tablets /3 times daily  (4mg tablets). My husband seems to think the chlorpheniramine works better. He has no breakouts on his skin but his body itches all over. It is heartbreaking to watch.

We were even cooking for them: chicken, veggies and fruit but then after his allergy test we found out that he is allergic to chicken and turkey! We now have them on ACANA PACIFICA diet. They seem to love it. It has 3 types of fish in it from northern waters, probiotics etc. We also have them on Bug Off Garlic from Springtime Vitamins for flees. We used to do Cedar Oil but the Saint is allergic to cedar as well...we don't want to use any toxic stuff like Frontline etc.

Basically we are at the vet at least once per month with one issue or another....

I watched your segment on fish oils. I will be ordering Krill oil for them today from your website. What woudl you suggest as a recommended dosage? the Newf is about 130lbs and Saint 87lbs and growing?

Is there anything else that you could recommend that we do? We want to help our puppies!

Thank you for your time. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Our puppies need you!

Kasia

Are you working with a holistic vet??? If not, find one, ASAP!! (www.ahvma.org). Yes, elminating chicken and beef are really important (the most common proteins that owners over-feed, causing allergies), but you must eliminate any additional sources of carbs, such as potato starch, as well. I really recommend a raw food diet over an entirely dry/dead diet. This is the only way you can really reduce their carb intake (remember, carbs provide sugar that fosters yeast and bacteria on the skin...the reason your dogs are on antibiotics...then the antibiotics cause a yeast bloom and you're officially on the crazy "allergy drug cycle," which is why you need a holistic vet!!). Frequent disinfecting baths are critical to control opportunistic skin bacteria (I recommend twice weekly baths with teatree shampoo and a nice vinegar rinse for really itchy dogs). Providing krill oil is great, but will not cure your allergy issue...you need a profession you can work with (hands on) who can prescribe for your specific issues. Please read all of the ingredients in  your supplements and don't feed anything that has brewer's yeast in it...this will only add fuel to the yeasty fire!

Dear Dr. Becker,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I appreciate that. I already researched the holistic vet and will make an appointment as soon as my Newf is over her cold. I checked our food and it doesn't have any brewer's yeast, and it is grain free. Is there a guidline as to how much carbs per feeding? The ingredient panel on the bag says NFE(carbohydrate, max) 27%. Could I e-mail the analysis of the food to you just to get you opinion on it? I could scan it. Please kindly let me know.

For my itchy Saint, would you please give me instrustions for a vinegar rinse? Do I need to deluted with water and if so in what proportions? I want to make sure that I do it correctly.

What do you think of deluting teatree oil and water in a spray bottle on spraying the skin?

Thank you again for your help and your time!

Warmest regards,

Kasia

What's the name of the food? ( I have a huge database with most of the info in it already). Does your food contain potato, chicken, beef or rice? If yes, it has to go. Bathing is common sense to temporarily reducing skin discomfort, but it won't cure your skin issues. Use an herbal shampoo (NO oatmeal), such as Leciderm, Earthbath teatree, etc., lather well, then add 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water, pour over the dog (NOT their eyes or face :), rub in and towel dry. Happy bathing!

Hello Dr. Becker,

The food we feed is Acana Pacifica: no grains, wheat, soy, rice, chicken, beef. It does have russet potato and sweet potato. I investigated raw food diet as you suggested but we simply can't afford to feed them just raw. They are so big and need a lot of it. I found Stella and Chewys lamb raw food with no chicken eggs but it's $30 for 12 patties. That would last my Newf for 2 days....

I already did the rinse today and also bought organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and spray my Saint with it. He seems to enjoy it and maybe is scratching less. I've been doing research today about adding 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per 50lbs twice per day on their food, what are your thoughts on that? It says it kills yeast, candida and prevents itching.

Also, can they take probiotics for humans. I use good quality probitics from Garden of Life. If so, how many should I give them?

Thank you again for everything.

kasia

About 3 weeks ago I had my dog Barney with me when I visited my Mom in central FL.  After about 3 days, he started itching like crazy, scratching, licking, and biting himself.  I kept checking him for fleas, but there wasn't a critter on him.  When we drove back north to NC, he seemed to do better until pollen season began... and then he was miserable, again.  I realized while we were in FL the pollen was awful, thick yellow green film on the car, sidewalks, etc.  It's probably going to last about 3 weeks here, although the recent rains certainly help to clear the air.  I usually give him a monthly bath with Leciderm (purchased from a company in CT) but have decided to bathe him weekly until the itching stops.  Will try the vinegar in warm water rinse...

Barney has been on a raw food diet since the fall of '09 when Dr Becker's book was published.  His coat is glorious, so soft and shiny, and he's never had a problem with fleas or ticks.  I was really surprised to witness his reaction to an environmental allergin.

Hey, I'm weighing in because it might be useful and something you may not have considered...  I'm an expert on Toxic Injury and counsel people with environmental injuries nation wide and around the world. That includes research on the environmental exposures in Florida. The pesticide application there goes on year round and its intense. Its not just the agricultural applications but the urban applications as well. All those ornamentals and well manicured lawns...

This is relevant to you because, Environmental toxins deplete the immune system, which in turn leads to things like allergies. Pesticides and industrial wastes drift. You may not apply anything, even weed and feed or fertilizer, but if anyone else does, nearby, it's still in your air and settling on your property, and pets. Chemicals drift depending on volatility of particles. Most drift at least 500', (under optimum conditions) and many have been measured at substantially toxic levels at over 4 miles. Add to that road fumes and other toxins,... well, you get the idea.

As a toxically injured person, when someone sprays in my neighborhood, I have the dog walker rinse my dogs off when they come back in, or I react to the adhered toxins on their coat. I have the same problem with people who come in from contaminated environments. So, frequent baths and rinses will help to remove those toxins, which, absorb right through the skin, or your pet could be ingesting them when they lick themselves, not washed off, as well. There are actually documented studies that verify this.

What is on your dog, is getting into your dog. Needless to say, omitting toxic exposures is the first line of defense in improving symptoms of immunosuppression (which allergies are).

I once read that DuPonts PFOA chemical is soooo invasive in the environment that polar bears (with no direct exposure) test positive when checked!!!!  Great info :)

Thanks for the advice!  I now rub Barney down with a wet towel before he comes in from his walks (the first time I did this, the towel was yellow from pollen!), I change the towels he lies on in the car daily, I rinse off his collar after each walk, and vacuum his beds and the rugs daily.  He seems to be doing better.  When I called my vet, he said to give him 2 - 25 mg Benedryl twice a day... that's 100 mg a day!  I know what it does to me when I've taken it in the past, so I was reluctant to give it to him!  I didn't want to start the cycle of medicating without treating the underlying cause.  thanks to all!

Just a note, vitamin C has antihistamine properties. Frozen organic blueberries, are a great source and most dogs love them. C recharges glutathione and both combat the root cause of allergies and hysteric responses. Try that and let me know if it works.