Boston Terrier with bad skin allergys! What do I need to give him?
I have a 11 month old boston terrier, he has really bad allergys of some sort. he scratches all the time so much that he has little hair on his hips and butt. we took him to the vet she said he was alergic to fleas , he might have one or two at the most on him. he gets a bath once a week and is a inside and outside dog. we gave him the meds she gave us but it didn't really help. is there something else I can do for him?
2008-03-24T00:47:19Z
the vet told me to start using only lamb and rice food so he has been on that for about 4 months, as for the flea stuff we tryed advantax it didn't work but just the first 2 days then they were back on him
Luv2no is in the house2008-03-24T00:26:16Z
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25 mg. of benadryl. I use childrens without the dye. Vet told me to do that/ My terriors have allergies also. You give your dog once a week!! That is way to much, that's what has him all dryed out. You should only bathe a dog once a month!!Your can buy Hartz Rosemary Skin Balm and see if that helps. It worked for my dogs.
If it's a flea allergy a product called ADVANTAGE is what will work best. It will kill the flea before they bite. The allergy is to the flea's saliva so if you kill the fleas before they bite, saliva doesn't even get a chance to come into contact with the skin, thus preventing the reaction. Use this 12 months of the year!!!!!! They come in 4-6 month supplies and I would shop around for the cheapest one (only sold at vet offices) because prices vary from each office and some can be really pricy!
If it isn't a flea allergy (you will know this if after using advantage for at least one month doesn't work) then you have to do many tests/trials to determine what the allergy is. Be prepared to spend lots!
Good luck. Hopefully it's just the flea allergy, much easier to deal with.
Do NOT (ever!) give pets human drugs/drugs not prescribed by a vet specifically for YOUR animal. Everything is done by weight and also there are some drugs that no matter what dosage they get can be fatal. Always consult a vet first.
Depending on whether the 'medicine' from the vet was topical or internal, your weekly bath may have washed away the flea product before it had a chance to work.
If the meds were internal, he will still be scratching from the OLD bites, from the chemical that the flea stuck in the dog's skin when it bit him. Think of how we itch long after the mosquito that bit us has been smashed. You could either take him to a groomer for an oatmeal bath and a remoisturizer follow up, then I would have them only towel dry him, not blow dry him. The heat will only re-aggravate the bite wounds.
If you bathe him yourself, resist the urge to scrub the shampoo in, you just want to gently apply it and be sure you dilute it very much so that it is just colored water almost. DO NOT use HOT water but just lukewarm. Don't forget a good remoisturizer for after his shampoo, this is what will soothe the skin. Let it sit on him for at least 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing out.
Next you need to figure out where all these fleas are coming from and if you have other animals in the home, they ALL must be treated with an Advantage like product so that they don't just hold onto the fleas until your Bostons medication gets weak then the fleas will jump back on your Boston. Especially if you have indoor/outdoor cats, they will bring home all kinds of new fleas.
It sounds like it is flea allergies not food however if you want to try a good food try Wellness. It is very expensive but has no by products, corn or soy. As far as the flea meds the fleas will remain on the dog for a little while. They do not instantly disappear. Like any other medicine it gets into the flea system stops the females from producing the eggs and than kills the adults. If your pup had fleas before they are in your carpet so it will take a good 30 days of using the flea meds before you will get results.
once a week is really too often for a bath and may be dryng his skin out even more making the problem worse. if he's allergic to fleas one flea will cause him to have a reaction. it doesnt take any more than that. what he is actually allergic to is the saliva so when the flea bites him he will start scratching and losing hair, he really needs to be on something like Frontline or Advantage if he isnt already. both are available at your vet's office or at 1-800-PETMEDS. i prefer Frontline personally but they are both very effective. dont waste your money with the drops from Walmart made by Hartz as they are useless and you might as well put that money towards something that is actually going to work. flea shampoos are also a waste of time as they only keep the fleas off for a couple days and are really harsh on the skin. good luck hope this helps. feel free to email me with any other questions
EDIT: by the way dogs dont sweat. its why they pant. its their only way of regulating their temperature