Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Benadryl for my itchy dog??

We have a 60 pound German Shepherd that we are fostering and she seems to have skin allergies. She will scratch and bite at one place on her body until there is no hair and it is bloody and full of puss. We cannot get her to stop! We gave her a bath in moistuizing baby shampoo, but we don't want to give her another one since you aren't supposed to give GSD's many baths since it could dry out their coat.



She is on a high quality all natural dog food with no by-products and she also gets veggies, olive oil and meat. So we know her diet is good.



I know you can give benadryl to dogs, but what dosage is appropriate and for how long can you give it to them?



(I have also read that you are not supposed to give them the liquid form... why is that?)



Any help is much appreciated!



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Your girl may be an allergy dog.



She needs to be seen by a vet and talk about a food trial. Some dogs are allergic to various things in their food (you'd be surprised - I have an allergy dog myself).



The way this works is you give them a restricted diet of a food they've never had before for a month or so and see how they do - for example, my lab eats Venison and Potato. If the allergies clear up, you keep her on that food. If they stay the same or get worse, you try something else - For example Fish and Sweet potato. There are special kibbles that had these ingredients.



If you treat with Benedryl or some other drug, you are treating the symptom not the cause. If you alleviate the cause, you have no symptoms.



My yellow lab is a food and inhalent allergy dog. My old vet drugged her to death. She was on all kinds of drugs (not benedryl but prescription strength meds). She still ate her feet, itched and was miserable as well as sleepy all the time.



Please don't just medicate your dog with human medications. It's not a good idea and may be dangerous. There is hope for your girl. You need to figure out the cause and alleviate it AND treat the symptoms along the way. That's the answser and your vet can help you with that.



My old vet wouldn't do that. I switched vets. My new one put my girl on a food trial, took her off all her meds and she's 90% better. We only have to treat her symptoms during the worst part of the summer.



She's much happier, healthier and not drugged so much that she can't move.



Good luck.



Edit:



The spots she's getting sound like hot spots. My girl would chew on herself in certain spots when she was itchy until she'd get a hot spot. Then it would get infected and we'd end up treating an infection too.



An allergy dog is an adventure. It seems to bring on all kinds of other illnesses until you get the allergies under control.



Mine also had chronic ear infections - how are her ears? With a GSD, probably ok but it's another symptom.



Believe it or not, some dogs are even allergic to plastic food bowls - switch to stainless or ceramic!



Once you get the allergies under control, all the other stuff goes away. It's amazing.



I'd at least ask about this... I hope this does help. =)



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

i suggest that you call your local vet and ask them because you do not want to over medicate your pet.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

DON'T DO IT WITHOUT DISCUSSING IT WITH A VET!!!!!I



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

why havent you brought it to the vet to make sure it isnt something like mites or mange?



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

See a vet and they can give you the medication she needs and maybe they can give her a cone so she cant bite and scratch in the infected area. Hope she gets better. x



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

you can give him 2 benadryl put it in peanut butter and just let him lick it off the spoon. that should help you can give it to him once a day and see how that goes, if it seems like it helps but at the end of the day he starts again give him 1 more tab. i had a pug who did this alot and this is what the vet told me to do.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Is your dog on Frontline Plus?



If she isn't then I highly recommend you put her on it. A lot of times itching is because of fleas and bugs. Only use the Plus, and you will be amazed by the difference.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

When our BT was on a Benadryl regiment, it was 1/2 a pill 2x a day. Now mind you our dog is only 13 lbs, so it may be more for a larger dog.



But like what everyone else has already said - consult a vet (that's what we did).



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

You should give only the pill form. One pill for a 60 pound dog. Check with the vet and online information about benadryl for dogs



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

I do not know for sure, but before giving your dog human medication, why don't you talk to your vet. Perhaps he could run some allergy tests to see if your dog might have allergies and what to. Then you could try clearing it up that way. If your dog is suffering immensly and can't wait for a allergy test to come back, I would reccommend bathing your dog with TropiClean OxyMed Oatmeal Shampoo. It helps cut down on itchyness and skin irritation. It shouldn't dry your dog's coat out either. You can also ask your vet over the phone about Benadryl or another OTC medication you may be able to give your dog.



Best wishes!



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

you don't want to give her benadryl long term because chronic use weakens their immune system (with humans also) making them prone to cancers and infections. It also builds up tolerance, so when your dog may need benadryl in an emergency like a bad reaction to bee stings or ant bites, the benadryl might not work, also it won't work forever with her skin because of the body building a tolerance. I would bring your dog to a holistic vet or any vet and only use the benadryl in emergencies. And limit the baths since the fewer baths you give the more natural skin oils she'll have.



anyway though, the benadryl dose for dogs is for every 1lb, you give 1mg of benadryl.'



Added: you can get free food samples at small pet stores. California natural is supposed to be for sensitive stomach/allergy prone dogs, instead of rice (which most dogs dont need anyway-rice is a filler) it uses sweet potatoes.



http://www.californianaturalpet.com/



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Benadryl is safe for dogs, I use to give 1 to my 16 lb min-pin, 2 would be the correct dose for a 60 lb GS. BTW- I was Instructed to do so by my vet...



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

our golden used to have the same problem. i forget the name of the meds, but the vet can prescribe her with something that helps



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Remember that just because it's a high quality dog food you are feeding her, she could still be allergic to something in it.



Benedryl is weight based, so go by her weight and follow the directions. I think liquid is just harder to administer, you can certainly use it on the dog. Most people suggest the clear benedryl with no added dyes.



Benedryl is like a bandaid, it's going to help, but it's not going to fix the problem. You should still see a vet to make sure the area she's been biting and scratching at is not infected and is healing properly. You also need to explore what is causing her allergies. It could be environmental, food related, or stress related, to name a few things.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

It's probably fleas!



Advantix works better than Frontline



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Yes, you should see a vet to rule out environmental allergies (detergent you've used on blankets, febreeze or carpet deodorizer, even the dish detergent you use on his bowls). And the above poster's food trial is an excellent idea.



However, Benadryl is give one milligram per pound of body weight (mgs are on the package). Children's is 12.5 mg per dose (one chewable tablet) and adult dose is 25mg per pill. I wouldn't giev him more than 2 adult doses a day and I'd split it into two- one pill at breakfast, one at dinner.



I have given the liquid to my dog (she is allergic to bees, benadryl buys her time to get to a vet, and liquid is absorbed the fastest). However, hiding a pill in some cheese or peanut butter is far easier than trying to get them to swallow bitter liquid.



In the summer, she's allergic to cut grass (licks her feet) and I give her tablets every time she starts licking (up to several times a week). I have a vet student friend whose dog gets Benadryl every day because the poor thing is allergic to *everything*. If you wanted to use it long-term, I'd get the vet's okay first. But every day until symptoms stop (usually a week or so) is probably okay.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Vet please, and check the ingredients of the food that you've got. Corn and wheat cause allergies, so you may wish to switch to a no-grain diet to see if that's the problem. You may want to switch to a raw diet, but don't expect your vet to be too excited about that. Most vets would rather sell you Science Diet than give you good nutritional advice.....buyer beware.



http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/ca...



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Especially because you are fostering her and she is not YOURS, then I would first call the rescue and see what they recommend, then also call a vet.



You can give dogs benadryl, but to find the health risks/benifits you should speak with the rescue or vet about it..



They say no on the liquid form because it is more potent then the pill form



Also it could actuall ybe food allergies not skin, so check that.



Use oatmeal baths, and try putting a little oliveoil in her food tohelp w/ the dry skin



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Just because she's on a natural diet, does NOT mean she isn't allergic to some of the food. Consider that (it could be the olive oil, another ingred. other than a by-pro-product).



Recommended for an adult Boxer (which had severe hives fr. wasp stings) WAS liquid form,... Benadryl Pediatric form syrup,..Children's Elixir @ initially 1 tsp. then 1/2 tsp. thereafter.



Can give for few days till allergy symptoms subside.



But you would NOT want to give continuously,... it makes the dog drowsy and the cause should be found out for the allergy symptom.



Hope this helps.



Gd. luck.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

You shouldn't have washed with baby shampoo- it dries their skin out.. Give her an OATMEAL bath, oatmeal with moustuize, and help sooth the itching..



You can give a dog bedydryl, CALL THE VET TO assure the proper dosing, as they are normally formulated for a 1540 pound person.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Liquid is fine for puppies but it would easier to give this dog pills since it's grown..in peanut butter or something. You want to give the dog 1 milligram per pound so 60 milligrams in this case.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

My vet recently told me NOT to give a dog benadryl, leads to digestive problems.



Sounds like "hot spots" my vet suggested treating future out breaks with Witch Hazel. It will soothe and dry up the pussiness.



Corn is usually the culprit alergen. Check food ingredients.



hug your pup for me, feel better



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

1 pill per 25 pounds-normal benadryl



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

We have a 65-pound male black lab that stays outdoors that did the SAME exact thing this summer/fall. He would scratch and scratch and scratch at the base of his tail where it meets his back (but had no fleas that we know of) until he was just raw and yucky.



We took him to the vet and she said that he is suffering from some sort of allergy and that for approximately $500, we could have him tested and find out exactly WHAT he's allergic to, or we could give him Benadryl capsules every day to help the itching.



We chose the Benadryl (we actually use the generic kind from Wal-Mart - much cheaper than brand-name Benadryl) and fed him one capsule in the morning and one at night in a small piece of hot dog or cheese, or even peanut butter.



Of course, it made him very mellow... but that wasn't a problem! It did seem to help control the itching somewhat, but using a shampoo with oatmeal in it (we used Paul Mitchell Pet Shampoo with Oatmeal - not as expensive as you would think...!) made him nice and clean and seemed to really soothe his skin. We did this every other day or so.



BUT -- our vet ended up giving him a shot of Cortisone to help with the infection that resulted from all of the scratching and licking and put him on 500 mg of Cephalexin twice a day until the infection cleared up. After the shot, the itching stopped almost immediately.



We've had to do this twice -- we live in Tennessee and we suffered a draught this summer so things were extremely dry and dusty -- but he's been good since. We don't give the Benadryl every day -- just when we begin to notice that he's scratching or looks like he's uncomfortable.



Oh -- one more thing -- our vet also recommended something called CapStar pills for the dog. Although we were using a flea/tick treatment on him (Frontline, applying it at the nape of his neck and going down his back), he was scratching at the base of his tail where it meets his back. She said that sometimes, on large dogs, the fleat/tick treatment doesn't always reach that far down, and that perhaps he had a flea or two that we just couldn't see (he's a black lab). So, the CapStar pills are given every day or as needed - and they kill fleas within 30 minutes. Not harmful to dog at all, and once the scratching stops, you can stop the CapStar.



Funny - she said that he might actually be allergic to the bites from the fleas! Go figure. We thought that by buying the treatment, he was covered from nose to tail.



Almost forgot -- after reading about food allergies from some of the other posters, we changed his diet to nothing but raw meat for about 3 weeks. We gave him raw hamburger to see if that would help, because I went to lots of different pet allergy boards looking for guidance...he devoured the raw meat (I couldn't watch him eat it -- too gross) but it's hard to say if he cleared up because of the change in diet or because of the other things we were doing. We don't feed him raw meat anymore (who can afford THAT for a huge dog?) but we did change his food and he's not a kibble quibbler, so he is doing just fine.



Hope that helps! Good luck - I'd ask for a cortisone shot from the vet first and foremost.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Same prob here. I have a 62lb+ boxer. I went to the vet last week and asked the saem thing. She said to start with 1 25mg pill twice a day. If it doesn't help, with a dog over 55lbs, it is ok to go to 2 25mg pills twice a day. My dog is up to 2 twice a day. Doesn't make him sleepy or anything. Hope this helps. I have given my 10 lb rats a pill a few times before when they got bit and they were fine,too. Puts them out, but they are ok after.



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

Here's the link that you are looking for. It gives otc meds and dosage by weight....



http://www.animalsunlimited.net/meds.htm



Benadryl for my itchy dog??

HI.. Can't help much on the benadryl question but I do have a suggestion. I have a 3 year old male shepherd and he to has been always a little itchy. Like you I feed him 100% organic human grade dog food with no fillers,corn or by-products etc. The food I use comes in Lamb and rice and chicken and rice formulas. I usually feed him the chicken but one day I could not get it as they were out so I bought the lamb. Well, not even a day later he was itching like never before and we couldn't figure out why. So first thing, we went back to the chicken formula version of his food and a day or so later he was back to normal. Normal being that he still is itchy but not nearly as bad. I asked my vet about it and she informed me that a lot of dogs are actually allergic to lamb and that I should not feed it to him...go figure...So if you haven't tried already. Try taking the dog off lamb and see if that helps at all.



Best of luck to you

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