August 27, 20150 found this helpful
My Cocker Spaniel baby has been struggling with allergies and itchy skin for several years and it has been an uphill battle. We started with using a doggie antihistamine with a small amount of steroid called Temeril P that you get from the vet. It helped some but wasn't super successful and I don't like giving her a steroid. She gets staph infections from all the scratching so we have been periodically on antibiotics to get her skin healed up.
Some of the things that have been helpful to her have been:
-bathing her twice a week. Bathing removes allergens from the hair and skin which helps tremendously to relieve the itching. A simple bath will give dogs a lot of relief.
-I've recently discovered that a rinse in chamomile tea helps a lot to calm her skin and stop the itching for a while. Make two cups of chamomile tea using about 6 tea bags to make it strong; let it cool and pour it into a spray bottle, then add warm (not hot) water and spray your dog's skin all over to relieve the itch.
-Another rinse that has helped is green tea mixed with apple cider vinegar and water. The recipe is 1/2 cup green tea, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1 cup purified water (you can boil for 20 minutes to purify). I double or triple the recipe to fill my spray bottle and spray my baby girl all over for some relief to her inflamed skin.
-Apple cider vinegar solution 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water to rinse or wash your dog in can restore the skin's acidity, kill off pathogens, and soothe the itch.
You can also add a bit of apple cider vinegar to your dog's water to help from the inside as well.
-I've also rinsed my girl with witch hazel which offers some relief as well but the chamomile tea has been the best so far..
-She gets Benadryl twice a day 1 mg per pound of weight.
-I feed her Stella and Chewys salmon and cod meal mixers re-hydrated and mixed with her LID (limited ingredient diet) salmon and sweet potato kibble (kibble is not very nutritious so it needs a boost and Stella & Chewys is wonderfully nutritious food but it's expensive so I have to mix it with a good quality kibble to keep the cost down).
-I am also giving her probiotics. Allergies can mean a lowered immune system and probiotics will boost the immune system.
This is a good one:
smile.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1440734777... and...
-organic unrefined coconut oil (you can get it at WalMart) 1 tablespoon (you should start small and work up to a tablespoon) in each meal.
She is doing better and it's such a relief to see her calm and not scratching! Take a look at these web sites for more info. about diet, bathing, probiotics and coconut oil:
healthypets.mercola.com/.../does-your-pet-have-allergies-what...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8doiVSLDw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWukdnuEuP0
healthypets.mercola.com/.../pet-allergies.aspx
healthypets.mercola.com/.../cats-and-dogs-leaky-gut.aspx
