 Barked: Mon May 17, '10 1:58pm PST |
 | |  | | My Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Buckeye, has horrible allergies.  It bothers him so much in the Spring. At first, we thought they were minor. You know, maybe he was allergic to chicken or grass or something. We switched his dog food to a Potato and Barley formula, which made everything worse. We eventually got him allergy tested and found out the he was allergic to every type of meat- including rabbit and even kangaroo- rice, dust, grass and everything else imaginable. And guess what the top two things on his list were? Potato and Barley. We had know idea how allergic he was to this. We had to switch foods again so he would ease down a little bit with the itching. In the Winter time, his allergies don't bother him too much. Spring time, however, is just miserable. He recently chewed open his bottom and left a big sore. He went to the Vet and we have to put ointment on his bottom every day know (gross!). He has to have a zillion different pills. We were even considering getting him allergy shots. At one point, he was obsessed with chewing his stomach and his skin turned black and blue. He did it to his bottom too. Then, he began chewing his paws. We put a sock on the worst foot- er, paw- so he would not chew the paw pad. 
To answer your question, we first reccomend getting an allergy test done. Buckeye can only eat one or two brands of treats. Most of the time, he gets fed carrots, ice cubes or just his kibble for a treat, though. It helps with itching. Do not feed your dog even one piece of people food if you know he has allergies. If he begins chewing his paws- which is the most common sign of allergies- do not put a sock on his paw unless you know he won't take it off and eat it. Buckeye does not bother socks, so he did not mind having it on.
Vet visits help. They will give the pup medicine, and possibly a shot. They will probably start him off on a weaker medicine, and if it does not help enough, they will gradually put him on stronger medicines. Benadryl helps at home. They sell Benadryl at Walgreens, Target, etc. Only give one Benadryl a day.
Thousands of dogs suffer from allergies, including my dog. It is very common in Wheaten's. We know a lot of Wheaten Terriers around our area who have allergies or are expirencing the symptoms of allergies. Oh, and one more thing, after your dog comes in from outside, wipe his paw pads with a wet rag. This helps get the pollen away. Wash the rag after so it does not stay in the house. Bathe him if he is outside for a long time, too.
Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions about Wheatens with allegies. We've had tons of expierence and are willing to pass on out knowledge.  |  |  | |  |
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She doesn't usually recommend the allergy test for our dogs. We just start with an elimination diet, and then once you are going steady, then you start to add an ingredient at a time. Once you can narrow down what it giving you problems you can go from there. The first step is usually cutting the grains from the diet.
