So Maddie is primarily allergic to her humans which, as you might imagine, is a reasonably rotten outcome. Especially considering that she is the sit in your lap and sleep glued to your hip in the bed variety of dog.

Having tried the home remedy route it was time to try something new. It was time to enlist the bigger allergy guns. [click to continue…]

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Dog Allergic To Humans

by Rob on 05/22/2010

When we last left the saga of Maddie and her awful itching self, I told readers about the ill-fated elimination diet that I had tried for what seemed like forever.

It was then that the vet informed me that there was a blood test available to determine the major allergens that were causing Maddie’s distress.

Veterinary Allergy Reference Laboratory (VARL) ran their Liquid Gold test. After having blood drawn and waiting a week for the results, we received the report.

[click to continue…]

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Dog Allergy Blood Test

February 13, 2010

So it has been another 5 weeks since I started the amended elimination diet with Maddie. Today the vet and I had our call to evaluate the progress. Note that I called her today for a few very specific reasons: Venison roast at $10.99 a pound is not sustainable for this family’s budget I have boiled and [...]

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Chicken Does Not Belong in an Elimination Diet

January 9, 2010
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It’s been six weeks since I started Maddie on the elimination diet in the hopes of controlling her itching and scratching. And for that six week period I have been diligently making the food mention in Dog Food Allergy Elimination Diet. Maddie loved it. Could not wait to eat. Licked the design off the bowl! [...]

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Dog Food Allergy Elimination Diet

December 2, 2009
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Previously I’ve shared the challenges of Maddie and her rather recent flair up of scratching. Last week, while I was at the vet for the cat I asked the doctor about food allergies. Mind you, I’m no rookie when it comes to dogs that can’t stop licking, scratching, creating hot spots, or otherwise making themselves, [...]

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Proper Use of Benadryl for Dogs

November 22, 2009
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In the last post Maddie’s incessant licking and scratching was discussed. A new development is that she has now added licking her paws to the mix. The last time I was at the vet she suggested Benadryl. As an antihistamine it was supposed to help, along with bathing with a gentle oatmeal based shampoo. Truth [...]

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