Dog Allergies

As I sit here writing about spring, I am watching Donovan scratch. As much as we like the nice weather with everything blooming it brings out the allergies. Most everyone understands allergies and prays for things to finish blooming for relief. Then we have Donovan……

When we decided to get a dog, I never could have imagined the road we would travel with this guy. Thank goodness we fell in love with him or we might have given him away.

I have always said I thought Donovan was allergic to grass….after several years of skin infections, non-stop scratching we decided to do allergy testing. Yes, Donovan is not only allergic to several types of grass, trees, cotton, dust mites and foods including: chicken, carrots, potatoes, wheat, barley and soybeans. There is more to the list but it would mean more to the vets than it does to us. We are just treating the main allergens.

Donovan now gets 2 shots a month which is much easier and cheaper than what we were doing trying to clear up the skin infections. Of course, we didn't have any idea that every time he ate he was eating most of the foods that he was allergic to!!

Now when he goes outside we have to wipe his feet off or else he licks them and they get infected!! Bath's every two weeks and once a week is even better!!!! We have to wash the beds every few days (I do keep sheets on them so it is easier to wash than the actual beds. Finding a food that he could eat has been a real challenge. We had some prescription food but at $90 for a 35 lb. bag, we decided to find something else!! No store bought treats….other than pigs ears (limited or upset stomachs)!!!

All I can say is, if your dog has an accident or does something you don't care for….just think of us!!! :) However, we wouldn't get rid of him for anything!!!!