Hi, my name is Randy. Recently, I developed a rash on my belly, and boy does it itch! The only way I can find relief is by scratching & chewing at it. My mommy brought me to Kingsbrook so the doctor could figure out why I keep having skin problems. The doctor gently scraped my skin and looked at some cells under the microcsope. He told my mommy that I had a skin infection caused by bacteria. He also said that reason I have had more than one skin infection in the past is probably because I suffer from allergies.
It seems that there are several types of allergies that dogs (and cats, but who cares about them!) can get. We can be allergic to some of the ingredients in our food, we can have a very itchy reaction if we are allergic to flea saliva & get bitten by them, and we can also be allergic to the same things that cause our people to sneeze & get itchy, runny eyes.
Dr. Davis said that because of the time of year, right in the middle of Spring, it's most likely that I'm allergic to something in the air, but unlike people, who sneeze from allergies, dogs get itchy skin! He put me on an antibiotic to fight my skin infection which should help with a lot of my itching, and also he's also giving me some antihistamines and fatty acid supplements. If those medications don't give me relief, we may have to try another type of newer medicine for hard to treat allergies, or he may send me to a doggy dermatologist to find out exactly what's causing my allergies & start me on allergy shots that help most dogs feel much better (he promised me that if I need shots, they will use a tiny needle & give lots of treats!).
