GSDs and Allergies

[AmberLovesHerDogs]

We know this breed is prone to allergies and skin conditions. What has worked for you may work for someone else. Share your allergy, skin, frito-feet, stinky ears journey here!

I have one dog with no allergies and the other has yeast overload that has affected ears, skin and feet. Allergic to grass , chicken and potatoes.

 

[deewolf]

Hi, some years back, Tess started pushing her eye against everything including the floor. The vet said conjunctivitis but the tablets did nothing. We changed vet and the new one took one look at her and the amount of scratching and diagnosed Pemphigus. It's autoimmune. She stopped with the eye and the scratching immediately after steroid treatment started. We never discovered the cause of the allergy. Several years on, they have changed the medication a couple of times. She had jabs for a while. She is currently on Apoquel. I also changed her to a grain free diet. On the odd occasion the scratching returns, she needs occasional baths (poor baby hates them!). The tablets aren't cheap but she's worth every penny. I hope this may help any other dogs with allergies.

 

[PitaGirl23]

Our first was a shock to us in many ways including allergies. As a rescue we had no idea what to expect so when she started scratching nonstop the week we moved to our first home as a family (two weeks after rescue) we assumed fleas or ticks. We had over an acre so it wouldn’t be a surprise, especially in the spring!
Took her for a checkup and that’s when we found out about GSDs and allergies. It took several changes to her diet (we wanted to avoid meds if we could) but we finally found an affordable brand at a local feed store that was grain free and novelty protein. Within days she was a whole new dog! Coat shiny, scratching gone, and happy again.

Several years later they discontinued the brand and we put her back on a national, but still better than dog chow, brand. She never had an issue again. I don’t know if it was growing pains or what but she never had a reoccurrence.