Sheltie Allergies?

[Bill Porter]

Howdy Folks,

I have only had one other dog before Remy, so my knowledge of dogs and dog allergies is limited. Remy doesn't sneeze a lot but will on occasion (which seems normal). But most of the time the white areas around his eyeballs is either pink or red:

https://i.imgur.com/3M7a936.jpg

I'm not sure if that's allergies or something else, or if it's simply normal. He also gets gunk we have to clean daily as you can see in this picture.

1) Do Shelties have allergies generally?
2) If a dog has allergies, what kinds of medicines do they take?

Thank you for your time and attention.

Bill

 

[TheDailyPainter]

He's beautiful! I had a sheltie with allergies and her symptoms were itching, paw licking and hair loss on her feet, and chest. She had a pretty severe case so we saw a specialist. She was on people antihistamines, essential fatty acid supplements, occasional antibiotics if skin infection, occasional short course of steroids. Eventually we had her tested for what she was allergic to and they made her desensitizing shots which I had to administer at home. Nothing really worked 100% but we kept things under control. It never affected her eyes in any way, but sometimes ear infections. What worked for her ears was keeping them scrupulously clean so no bad guys could set up shop.

 

[Margi]

I clean the eye boogers off all three dogs at least once a day.
Koko sneezes a couple of times every time he goes outside.
There's something in the air around here every Dec/Jan that makes Fillion scratch his muzzle hard several times on every walk. After a few weeks it stops.
I live in the desert and its hot, dusty and lately smoky from the fires in surrounding states. I keep saline eye drops on hand for the dogs.
It could easily be not allergies and just something irritating his eyes.

 

[Sharon7]

Red irritated eyes would indicate to me an eye irritation or infection, especially if there is discharge. Allergies tend to manifest themselves in dog's skin, paws etc as related above. I'd have him see the vet if it were me.

 

[Ann]

Dogs can certainly be prone to allergies. My youngest one is actually allergic to herself. She reacts to the staph her own body produces. It took a year and a canine dermatologist to figure it out. She eats a strict home cooked diet I make and I give her allergy shots weekly and she gets antibiotics for flare-ups . There’s also a seasonal component because she’s worse in late summer when she bites and chews at herself.

I learned more than I ever wanted to know about canine allergies along the way. The most common seem to be environmental or food related. Environmental ones are worse in warm months, red eyes and itching are common symptoms. If it’s bad, your vet may prescribe prednisone or one of the newer anti-itching meds such as apoquel (stay away from this one, it’s dangerous!) or cytopoint injections. Less serious cases can be controlled with Benadryl but I’d see your vet before trying anything. Your vet may recommend simple eye drops if he’s uncomfortable. In any event, it’s always best to start with the vet. Allergies are tricky and tough to diagnose.

 

[Caro]

All the allergies humans get, dogs can get too. Probably the number one environmental allergen is grass - ironically! Most dogs where I live get hay fever, and you can use most human type antihistamine. You probably don't need to know exactly what the cause is. I had Tully on phenergan and the Internal Medicine Specialist had us switch to Zyrtec - he said it's more affective in dogs but you have to give it through the allergy period as it works better over time. Tully did have steroid injections when she was younger - bad mistake in a dog that can jump on benches! As Ann said, stay away from Apoquel.

Dogs can also get food allergies, a bit different to humans dog food allergies are usually proteins, with chicken the main culprit (because it's in so much).

 

[ghggp]

My Liam is 2 years and 5 months now and I have been dealing with allergies ever since I got him. He does get red eyes even around the eyelids as well as the whites of his eyes. I have been giving him Benadryl 2x a day with medicated baths once a week! I rinse his eyes with saline solution too. Talk about high maintenance! If he plays in the yard for any extended period of time it gets worse. I think there is a fungus in my grass caused by a tree I have. The leaves fall prematurely due to a fungus. It all seems to flare up the same time each year. So, now I am watching for symptoms and giving him Benadryl immediately!
Anyway, Remy looks like he has a mild case! Thank goodness for that. A vet visit can’t hurt.

Attaching some pictures of Liam’s issues so you can compare. Good luck!

 

[Sharon7]

Poor Liam, Gloria, that looks miserable!

 

[Piper's mom]

My Liam is 2 years and 5 months now and I have been dealing with allergies ever since I got him. He does get red eyes even around the eyelids as well as the whites of his eyes. I have been giving him Benadryl 2x a day with medicated baths once a week! I rinse his eyes with saline solution too. Talk about high maintenance! If he plays in the yard for any extended period of time it gets worse. I think there is a fungus in my grass caused by a tree I have. The leaves fall prematurely due to a fungus. It all seems to flare up the same time each year. So, now I am watching for symptoms and giving him Benadryl immediately!
Anyway, Remy looks like he has a mild case! Thank goodness for that. A vet visit can’t hurt.

Attaching some pictures of Liam’s issues so you can compare. Good luck!

View attachment 16661 View attachment 16662 View attachment 16663 View attachment 16664

How's Liam doing Gloria...has he gotten any better?
Have you been able to pinpoint what he's allergic to? That redness seems to affect him wherever he's come into contact with whatever it is. Poor guy, it must be so uncomfortable! My last Cocker was allergic to many things but it didn't affect her like that, her it was your typical ears, paws and an itchy butt lol. Liam must be environmental....

 

[Darren]

Oh poor Liam, he's such a tough little guy. Please give him pets from us over in Montyland