Our Favorite Products for an Allergic Dog

First of all, I want to thank all of you who sent such sweet e-mails about our situation with Chaos. Your support and kindness mean the world to us and you can bet he would personally lick each and every one of you for caring about him. 

When Chaos came into my life I had no idea what I would be dealing with 2 years later. Having a dog who is basically allergic to air can be pretty tough at times. It is frustrating as Chaos's mommy to see him so miserable and not be able to do make it go away. The poor baby is so allergic that without his medicine, his skin crawls so badly that he itches constantly. The itching leads to open sores that dogs are programmed to lick to help them heal. But the combination of the itching and licking with open sores only festers the perfect breeding ground for nasty bacteria. And then an infection takes over the already irritated skin making it about 100 times worse. And that's where we currently are. Status: Itchy allergic skin overload + secondary skin infection. 

Our vet knows us well and we put a call in for antibiotics to clear the infection. Although medicine is the only cure for the raging bacteria on Chaos's skin, there are some other products we use to try and keep the itchies at bay and keep our pittie as comfortable as we can. 

We actually first learned about Virbac ResiSOOTHE when Ares was a baby. He had Demodectic Mange, which makes doggie skin super itchy. We were told to bath him as often as possible, but to keep his skin from drying out and give him more relief our vet recommended this product. It's a leave on condition you can slather on your pup after a bath and it most definitely helps quell itching. Some other pros of this product are that it goes on smooth just like lotion and rubs in without residue and also has virtually no smell so your dog won't be enticed to lick it off. 

Vetericyn is another amazing product that should probably be in every pet owner's home, allergies or not. This stuff works like a charm to heal wounds, clear skin rashes and keep post surgical incisions free of infection. It's easy to spray directly on the skin and the best part is, unlike many other antiseptic and wound care solutions, it does not sting or burn the skin. It might not cure an infection, but it does almost everything else.

I mentioned that we have been bathing Chaos frequently to help keep as many allergens off his skin as we can. We took another recommendation from our vet to try GNC Pets Medicated Dermatologic Dry Skin Shampoo and have been happy with the results. It lathers well and smells minty fresh (one of the only scents that won't further irritate Chaos's skin) and although it is technically for the itchies from dry skin, we've learned it works well for irritated skin in general. We also use GNC Pets Medicated Itch Relief Conditioner.It contains hydrocortisone to fight the itch and and relieve discomfort. 

We also love the Zack & Zoey Basic Dog Hoodie. We even did a whole post on these hoodies because they are so popular at our house. Both dogs wear them when it's cold either alone or under coats, but they are also a great way to put a barrier between Chaos's feet and mouth and his skin. The hoodies are a soft cotton/polyester blend and come in a variety of collars. Chaos wears a size L and Ares wears a size M and they fit extremely well even with our barrel chested boys. 

Of course like all clothes, the dogs' clothes have to be washed. And even more often if your dog is allergic to dust mites that like to collect on on his skin. Just like humans, fragrances are a no no for sensitive skinned doggies so we only wash Chaos's blankets and clothes in All Free Clear detergent.

 A while ago my sister suggested we get a humidifier for Chaos while he sleeps. It sounded like a great idea and Chris and I couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it. But then we got the happy surprise that our vet had the magic Apoquel that cleared his skin right up and we forgot about the humidifier. Now that we are back to the most allergic dog ever (or maybe it just seems that way) we've revisited that idea and went with the Crane 1 Gallon Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. The elephant was too adorable to pass up and I've heard great things about this brand. We will have to follow up on how we like it because we just ordered it but I'm excited to have it in the boys' room.

I linked the products to the home sites where possible because you will find all the information there, but we try to order everything we can from Amazon. The prices are usually unbeatable and we have a Prime membership so the 2 day shipping rocks. Please remember we don't have any type of background in animal medical. We are just a family with a severely allergic dog trying to do whatever we can for him and these are the products that have worked for us. Always ask your vet if you are unsure about a product before using it. 

Happy Thursday furbaby lovers!