Yesterday our soft coated wheaten terrier named Ted had an allergy test done on him. The doctor and hospital was very professional and boy was the place packed. As you can see in the pictures and the video, Ted was shaved down to his skin in a square shape on his upper rib cage. All together he got 52 total prick’s. Poor boy.
To catch up with those who are reading my blog for the first time, let me refresh. Our wheaten terrier has been battling a constant amount of licking, scratching and chewing on his own paws. See blog post and other pet owners replies here:
http://www.softcoatedwheatenterrierblog.com/?p=120#comments.
After telling about this problem online, we sadly have come to see that alot of dogs suffer from these symptoms. We tried changing diets, creams & sprays, numerous shampoos and Benadryll. Nothing seemed to work and we are now going on about 1yr and 1/2 with this constant issue. So a doggie allergy test was our next step.
So now for the results! Ted fell into the category of being ‘average for a dog with allergies’. Which means that he’s allergic to the following: fleas, dust, wool, cats, grass, ragweed, pine and mold. Great. The next step is to wait for his vaccination to be prepared and then its time to learn how to give our own dog allergy shots. Doesn’t sound fun but we gotta help our lovable buddy bear.
Check out what Ted looked like when we got home!
Wednesday, 24. June 2009
hello, my wheaten also scratches all the time. And I too have tried everything I can think of to help him (change food, shampoo, and yes Benadryl), how do I find out what vet can give him the allergy test and then create a vaccine for him?
Thanks for your help,
Iris in Huntington Beach, CA
Saturday, 11. July 2009
Hi Iris
My vet was the one who referred us to dog allergy specialist. Our Wheaten has been on the shots for a few months now and we’ve seen no change. But I have been doing alot of extra researching lately and I am starting to believe that its food allergies. This weekend my husband and I are going to purchase Canidae dog food for him. I am beginning to learn that Wheatens are allergic to wheat, soy, grains, corn etc. This dog food is suppose to eliminate these ingredients. Even though his allergy test came back showing that he is allergic to lots of things like grass, dust, cats, rag weed etc, I am thinking those allergies are causing his skin and chewing issues. We gave him 3 benedryls a day for a few weeks and no still change. So now its time to really get specific with his food. I will post the results from the Canidae food in 2-3 wks! I guess we’ll see what happens. Good luck with your wheaten!
Wednesday, 5. August 2009
I just love Teddy’s site. I found it looking up the paw licking problem. My Harry just turned one last week, and he just started his paw licking…only the left paw about 3 weeks ago. I am terrified. He is also having these flem issues too…like he is choking, but really needs a good sneeze. Weird. But its so good to see there may be light at the end of our tunnel.
Tuesday, 11. August 2009
Hopefully there will be light at the end of the ‘wheaten paw chewing’ tunnel. We are still only less than a month on his new diet and just waiting to see if its the solution. Ted’s redness is getting lighter and his chewing has ’slowed down alittle bit’. I have learned more reading online from other wheaten owners posts than I did listening to my vet. Good luck….please feel free to ask me questions about your wheaten. I am not a vet but we have been dealing with this issue for almost 2 yrs now and have tried a ton of things.