Sharpei allergies

I have known of someone with a shar-pei who has spent thousands of dollars
on allergy tests and has not worked at all. That is not to say they work but
you are right in that they are expensive and don't produce great results.
Are the lumps itchy, red, weepy? My pei suffers from Atopy and the use of
prednisilone certainly helps a great deal. Atopy is scratching of feet and
underarms and does seem different to what you are experiencing but this type
of alery responds to the cortisone.
Please let us know how you go.

"meiling" <randy DeleteThis @randythuemedesign.com> wrote in message
news:9b317286c7ddee4edbfc75b72fa9bc5c@localhost.talkaboutpets.com...
> My 2 1/2 yr. old Sharpei mix has raised bumps on her back, more
concentrated at the rear back. Biopsy's($300.00) of two bumps(and the
physical location on her back) suggested the allergy was caused by flea
bites rather than food or environment. She does not have fleas but I began
a treatment program. After treating her with Advantage (the first two
treatments three weeks apart, then 4 weeks)the bumps slightly receded -
however now they have flared up again. Now the Vet suggests we proceed with
an allergy blood test - something he had hesitated to do due to the expense
and the mixed success of potential results. We are also going to start a
course of Prednisome to see if this will help.
> She eats well (Nature's Variety), and doesn't seem to be bothered by the
raised bumps. But I am. Any ideas or similar experiences?
>
 >> Stay informed about: Sharpei allergies 

Allergy testing is very expensive and not always rewarding.

Usually, food allergies are the main allergy problem with pei. A way
you can test by yourself is to take your dog off of ALL commercial dog
foods, treats, etc.

Buy some simple white rice and ground turkey and boil these together.
Feed ONLY this combination for 30 to 60 days. If the sores go away then
you know that your dog is allergic to something in the food. Now comes
the more difficult part. Determining WHICH thing in the dog food that
is causing the allergies.

The easiest way to go from this point would be to buy a commercially
made hypo-allergenic dog food that contains either kangaroo meat,
venison or duck. These are 3 meats that most dogs are not allergic to in
any manner.

Since corn, wheat and soy are 3 things pei can be highly allergic to, it
is important that the dog foods do not have any of these in them.
Usually the kangaroo meat, venison and duck foods also do not have these
things in them, so they are usually very good at alleviating the
allergies.

Contact allergies usually only have problem areas in the belly and leg
areas as those are the areas that are usually "touching" whatever it is
the dog is allergic to. So this would be a "clue" that there is
something that the dog is touching that is causing these problems.

But I would try the above turkey and rice food first and see if this
diet clears up the problem then go to one of the good commercial
hypo-allergenic dog foods.

Good luck,
Judi
 >> Stay informed about: Sharpei allergies