Posted by marge grapes on December 09, 1997 at 07:57:42:

In Reply to: Peke allergies posted by pkg on November 27, 1997 at 09:49:18:

> Our 13 year old Peke, JoJo suffers from skin allergies.
> He's on lamb & rice diet, gets steroid shots from the vet, etc. He still scratches himself raw when the shot wears off--which is more and more frequent. Any suggestions--perhaps a more natural approach? Thanks!!!

You need to find out what the dog is allergic to so you know how to treat it. The shot treats the symptoms but it's better to treat the cause. I have a few that are allergic to bermuda grass so I never let them near it. There are dog foods that contain avocado and oils that are advertised to help but I haven't tried them. I feed Pedigree puppy chow to puppies and Pedigree Mainstay Lamb and Rice to adults. I have a few that get dry skin itch and them I give fish-oil capsules which seems to work quite well. You could try putting your dog on a diet of cooked rice, mashed avocado or vegetable oil, and a mashed egg yolk for a while to see if the symptoms clear up. This is a bland highly digestible fairly tasty food with enough slickness to coat their skin. If it's something in the environment, you need to eliminate it.