Hi not been on here for a while,,,,,,,
My friends 7 year old staffie has been on atopica for a few years due to allergies of dust, possible hay fever.
He has special shampoo and cream too.
He can scratch his belly a lot, scraps his bottom along the floor and on a bad day will rub against walls, roll around on concrete.
My friend is worried about the long term effects of the atopica and would like an alternative treatment, is there a homapathic / herbal alternative?
I have suggested she gets a second opinion from another vet as the current vet is not very popular and vets never seem to stay there long!!
Any advice would be great

Have a dog who has severe redness & scratching issues, that in recent years has escalated into making his life pretty miserable. Poor boy got to the stage of leaving the room to run off & find somewhere to scratch in peace. Aged 9, I should have had blood & skin tests done years ago but back then managed to keep it under control. Last few months have been ghastly for him, anyway at long last saw a different vet who took pity & an interest rather than saying 'what do you expect with a Basset!'
A month of AB's & 5mg prednisolone am & pm, (not keen on steroids) but his life has been transformed. Hasn't itched, scratched or licked for two weeks, the heat has gone, he's pink/white not tomato red, he's soo much happier, a different dog. Had a meeting with the vet after two weeks to discuss how to manage from now on. Atopica was discussed & have spent some time on their site but the cost is astronomical with no guarantee (not that there ever is) it would assist, so we have decided to continue with steroids & aim to cut back to the lowest possible dose that keeps him itch, scratch & red free. Haven't researched long term steroid use, know there are side effects, one being shorter life span (or so I'm advised) but to see him at ease, relaxed, NOT scratching, even when out for a walk he's enjoying himself so much more. So for quality of life will stay with the steroids & try my best to reduce his intake.
Was told that through blood tests they could find what he was allergic to & a vaccine made to assist, but again told 50% success. Have had no success with herbal or homeopathic remedies either, Good luck

Hi lacy thanks for the reply :)
It is awful seeing them needing to scratch so much, I will pass on your experience to my friend, I do feel she needs to get a second opinion, as like you say the atopica is very expensive with many side effects.
Good luck hope the tabs work xx

We went down the monthly injections route and have had pretty good success with our itchy dog.  He is noticeably improved within 24 hours of receiving the injection.  However I do also use Piriton on a daily basis (as prescribed by the vet) and I wash him after EVERY walk with dilute Hibiscrub to remove external irritants such as dust and pollen.  I also watch his environment - he isn't allowed upstairs - and I keep him on natural fibres as much as possible and use hypo-allergenic washing liquid.  I also manage his diet quite strictly to keep him in the best of health.

I have to keep on top of the condition and I'm careful to take action before he gets too bad with a range of non medical options such as extra washing, higher doses of Piriton, Dermacton etc but in this way we keep him well managed and fairly stable.