My eyes are itchy, my throat is scratchy and I can’t stop sneezing. I thought my allergies were worse than usual this year, and I’m not the only one in my household suffering. Gus, my youngest Great Dane, is having a terrible time as well. We’ve spent nearly a billion dollars (maybe that’s an exaggeration) in vet bills trying to find out what’s causing his discomfort.
Gus’s incessant scratching has caused us many sleepless nights, and it seems that every day he looks more and more like a Chupacabra (another reason not to sleep at night).
This weekend, we decided we would bite the bullet and have his blood sent off to a lab for allergy testing. The results will be able to tell us if Gus is allergic to grass, mold, dust, feathers or cats (yes … dogs CAN be allergic to cats. Who knew?). If he’s sensitive to any of the items mentioned above, we’ll have to undergo desensitization treatments or get rid of anything that’s triggering a reaction. Since some of the potential allergens are impossible to avoid — getting rid of the cats and the cacti are NOT an option — we are in for even more lofty vet bills.
His condition has made us change our daily lives. Since we don’t know if it’s a food allergy or an environmental allergy, we’re trying everything we can to avoid aggravating his condition. I now have to use baby detergent to wash his bedding and anything else he comes into contact with; he must be separated from the other dogs during feeding time, since he isn’t allowed to eat anything other than his white fish and potato diet; he gets baths with a fragrance-free, hypo-allergenic shampoo twice a week; and I had to check Angie’s List for an air-duct cleaner.
When we got him from the breeder, his name was Showtime. We knew he was a show dog, but we didn’t know he was a prima donna.
WHATEVER HAPPENED? I am in the same boat with my Dane?