Scratching

[torilovesgsds]

I suspect my Fynn is reacting to an irritant (environmental or food). His eyes are "weepy" and I'm cleaning his eyes almost every few hours. He's also scratching/itching. My question is that everything I've read suggests dogs may be experiencing allergic reaction if they scratch too much. What's too much?
It's not constant but I'll say he scratches himself on the hour. Vet has prescribed the steroid drops, the antihistamine and I've been giving him Benadryl for the past week (although not consistently because I don't like drugging him).

We're in the south and I am just about a year long allergy sufferer, my point is I know how frustrating this can be and I can't stand Fynn being uncomfortable. Can someone give me some guidance on when the scratching should raise concerns--any thing to look for?

[pyratemom]

Has your vet done any allergy testing to find out if the irritant is air borne or food driven? Raina has both. We do bi weekly baths with a good shampoo with chlorhexidine to help stop the itching. I also put antiseptic on the itchy spots called Resi Keto Chlor. It's a leave on product. I tried different foods for a long time until I found one that didn't have any allergens for her and I also went the auto immune shot route. At first it really seem to help but lately I've noticed an increase in itching and scratching. Her skin doesn't seem to be irritated and it's not getting flaky so it makes me wonder if she isn't itching because her winter coat has come in and it is really thick. Good luck. Allergies can be really hard to deal with.

[Momto2GSDs]

Have you recently applied a flea/tick topical or had any vaccinations?

[Courtney]

With scratching you have to watch out for secondary bacteria infections (broken infected skin).

My boy suffers from environment allergies (no food allergies)...fall months only. It's not severe but I know he's uncomfortable.

I do the following to provide some relief:

-Benadryl (two tabs at night)
-Air purifier (this is good for the whole family anyways)
-clean carpets once a month (bought my own)
-every night I wipe him down with a warm wet towel, including paws.

Just last Friday I started giving him raw local honey....jury is still out on this one.