Help, my dog has allergies

[meadow lark]

And like nurses everywhere, I hate taking him to the doctor's.  He's an 8 yo beagle mix who has never had the before.  His eyes are wet and goopy and he is scratching, especially his ears, but his whole body too.  I've been giving him Benadryl for 4 days, and I am going to try to give him an oatmeal/baking soda bath today.  Any other suggestions?  We did try a new food a couple of weeks ago, but I switched him back and nothing has changed.

[MKinVA]

It could be grasses and things blooming...really I had a dog like this....one thing you could try is limit outside time and wipe him down when he comes in to get as much of pollen off as you can.

[Inaya]

Might try a grain-free or raw food? A lot of dog and cat allergies can be dietary and pop up seemingly at random.

[LeRainDrop]

Atopica:  http://www.1800petmeds.com/productw.jsp?id=prod10658&sku=106572&AFFID=GG&ID=1726151977&adpos=1o2&creative=45746555186&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CIPJ79nV98sCFQIOaQodaUMFRg

Zyrtec (but NOT Zyrtec-D):  http://canigivemydog.com/zyrtec

[Sibley]

My standard advice for seasonal allergy sufferers, regardless of species :)

Wash bedding regularly
Allergy meds regularly - do not skip a dose, ever or you will regret it. Once the allergies have hit, its much harder to reign them back in, and takes longer.
Take showers/baths at night. for a dog, you'll need to wipe him down with a clean towel and plain water when he comes in from outside.
If it's really bad allergy monsters outside  [allergens], hide inside.

But realistically, since this is new, you should get him checked by a vet.

[Le Dérisoire]

I don't know about benadryl, but you should not give human medication to animals unless a veterinarian says it's ok.

A lot of human medication that we use every day will kill your pet.

[MishMash]

I don't know about benadryl, but you should not give human medication to animals unless a veterinarian says it's ok.

A lot of human medication that we use every day will kill your pet.

Our dog is the king of allergies...benadryl is what the vet recommended, and what we've been giving him for 8 years, no issues, unless we take him off it prior to the flare up being done.  We had to switch our to Wellness grain free yada yada, anything with grain made him break out, anything with high fat content makes him throw up so it's Wellness on the food and Benedryl for 3-4 weeks of the year in the spring and fall.

[happypup]

Our vet recommended Benadryl for the weeks our dog's allergies are acute (usually a couple weeks in the spring, and about a month in the fall), and Claritin for the rest of the summer when she's still allergic but not so badly. The vet said there really wasn't a concern with longer-term usage of Benadryl, but the Claritin makes her less sleepy.

Keep a close eye on the itching. The first year our dog's allergies were bad, her scratching ended up causing a skin infection before we got it under control, which turned the whole thing into a much bigger deal.

[ketchup]

Might try a grain-free or raw food? A lot of dog and cat allergies can be dietary and pop up seemingly at random.

I'd agree with this.  One of our dogs cannot have grains at all or all her hair falls out, and my sister-in-law's dog scratches a bunch unless on grain-free food.  Raw is even better, but most aren't willing to deal with raw.