I don't know what to do -- allergies

[Jorsher]

I haven't posted here in a while but seeing how miserable she is makes me miserable...

Symptoms:
- hives after playing in grass sometimes
- bites feet until they bleed
- scratches snout/chin until it bleeds
- constantly scoots on her butt and licks her parts

I've tried:
- bitter spray for feet, only worked an hour
- dog shoes, she whines and is very miserable
- medicated shampoo, it helps but for less than a day then she's back to normal
- paw wax, thought it may help stop the allergens, doesn't last long
- atopica, extremely expensive and doesn't seem as effective as it used to be
- otc allergy meds, helps very little, if at all
- tried a ton of different foods, doesn't seem to change the itchiness
- tested for skin infection
- steroids, work GREAT for a few days, but from what I understand not a viable long-term solution

Any suggestions or what I should ask a vet to check?

[dogs4jen]

Have you tried giving her salmon oil? That's supposed to help with skin issues/allergies.

[GoingPostal]

Coconut oil seems to help my allergy dog quite a bit, switching to raw took care of most of his issues but took several months. His issues do not sound quite as severe as yours though, mostly a lot of itchiness, stinky BO, hair loss, redness/bumps/hives sometimes and goopy eyes but they were getting increasingly bad over time. His skin would get worse until he needed meds for an infection and rx shampoo but that just made it worse, then a little better then back to problems. Coconut oil applied directly helped too but beware they or other dogs will lick it off. We used to wipe him down after coming inside during the worst of it, it seemed to be environmental at least to begin with as it started and got worse in the summer months.

[PITtsburgher]

I would get an appointment with a vet dermatologist. Allergies can be difficult to treat and it's a lot easier with an expert. If you've already done a strict 8 week food trial it may be time for intradermal allergy testing and allergy shots.