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My German Shepherd has allergies, swollen legs. Why can't she walk?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female | unspayed | 2 years and 4 months old | 88.185 lbs

My German shepherd is suffering from allergies all over the body especially in her chest and nipples and inside her eye. Yesterday I used butox an anti ticks lotion. Her legs are swollen so she is not able to walk properly. And also she is suffering from dysentery (redddish) please help how to treat her.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on September 26th, 2017

As you said this is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm sorry to hear your dog is so sick. The best thing you can do for her at this point is take her to the vet to be examined and so that proper treatment can be started. The allergies could be a due to a protein in Alsa's food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. The allergen causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Alsa will need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. She may also need this medication long term if her allergies are sever. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend she be on a good flea control too. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 26th, 2017

    This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Alsa with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get her to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

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