Ah-ha!

So, remember how Gidget was having a bad allergic reaction to something? She was breaking out all over her body with huge, scabby bumps and was going nuts scratching so much. We took her to the vet, and the doctor confirmed that it was an allergy (not critters) and prescribed steroids.

Well, that took care of the symptoms but didn't solve the problem of what was causing her misery.

We thought and thought and thought about what had changed since we brought her home from the shelter. The outbreak didn't occur right away (took a few weeks), so we figured it probably wasn't something environmental but dietary. Her dog food was the same. We had given her a few treats, but that seemed unlikely.

Then we realized... we use peanut butter to seal her Kong (toy that you stuff with food to keep the dog occupied). And we gave her her medicine inside a glob of peanut butter on a spoon. Ooops! Peanuts are a common allergen, so this seemed like a likely culprit.

And guess what? We got her more steroids and threw away the peanut butter, and her skin has almost completely cleared up. She scratches no more.

So there it is. Our dog is allergic to peanuts.

Now we give her her medication inside a glob of creamed cheese. She loves that too. And no allergic reaction.

Yay!