Itchy Dog

[Seita]

Ok, so my girl has the itches at the moment and there is quite certainly no fleas on her. I thought it might be dry skin so I started adding some flaxseed oil and LSA mix to her food (she's fed BARF) and while it helped a bit at first the itching seems to have worsened in recent weeks. I then tried using a different shampoo on her, one of the medicated washes instead of her usual plush puppy shampoo or sunlight soap but that hasn't had any impact. Could anyone suggest what else could be causing her to itch and what I can possibly do to try and make her feel better? Would one of the sensitive skin shampoos (like aloveen) possibly help to reduce the ichiness? Thanks for your responses!

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Hi - I also have a very itchy dog! between his hind legs and a hot spot. I have put him on Advantix as well as Advocate as I believe it is the sandflies and mozzies getting to him - yet it could be anything - environmental, allergies to grasses etc.

Yesterday he was still attacking his hot spot and licking at the irritation between his hind legs so i took him to the vet. (If you are not sure what hot spots are here is a link http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/hotspots.html ) The vet gave him a shot of Dexafort to calm the itching and tables to fight the bactrial infection from the hot spot.

She said should we have any repeat itching in the next month or so he could have sensative skin issues and there are special creams and medicated shampoos that can help and possibly even be put on tables that act similarly to the injection he had.

So I guess it's best to try to figure out what the cause could be and eliminate it from the environment if possible or other wise consult a vet!

[Cockerlover]

It could be a number of problems! allergy to grass seeds;sand ;flies flees ;dermatitus, have youtried malasab shampoo very good for alliges alsoILIUM NEOCORT oitment is good for rashes good luck cocker lover

[Miranda]

Are you absolutely certain that she doesn't have fleas? Just because you haven't seen any doesn't mean that she is free of fleas. Do you have her on any form of flea treatment such as Advantage?

It takes only one bite to produce a reaction in a susceptible dog, flea saliva causes intense itching in some dogs and the subsequent scratching and biting can injure the skin and cause secondary infections.

If you are 100% certain that she has no fleas but the itching continues you may have to go to the vet and get a course of cortisone, it's a drug that you want to avoid if you can, but if you've tried all other options sometimes it's necessary to break the cycle.

[chuckie500]

I'd do something like this:

1. eliminate plants like wondering jew, paspalam, that are known to cause reactions in dogs.

2. try a shampoo like malaseb esp on the paws to eliminate fungal/bacterial infections. Then after that something like alloveen or episooth.

3. use spot-ons to control fleas. ( advantix or frontline every two weeks as for tick treatment just for a few applications then monthly if desired, i found advantix much better than frontline).

4. be really fussy about dust etc. (i had mine allergy tested & dust mites was an allergy and i think it is common. mine sleep on my bed too, so i even got dust mite covers for my pillows and the duvet as well).

5. Eliminate all foods that have wheat and corn for starters. I use eaglepack fish formula and a part barf diet. treats are liver treats only. many foods have wheat & corn esp treats.

6. Maybe try omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. Megaderm is one i use occasionally.

7. i'm probably nutty but i even changes washing powder too from radiant to surf. i changed my personal deoderant from a spray to a stick in case the aerosols was annoying him.

8. for their bedding i use only natural fibres (wool or cotton) against thier skin.

I found all these things helped. One of mine would wake me up every day scratching and licking his paws. He was even on cortisone for about two months, till i managed to get it undercontrol. He hasn't had cortisone for years now.

[Seita]

Thanks for the responses guys, in answer:

Yep, I'm very certain that she hasn't got fleas... I have checked her over very thouroughly several times now and there is quite certainly no fleas. I have her sentinel spectrum which does fleas and I also have a flea/tick collar on her too. I have washed her with masalab but it had no effect on the itchiness. There doesn't seem to be anything in the yard that could cause itchiness, just grass and burrs which we are keeping cut down! I feed a barf diet with additions of flaxseed oil and LSA mix, plus sardines several times a week so she is getting plenty of oils etc. I guess it could be dust related... aside from regular cleaning how would I control that?

[Clyde]

Did you leave the Malaseb on for the required ten minutes three times a week? And also try the Aloveen Leave In Conditioner after the medicated baths. Works a treat.

Please dont use soap on your dog, it's terrible for their skin plus strips out flea preventions too.

[Seita]

Did you leave the Malaseb on for the required ten minutes three times a week? And also try the Aloveen Leave In Conditioner after the medicated baths. Works a treat.

Please dont use soap on your dog, it's terrible for their skin plus strips out flea preventions too.

No, I didn't do that but I will give it a shot now and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip with the aloveen stuff too... I will definitely give it a shot! As for soap, its the sunlight soap which I only use on her whites (border collie) for show grooming to get them nice a bright. Also as mentioned I use Sentinel spectrum, so there is no flea stuff on her body as it's an internal product!

[Lab_Rat]

Itchy Dog Owners Unite! ;)

Its a hard one aint it! My first suggestion would be to have a vets opinion (a good, holistic one if you know of one), as different areas of itchiness can relate to different causes. Could your dog be reacting to the flea collar?

Having one itchy and one "normal" dog, I find it very frustrating sometimes to deal with. Absolutely nothing seems to affect our kelpie, (except her annoying sister ), but my poor ridgeback girl is the itchy queen! At the moment she is on an elimination diet, but still has itchy front paws and chin. She also chews her toe nails, although I don't know if this is related.

My vet recommended fish oil capsules to help relieve itchiness, my girl has 6 per day, but at this stage I don't know if they're helping. My sister swears by them for her dog.

I am of the opinion that it is better to find the cause and get rid of that if at all possible, than to just treat the symptoms. Because itchies are difficult to pin down, it seems that vets (the ones i have dealt with over the years) are happier to sell you drugs that deal with the symptoms, rather than find the real cause!

I am determined to find out why my girl is itchy all the time, even if I have to travel further afield and try new vets!

I hope you find a cause for your poor dogs itchies, its so upsetting to have them scratching all the time and not be able to fix it for them!

Good luck, RG

[laffi]

Itchy Dog Owners Unite!

My aussie shepherd is entering her itchy summer phase. She looks so miserable itching all the time ;)

I will aslo try the Malaseb and see how it goes.

Thanks for your help.

[ruthless]

Yup, got an itchy dog here too. Chopper got his first cortisone injection on Fri and it did nothing to relieve his scratching. He didn't get like this last year, so I'm supposing it's because we moved house and he's having to deal with new pollens. He's also on fish oil. I'll try the medicated shampoo. Angel isn't scratching, but she's got a bad rash which she's on antibiotics for. Illium Neocort (sp?) is great for clearing up problem areas. They do come back though.

Does anyone know a good holistic vet in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney? I'd like to find out the cause.

[JulesP]

Were is the dog itching? That can help rule some stuff out. I pulled all my wandering jew out, took frigging days and a lot of tears. Still had an itchy dog. His was on his belly mainly. Then I realised that he didn't lay in the spots that had the WJ anyway and with a bit of spying located the plant that was causing the most problems! He is still a bit itchy but the yucky weeping red sores are no more.

So if on belly, look at were dog is sleeping. On feet, were is dog walking? Could even be grass! All over? probably not a contact allergy.

[ruthless]

Belly and underarms for my two. I would rule out their beds as it's seasonal. We're in the process of pulling all the weeds out of our garden, but we go to 4 different dog parks during the week so if it's pollen from there we may not see any change. They're on Polaramine too, but I don't think it's making any difference

[JulesP]

See if they are sleeping on any plants. Mine was sleeping on a nice, cushiony ground cover! He also seemed to react to the mulch.

[ruthless]

They're in concrete dog runs during the day and inside with us when we're home.

[Seita]

Hi! She seems to be scratching around her neck and on her flanks and a bit on her front feet (but not much). She sleeps inside on polished wood floors or in her crate with a foam doggy bed (less than 6 months old). When she's outside she tends to lie on concrete under the house or out in the grass. I'll be trying the medicated shampoo some more this week and seeing how that goes. Also bought some aloveen shampoo and conditioner today and will try that at some point. I don't think she is reacting to the collar as that thought crossed my mind a few months ago so I left it off for a few weeks to see how she went but it made no difference.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that the itching is not that bad, there is no redness or marks on her skin anywhere and no sign of irritation. She scratches fairly often but it's not the excessive, obviously annoyed scratching... I started the topic to try and find an answer for her itchiness BEFORE it gets worse! I've had a dog with hot spots and a food allergy, I've also had a dog with a yeast infection in her ears and some kind of grass allergy and I don't want this girl to have to get to the stages of those dogs, I'd rather try and help her now before it gets worse. Thanks for your responses so far guys!

[poodlefan]

Seita what does she eat? Wheat is amongst the most common dog allergens. Dietary changes and the addition of some good Omega 3 oils may assist to combat this issue - you can treat from the inside as well as outside.

[JulesP]

Seita try a capstar tablet (kills adult fleas). Sentinel doesn't kill adult fleas. Ruling out fleas it does sound possible it is a food allergy.

Ruthless do you wash the run out at all? With cleaning products?

[Seita]

poodlefan - she is fed BARF, so raw meaty bones, pureed vegies and I add sardines, vetsallnatural health booster powder, LSA mix powder, flaxseed oil and the occasional egg. There is no wheat in her diet. I thought it might be her diet at first, thinking that it might have been not enough oils etc which could lead to dry skin but I've bumped up the oils and stuff like that and her skin and coat looks really healthy at the moment. I've also just purchased some megaderm and I'll see if a month of that helps at all.

JulesP - I use a flea and tick collar that would kill adult fleas wouldn't it?

Like I said her skin and coat looks great and she doesn't appear to have any redness or irritation but she does scratch fairly often... I guess the itchy feet might mean something on the grass is bugging her? I'll try the malaseb stuff (I think I've spelt it differently every single time I've written that!) for a while and see if that helps with the itchiness at all? Thanks again for everyone's responses!!

[poodlefan]

Seita, some dogs have allergic reactions to flaxseed. You could try removing that and the vets all natural (mostly grains isn't it?) to see if it makes a difference.

Is Megaderm the oil blend?? That's what I use if it is.