whitka Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 My 13 week old puppy CJ is always scratching, she's been like this since we got her. Already she has patches on her stomach and chest. All the vet said was it was prop an allergy to something she'ss lying on and to keep upto date with flea treatments and bath twice weekely. When we asked what flea stuff to give a puppy he said not to worry until she's fully grown. We have been bathing her alot with flea shampoo and Aloveen but I didnt think bathing her this much was good for her, also bathing her heaps does nothing. What should I do to help her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUGGA-LUGZ Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Try bathing her in Malaseb wash. It works well for all sorts of rashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Try using malaseb for bathing and cut it back to once a week, then fortnightly. You can use a diluted mixture of malaseb and water (ratio 1:30 or 1:50) and just wipe the area that is red and itchy to help instead of bathing her so much. What is she eating? Diet can play havoc with allergic dogs. If she is on any commercial foods, I would take them off her and start on a low allergy diet like chicken and some veg, and then add back a good raw bones such as beef/chicken then some good quality kibble. You could also try an antihistamine from the chemist. My boy is 24kg and he gets 2mg of polaramine twice a day when he is itchy. Lots on here use antihistamines in allergy season (and they are cheaper from the chemist than a vet). Hopefully Zayda Asha will see this post for you too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitka Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Staffyluv at the moment she's on Advance, pedigree or puriona one depends on which food my parents are buying ( she's actually supposed to be my dad's dog ) and she has mince from IGA with this, should I change this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Staffyluv at the moment she's on Advance, pedigree or puriona one depends on which food my parents are buying ( she's actually supposed to be my dad's dog ) and she has mince from IGA with this, should I change this? The foods you listed contain a significant amount of grains (corn/wheat etc) that can cause allergies in dogs. There has been a lot of threads about it so I suggest you do a search and read more about itchy dogs and common suggestions for their diet. Most people would advise to switch to raw diet (read up on BARF and prey model diet) or a better quality kibble (Eagle Pack Holistic, Artemis for example). By going on raw it's easy to perform elimination diet and determine exactly what your dog is allergic to. It could be that it's environmental allergies and not food at all. BTW Some people here had huge success with Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo. I have used it for my itchy dogs and will never use anything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I would be addressing the diet & also checking out the garden for wandering jew or similiar type plants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 In addition to the great advice already given, consider fitting her out with a T-shirt for her body to prevent the contact. You can get whizz bang lycra suits for this but an old T-shirt with her front legs fitted through the arms and a knot at the top of her back to keep it tight might help prevent contact with the allergen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Also be careful of mince as it may contain preservatives, which can cause flare ups. I prefer to feed chicken frames/wings and, if I need mince for training treats, ask the butcher to mince me some fresh chicken thighs. Check for other treats being fed too - colours and flavours abound and can be very irritating. I have a horrid reaction to yellow food colouring so am doubly aware of this for my dog. I've fed Advance, Eagle Pack Holistic and Artemis (not the grain free) and am having most success with the latter, but obviously it's an individual thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitka Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) I've got some Malaseb and will bath her tomorrow. Also got some Bonnie puppy only becuase Toby has had similer problems and since being on Bonnie working has stoped scratching and his coat looks great. SD so should I stop feeding her mince? This is a big part of her diet so what would be good to feed her? I dont just want to give dry food incase she gets board. I'll also stop giving it to Toby, as for treats when im training her I use Nature's Gifts, are they ok? Poodlefan I like that idea might be a bit hard now because I can see her ripping it off and she's always growing but i'll look around form old shirts. Edited February 2, 2009 by whitka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitka Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) Before I forget there are some chicken frames from IGA would that be ok or would it be best to go a butcher? Edited February 2, 2009 by whitka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Buy them from the place that sells them the cheapest. Chicken frames are chicken frames no matter where they come from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) Before I forget there are some chicken frames from IGA would that be ok or would it be best to go a butcher? I think the IGA frames are for human consumption so no preservatives. I would drop anything that has preservatives in it. Unfortunately with allergies you will have to determine yourself which foods/treats are OK and which are not. So I suggest you start reading ingredients lists of everything you feed and try to determine yourself which foods/treats are OK and which are not. The simplest way is to put her on one thing (let's say one type of dry food) for a couple of weeks (no other treats, minces or anything) and see how she goes. If she stops itching add one more things at the time and see how she goes. However if she still itches drop the original diet for something else. But remember one thing at the time otherwise you will never know what is causing the allergies. Dogs don't get 'bored' of food. When they are hungry they will eat. ETA: she could be allergic to anything: grains, preservatives, chicken, beef etc etc Edited February 2, 2009 by laffi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I was just coming back to see if you had any more advice and it is all great advice. I like the idea of a tshirt for her, I will have to remember that for the boofhead next spring. Thanks PF One more thing I would be doing if she was mine - get another vets opinion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 whitka, laffi has pretty much covered it. In terms of preservatives and rubbish, the Nature's Gift treats are great and I happily feed them....also Eagle Pack Holistix are fine. However, as mentioned you need to do an exclusion diet to really determine what is going on. If you do find chicken is not part of the allergic response I would much rather feed some sort of meaty bones such as frames (I get really good ones from my butcher) or wings. I freeze them and Zig chews them very carefully - make sure you supervise so puppy doesn't bolt them. Save the mince for a special training treat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lablover Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 13 weeks old and itchy!!! Very young and from your description noted since purchase. I would ring the breeder and ask if any litter mates or extended pedigree were displaying/ or had allergy problems/symptoms. I had the dubious honour of having the most allergic labrador seen at the canine specialist center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitka Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Lablover she's from a backyard breeder and is a lab x golden. She's my dad's dog and despite me tracking down a good lab breeder he still got her, I went with him to point out all the things to watch out for and there were pleanty. The mum had sores all over her and a yucky coat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Try bathing her in Malaseb wash. It works well for all sorts of rashes. Malaseb can be too harsh for a lot of dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasha Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I think 13 weeks old is too young to be displaying signs of allergy to nearly anything. I would be more inclined to think it more of an irritant. It could be from her vaccination, some form of mites, fleas and I would look at that before I resticted her diet from some essential ingredients for a growing puppy. It may be the shampoo causing the irritation! Have you recently put a collar on her...some dogs don't like them. I have a 24 week old pup that was scratching too much for normal. At her 12 week vax I mentioned it to vet, scraped skin.....nothing. At 16 week vax still scratching, no real redness or rashes. She is in water all the time so her white feet and muzzle were a bit pink but that is all. After having a severely allergic dog prior to this I was dreading another one so she then went back to vet as she has tiny pustules so gave her some antibiotics to trial and then after 2 weeks of those another skin scrape found sarcoptes mite eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After 3 doses of treatment at 2 weekly intervals she is now clear. I asked about allergies then and the vets said 6 months is usually the earliest time signs of any kind of allergies would occur. And that is when they are bad. My advice is go back to vet and get a scraping done. Or use revolution every 2 weeks for 6 weeks as a trial and see what happens. Given you don't know the hygiene of the breeders place mites might not be out of the question. they may even be ear mites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'd love to check out your backyard, I work in rescue and get calls from new owners/foster carers saying the dog is itchy. I've gone to their homes sometimes and found the yard covered in a plant called Wandering Jew. It looks innocent enough but one touch of it causes pets to be very itchy and get rashes etc. As your pup has localised problems - chest/stomach, that would suggest it's in contact with something. I've just written an article for our magazine which includes a picture of Wandering Jew. I've discovered that a lot of these people had been to their vets and not been told that the cause of the dog's rash is WJ. They've been given cortisone (not great for the dog) and Malaseb. Both are OK under certain circumstances but not suitable for the long term. You simply have to get to the bottom of what's causing the problem. Having said that, if it isn't WJ, it could be food related but I'd start with a yard inspection - you could be looking at 1 or 2 sprigs of it only, rather than a mass but you need to remove them and keep checking the yard every few days as they are hard to get rid of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zayda_asher Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) I think 13 weeks old is too young to be displaying signs of allergy to nearly anything. It's rare, but it can happen... my poor eldest came home itchy at 7weeks and just got worse... For all the dogs that follow the text book case pattern, it's important to remember that there is a few who don't Whitka I'd be looking for another vet too, and maybe even a ref to a Derm to discuss it with the experts if a second opinion from a GP Vet still doesn't give much good info... Have a read of this thread: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...ayda+asher+here It's got a lot of good info in it. ETA: If you read it through to the end too you can follow the story of my eldest, Zayda, being retested and the development of a whole bunch more allergies... Edited February 2, 2009 by zayda_asher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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