Extreme itching during and after walk/play

[Rua]

Having a bit of a problem with Juno and would love some input.

Today I took Juno out for a proper walk. She was a bit of a nightmare on the walk. Lunging, barking, pulling. All over the place. Part of that is my fault. I've been ill with bronchitis for a full week and haven't been able to take her out the way I normally would. My kids and husband have taken her out for long plays in the garden everyday, but not for walks on the lead, so I felt like I was starting over with her today.

So here's what's got me a bit confused: On her walk today, I noticed she kept stopping to itch. She was quite agitated at everything. Barking at wheelie bins. Barking at leaves. Barking at people/dogs. Barking at nothing. She kind got herself in a tizzy. By the time we headed home, she was itching like a mad woman, and her fur was speckled with fine white dandur throughout. She suddenly stopped excessively itching when we got home (except for what is normal for her at home).

Is it possible for a GSD to get itchy when they are anxious or excited?

She is currently getting in her adult coat which is coming in thick and heavy in places. Do pups that get their new coats get more itchy than normal?

Also, I think Juno has been having a bit of a dry skin reaction to the corn in the small amount of kibble I give her in the evenings (I plan to phase that kibble out soon - and she's on raw for the rest of the meals. The kibble is medium quality. The corn is 3rd on the list of ingredients.) She has these scabby marks on her tummy for awhile now too where she keeps attacking the same place on her herself. They literally look to be in the shape of her nippy little mouth, where she keeps biting at the bare part of her belly. She tends to zero in on her nipples too. I'm assuming it's dry skin that's making her do that?

That being said, I don't see how the corn in her kibble would cause her to turn into an itching demon on the walk today, when she hasn't reacted like that before. She itches a bit at home, but nothing like on that walk.

Any thoughts?

[SamanthaBrynn]

Is she getting any oils? Fish oil?

[Rua]

Originally Posted by SamanthaBrynn

Is she getting any oils? Fish oil?

Flaxseed Oil and Olive Oil in the evenings.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post is that since yesterday she's gone a little off her food though. She's still eating. Just not as much as normal.

[N Smith]

Itching is in fact a stress signal - there are many including:

Lip licking
Shaking (looks like they are cold)
Sniffing the ground
Full body shaking (like how they shake water off)
Turning their face, averting eyes
Panting
Slow blinking

Also, scratching...

I would work on building confidence on walks through play and marker training. Once the stress is gone the signals will also be gone!

[Oskar der Drachen]

My Bear had the itchy as well.

It turned out to be a combination of two things, puppy pyoderma and an environmental allergy to a weed, most likely wandering jew, but not completely isolated. I'll leave the definitive trackdown on that one till later when we are well past our troubles.

His pyoderma was bad enough to warrant a spell on antibiotics to clear up the secondary rashes.

The weed allergy or rash was isolated by keeping him to paths and the beach for walks, and clearing out all the undergrowth on my section to knee high. No contact with generic mixed weeds = no rash.

Then a walk through an area with known foliage, just grass no rash. WJ mixed in = Rash.

The (supposed) WJ rash was all the way up over his ribs and along his back under his fur. Getting an ointment on that was ****.

Get an opinion on the pyoderma first, it seems to be quite common. All the local GSD owners I have talked to here have had a puppy episode of it. It comes up in scabby spots and can have things that look like whitehead pimples in it too. This isn't Bear, but it was what his rash was like.

http://localmarket.mypeted.com/Dog_S...lister_CA.html