Itchy Face

[ladyfreckles]

This morning since Viking woke up he's been uncomfortable. He's been pawing at his face and rubbing his head on the carpet while whining and trying to itch himself. We checked for fleas, checked his ears, checked his temp, and he's fine. We don't know why he's trying to itch himself. We called the local 24/7 animal hospital and asked what an itchy face could mean and they said it could mean allergies and just to give him a 25mg Benadryl tablet and see if that improves. We haven't given him the tablet yet just because we're not entirely sure if that's safe for dogs.

Any idea what this discomfort could mean?

[msvette2u]

It's safe for dogs, but how much does he weigh?
The dosage is typically 1-2mg. per pound of body weight. It can be given up to 3mg./lb.

No clue what it could be, but maybe take a damp cloth and wipe his face/eyes to see if that helps?

[Kittilicious]

Knuckles has been doing the scratching/pawing at his face the past couple days but I'm assuming it's because he has 2 canine teeth coming in and he's lost 2 molars in the last 2 days too. Could it maybe be his teeth?

And yep, I've given Benadryl to dogs before

[ladyfreckles]

Originally Posted by Kittilicious

Knuckles has been doing the scratching/pawing at his face the past couple days but I'm assuming it's because he has 2 canine teeth coming in and he's lost 2 molars in the last 2 days too. Could it maybe be his teeth?

And yep, I've given Benadryl to dogs before

Would teeth be an issue at 8 weeks? I thought that didn't start until 16 weeks.

[Kittilicious]

Proabably not. Sorry, I didn't even look at how old he was. Sorry.

Although... maybe his front teeth? I'd double check just to make sure. Maybe it's something as simple as something stuck between his teeth.

[ladyfreckles]

Update: the benadryl helped, so it was most likely an allergy.

[onyx'girl]

but an allergy to what? I would wonder why an 8 week old pup is trying to scratch his itchy face...a 25 mg of benedryl is a bit much for that age, not sure I'd go that far unless swelling was causing problems with breathing or vision(bee sting or something like that).
Puppy's seldom have allergies.
I would investigate the flea issue...you can't always see them. But be careful how you treat a baby puppy if you do so. Call your breeder and find out what they've treated pup with recently, or the pups bedding/area where they kept them.

[ladyfreckles]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

but an allergy to what? I would wonder why an 8 week old pup is trying to scratch his itchy face...a 25 mg of benedryl is a bit much for that age, not sure I'd go that far unless swelling was causing problems with breathing or vision(bee sting or something like that).
Puppy's seldom have allergies.
I would investigate the flea issue...you can't always see them. But be careful how you treat a baby puppy if you do so. Call your breeder and find out what they've treated pup with recently, or the pups bedding/area where they kept them.

I'm not sure.

We see the vet on Monday so we'll ask then. It could be that the carpet cleaner we used irritated him. Maybe he wasn't allergic but it bothered his face so the benadryl helped relieve it. It did spill all over the floor the other day. I checked for flea fecal and I didn't see any of that either, as well as going through with a comb.

[onyx'girl]

If you are going for vax, be sure Viking is healthy...otherwise his immune system may not be able to handle it. Have you talked with the breeder about it?

[ladyfreckles]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

If you are going for vax, be sure Viking is healthy...otherwise his immune system may not be able to handle it. Have you talked with the breeder about it?

My vet won't administer vaccines to an unhealthy puppy.