[jlynn]

Hi, my 8 month old male has been on a never ending scratching fest for the past few weeks. Nothing has changed as far as diet..etc. He constantly scratches himself and baby bites his skin with his front teeth. I know that dogs are prone to allergies, but have heard that can be hard to find out exactly what he is allergic to specifically. Has anyone had the same experience with their dog doing this? My husband thinks that he is just cleaning himself but it's definitely not.

 

[Ruby'sMom]

Join the Club

We could probably start a club ~ there are many of us on the forum with itchy pups, mine included. Could be diet, flees, vaccinations, change in weather leading to dry skin. Whatever the cause, the question is how do we stop it?

This is what I've tried: flee wash x2 (sentry puppy wash with oatmeal) rinse with apple cider vinegar, changed diet to raw (only ~about 2+ weeks, wished I went longer), added more kefir, coconut oil, fish oil/vit E, egg to diet, brush daily, antihistamine (per vet reccommendation). Still have itchies. I just ordered Sh-emp oil and feed sentenials. <---- check out other threads on itchy pups and you will see this is a common reccommendation.

As for the cause, after reading some articles that carmspack has reccommended, I think Ruby's itchies are caused by vaccinations. Vet thinks dry cold weather, guy that sells our dog food-dog allergies, neighbor says the wool blanket she was sleeping on..... the list could go on. I could spend a little $$ and do an allergy test, but I'm trying feed-sentenials first. Good luck. If you figure it out and a solution please share.

 

[VanLee]

Hi, my 8 month old male has been on a never ending scratching fest for the past few weeks. Nothing has changed as far as diet..etc. He constantly scratches himself and baby bites his skin with his front teeth. I know that dogs are prone to allergies, but have heard that can be hard to find out exactly what he is allergic to specifically. Has anyone had the same experience with their dog doing this? My husband thinks that he is just cleaning himself but it's definitely not.

First things first....how frequently do you brush? If you don't have a stiff natural bristle brush or a tight, high quality pin brush get one. Good natural bristle brushes are hard to find. When in doubt brush your dog.

Second, don't use poofy bedding. Use bedding that is easy to clean frequently like a Kuranda bed. Pillow beds become infested with mites and are impossible to wash.

Third, don't let dog sleep in bed with people at night. Your bed is equally infested with mites.

Fourth, give your dog a really good bath with a bland shampoo like Clean Start and then a rinse in very diluted white vinegar. 5 to 1 with water.

Fifth, use something for fleas. When a dog bites at itself like that always suspect fleas. If you have a cat suspect it even more. I really like the Seresto collar and use it till a series of hard frosts.


Hope that helps.

 

[Ruby'sMom]

"Fifth, use something for fleas. When a dog bites at itself like that always suspect fleas. If you have a cat suspect it even more. I really like the Seresto collar and use it till a series of hard frosts."

I thought about this product, just in case Ruby had a flea or two we missed. I read on several customer reviews that Seresto collar may have caused seizure in their dog. Inaitially I thought it was because the dog wore the collar too long, but there are a few cases where a seizure occurred after 3 weeks of wearing it. What are your thoughts VanLee? Is it worth the risk?

I agree with all other recommendations VanLee. Brushing is extremely important as well as bedding. I never thought of mites in my bedding tho. Ugg! I knew they were there.... Everyone has some mites. But yuck!

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Go to the vet. Have him checked for flea/flea dirt, mange, etc.

 

[Lobo dog]

We have/are going through the same thing with our 6 month old gsd. He has been super sensitive for 3 months now. If I am brushing him (he gets brushed once a day) his foot is thumping, if we give him even a pat he starts scratching. And he is constantly chewing or scratching himself. It has been effecting our training, because when I say "sit" he sits and scratches. If I say "stand, stay" he wants to scratch.

We have kept up in all the flee preventives, given him capstar, and sprayed the house with pet friendly flee killer. We went to the vet, no flees. He gets a table spoon of coconut oil in the morning and 2 pumps of fish oil at night.

We have changed his food brand up (only the best holistic foods), once every 6 weeks since we got him, but we found out that every food we have given him has had some form of chicken in it, so we thought maybe he has an allergy to chicken. So we switched his food to chicken and grain free, that was three weeks ago, and so far no change. If anything its gotten worse AND he has diarrhea.

We are getting pretty concerned, but the vet said he is perfectly healthy and they can't find anything wrong. We are now tossing around the idea that he is bathed to much? He goes to the groomers ever 4 to 5 weeks. Could that be the issue? We have also been thinking maybe because he is growing so fast (he gets 3 to 5 lbs bigger every week) that his skin is getting is getting stretched out and causes him to be itchy?

This has been going on for 3 months and I really hate seeing him in such discomfort that we can't even pet him for fear that it will send him on another scratching fit.

I hope you find what works, because I would really love to know how to cure Lobo of his ichy-ness too

(If there are any spelling errors I apologize, but I typed this whole thing out on my cell )

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

If you rub the edges of his ears, does he do anything? Has he been scraped for mange?

 

[jjk454ss]

First things first....how frequently do you brush? If you don't have a stiff natural bristle brush or a tight, high quality pin brush get one. Good natural bristle brushes are hard to find. When in doubt brush your dog.

I'm reading through topics on itching, I have a long haired GSD. Same recommendation on type of brush for a long haired? Can you give me a good example of the tight brush to buy? I see bristle brushes, but if there's actually a difference in how well it would work if like yo know what a hood option would be. Thanks

 

[Ruby'sMom]

So, if your dog starts scratching when you rub the edge of their ears, does that mean mites/mange? Ruby did nothing when I rubbed her ears.

She has been on Pure Vita - Bison for four days now. I've been brushing every day for a couple weeks. She has been less itchy the last couple nights. I give her a bone to chew if she starts scratching during the day. I also give her coconut oil, fish oil, vit E, egg, yogurt.

 

[annehoward897]

You can use Dermagic dog allergy shampoo, if your dog is continuously scratching, it will make him feel better.

 

[Galathiel]

I think the scratching I'm noticing is totally tied to the weather change. We had to turn on the heat and incidentally I noticed he was scratching. We had some warmer days this week (actually had to turn the AC back on!) and his scratching stopped. Had to turn the heat back on last night, so I'll see if his scratching increases. I also started adding coconut oil to his food.

 

[onyx'girl]

I'm reading through topics on itching, I have a long haired GSD. Same recommendation on type of brush for a long haired? Can you give me a good example of the tight brush to buy? I see bristle brushes, but if there's actually a difference in how well it would work if like yo know what a hood option would be. Thanks

I use an undercoat rake and then a slicker brush on Kacie. Neither distribute the oils, like a bristle brush may do. Bristle brush on her only hits the surface outercoat, and her undercoat is very dense.

 

[jjk454ss]

I use an undercoat rake and then a slicker brush on Kacie. Neither distribute the oils, like a bristle brush may do. Bristle brush on her only hits the surface outercoat, and her undercoat is very dense.

Thanks, I kind of thought an undercoat rake would be better. I'm thinking of picking up a bristle brush anyway, because Hugo hates being brushed and I think it's because the undercoat rake gets caught in tangle sometimes and hurts. If I brush him often with the bristle brush maybe he'll learn to actually like it.