Reader Q & A: The Itchy Dog
Monday July 14, 2008
I got an e-mail from a reader about her itchy dog. Knowing she is not alone, I thought I would share it with all of you. Many dogs have allergies this time of year (and other times of the year, for that matter). I hope this helps!
Question:I have a small half Shih Tzu and Poodle, about 12 pounds. He is 4 years old. He has itchy skin and scratches most of the time. I have been using olive oil in his food. Is there any tick and flea medication that I can use that will be better than the Frontline? The Frontline makes him worse. Also, what kind of shampoo do you recommend?
Answer:
Skin problems in dogs are all too common, and it is so difficult to watch our companions suffer. Remember, talk to your vet about your dog's health conditions. In the meantime, here are my feelings about managing skin issues in dogs (coming from personal and professional experience).
Comments
I had to take mine to the vet for a script for some antihistamine. That and a bath with an anti itch shampoo seems to be doing the trick. He’s a lab btw. thanks
Oatmeal base shampoo baths every other week – Omega 3 oil cap every day – My dog thinks they’re treats but can squeeze oils on food … Diphenhydramine 25 mg at bedtime helps them get a good night’s rest and a chance for skin to heal as they don’t scratch because the diphen helps them sleep .. a thorough gentle brushing with a little anti itch powder sprinkled on the brush gives some relief also… just a little.. too much could burn skin… baby powder may work just as well… and makes them smell good too. As you can tell I have a terrier that is allergic to the sap from a blooming tree in our yard.. so we go through this every year about this time. Hope this helps.
Both my dogs have food allergies and we had to switch foods about a dozen times until we found the right one. They had chronic ear infections and itchy, dry skin. One of my dogs also has environmental allergies and nothing short of steroids seems to help much. Her allergies are so bad her feet turn red and swollen without medication.
My dog has allergies and now we give her benedryl daily and she’s doing much better. Talk to your vet.
my dog would make herself bleed until i was advised to try something called flowers of sulpher
when she is really red i just sprinkle some on the inflamed area and her skin calms down almost imediately
i also bathe her in Timote and feed her hypo-allergenic food but i am certain that it was the flowers of sulphur that calmed her skin down
she hasnt chewed herself in at least 3 months now whereas she would chew herself nearly every day before result!!
hope this helps
My dog is a Shih Tzu, 2 yrs old, she has food allergies, primarily wheat. The vet has given ear drops, anitbiotics an steriods. I do not like this treatment and I have to go see him tomorrow. Having trouble with her food, have tried many, many. It is good that the pet store nearby will refund if the dog will not eat it. But I need to know uf anyone else has this trouble, what did you do? And what is hypo-allergenic food?
our little yorkie itched all the time and had no fleas or bugs so we changed his diet he eats brown rice and veggies mixed with organic chicken broth and the dry food is merrick all natural dry food works like a champ for our lab and our little yorkie hope this helps
Dogs, like humans, suffer hayfever. However, the most common symptom in dogs is itching.
As Tiffany suggested the usual treatment is the same – antihistamines, commonly available without prescription. I would advise checking doses at this website
http://www.ingleburnvet.com.au/antihistamines.htm
If you would prefer to try a drug-free “treatment” first I was advised by a homeopathic specialist to try giving my dog a teaspoon of LOCALLY PRODUCED honey once or twice a day – it must be local to contain similar pollens to the ones affecting your dog. I have reached July with an itch free black lab!!
I put a little olive oil in my dogs bath water. It totally relieved his itch.
My dog licked his hind end around his tail and his feet. The fur thinned.
I put an herbal balm of tangerine oil in grapeseed oil on it, and put a fish oil mix from a natural dog product, and human flax seed oil from Trader Joe’s in his food every meal. I changed his food to a food of natural venison with no wheat just brown rice from Natural life. When it was really at its worst I gave him a benedryl in his evening food. He’s 138 pounds so I gave him a whole one.
Once the oils kicked in, the licking stopped. The store recommended an expensive cortisal cream which I did not use because I felt if he licked it it would make him sick.
By far the best product I have every found is Skin-Ease at allergicpet.com. My shepherd would itch constantly. Now I give her two pills & the AM & another 2 pills at night & we are both MUCH happier! From all the time to virtually never.
I have 5 mini dachshunds and one of them has perpetual itchiness. After trying all the capsules, etc from the vet, I wanted to try something topical. My first try was baby lotion. That worked okay, but the winner has been avon’s skin so soft lotion. Rudy, my mini “d”, loves it and no more itchies! And, he smells wonderful.
My sister cooks for her 4 dogs .She makes big batches of cooked rice ,chiken and turkey,put them in containers in the freezer and has had no problems any more,.Her dogs dont not like to eat comercial food either ,so when she has to thavel she cooks a larger pot to leave for the pet siter and even leaves instructions in case she uses up what was preapared .
Before I spent money on the Vet, I tried diet first. I switched to lamb and brown rice (no chicken, wheat or by-products)! Sammy is a poodle mix with curly hair that looked very dry before the change in diet. After a bath with non-allergenic dog shampoo and a change in his food, he no longer scratches and his coat has turned very shiny! I’m sure this may not work for all dogs. For Sammy it worked and it’s worth the extra money for the holistic food instead of medication.
i have three dogs and during the summer they all itch at some time or another,usually around the tail area. i put plain aloe lotion on the spots a couple of times a day and very soon it is healed. if they lick the aloe it does not hurt them or make them sick.as a matter of fact they see the bottle of aloe come out and they line up to get their share.
I’ve sucessfully used Wheat Germ oil for all my animals for skin problems. I get it at a local farm store. It seems to be easy on the digestion. Since all my animals are outdoors most of the time I also begin to add it to their diet in the fall. This provides a bit more energy to fend off the cold. I hope this helps.
Jelabedi
You can buy over the counter benadryl. Cut the pill in half and give with peanut butter. They can have every 4-6 hours a half of pill only though. And their is no vet bill. Vet approved. It works great. My dog itched so bad he would be bald in spots. Benadryl works wonders.
Halo Dream Coat works great with my dogs!
http://www.halopets.com
Can helps stop itching and makes their coats super shiny and soft!
I also started feeding my dogs Wellness Core which is a natural high protein dog food that contains No soy,wheat, etc.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
I am able to buy both these products at our local Petco.
What works best for me is frequent baths for my dog. I use Earthbath with oatmeal and aloe (Petco). Rising off all the soap well is very very important. I tried various frequency of bathes, and for my dog it’s every 3 days. If I don’t bathe her, the itching returns rapidly. Studies show that dogs who have baths 2-3 times a week have less itching. I was able to stop medication with this bathing regime. She still scratches a bit, but it’s tolerable. Dogs inhale an allergen (dust mite, pollen etc) and it deposits of their skin and makes them itch. That’s the reason they need a bath…to remove the allergen. Unlike humans who sneeze and have water eyes with they inhale an allergen.
I have a hunterway cross, we have had him at the vet several times trying to sort out his allegies, he gets bad ear infections and chews his paws alot, we has spent so much time and money on steriods, antibiotics, diets (zd diet, no protine) and are now thinking about getting him allergie tested.
Has anyone else had this problem?
My dog is a purebred, and I understand that they often have more sensitive skin. His skin ites in the late summer, and continues through to the winter. My vet said that in addition to 2x daily benadryl, sometimes their skin is irritated beyond the normal levels, and they need shot of a steriod to put out the fire. Also, the vet can tell the difference between an irritaed patch, and an infection that needs an antibiotic.
Check with your vet.
Nicole: I have just read your comments. On my last visit to the pet store I bought Wellness Duck & Sweet Potatoe dry food. My dog just will not eat it or any dry food I try. I do want her to eat the dry food, but now I will try the canned Wellness Duck & Sweet Potatoe. Thanks so much! Will get back to you.
Nicole: Thanks for the tip, have been using Wellness dry food but my dog refuses to eat it. Am at my wits end with her,have tried many foods but I will now try the Wellness canned food!
Try Natural Balance Duck and Potato. I have a fussy dog and she eats it.
My little toy rat terrier had the itchys so bad I became desperate I had cod liver capsules in my pantry, I cut the top off and gently rubbed the oil into his skin! I watched him and he would go to scratch and then put his little leg down,he coulnt find his itchy spots! I now rub the oil in the morning and at night! give it a few days because the skin is so dry it needs to absorb! last but not least dont feel bad if youre unsure what to do asking just proves you care and adore that little lovey!!Daphne
I have two Siberian Husky’s age 10. I have been feeding them Wellness White fish and sweet potatoe and Now they are starting to itch and break out. I’ve been told that I’m getting the same food but different packageing.The food is Super5Mix. before it was just plain sweet potatoe and white fish. I am very concerned because I go through a 30# bag every 3 weeks. They only get feed once a day and 2 cups of food a piece. They weigh 80# and are in good health except for the breaking out from the different mix.
I’m a senior citizen and I feed my animals the best food I can buy. They deserve it. But it concerns me that I can’t get the one I want. The pet store tells me it is the same but It isn’t. Can You help Me?
Check out this website that offers a variety of products targeted at allergies and itchy dogs. The best part is that they guarantee that their products works and they are made from organic natural ingredients.
Sarah: About your dog with ear itching and chewing paws. My dog does that and the Vets says that it is a food allergy, with my dog it is wheat.
Hi Glenda,
I saw your post and apologize that I did not respond sooner. I feed Wellness myself and have been in communication with the company before. I was also of the understanding that the formula did not change with the bag change. My own dog has food sensitivity but did not have any problems. Though food allergies can come out of nowhere sometimes, your situation seems different. Perhaps you should contact Wellness directly? They tend to be pretty helpful in my experience.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/talktous_contact_details.html
Let us know what you find out!
Jenna
My GSD and Beagle both have the itchies this time of year.
I feed them Evo Innova’s Red Meat kibble (grain free product.) I also supplement with Omega 3 capsules which they love (they just smell a litle fishy for approx 1 hr after ingestion.) I read in a dog journal that Omega 6 is sufficiently produced in the body and Omega 9 has no clinical improvement for skin.
I bathe both with an all natural soap free product for sensitive skin (important to rinse very well.) Also important to dry well but w/o heat.
Benadryl is given to both as needed. Beagle is given 1/2 of a 25mg pill 2-3 times daily and the GSD is given 2 25mg pills 2-3 times daily. (plz check w/ your vet for dosage)
The beagle has licked her paws to become infected (yeast) and our vet recommended 1 part vinegar – 3 parts water paw soak as often as needed which has cleared her paws up.
A video I made on dog itchy skin at http://www.doghealthproblemsadvice.com might be helpful. I have made several other short informative videos for my patients and their owners on the site as well that have to do with skin issues.
Try rubbing coconut oil on the irritated area. It’s ok for the dog to lick it.