the cat lady

Thankyou Christina for this post. I too have the challenge of an "itchy, scratching, biting himself, pulling his hair out" kind of dog. I feel as though I am chopping and changing from one product or food or medication to the next. The list of things that don't seem to help seems to be growing longer and longer. How long would it take for a food that "caused a reaction or flare up" to work its way through the dogs system. Maybe I am changing the food type too quickly Some things that have helped us a little, but are not the "cure" are the calendula tea (thankyou Erny), used as a rinse on a daily basis, and left to dry on the fur/skin without toweling dry. Also rinsing his feet and legs in vinegar after his bath (another DOL tip).

Hi, and thanks for this info. I have tried to keep his diet fairly simple, mainly chicken, or turkey with rice and veg plus alternating with Royal Canin Hyper Allergic food. We were told from the rescue org that he was having lamb bones as well, but I haven't continued with the lamb as it can be quite fatty. I didn't think of giving him fish, that may be worth a try and mix up the proteins a bit more. Even though we have been advised by nearly everyone to wash him in Aloveen, he had a big setback after using this, to the point where he was scratching till be was almost bleeding and was sooo uncomfortable he just couldn't settle, till we rewashed him with plain water. We are now washing him, just with plain water every 2nd day - basically wetting him down to remove any allergens that may be on his fur. This seems to help him and calm down his skin. I am working my way through the anithistamines, Claratyne and Phenergan have made no difference! Our vet has strongly recommended the allergy testing, which are thinking about, however it is really expensive, and is no guarantee to be a cure. We would have spent close to $800 on him since November last year, in vet consults, medications, and special foods. If the allergy testing could fix him then I would go ahead, but there are no guarantees, we could spend the money, and have it done, and be no closer to having an answer. I would love to hear your experiences with the allergy testing. Thanks in advance

Thanks for this info I have some canneston cream for tinea, is this ok to use on the dog, if he is licking and biting his feet. Also with the vinegar do you use it straight or diluted?

Many thanks for all your suggestions, good practical advice is just what I was hoping for. Thank you for your suggestions of clinics in Sydney, very helpful. I have previously heard about the calendula tea, so will definately give this a go. Showdog, yes he does have yeasty feet, especially the back ones. I kind of think he is passing this infection back and forth from feet to ears as he uses his back feet to scratch his ears. I have the drops for his ears, however the vet has suggested nothing for his feet. Any thoughts on how to clear up his feet? Persephone, thanks for the link to the herbalist, I will sit down after work today and have a good look at the website. Again thank you all for your advice

He has had a courses of antibiotics for his ears, however, they seem to keep flaring up not long after the antibiotics have stopped. The vet said it was a yeast infection. When he first arrived I continued to feed him cooked chicken mince, rice and vegies (no potatoe) as this is what his diet had been at the rescue - he was itchy from day 1. I then swapped to the Royal Canin allergic diet as was suggested by the vet.. he is still ichy! At the moment I am alternating between these each day. He had a bad flare up last week after the lawn was mowed - so maybe environmental causes, who knows, and after a bath in Aloveen shampoo which was also recommended by the vet. I would love to be able to give him some relief, this scratching and chewing must be making him so uncomfortable

Thanks so much for your advice. From your replys the allergy testing may be the way to go. I'm guessing that Sydney would be the closest place to us. Can anyone recommend someone in Sydney? The cost may be a bit prohibitive straight away, and I have been told that the winter is the best time to test. We have already paid close to $800 in the last few months on vet bills and medications, washes and special food etc. so, unless there is another way to work with the allergies in the long run it will be worthwhile. Unfortunately we don't have pet insurance, with him being 6 years old and now having a history of allergies, I don't think they would be interested in us.

Hi Folks, I have only just joined this forum, however have gained much knowledge and useful advise from browsing for a little while now. I am hoping to gain some advise on how to help our dog. He is 6yrs old, and we adopted him from a rescue towards the end of last year. He is thought to be a cross between anyting from a sheltie to a foxy, to a pomeranian, and who knows what else. Anyway, we love him whatever he is officially When he came to live with us we were told he was recovering from a bad case of mange and ringworm and was finishing a course of cortizone tablets. His fur was patchy in some areas, his chest and armpits, and he has no fur on his stomach and base of tail area. In the 4 months we have had him he is continually itchy and scratching and biting himself, particularly his feet and legs, and scratching at his ears. We have had him to vets 4 times and each time has been given either more cortizone tablets, or injections. WE also use claratyne and he has fish oil tablets each day. His ears are also a huge problem with yeast infections and we are continually having to put drops in them. This is a problem in that he reacts badly to anything going in his ears and has to be muzzled to avoid us being bitten. We can however touch and rub his ears without incident. I think in some way his ears and allergies are connected. His diet is either cooked chicken mince mixed with vegetables and rice or Royal Canin Allergy diet from the vet. No matter what he eats he is still itchy. Sorry about the long post but I feel that there must be some way to alleviate the constant discomfort this little dog must be suffering other than continual medications which can have negative side effects in the long term. I have read about allergy testing, but this is expensive and does not guarantee good results. I have also read about using a naturopath and using herbal remedies. Any help and suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. PS my vet told me on the first visit that if my dog was a car she would say I had a lemon..... she's not my vet anymore :)

What a great thread. I am new to this forum and I too have an itchy dog, and am at my wits end trying to work out how to ease his itchyness and make him more comfortable. I was feeding him chicken, rice and vegies, however found he is a little better on the hyper allergic foods from the vet. He is six years old, and we have had him since November. Many vet visits and medications later, he is showing some improvement with the new food and some claratyne. I will definately try some of the suggestions here especially the Moogoo products and calendula tea(if I can find it) Again, thanks for the info