Chihuahua Scratching

[moggy]

Hi my 4 yr old chihuahua has been scratching his ears, lower hind and lower belly, them seems only to be a bit of redness on his soft part of his lower belly, as i have checked everywhere else and cannot see anything thats inflamed. He does not have fleas. His diet has not changed, and he gets a bath every fortnight. After a good scratch he settles down ...then gets up suddenly then burps and off he goes again with his scratching. I have also notices he is dragging his bum across the floor. I am at my wits end, can anyone suggest a good anti bacterial wash, or knows why he could be scratching.

[sas]

Hiya

Have you had a chat to your Vet about it? Probably best to start there so you know what to do going forward i.e. you can have a tape test to see if there is an unusual amount of yeast which can cause some skin irritation.

The bum dragging could be worms or anal glands that need to be expressed.

Have you used a new chemical such as the foam you put on the carpets or a new washing liquid?

Would you consider the burping normal?

Edited January 24, 2009 by sas

[chichu]

Hi there, I will take Tic Tac (chihuahua) to the vet and suggest to check his yeast level, and the bum dragging I have actually sprayed the carpets with a foam type fragrance. Thank you so much for suggestions.

[puggy_puggy]

The scratching could be anything from food to your carpet. You could try half a claratyne, once a day, for a week or so and see if it improves.

The bumb dragging.

Has he been wormed lately?

Do his anal glands need expressing?

[badboyz]

Bathing fortnightly seems a bit excessive too! Is there any reason he needs to be bathed so much? I also recommend seeing a vet to work out why he is scratching. Could be allergic/bacterial/fungal/mange mites. Scooting usually means anal glands need expressing - you vet can do it if you do not know how.

Edited January 27, 2009 by badboyz

[chichu]

Thanks for your comments, my husband took Tic Tac to the vet , he was diagosed with an allergy, and put him on tablets called Panafcortelone for his itching and anti-biotics for a scratch that looked like it was getting infected, and a quarterzone shot. He is a lot better now, and I wash him with anti bacterial wash from the vets. The vet said if he starts to scratch again we can get an allergy test for around $800.00 which I think is over the top, so I am crossing my fingers he doesnt get it again.

[persephone]

Allergies don't just 'disappear usually ;)

The shots/tablets your dog has now will stop THE SYMPTOMS for the time being.

Dogs can be allergic to almost anything, and dogs which spend a lot of time indoors can be allergic to any household product/chemical.

Think about it... the dog crawls on/lies on /walks on the carpets/floors... and is absorbing/breathing chemicals all the time.

Food colourings, grains,beef, pollen, grass.... the list is endless

Please don't be too disappointed if the allergic symptoms come back.....

An allergy test is not cheap... BUT if it can find what exactly is making your dog uncomfortable... and means you can then try and eliminate that thing.. it's worth it!!

[MiniMum]

The shots/tablets your dog has now will stop THE SYMPTOMS for the time being.

Have to agree with this. The vet gave my guy a cortisone shot as a diagnostic tool to check for allergies. He didn't scratch for nearly a week, then it all came back

An allergy test is not cheap... BUT if it can find what exactly is making your dog uncomfortable... and means you can then try and eliminate that thing.. it's worth it!!

Agree with this wholeheartedly!

We are in the middle of sorting out our guys allergies. He has had the intradermal testing and as soon as we clear up an issues with one of his ears (a complication caused by the allergies) will start on desensitising for the airborne allergens. For the contact allergens (grass in his case) we were given a conditioner yesterday that seems to be working .

There are other threads in here about itchy dogs which you may find some help in too.

ETA

Edited February 6, 2009 by MiniMum

[_PL_]

Just another idea. Where are you MiniMum? I've had itchy shorter-coats on hot days. The hotter and more humid the worse they chew.

An oatmeal bath really helps, a cool bed and a bit of aloe on any broken skin. Unfortunately once they break the skin that gets very itchy too.

eta: a tiny bit off the outside of the coat with clippers really helps also. Not down to the skin, just the outside.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Powerlegs

[MiniMum]

Just another idea. Where are you MiniMum? I've had itchy shorter-coats on hot days. The hotter and more humid the worse they chew.

An oatmeal bath really helps, a cool bed and a bit of aloe on any broken skin. Unfortunately once they break the skin that gets very itchy too.

eta: a tiny bit off the outside of the coat with clippers really helps also. Not down to the skin, just the outside.

Thanks for the advise Powerlegs, good for both myself and the OP .

Don't know where the OP lives, but we're in Brisbane and everyones allergies have been worse during this summer in particular. I was wondering if this could be the chi's problem.

We use Aloveen shampoo and conditioner, but it didn't help the foot chewing at all. The aloe sounds like a good idea, will have to give that a go.

If its heat related a clip can be a good idea. TD is in what I would call a fairly short coat for summer, shorter than in my avatar pic, and his belly is very short as are his feet (poodle style ). I have been told that dogs can regulate their temp better if their belly is clipped.

[stormie]

The shots/tablets your dog has now will stop THE SYMPTOMS for the time being.

Have to agree with this. The vet gave my guy a cortisone shot as a diagnostic tool to check for allergies. He didn't scratch for nearly a week, then it all came back

An allergy test is not cheap... BUT if it can find what exactly is making your dog uncomfortable... and means you can then try and eliminate that thing.. it's worth it!!

Agree with this wholeheartedly!

We are in the middle of sorting out our guys allergies. He has had the intradermal testing and as soon as we clear up an issues with one of his ears (a complication caused by the allergies) will start on desensitising for the airborne allergens. For the contact allergens (grass in his case) we were given a conditioner yesterday that seems to be working .

There are other threads in here about itchy dogs which you may find some help in too.

ETA

It's possible the dog has had some sort of irritation which has started an itch/scratch cycle and the cortisone will break this and the itch may not return. Cortisone will generally take any itching away as its an anti inflammatory. So whether or not the cortisone works does not give you a diagnosis. You need to start a process of elimination, starting at parasites, then food etc. Limiting them to inside and then to outside is another way to see whether the scratching is because of something outside, ie pollens, or inside, such as chemicals, dust mites etc.

Have you checked your garden for plants such as wandering jew? I know you said you have no fleas but they are great at hiding and typically cause issues on the lower back/tail base area. I'd treat with capstar just to be sure.

Dragging his bum could be worms or anal glands, but also just itchy as the anal area is not covered in hair and more exposed to things things. The itchy areas sound like areas that come into contact with things the most, so Sas's idea of the carpet foam could be very likely.

With regards to doing the allergy testing, make sure you seek the advice of a dermatologist before you do this. You could test a dog that has no symptoms and get positives - the blood/skin tests do NOT diagnose allergies. You need to rule out everything else first and get to the atopy (allergy) diagnosis and then go down the testing road. It's a long frustrating process, but best to do it right before you start spending tonnes of money on testing/injetions etc.

Edited February 6, 2009 by stormie

[_PL_]

Just another idea. Where are you MiniMum? I've had itchy shorter-coats on hot days. The hotter and more humid the worse they chew.

An oatmeal bath really helps, a cool bed and a bit of aloe on any broken skin. Unfortunately once they break the skin that gets very itchy too.

eta: a tiny bit off the outside of the coat with clippers really helps also. Not down to the skin, just the outside.

Thanks for the advise Powerlegs, good for both myself and the OP .

Don't know where the OP lives, but we're in Brisbane and everyones allergies have been worse during this summer in particular. I was wondering if this could be the chi's problem.

We use Aloveen shampoo and conditioner, but it didn't help the foot chewing at all. The aloe sounds like a good idea, will have to give that a go.

If its heat related a clip can be a good idea. TD is in what I would call a fairly short coat for summer, shorter than in my avatar pic, and his belly is very short as are his feet (poodle style ). I have been told that dogs can regulate their temp better if their belly is clipped.

I am a nitwit. Sorry Minimum I meant to ask Moggy if she was in a hot area.

Herb my mini foxy X chi had a very cursory clip tonight. It stopped his scratching and chewing almost straight away. I realise he hasn't the coat for a proper clip but I took so little off you can't really tell.

I love the barefoot looking poodle clip. :cool: So dainty.