Crazy Itching - Help!

[Sharna3]

We have a 4.5mth old pup and he is scratching himself crazy.

Every day we find bright red or bleeding patches on his stomach ... now on his knees as well. He drags himself along the ground (be it carpet, grass, paving, etc) to rub his belly or chews and chews.

We've tried:

Flea treatments: bombed the house, treat him every 2 weeks (only been doing that for one cycle though), put all bedding in the sun, vacuumed the house

Calandula: he HATES it.... won't let us apply it (did the tea version)

Illium cream: stops the itch temporarily ...

Collodial Oatmeal shampoo: doesn't seem to help at all

Diet: switched him from Advance to Eagle Pack a month ago = no improvement... worse, if anything.

The vet thinks its fleas - but since we were there two weeks ago and we've done the extra treatments (Revolution) and bombing etc., its not improved... tonight we got home and the red patches were worse than ever :-(\

Any ideas to even just stop him itching would be great .... ? I think we'll be taking another trip to the vet tomorrow ... but I need to ease the itch for my poor little man ....

[Skruffy n Flea]

oh, what an awful time your boy --- and you --- are having

what are you feeding him?

fwiw: STOP using topical chemicals immediately --- that's my experience [i have 2 dogs and one has a propensity to scratch incessantly with BOTH licking their feet]

try comfortis [monthly for fleas which also claims to settle skin flea issues] --- i'm changing my worming regime when it comes time and as for yearly vax, i'll titre test before i put my two thru that again...

do you feed raw!?!? i use barf and supplement my dogs' serving with a small amount of artemis and the occasional serve of nature's gift [amongst other low offending treats] ... i have also put both on a 1/2 tab per day of claratyne with a squirt of nutricoat also once per day --- after one week, my itchy boy is starting to finally settle and both are showing less eye weeping than before...

for my boy byron, it would most definitely seem to be a flea bite allergy but for my girl bella and her licking, it is likely ocd and i will keep that for another time...

my boy also does better on raw chicken [as opposed to cooked] so that too is something to consider...

MB, i really feel for you as an owner caring for a dog that suffers that much ... there are several ways you can alleviate your dog's condition but my best advice is to get your vet's advice and follow it to the letter...

if i've been able to provide you with any help at all, i'm glad ... your vet tho will be the best help of all

[Erny]

If it were me, I'd be stopping the administration of all chemical based products that I could. No flea treatment. No shampoos. etc. and I would be heading to see a Naturopath or holistic Vet. I'm surprised the Calendula Tea didn't help, although I know it can't be a 100% success 'symptom' treatment for every occasion. My boy didn't like being wetted up by it either but I don't think that was so much it being Calendula, it was more that he just didn't like being wetted up and he'd tend to try to scoot off as soon as he saw me preparing to wipe him over with the saturated flannel. But I did find the Calendula took away the redness, soothed the skin and eased the itching.

If the skin is in danger of being abraded because of his itching, an antihistamine might be in order, but if you can, I'd speak with a Naturopath or holistic Vet first.

Edited June 9, 2010 by Erny

[frufru]

You need to go back to the vet! At this point whatever is causing the scratching is not going to disappear overnight and if the dog is bleeding from the scratching this creates the potential for infection.

If it is just fleas and you put them on Comfortis - they may still need cortisone to break the scratching cycle (this has been the case for several of my fosters as the irritation from fleas continues even after they have dissappeared - these were dogs who were making themselves bleed)

Several of my grooming customers who have had long term flea problems have switched to Comfortis with excellent results (my guess would be that we have widespread resistance to existing chemicals in the flea population - much like you get with worms in cattle)

Whilst the calendula tea did sooth for one of my customers they needed veterinary intervention to deal with infection (dog is now also on an elimination diet to see if there are food allergy and Comfortis for the fleas)

If your dog has food allergies it will still have reactions if you switch to Barf - you must identify what the dog is allergic to!!!!

[stormie]

Agree with FruFru..

You need to see a vet because your dog might have allergies. They can be allergic to environmental things like pollens and grasses, as well as food, but food allergies are less common than environmental ones.

I wouldn't be playing around too much with the diet yet of a 4.5month old. There are elimination diets that are suitable for puppies so this is something I'd speak with a vet or Dermatologist about first. Just switching to a raw diet won't do anything if you're still feeding a protein source he is allergic to.

But go see a vet first - rule out all forms of parasites likes fleas and scabies and make sure there's no irritant plants like wandering jew around your garden. If your vet suspects allergies then I would get a referral to a Dermatologist to find out what your dog is reacting to. Once you have answers, then you're free to look at holistic/naturopathic options but I wouldn't waste time/money with supplements, herbs etc until you know exactly what your dog is reacting to.

[persephone]

So- what did the vet prescribe to relieve the itches? Poor little mite .

[harryviolet]

I have had the same puppy but mine has never had a flea in her life (I have never seen a flea here in the 7 years I have lived here except when I bought a new kitten and she must have had a few eggs on her and I caught 3 fleas on her and then triple flea bombed the house).

My 8 month old puppy had cost me a fortune at the vet. The expensive creams from the vet did nothing to the itchy bleeding parts of her tummy. Antibiotics did not help. Nor did anti-histamines but maybe I did not try enough. She has been on Advocate as there was a thought she could have mange and this treats that as well as fleas and ticks - she didn't have mange. (I have to have her and the kitten on flea guard as I have a business here with people who bring dogs to stay). I will keep a diary and see if her redness today is repeated in a month when I give her the next Advocate tablet.

What HAS helped are:

1. cortisone tablets - low dose and I give her one when it is getting to the point of bleeding - like this morning but maybe that is the Advocate treatment she had yesterday. I use cortisone reluctantly as they will shorten her life.

2. Emu oil - when she sees the container she does rollies over and loves me to rub it into the red bad areas. So soothing and will turn a scratching unhappy dog into a sleepy puppy in about 10 minutes.

3. Raw aloe vera - easy to grow - pull off a leaf and cut and rub. She loves this also as it is cooling and soothing.

4. Tea tree oil. Again soothing but not on areas with skin lesions as I think it would sting.

5. And FINALLY, cyclosporin (Atopica) each day @ $7 a day. She has been on these now for 17 days and apart from this morning, I would swear she was "cured". Hopefully can go down to every second day soon.

6. She has been on lamb, rice and vegetables and I have just ordered a product from WA - Natural Pet Food which claims to be just lamb, rice and veggies as life would be much easier with kibble at least for mornings. It is hard to tell with food what is non allergic as it takes 3 weeks for a food change to show effects. Mine was not too bad on Eaglepack.

Godo luck!

Edited June 9, 2010 by harryviolet

[Sharna3]

Agree with FruFru..

You need to see a vet because your dog might have allergies. They can be allergic to environmental things like pollens and grasses, as well as food, but food allergies are less common than environmental ones.

I wouldn't be playing around too much with the diet yet of a 4.5month old. There are elimination diets that are suitable for puppies so this is something I'd speak with a vet or Dermatologist about first. Just switching to a raw diet won't do anything if you're still feeding a protein source he is allergic to.

But go see a vet first - rule out all forms of parasites likes fleas and scabies and make sure there's no irritant plants like wandering jew around your garden. If your vet suspects allergies then I would get a referral to a Dermatologist to find out what your dog is reacting to. Once you have answers, then you're free to look at holistic/naturopathic options but I wouldn't waste time/money with supplements, herbs etc until you know exactly what your dog is reacting to.

So- what did the vet prescribe to relieve the itches? Poor little mite .

We've had him to the vet about it already - the last time 2 weeks ago.. Vet last time said its fleas which we think he's picking up from obedience classes. That's what led us to switching his flea treatment to every two weeks & bomb the house. But I don't think its just fleas - though I'm sure they didn't help - we suggested allergies to the vet last time but she wanted to do the flea road first ... now that it hasn't worked I guess she'll suggest the next step :-( He's just as bad this morning so we're off to the vet in an hour . Will let you all know how we go.

Re the Wandering Jew - is that a viney creeper with purple flowers? There is one of those along our back fence but the dogs have no way to get near it as we're on the low block and there is a retaining wall and garden between the lawn and the fence ... would they have to touch it for it to irritate them?

[Nekhbet]

get a packet of antihistamines, I find phenergen is great. For your dog just start with one, it will make them drowsy. I have used 2 at a time and it really settles it. Sounds like a contact allergy that he's just ripped raw and continued to irritate.

[missmoo]

You could also try StopsItch or Topi Topi as it is also known - it is a tea tree based product, also Vet's All Natural Dermal Oitment will help with any hot spots and help to heal the "patches".

I have used Comfortis for fleas on my Lab and it does work well but should be given to the dog on a full stomach. Some dogs can get an upset tummy otherwise.

The main thing is to find what the allergy is and treat accordignly otherwise it will continue to reoccur.

good luck

MM

[aussielover]

Oh poor puppy

Have you actually seen any fleas on him? or flea dirt (little black specks).

If you have, as others suggested try comfortis or capstar (only lasts 24hrs).

Otherwise, I would get him tested for allergies.

Hope he gets better soon

[harryviolet]

Re the Wandering Jew - is that a viney creeper with purple flowers? There is one of those along our back fence but the dogs have no way to get near it as we're on the low block and there is a retaining wall and garden between the lawn and the fence ... would they have to touch it for it to irritate them?

Wandering Jew has white flowers and is a green leaf. There is a native version called Scurvy Weed with bright blue flowers and the same leaf.

If your dog has atopic dermatitis like mine, inhalation of the allergen is the main route.

Doesn't sound like wandering jew.

[Sharna3]

Well, trip to the vet was well worth it.

Our vet thinks its definitely an allergy and unfortunately its developed into a skin infection as well :-( He's on antibiotics, cortizone tabs for two weeks and medicated shampoo once a week... poor little man

Vet is hopeful it is an allergy to the fleas he had (no sign of fleas on him now, she checked) and that once we get the infection gone and allergy down, we can just treat it by preventing the fleas as much as possible...

So will see how next 2 weeks goes - he's going back for a check up then - next step is referral to a dermatologist if it seems to be something else.

Thanks everyone for your advice though, much appreciated as always