cowanbree Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 For the last few weeks I have been having scratching issues with the majority of my dogs and I can't seem to resolve it so am looking for some ideas. It has affected almost all of my dogs except the 4 which I would consider to have compromised immune systems due to old age or illness. They are scratching their stomach and head almost exclusively and I am not getting bitten. I have not seen any fleas and while some of their coats are a bit dandruffy I have taken them to the vet and had it checked under the scope and there do not appear to be any bugs. I have advantaged everyone 2-3 weeks ago and also frontlined the puppies again just yesterday who are by far the worst. I have bug bombed the house and washed all the bedding in hot water. None of this appear to have made any difference. The only thing that has helped is the frontline spray applied to the puppies stomach area. It doesn't totally stop it but does cut the scratching dramatically. I don't think it is allergies as just about everyone is scratching and that includes different breeds. I don't think it is fleas as I have yet to see any and I always get bitten if there is even 1 in the house. There are no sores and I can't keep putting chemicals all over them. Anyone have any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I'm having a similar problem here. Lots of scratching but no obvious signs of why. All get Advantix fortnightly so no fleas. I'm putting it down to the humidity, mozzies and other bugs that are prolific due to the wet weather at present. Maybe bathing in calendula tea would help. It is non toxic and will soothe the itches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Don't assume that fleas are not the problem, many areas are experiencing a serious flea outbreak just now, it only takes a bite or two to set a lot of animals off. The fleas may be getting a chance to get a bite in before they are affected by whatever you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 cowanbree, sorry to hear you are having such a hard time, I too react to fleas, so if mine had them I would be covered in bites. I know with you it's not due to humidity or the wet as you are in the deep south of NZ. Would doubt it is a reaction to food as, apart from the puppies, they would no doubt have been on the same food for some time.?. Contact allergies?, but then why would that suddenly become a problem?. Would a bath in Vetadine help?, it is for non-specific skin conditions and may help relieve some of the scratching, you can leave it on. Or Malaseb, but it needs to be washed off. Hope you can find a solution soon. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) Calendula Tea for the symptom, at least. Anti-bacterial and Anti-inflammatory qualities. Leave in - don't rinse off. Doesn't mess with PH levels like shampoos can and do. And it is as cheap as chips. Edited January 3, 2011 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The stomach distribution sounds like a contact thing. Wandering Jew? That tends to affect the belly, underarms, muzzle etc. Keep in mind too that with some plants, like WJ for eg, it's not an allergy, but more than the actual plant is an irritant to dogs, sort of like stinging nettle is to us. I would be looking in the garden or also think about washing powders, cleaners etc you may have used recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rottifan Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I've heard of dogs biting and chewing/scratching at different parts of their body when they are irritated from pinched nerves and the referral niggling pain that causes them. Maybe look into an animal chiro to make sure your dog is in alignment, lots of owners dont notice the little subtle changes their dogs make to their movement to avoid the pain it causes them over time, especially seeing them every day. Do your dogs front feet face out/east-west? Does your dogs back have a dip in it or is it roached (curved upwards) - just a thought....if only they could speak and tell us!! Very frustrating...but good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Mild bacterial skin infections? Have they been swimming? Ditto fungal infection?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havasneeze Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 For the last few weeks I have been having scratching issues with the majority of my dogs and I can't seem to resolve it so am looking for some ideas. It has affected almost all of my dogs except the 4 which I would consider to have compromised immune systems due to old age or illness. They are scratching their stomach and head almost exclusively and I am not getting bitten. I have not seen any fleas and while some of their coats are a bit dandruffy I have taken them to the vet and had it checked under the scope and there do not appear to be any bugs.I have advantaged everyone 2-3 weeks ago and also frontlined the puppies again just yesterday who are by far the worst. I have bug bombed the house and washed all the bedding in hot water. None of this appear to have made any difference. The only thing that has helped is the frontline spray applied to the puppies stomach area. It doesn't totally stop it but does cut the scratching dramatically. I don't think it is allergies as just about everyone is scratching and that includes different breeds. I don't think it is fleas as I have yet to see any and I always get bitten if there is even 1 in the house. There are no sores and I can't keep putting chemicals all over them. Anyone have any ideas? I'd be going with the wandering jew or even the grass. Do you have buffalo grass? I know it makes me itch if I lie in it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) It is a bit of a mystery. One of my puppies has been in her home for a month now and she is still scratching so I don't think it is environmental. I went back to the vet yesterday and there does not appear to be any sign of parasites. He has suggested the issue may in fact be sand flies which we do have in abundance but then the puppy sold should have cleared up. So I have decided to do a bit of experimenting. I have bathed one in calendula tea, 1 in alloveen, given 1 pred, am spraying another with insect repellent and am going to do a total diet change for a couple. I don't believe it is allergies as my adults are also scratching including my aussies. I don't think it is fleas as I have spent hours going through my dogs coats with a flea comb and nothing, not even flea dirt. also they are only scratching their tummy and head which isn't usual for fleas. If it was environmental the puppy that has been home would have cleared up by now so I think we are left with 2 alternatives. Either it is diet related as she is still being fed what I feed or they have some type of mite that isn't covered by advantage or frontline. Edited January 6, 2011 by cowanbree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx'sBuddy Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Calendula Tea for the symptom, at least. Anti-bacterial and Anti-inflammatory qualities. Leave in - don't rinse off. Doesn't mess with PH levels like shampoos can and do. And it is as cheap as chips. erny, how would the tea be made...i bought some calendula tea but don't know the quantities to use. TY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Calendula Tea for the symptom, at least. Anti-bacterial and Anti-inflammatory qualities. Leave in - don't rinse off. Doesn't mess with PH levels like shampoos can and do. And it is as cheap as chips. erny, how would the tea be made...i bought some calendula tea but don't know the quantities to use. TY I made up my own quantities, so I can only tell you what I do. Generally I use a heaped tablespoon of the stuff to a cup of boiling water. If the skin issue is really bad I might make it a little stronger (up to 2 x tablespoons to same quantity of boiling water). Lol .... don't know if the extra makes any difference, but it makes me feel better when you are at your wits end to help ease discomfort. I put the quantity of the tea inside the toe end of a cut off stocking and I use that just as I would a tea bag. Let it steep in the boiling water until the water cools to tepid. I have used things such as spray bottle, flannel saturated in the tea ... to wet my boy up with it. When I want to give him a really good soak to get into all sorts of crevices as well as body, I make up a huge amount, completely tie off the stocking at both ends and let that float in a bath tub of hot water (about 2 inches deep) until the water cools down to tepid. I then use the stocking with the tea in it like I would a sponge. But this latter method uses a good deal of the tea up so it's not the 'norm' and isn't always necessary. But it is the method I might use when I'm really desperate and want to give my dog a good going over and soak. Please let me know how it goes. Edited January 6, 2011 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooch Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 It can still be fleas. Smoochie has been scratching for several days now, couldn't find a flea on him, than tonight I spotted one on his back, so got out the Permoxin gave him a spray and now a couple of hours later he isn't scratching. My vet once told me that even with all the flea treatments you can still get a flea and with some dogs it only takes one. With Smoochie it only takes one flea to start him off scratching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dju Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My boy has been itching like crazy too and he's getting sores in the places he's scratching himself.. sigh. I don't know what it could be, a food allergy, a grass allergy, the weather in general, but I'm going to try drenching him in some of that tea stuff to see if it works, because the poor little mite is scratching himself every few minutes and that can't be very good for his skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Good news. I did a few of my adult dogs in Advocate and 5 of 6 now have zero scratching. The 6th one may not have got a big enough dose. Now have to wait until I can safely redo the puppies. Considering they were advantaged on the 23th Dec and Frontlined on the 2nd Jan when do you think I can safely give them advocate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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