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Itchy Dogs And Allergies


calliech
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Hi ,I have been reading about itchy dogs.I have a Cairn terrier ( nearly 6 months old )that scratches constantly,he has no fleas , so I'm thinking he has allergies .I have tried the apple cider vinigar rinse ,not much help-I have also tried massaging lavendar oil onto his itchy spots -which I think may help a little .I'm going today to get some hexal wash or nizoral shampoo .What I need to know is how often can I bath him & also I know wandering jew is bad but I saw someone mention plumbago ,which I have in my yard .Is this also bad for dogs ?& is there any other plants I should know about as I have lots of garden. Help please !!

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Hi Chepet,

While you're at the chemist, you may like to get some Daktaran spray also. Wash him in Hexal or Nizoral and spray the daktaran on any hot spots or itchy spots and check in his ears and under his chin. Dip his feet daily in a diluted Hexal or Nizoral solution and spray the itchy or hot spots daily. You can wash him every 3 days for about a fortnight then back it off to once per week. If this is the problem...hot spots, you will see some relief quite rapidly, within about 1-2 days. If there are crusty or reddened spots you are probably on the money. If it's blisters or generalised itchyness, then you need a trip off to the vet and a skin scraping done. It's the season for skin problems due to the heat and terriers are prone to hot spots of skin infections. It is unlikely to be food allergies as the theory is that allergies appear between 1-3 years although there is some debate on that. See how you go with the medicated washes and if no improvement then a trip to the vet may be in order.

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Chepet, Plumbago is highly allergenic to quite a few dogs. As part of an environmental clean up, see if you can fence it off or replace it with something else.

With Maxi I first noticed he used to sort of twitch and jump a bit near Plumbago on our walks, at first I put it down to ants. Then I came across some references to it as being high up in the allergy plants. Kept him away from it as much as possible, but whenever he got near it, (so much of it in the front of houses) the reaction was very noticable and quite severe.

Best of luck with your dog. :thumbsup:

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Let us know how he goes in the next few days or so. Here's hoping he's happier in a day or two.

Well we're back from the vet and when he saw the boys belly he said "oh boy you're a mess" so he's had a cortesone injection and is on antibiotics for 4weeks as he has a secondary infection from all of his scratching. Anyway, here's hoping it sorts him out. He'll be getting another bath tonight as he's starting to get a bit stinky.

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Hi Axelotti,

I'm very happy to hear you've taken him to the vet to get him sorted out. The problem with allergic reactions like that is if you don't get it under control promptly, a secondary infection can occur. Bacteria that are normal on the skin and normally non-pathogenic can become a problem and proliferate under opportunistic conditions such as breaches of the skins integrity. You'll know for next time. Will you be washing him in the Aloveen or Pyhoex?

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Hi Axelotti and Chepet, How are your fury babies going now?

Hi calliech,my baby "ralph " isn't going too great ,his itching is almost constant & his red tummy now has welts on it .I haven't been able to get hexal anywhere , I have tried the nizoral & the apple cider vinigar rinse & also stuff I bought from the pet shop .He is so miserable I nearly cry He has an appointment with the vet tomorrow ,so I will let you know what happens .Thanks for caring

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Chepet, sounds like he's going to need a cortisone injection. How old is he? Did you say 6 months? Does his tummy look infected? If it's mainly his tum that's affected, it's likely to be a contact dermatitis, perhaps something he's lying on or brushes up against in the yard. Hexal konazol is just a cheaper form of 2% Nizoral medicated shampoo so just use the nizoral. If there's no improvement yet you will probably be looking at a cortisone shot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just got Nizoral shampoo and Dakartin spray from the chemist yesterday.

I started the spray on my greyhound girl who has sensitive skin yesterday. She had some hot spots which cleared up with some Curash cream. But she was still itchy and had some scabby spots which she scratched until they became wounds.

I rubbed the lotion in for a while and left her. She started licking them off. Is the lotion going to be harmful to her?

Also, since she has sensitive skin, should i bathe her with the Nizoral shampoo and then try the Aloveen conditioner on her?

Edited by KatLek
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Licking won't be harmful. I wouldn't do the aloveen myself as it's not really necessary. The idea is to strip the skin of any oils that yeast and bacteria enjoy so much. You may need to dab on some antiseptic such as iodine or microshield if there are sores present. There are other products on the US market that you can order international through various websites. petmedstore.com is one but if you google you may find others. The products I'm talking about are conditioning rinses: ResiZolve (antifungal with 2% miconazole), ResiChlor (antibacterial with chlorhexidine) and ResiCort (with cortisone to stop the itchies). I haven't tried them myself but they are in larger bottles and in the rinse form. They're made by Allerderm I think. I'm always searching for a more economical method for everyone.

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Licking won't be harmful. I wouldn't do the aloveen myself as it's not really necessary. The idea is to strip the skin of any oils that yeast and bacteria enjoy so much.

would stripping the skin of oil make her skin dry and scabby?

she is a greyhound and usually her coat is not really oily and we only bathe her once in 3 weeks.

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Licking won't be harmful. I wouldn't do the aloveen myself as it's not really necessary. The idea is to strip the skin of any oils that yeast and bacteria enjoy so much.

would stripping the skin of oil make her skin dry and scabby?

she is a greyhound and usually her coat is not really oily and we only bathe her once in 3 weeks.

No it will only go dry and scabby if you're washing her repeatedly. Don't forget dogs get all hot and sweaty and sebum is secreted when this occurs. The skin will naturally reoil itself when it's dry so there's no need to worry. It's kindof like when you wash your face with soap and it's dry and tight for a half hour and then back to normal quite quickly. The idea is to make the environment as inhospitable for microorganisms as possible. You'll get used to it and you'll be able to determine a regimen that works for your lifestyle as well as your dog. Most important to stay on top of hot spots and get them before they fester into sores which can happen in the blink of an eye. The fact is that dogs scratch but if I see scratching, I check it out. You'll get on top of it. :thumbsup:

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Most important to stay on top of hot spots and get them before they fester into sores which can happen in the blink of an eye. The fact is that dogs scratch but if I see scratching, I check it out. You'll get on top of it. :thumbsup:

yes, they do grow very fast. i noticed one in the morning and the second half of the day, out pops another. i did some searching on DOL and quickly went out to get Curash. thank God it worked.

the weather also had cooled down these few days so that helps but there were some on her back that she has been scratching and they became wounds. i had applied some Dakartan lotion on them last night and this morning and am monitoring them.

tomorrow morning, she is going to have the Nizoral wash. fingers crossed that it will relieve her scratching.

thanks for your advice. :(

will update on her progress.

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