Anyone else have an itchy dog?
 

We're doggy sitting a little jack russell and she's a great dog, but constantly itchy. There's no bugs (I've checked umpteen times), and apparently she's been itchy her whole life. The vet prescribed Prednisone twice a day, but that knocks her out and even makes her wobbly during her walks. :(

Has anyone else had experience with a similar situation, but managed to find a less pharmaceutical solution?

Molly says thank you for your help!

Yes. I have a weiner dog that was itching the fur bai to the skin. No fleas, ticks or anything. A family friend suggested a teaspoon of sunflower oil in with the dogs food once per day. The dog also takes one Benadryl per day. I'm not sure which one is working, but it has seemed to help tremendously.

Good luck Elli! :)

My black lab used to itch all the time. It turned out she has allergies. She takes two Benadryl a day and no longer itches.

Yes, we know it's allergies. Apparently JRTs are super allergic, especially the whiter ones.

I've been hearing about adding omega 3/fish oil to her food, hadn't heard about sunflower oil yet!

I just want her to be less drugged. The poor thing sleeps all day and all night and just staggers around, not very doglike at all. :(

i would change the food!!!!!

Try a hypoallergenic food like Iams Response FP (Fish and Potato) or KO (Kangaroo and oat).

It could be either a nerve disorder or skin allergies, if it's the latter, try a topical lotion like Skin So Soft by Avon, its non toxic for dogs and has exfoliants to help the dead skin shed off faster which helps. Also, put some aloe in your dog's drinking water and in a few weeks, its coat will be healthier and skin less scaly.

we have that problem,i think its allergies probably the food

my german shepherd/husky mix had weird allergies and i put her on a grain free, all fish protein food and she's been top notch ever since.

I would say for all dog owners to move to an all natural food. Some better pet shops carry it or all natural pet stores do as well.

But many pet owners notice their dog's skin problems go away when they switch to all natural pet foods.

Don't be fooled by the big brands that offer "all natural" selections, those are just marketing gimmicks.

Truth is, most pet food companies are owned by food companies. The pet food is how they monetize their waste product. It's all junk.

My cousin is a vet and she recommended i give my itchy dog benedryl 25mg tabs 3x per day seems to be helping a bit

She's been on this "vet only" hypoallergenic food for a year that costs a bundle but hasn't helped one bit. I think the natural food thing is the only thing we haven't tried, really. Hmm....

ya my dog as well and they hate it =))

i had the same symtoms when i was on prednisone ...

Take her to the vet, they should be able to do some tests and figure out exactly what she's allergic to, and don't take the 'she's allergic to everything' answer... most vets tend to choose the easy way out and prescribe general treatments that leave the poor dog drugged all day.

I have a bichon frise that's 'allergic to everything' according to the vet, so I had him on prendisone and hypoallergenic food, until I took him to a real vet that did some skin tests and found he was allergic to chicken... and the hypoallergenic food happens to be based on chicken :Oh crap

Avoderm food is supposed to be good for itchy skin. I had my Lab on it for a while because its also made for sensitive stomachs. He stopped eating it after about 5 months(he's picky), but while he was on it, his coat looked great and he didn't itch. Good poops too.

Try Honey in her food as well. about a teaspoon.

Its the corn in the food. I have a little miniature pinscher and she has the same itchy skin problems. Dogs are not meant to eat all the processed corn they put in their food, not all handle it well. Even what people think is the good stuff like Iams is really hard on little digestive systems and my dog goes crazy. Its a food allergy.

the only food I have found that they love is this stuff, Canidae. No corn, and they sell it through amazon.com. I have yet to find it at a pet store even.

ingredients:

Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation produ

NO CORN.

And it is amazing. If you change your dog to this food in like 30 days their hair gets super shiny. And they smell SO much better, corn in their food is what makes a lot of dogs have super bad breath and their anal glands go crazy.

I've always had little dogs, and their digestive systems are just so much more sensitive. I would advise anyone with stinky dogs with itchy skin to try this stuff and give it a couple weeks. You will be amazed, I was. It took me forever to figure this out too, so I always have to pass this on to other small dog owners.

Cherry, Corn is but just a single allergy dogs can have. It's more likely for a dog to have an allergy to a protein like chicken or beef than it is corn however.

GMO corn is really bad for them, and all the low quality corn fillers they use like corn gluten.

I speak from experience, no clue about dogs being allergic to chicken or beef. Never heard of that before.

I'm afraid I cant properly respond to this thread unless there is a nude picture of your fine ass self posted in it.

It's really common actually. I also speak from experience. That's why true skin/coat (allergy) foods are made from alternate proteins and alternate starches than a dog would not normally encounter (and therefore have anti bodies to). Like Kangaroo and Oat or Fish and Potato like I mentioned.

Dogs have what Vets refer to as an "itch threshold". It's the point when a dog starts to be itchy all the time. Often this will manifest with constant licking of the feet, because when they're laying down they're accessible right in front of them. A dog that's left "itchy" or above it's itch threshold may begin to develop hot spots that will fester under the fur on the skin and need to be shaved bare and cleaned properly. It's a pain when it happens on the head, for instance, of a 140 pound rottweiler.


To bring a dog beneath it's "itch threshold" may require more than approach. For instance, you should always use flea protection. You may not even see a few fleas but they add to a dog being itchy. On top of that some dogs will have mild allergies to flea bites.

Allergies, like you said, can play a role. It can be an allergy or a combination of allergies to foods, as well as things like laundry detergents you might wash the pets bed in, or cleaning products used on the floor. Like humans, dogs have allergic reactions to lots of things.

Lastly, although I am not much of a believer in the holistic approach, some people claim to have excellent success with the following product: http://www.dinovite.com I've never used it before personally so I can't give you a first hand review.

Sounds like environmental allergies or food allergies, its very common in dogs today, especially pure breeds.
We tried home cooking for 6 bloody months and all kinds of tests but at the end of the day had to put "Buda" on pretnazone for life, 1 pill a day :(
Ohh well, might take 2-3 years off his life but he is now a happy dog

I dont know if this will help. But I have two King Charles Cavaliers and I used to feed them Science diet and all the dry food that the breeders recommended. I noticed they hated the food and scratched a lot. Then a friend said why not try raw food as sold in the specialist pet stores. Sounded wrong to me to feed them raw beef lamb buffalo , etc. But I gave it a try and wow the difference is amazing the itching stopped they look great their fur is shinny and they have way more energy.
It seems the pet shop dry and wet food has wheat in it and some dogs like some humans are allergic to wheat "Celiacs"
Anyway I now only feed them raw meat, some fish oil and add a few fresh veggies and the itching is a thing of the past .:)

Maybe the dog has the same skin as my testicles. They itch constantly.

Just take him to a specialist in canine allergies, the testing program takes some time and can be a bit expensive, but in most cases they will be able to identify the exact causes of the allergies and provide a proper treatment. :2 cents:

I did a bit of research and found Jake and Daisey is a local raw pet food distributor, so we picked up a chicken and a beef pack to give it a try. If this works, then I'm all for it! She's little, so 1lb will last her 2 days.

Thanks everybody for the great ideas! I'll keep this thread updated with her progress.

that sounds really good for them. I've thought about preparing food for my dogs, but tossing them some raw meat sounds easy. hmm

Great news! We might have hit on the jackpot!

Here's a little background:
The doggy is 9 years old and has been itchy since it reached adulthood. In the past year it got so bad that the dog isn't allowed to sleep in the bedroom because it scratches every five minutes (I'm not exagerrating much, here.)
Every kind of shampoo, conditioner, skin spray has been tried. Bathing, not bathing, wiping, etc.
Every kind of food has been tried. Treats, no treats, kibble, canned food, finally the "Hill's Prescription Diet U/D" mix from the vet.
The only relief is the prednisone, which leaves the dog heavily drugged and not very doggy. A Jack Russell should be BOUNCY, for goodness' sake!

So I did a lot (read: a metric ton) of reading yesterday. Discovered the BARF diet. Bones and Raw Food, in other words. It seems to make sense to me. If dogs have trouble digesting grains and complex carbohydrates, then processed food that is based on corn and flour fillers won't do them much good at all! Since corn is a common dog allergy, and it's used in almost every dog food, switching food brands wouldn't help her allergies one bit! Learn more about what's inside processed dog food here: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....e=labelinfo101


Rather than make the food ourselves, we decided to find a supplier of pre-made meal packs. We picked up a chicken and a beef to try out. They're 1lb each and cost $3.28 plus tax from Jake and Daisey. I know that's not how you spell Daisy, but it's not my company.

We went cold turkey, so to speak. Her first meal was last night, which she inhaled. This morning she actually ate her breakfast in the morning, instead of letting it sit on the floor until 1pm-ish. Tonight she enjoyed her third portion of the first 1lb pack.

The results so far:
No stomach upset, as was warned of.
Energy levels are up! She's been playing ball down the hallway all day!
BEST OF ALL: her hot spots have completely disappeared. No scratching other than normal doggy itches! She still licks her paws when she's stressed, but apparently that's a JRT trait anyway.

I will keep you folks all updated as to her progress!!

it helps if you brush them every day :2 cents: