lilythetigerdog Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Lily has been quite itchy the last couple days. Seems to be all over; nibbling on her hips, scratching her neck and ears. No noticeable rash or anything and she doesn't yelp or make any other noises (except scratching noises). Now I notice that her ear is red from her claws scratching it - looks like red lines (I don't have my camera right now, or I'd take a photo). We haven't introduced her to any new treats or food lately and she has been eating the same meal for the past 6 months: Eagle Pak (blue bag) with a 1/4 yogurt in the morning and a sprinkling of Wysong dental powder and in the evening she gets the same thing except we substitute two fish oil pills for the yogurt. We took her to the lake last week end and she was marching in the water up to her chest and there was quite a bit of pollen in the water (you could see it floating). I'm guessing it's not Poison Ivy since I'm sure I would have it too, if that were the case. She has a bit of dandruff, but not as much as she did in the winter and she scratched waaaaay less then. Any idea on what it might be or how I can help relieve the itch? Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiffer Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Could be hayfever (springtime allergies). I'd give her some Benedryl to help relieve the itchiness for now. I dose my guys with 1 adult pill (325mg, I believe) twice daily. Quote Jennifer and Beamish (an unnamed Irish-born Racer) DOB: October 30, 2011 Forever and always missing my "Vowels", Icarus, Atlas, Orion, Uber, and Miss Echo, and Mojito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeweytheGreyt Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Lily has been quite itchy the last couple days. Seems to be all over; nibbling on her hips, scratching her neck and ears. No noticeable rash or anything and she doesn't yelp or make any other noises (except scratching noises). Now I notice that her ear is red from her claws scratching it - looks like red lines (I don't have my camera right now, or I'd take a photo). We haven't introduced her to any new treats or food lately and she has been eating the same meal for the past 6 months: Eagle Pak (blue bag) with a 1/4 yogurt in the morning and a sprinkling of Wysong dental powder and in the evening she gets the same thing except we substitute two fish oil pills for the yogurt. We took her to the lake last week end and she was marching in the water up to her chest and there was quite a bit of pollen in the water (you could see it floating). I'm guessing it's not Poison Ivy since I'm sure I would have it too, if that were the case. She has a bit of dandruff, but not as much as she did in the winter and she scratched waaaaay less then. Any idea on what it might be or how I can help relieve the itch? Did she get a bath after being in the lake? Lots of icky stuff can live in lake water and make a pup itchy. Also, do you use any flea preventative? My girl gets itchy in the spring/summer time from laying in the grass. It's not terrible, but she doesn't itch as much in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Did she get a bath after being in the lake? Lots of icky stuff can live in lake water and make a pup itchy. Also, do you use any flea preventative? My girl gets itchy in the spring/summer time from laying in the grass. It's not terrible, but she doesn't itch as much in the winter. Nope - no bath and no flea prevention. How can I tell if she has fleas? Are they visible to the naked eye? She loves to lie in the grass. Jiffer - does benadryl have any negative side effects for dogs? I'd have to give her non-drowsy or she might never stop sleeping! Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spencers_Greyt Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Sounds like allergies. I had a foster that was constantly itchy and if you pet him along the back his skin would ripple from itchiness. I gave him 2-4 Benedryl a day which helped a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritofeet Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Did the itching start within a day or 2 of the lake? 1st thing I would do is give the pup a bath, or at least rinse the lake water off. If it is pollen, it could be stuck to the skin from the lake water or oil in her fur. However....too many baths too often can cause dry skin itching. Fleas, you should be able to see with the naked eye. I'd go outside where the light is good, roll her over and do a good monkey inspection through her fur. If you see something running or jumping away-then there are critters. I'm betting it's not fleas though... Hogan's allergies were so bad he had to be rinsed off every time he went through a field, and our river water is fishy enough everybody gets the hose after swimming. (I'm so mean they even line up for me....DH installed a warm water spigot in the garage for me because Hoho needed rinsing all the time.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiffer Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Jiffer - does benadryl have any negative side effects for dogs? I'd have to give her non-drowsy or she might never stop sleeping! It may make her sleepy (it didn't to any of mine). It has a wide margin of safety Quote Jennifer and Beamish (an unnamed Irish-born Racer) DOB: October 30, 2011 Forever and always missing my "Vowels", Icarus, Atlas, Orion, Uber, and Miss Echo, and Mojito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackandgrey Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 (edited) We don't tend to have fleas here. It might be the lake or it could be grass. Try the benadryl and then do some detective work. Hose her down after she's been in the lake. and try some baby wipes on her for the grass. Edited June 5, 2008 by Jackandgrey Quote Susan, Jessie and Jordy NORTHERN SKY GREYHOUND ADOPTION ASSOCIATION Jack, in my heart forever March 1999-Nov 21, 2008 My Dancing Queen Jilly with me always and forever Aug 12, 2003-Oct 15, 2010 Joshy I will love you always Aug 1, 2004-Feb 22,2013 Jonah my sweetheart May 2000 - Jan 2015 " You will never need to be alone again. I promise this. As your dog, I will sing this promise to you, and whisper it to you at night, every night, with my breath." Stanley Coren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyDoodle Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Did she get a bath after being in the lake? Lots of icky stuff can live in lake water and make a pup itchy. Also, do you use any flea preventative? My girl gets itchy in the spring/summer time from laying in the grass. It's not terrible, but she doesn't itch as much in the winter. Nope - no bath and no flea prevention. How can I tell if she has fleas? Are they visible to the naked eye? She loves to lie in the grass. Jiffer - does benadryl have any negative side effects for dogs? I'd have to give her non-drowsy or she might never stop sleeping! If you give a version of Benedryl brand that is a non-drowsy formula, then it probably isn't actually the drug diphenhydramine (the generic name of actual Benedryl), and it may or may not be something that's okay for a dog. Diphenhydramine will cause drowsiness, but that's not a bad thing if your dog is really ittchy. I'd also vote for a bath and flea preventative (unless you don't have fleas in you area). Also, I'd check with your local health department to find out if there are any algae blooms in the lake. Around here in the Spring, there is a blue-green algae in some of the bays of Lake Champlain that is toxic to dogs. I don't know if there are any other algae (what is the singular and plural of this word?) that will cause itching. Hope your baby feels better soon, DD Quote DonnaMolly the Border Collie & Poquita the American-born Podenga Bridge Babies: Daisy (Positive Delta) 8/7/2000 - 4/6/2115, Agnes--angel Sage's baby (Regall Rosario) 11/12/01 - 12/18/13, Lucky the mix (Found, w 10 puppies 8/96-Bridge 7/28/11, app. age 16) & CoCo (Cosmo Comet) 12/28/89-5/4/04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scfilby Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I would bet it's fleas. She could have caught them at the lake. When we lived in Manitoba, our dogs used to get fleas all the time from the lake at Gimli. The non beach shore areas around lake Winnipeg are bad for fleas.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Thanks for the advice. You guys rock! I'll try the benadryl and will use baby wipes in the future. I'll look closer for fleas tomorrow once the sun is out. I tried looking into her fur earlier today but didn't see anything. I'll look again. This might be a stupid question, but wouldn't I get fleas too from hugging her? Can people even get fleas? I'm itchy now... Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scfilby Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 People don't get fleas, but they do get bitten by fleas. Fleas will live in dogbeds, furnature, in baseboard areas.. carpets... When there are no furry animals to live on, they will bite people.. I read that fleas can live for 6 months without a host.. Evidence of fleas in the house are tiny red itchy bumps on your body.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeweytheGreyt Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 People don't get fleas, but they do get bitten by fleas. Fleas will live in dogbeds, furnature, in baseboard areas.. carpets... When there are no furry animals to live on, they will bite people.. I read that fleas can live for 6 months without a host.. Evidence of fleas in the house are tiny red itchy bumps on your body.. All that and you do NOT want a house infested with fleas. They are hell to get rid of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Checked her fur today and there doesn't seem to be any fleas. This would have roayally sucked since I do NOT want to give the cats a flea bath. Our cats + water = me She seems to be scratching less today. Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VelvetEars Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Don't skip giving her a bath with a gentle oatmeal based soap to get all the lake stuff off her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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