Scratching And Biting Fur

[Guest TahoeMom]

My greyhound started itching and biting himself about a month ago. The vet says it's allergies, and she didn't offer any relief. He's now scratching and biting to the point of drawing blood. Does anybody have a home remedy that works?

Edited September 1, 2011 by TahoeMom

[3DogNite]

I have had good luck with a Hartz product I found at the grocery store.

Hydrocortison spray with Aloe

 

sometimes i've used Bactine if the the scratching breaks the skin and i want to have some germ killing.

 

One time, my boy had to be on antibiotics because the skin itchiness turned into a skin infection.

 

good luck,, poor guy, , itchy skin is no fun!!!

[Sambuca]

You can try benadryl.

Did your vet do a skin scraping? There could be infection our even mange.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Check for fleas.

Supplement with fish body oil.

Brush with rubber hound glove.

Bath with a soothing shampoo and conditioner.

[tbhounds]

Find a new vet....your dog deserves proper relief. There is plenty of options for an allergic hound--for example my guy has responded really well to frequent bathing and Claritin.

[TheFullHouse]

You can dose with Benadryl 50 to 75 mg. every 6 hours.

Try changing to a grain free food, a lot of dogs with allergies to grass and such find relief in grain free foods.

Have the thyroid checked. My girl with low thyroid chewed herself until she bled and it was low thyroid.

 

I started my girl on thyroid meds and grain free food and she doesn't scratch or chew any more.

[racindog]

Food. Try a very high quality food like Solid Gold Health makes or even raw. It is more expensive but cheaper than vet bills for skin problems.

[Guest TahoeMom]

Lots of great ideas! Thanks so much everybody... I will let you know what happens..

[Guest tellybelly]

We had very similar issues happening to our greyhound, Telly, that started a couple of months ago.

Turns out she developed flea bite dermatitis, which we quickly got under control by changing her flea meds, which certainly brought almost immediate relief. However, we also felt that there could be an underlying problem with potential food allergies too, so we decided to switch her to a salmon based, grain free food (Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream) and now the "itchies" are viturally gone, her fur is growing back in where she was chewing (poor thing!) and is much softer and shinier than before! We have also been using Vet's Best Hot Spot Spray, while her skin has been healing, it is an all natural spray with tea tree oil and chamomile and have had no problems with it.

 

[Guest TahoeMom]

Brendan is on a raw diet which I supplement with TOTW and fish oil and goat's milk. I don't think this is dietary. I think this is contact dermatitis or respiratory related. I've been putting antibiotic ointment on his hot spots and giving him 40 mg of Benadryl. I'll try giving him more Benadryl. If that doesn't work, I'll try claritin. He's on antibiotic for a staph infection right now. When that's done, I'll go back to the vet and have his thyroid checked and have him checked for mange. I don't think he has fleas, but I'll have him checked for that too. Thanks!

[Guest firegypsy]

Brendan is on a raw diet which I supplement with TOTW and fish oil and goat's milk. I don't think this is dietary. I think this is contact dermatitis or respiratory related. I've been putting antibiotic ointment on his hot spots and giving him 40 mg of Benadryl. I'll try giving him more Benadryl. If that doesn't work, I'll try claritin. He's on antibiotic for a staph infection right now. When that's done, I'll go back to the vet and have his thyroid checked and have him checked for mange. I don't think he has fleas, but I'll have him checked for that too. Thanks!

 

I'm in the same boat. Paladin is on a grain free food, antibiotics, antifungal meds, zyrtec, topical antibiotic cream, prescription strength fish oil etc. and while he's no longer actively bleeding, he's still chewing on himself and scratching.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Unless it's treating a specific condition, lose the goat's milk. It can't really supplement a diet, though it's an old wives tale followed by some breeders weaning puppies. More likely to cause problems than do any good.

 

How was the staph infection diagnosed? Other than the itchiness and the hot spots, any recent or ongoing illness?

 

Make sure you run a full thyroid panel, so you get usable results. Stress, infection, and a variety of illnesses can cause T4 and other thyroid values to be out of whack. With all you've got going on, the last thing you want is to fuel the fire by treating for a thyroid issue that isn't a thyroid issue.

[kickchick2000]

If he has hot spots try Sulfodene, last time I bought some I think I got it at Target. It's a yellow liquid and it works wonders on Hot Spots. My english bulldog has the worst skin/allergies ever and Sulfodene has worked great for us.

[cleptogrey]

costco sells hydrocortizone w/ aloe oinment in bulk- CHEAP, that's what i use. really be generous w/ it and apply 3xs a day, rub it in. hot spots take a while to subside.

[GeorgeofNE]

Find a new vet....your dog deserves proper relief. There is plenty of options for an allergic hound--for example my guy has responded really well to frequent bathing and Claritin.

 

Exactly! That's ridiculous. Allergies can make a dog miserable, and this seems to be prime allergy season in New England (where I see you're from).

 

I somehow ended up with two dogs in a row with seasonal allergies. My current dog is easily helped out by Benadryl. My last dog suffered horribly for months--he scratched his ears until he had massive hematomas in them. He had to wear a cone, have drains put it. It was a nightmare that only steroids would help.

 

My last dog needed to be bathed with medicated shampoo at least once a month.

 

There are hydrocortisone sprays for topical relief.

 

I'm just flabbergasted that your vet did nothing.

[Guest Swifthounds]

I'm just flabbergasted that your vet did nothing.

 

Me too. Usually I'm just annoyed that they "bandaid" the issue without pursuing the underlying cause, but nothing for relief is just...well, I won't say it.

 

Another thing I forgot to mention that's easy and inexpensive is B vitamins. Dogs burn through them during stress, they affect skins and coat, and they can help calm - all sound like good things for your hound. You can get a complete b vitamin complex tablet (don't get the kind coTed for easy swallowing as it interferes with absorption) or try brewers yeast. Or, you can try a product called Content Um - designed to calm but good for b vitamins too.

[Guest TahoeMom]

wow you guys! more good info. I'll try stopping the goat's milk (he loves it ) I'll also start B vitamins, sulfodene, and look for that cortisone + aloe stuff at Costco. The staph infection was diagnosed by inspection. He had pustules on his lower belly which the Keflex is helping. As soon as he goes off the Keflex, they come back. Before that he had an ear infection. I'm convinced that this is a seasonal allergy. I'm hoping it will go away when fall starts. Thanks everyone for the greyt advice!

[Sambuca]

Your vet diagnosed a staph infection by inspection??? That sounds absolutely ridiculous. Either a scraping or blood work should have been done. What kind of vet is this?

[Batmom]

Staph doesn't come from allergies -- it's a bacteria. A dog can get a secondary staph infection from scratching himself. But, if he keeps getting infections, it sounds like he's either not on a high enough dose of meds or not taking the meds long enough.

 

Is he on a flea protectant such as Advantage or Frontline? I would make very very sure he doesn't have fleas, especially if he's scratching/biting at the base of the tail, armpits, groin/loin area, back of ears .....

[Guest Plygreygirl]

Like George of Noo England we are in Northeast. This is also my second dog with seasonal alergies. Every late Aug to mid Sept is when it usally breaks out. Both my girls were white so it really easy to see the "pink"/"red" skin that I call hot spots break out. Every yearwe start out with benedryl in hopes that will work. So far we always end up at the Vet. They recomend pregnzone ( sorry for the mis spell). We are offered either the shot which last 10 days or pills. I go the route of the pills as it works out better in the long run because you can after the first course of treatment use a smaller amount for longer. The shots I tried with my fist girl and ended up having to go back for another one. So for us the pills work out. It's not something I like to give my girl having a mother who is ashatic and on this 'steroid" on and off for years. So I know all about the side effects. But it's the only thing that works for us! The nasty red hot spots are soo itchy for the dogs. I hate seeing them suffer so we go the drug route.

 

Here's hoping the benydryl works for you but like others I am kind of leary of your Vets suggestion of lack of!

[DesiRayMom]

Another vote for being appalled that vet suggested nothing. Benedryl is usually first choice....otc & easy to come by.

A couple of others, chlorpheneriamine & hydroxyzine, are vet prescription. My bridge boy, Nicky had allergies to everything

green & this was his worst time of year. Each dog responds differently to each drug; his was chlorpheneramine. He had to

take a fairly large dose twice a day, and even on top of that, I wiped him down with a wet towel after every walk to get

some of the pollen & such off his fur & feet. The best I could manage even with all that was to keep him from digging

himself bloody. Still itchy, but at least I could keep him from breaking out in pustules that he'd scratch raw.

 

Good luck....keep us posted.

[kickchick2000]

My english bulldog Sweet Pea has the worst allergies/ skin on the planet, I swear she is allergic everything including air. She is all white and when her allergies rear the poor thing practically turns pink. After reading your posts again I wanted to add some more suggestions based on the experiance/ small fortune I've spent on my bulldog.

 

1. As others have said the Benaryl is an easy remedy and will help get some relief.

2. You may need a different antibiotic or it could also be a combo of a bacteria and a fungal infection. When my bully gets itchy she gets all kinds of fun infections. Without stopping/controlling the itching the infections will just reoccur.

3. Talk with your vet about some medicated shampoo's. If the allergy is enviromental there are shampoos you can use which will strip the coat and help remove the allergens from the coat. If your pups allergies are like my bullies these shampoos really do work wonders. We use 2 different ones, one for yeast(which can be inbetween the toes in the ears etc) and we use one for bacteria.

4. Get the sulfadene I suggested in my last post. My bulldog will itch areas until they are raw and bleeding. If your pup gets an itchy spot grap a cotton ball and get the sulfadene on there, it stops the itching and helps the area heal.

5. You dog may need a dose of Prednizone or Temaril . These meds can have side effects and should not be used long term but they really do provide much needed relief.

6. If your pups gets infections in his ears you may want to talk with your vet about some ears meds that treat for yeast and bacteria. We use remicin and keep a supply of it for when ears start getting yucky.

7. Get the thyroid checked.

8. Get skin scapings done if you haven't already.

9. What type of flea/ heartworm meds are you using, if your using a chewable and the dog is allergic to one of the proteins that can keep an allergy going. Assuming the allergy could food based not environmental but it sounds like your pretty sure it's environmental.

 

 

We've tried just about everything to control my bulldogs allergies except a medication called Atopica. A friend of mine who works at a vets hospital sugggested I talk with my vet about it if we could not get this last bout of allergies under control. she used it with one of her allergy dogs and said it worked wonders but she said it's VERY expensive.

 

In all seriousness if your vet is not treating your pups allergies he isn't doing his job and I would really encourage you to find another vet or talk with him about your concerns. Your vet needs to not only be looking for a way to treat/control the allergies but also be treating the effects of the allergies(infections). Skin issues/allergies can be REALLY fustrating, very expensive and not to mention make your pet miserable, so finding a vet who is patient and willing to treat these issues is key. We had to go through a few vets ourselves before finding someone who took the time to put together an agressive treatment plan.

 

If you want to talk more about this please feel free to PM me. I've spent years dealing with severe allergies in my bulldog.

Edited September 5, 2011 by kickchick2000

[GeorgeofNE]

My english bulldog Sweet Pea has the worst allergies/ skin on the planet,

 

 

A bit off topic, but my friends had a Bulldog (Rocky) and his allergies were so bad they took him to a specialist and he got allergy shots, which helped some, but not enough.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Cobb is on 75mg of benedryl twice a day year round. BTW - Costco carries generic benedryl for a penny a pill.

[greysandmollie]

I have problems with my two mixed breeds dog in Aug usually ever year...this year it was a little bit later. Benedryl doesn't always help so we usually end up with Pred and Antibiotics if they have broke into the skin while chewing.

 

Good luck...it is so frustrating...