Jump to content

Itching, Itching, Itching!


JenniferS

Recommended Posts

Poor Wylie has been itching like crazy for a few weeks now. It is mostly his shoulders & back, and I can't see any visible irritation like bites, sores, or fleas. My first though was maybe it is a reaction to Frontline, but the dose I gave him came out of the same box we've been using. Nothing has really changed. I did start him on a skin & coat supplement previous to that since his skin has always been a tad dry. Now I'm thinking of stopping it since he's only getting itchier. I have started giving him a 1/2 benedryl at night. I also have some spray on oatmeal conditioner and hot spot cooling spray that I have been brushing into his skin. Does anyone have any other thoughts or remedies?

 
Forever in my heart: my girl Raspberry & my boys Quiet Man, Murphy, Ducky, Wylie & Theo
www.greyhoundadventures.org & www.greyhoundamberalert.org & www.duckypaws.com

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A half benadryl is not nearly enough to do anything. If you search this forum for the word benadryl, the dosage is posted in numerous threads, I just don't remember the exact calculation. If he starts licking or chewing his paws, check between the toes for any broken skin or redness - you don't want them to get infected. . .

 

Rocket started itching several weeks ago after the rains came and broke our drought. We think it's probably ragweed related. We still have some spray and eye drops from last year that the vet gave us for the same thing. Lots of ragweed on all of our available walking routes. He is also on 3, 4mg Chlorpheneramine pills twice a day for the itchng. (OTC it's Chlor-Trimeton, but we get it cheaper from the vet.)

rocket-signature-jpeg.jpg

Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For dogs, Benedryl is dosed at 1 mg per pound every 8-12 hours. I usually don't go much higher than 50 mg each dose, though. So for a greyhound, I'd give 2 regular 25 mg tablets 2-3 times daily.

 

For dry skin and dandruff, I usually just recommend supplementing with fish oil. You can use the regular human 1000 mg capsules. To avoid loose stools, I usually start with 1-2 capsules daily. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil also help reduce inflammation, so it can help with itching too.

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

gtsig3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could be Chiggers or Harvest Mites. Nasty, persistent little critters.

 

Chiggers is what I was thinking too. We've never had any problems with them until a few weeks ago. One of my dogs itched for a little while but I think the chiggers all jumped off the dogs and on to me. Benadryl should help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the itching increased not long after starting the supplement, I'd stop it.

 

My angel Batman was allergic to fish and fish oil. Probably not a common allergen, but still.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 of ours go through this during ragweed season. Tavist has worked better for us than Benedryl, but antihistimines can do only so much. I also bath them to cut down on pollen next to the skin, keep the windows shut and AC on (I'm a sufferer, as well). Odd thing was, this year for the first time neither one is itching. I don't know if our strange summer this year in the Midwest changed things; my ragweed allergies seemed less severe and are ending early, too. (Anyone else around Iowa notice a surprising *lack* of dog itching this year?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fedx and two of my friends dogs are all super itchy right now, benedryl seems to do the trick for the most part. Humans up here are suffering badly too....just a bad season i guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

May want to rule out food allergies vs environmental allergies.

http://nutriscan.org/home.html

 

Have you had good results with this test? Most dermatologists don't feel that antibody testing is reliable for food allergies, and from what I can find, salivary antibodies don't necessarily correlate to skin or intestinal sensitivities.

 

ETA: I did a search on VIN (veterinary forum) out of curiosity and found an interesting discussion from about a year ago. A vet used this test and sent in 12 samples from dogs with skin allergies, normal dogs, as well as a sample of tap water. This was done with Dr. Dodds' cooperation, and the samples were blinded, so the lab wouldn't know which sample was which. All samples (including the tap water) showed reactivity to beef, corn, milk and wheat. Dr. Dodds' did say that she would make adjustments to "cut-off' levels to decrease the sensitivity, so maybe the test is more accurate now? Personally, I'm a bit skeptical.

Edited by JJNg

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

gtsig3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

May want to rule out food allergies vs environmental allergies.

http://nutriscan.org/home.html

 

Have you had good results with this test? Most dermatologists don't feel that antibody testing is reliable for food allergies, and from what I can find, salivary antibodies don't necessarily correlate to skin or intestinal sensitivities.

 

ETA: I did a search on VIN (veterinary forum) out of curiosity and found an interesting discussion from about a year ago. A vet used this test and sent in 12 samples from dogs with skin allergies, normal dogs, as well as a sample of tap water. This was done with Dr. Dodds' cooperation, and the samples were blinded, so the lab wouldn't know which sample was which. All samples (including the tap water) showed reactivity to beef, corn, milk and wheat. Dr. Dodds' did say that she would make adjustments to "cut-off' levels to decrease the sensitivity, so maybe the test is more accurate now? Personally, I'm a bit skeptical.

Hummm interesting. I have not personally used the test but, know some that have--need to find out what their dogs results returned with now. Wonder if it was beef, corn, milk and wheat?

Edited to add-I'm going to put a call into our local derm Dr-Dr Helton Rhodes to get her opinion. I'll post her response.

Edited by tbhounds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are Chiggers exactly? Are they a type of mite and would they be noticeable? Also, would my other dog have them too?

I'm thinking he might just have the seasonal thing going on. This is his first fall with us. When he came to his foster home, he had terrible flea dermatitis from his old home. All that fur grew back nicely and he hasn't had any problems since coming to live with us earlier this year. I may give him an oatmeal bath, stop the supplement, and up the benedryl a bit. My poor itchy boy! :sad1

 
Forever in my heart: my girl Raspberry & my boys Quiet Man, Murphy, Ducky, Wylie & Theo
www.greyhoundadventures.org & www.greyhoundamberalert.org & www.duckypaws.com

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest FullMetalFrank

Poor Jewels is itchy, too; she had scratched a raw spot on her neck, poor girly. I have searched every centimeter of her for ant signs of a flea or two (she is allergic) but nothing; and the areas she is scratching don't coincide with usual flea dermatitis anyways. I think it might be a seasonal thing. Cortisone cream on her itchy spots has giver her fantastic relief; silly girl was actually kissing my face when I put the cream on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chiggers are a larval form of mite. Lots of info here. The bite isn't dangerous (it's not disease-carrying), beyond the harm the dog (or person) does scratching the itch.

 

My girl came to me August 2011 with a chronic itch on her front left leg. There--and nowhere else. We spent months treating with prednisone, antibiotics, antihistamines, gentocin spray, etc. She was muzzled nearly 24 hours a day, although that didn't stop her from scratching the back of her front leg with the nails of her back foot. By December, she had sores on her leg. By January or February, we were desperate; my vet did another skin scraping (the first one didn't show anything) and he thought he saw half a scabies mange mite, so we treated with two doses of ivomec. The itching stopped immediately.

 

All was well for about three months, but the itching started again in June and it's getting worse. She's on antihistamines (Zyrtec in the morning, Benadryl at night), and the vet doesn't think it's mites. (Last year and this year, Silver slept in the same bed as Sam and me. Sam and I have had no skin problems.) Because her problems vanished for three months, her vet and I are guessing it's a seasonal allergy rather than a food allergy. Whatever it is, I want to get a handle on it before she has another miserable fall and winter, muzzled and itching.

 

She has an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist on Thursday. I'll report back.

 

This is her leg at about its worst in December 2011:

 

6508155739_dc558e13fe.jpg

15060353021_97558ce7da.jpg
Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and
Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come.

Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016),
darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today we went on a mission to eliminate the irritants that are making Rocket itch. Vacuumed the house twice, washed all of the dog bed covers, dog blankets and small rugs, then furminated him 3 times, slicker brushed him 3 times, and furminated him again right before a bath with a shampoo called Bobbie's Itchy Dog. The furminator seemed to be the biggest help along with the bath.

 

Since the bath and putting the clean covers back on, he has barely scratched anything. Might be a different story when we get back from out walk tomorrow morning, but we do wipe face, paws and legs when we get back. All of that pollen builds up on stuff when he brings it in on his fur.

rocket-signature-jpeg.jpg

Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the itching increased not long after starting the supplement, I'd stop it.

 

My angel Batman was allergic to fish and fish oil. Probably not a common allergen, but still.

Ditto. Also I read that oatmeal things cause yeast to get worse so if the itching is the result of yeast the oatmeal stuff might also be making it worse. Good luck. My mali has been itching too. I started her on coconut oil and it seems to have helped. She was already getting fish oil so now she gets both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest grey_dreams

Chiggers are a larval form of mite. Lots of info here. The bite isn't dangerous (it's not disease-carrying), beyond the harm the dog (or person) does scratching the itch.

 

My girl came to me August 2011 with a chronic itch on her front left leg. There--and nowhere else. We spent months treating with prednisone, antibiotics, antihistamines, gentocin spray, etc. She was muzzled nearly 24 hours a day, although that didn't stop her from scratching the back of her front leg with the nails of her back foot. By December, she had sores on her leg. By January or February, we were desperate; my vet did another skin scraping (the first one didn't show anything) and he thought he saw half a scabies mange mite, so we treated with two doses of ivomec. The itching stopped immediately.

 

All was well for about three months, but the itching started again in June and it's getting worse. She's on antihistamines (Zyrtec in the morning, Benadryl at night), and the vet doesn't think it's mites. (Last year and this year, Silver slept in the same bed as Sam and me. Sam and I have had no skin problems.) Because her problems vanished for three months, her vet and I are guessing it's a seasonal allergy rather than a food allergy. Whatever it is, I want to get a handle on it before she has another miserable fall and winter, muzzled and itching.

 

She has an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist on Thursday. I'll report back.

 

This is her leg at about its worst in December 2011:

 

 

 

Just wanted to add a story about chiggers. The wounds in the photo do look like maybe they could be from chigger bites. I recently moved to the midwest from Europe. Within a week, I was absolutely infested with chigger bites. There were three areas that were especially bad, and they actually made my lyme become re-activated, and they were starting to get infected. The new larvae were re-biting in adjacent areas instead of falling off as they are supposed to do. No one else around me had any problems whatsoever. I figured out what the difference was and how to cure myself. MSM (sulfur) supplement, garlic, and onion. Sulfur is essential for healing skin wounds. I noticed that all the people around me who didn't have problems ate a lot of garlic and onion, but I didn't and I met one other person with chigger sensitivity and they also didn't eat garlic and onion. So I added garlic and onion to my diet, and it's really helped. The sulfur healed the skin, and the garlic and onion keep the chiggers away. I haven't had any new chigger bites for almost two months now.

 

You can give MSM to dogs. It is often included in glucosamine chondriotin supplements (check that the MSM concentration is high enough). I wouldn't give onion to dogs, but I've read that a lot of people do give very small doses of garlic, even though in larger quantities it will cause hemolytic anemia (so use caution). I started giving my dogs a raw food juice powder (mixed into their food) that contains almost everything (including wheat grass, barley grass, other grasses and sprouts, lots of vegetables, and it also contains garlic). That has worked for us. Zuki is prone to skin problems, but the raw food powder has helped a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can get allergy tests done (not the skin scraping thing either)

 

I had Brindle tested (she's been at the Bridge for over 11 yrs now) And she was highly allergic to Tall Ragweed and highly allergic to Short Ragweed. She developed her severe itchiness like clockwork by the third week in Aug (in NJ).

We started the desensitizing shots but she died of cancer before we knew if it worked or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My girl came to me August 2011 with a chronic itch on her front left leg. There--and nowhere else. We spent months treating with prednisone, antibiotics, antihistamines, gentocin spray, etc. She was muzzled nearly 24 hours a day, although that didn't stop her from scratching the back of her front leg with the nails of her back foot. By December, she had sores on her leg. By January or February, we were desperate; my vet did another skin scraping (the first one didn't show anything) and he thought he saw half a scabies mange mite, so we treated with two doses of ivomec. The itching stopped immediately.

 

All was well for about three months, but the itching started again in June and it's getting worse. She's on antihistamines (Zyrtec in the morning, Benadryl at night), and the vet doesn't think it's mites. (Last year and this year, Silver slept in the same bed as Sam and me. Sam and I have had no skin problems.) Because her problems vanished for three months, her vet and I are guessing it's a seasonal allergy rather than a food allergy. Whatever it is, I want to get a handle on it before she has another miserable fall and winter, muzzled and itching.

 

She has an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist on Thursday. I'll report back.

 

This is her leg at about its worst in December 2011:

 

6508155739_dc558e13fe.jpg

 

Silver saw the dermatologist today. He doesn't think it's mites or allergies. He says there's an infection (or two), and he took three punch biopsy samples--two will go to different labs and one will be cultured. There is clear evidence of bacteria on the surface; he doesn't know if that is the same infection that is making her itch, or if it's a different infection resulting from her chewing because something else is making her itch. With luck, the culture will give us a clue of which direction to go. Up to seven or eight months ago, we tried several antibiotics without success; he thinks the success with the ivomec was due to ivomec's anti-inflammatory properties. Vet bill today was $720.

 

Meanwhile, Silver is sulking. She was fasted until her afternoon appointment in case the vet needed to sedate her (no more fasted-dog appointments for the afternoon; I can't take the dirty looks delivered all day). Then I took her to a strange vet, let them take her into the back and do mean things to her. And now she's muzzled to keep her from chewing at her vet-wrapped leg, and I'm fussing at her when she scratches the leg. I may need to put a boot on the back foot to keep her from scratching. After all--how much madder at me can she get?

 

(The other problem with fasted-dog appointments late in the day: I needed to feed Sam so I could give him meds, so Silver had to be crated while he ate. Then I took up water bowls and both dogs hated me for that. I gave ice cubes as a stop-gap measure.)

15060353021_97558ce7da.jpg
Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and
Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come.

Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016),
darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest greytbookert

Adam is super itchy too! If you go to greyhound friends on Saturday, you'll see him. He always gets Autumn allergies and he actually looks worse this year than in years past. His previous owner used prednisone but we've changed to just benadryl. He is getting 50mgs 2x a day per vet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greyhound Gang has lots of information about allergies - environmental and food.

 

The natural products (without side effects) we've used successfully for environmental allergies include:

- Azmira's Allerg-Free pills

- Azmira's Yucca Intensive to reduce acute inflammation - naturally

- Get Up & Go's MSM - for chronic inflammation

- Azmira's vitamins

- Grizzly Salmon Oil

 

Food allergies are best handled by a raw diet from my experiences. Kibble without grain can also help. i've not found allergy tests to be particularly helpful, and they are expensive. Doing an elimination diet can help determine the food allergies. I've found it's usually the kibble mixture, and in particular the grains.

 

You did good by washing everything, though some dogs will have reactions to some cleaning products too. I usually use the natural or perfume free products.

 

One person I helped determine what was happening with her dog - had bought a new couch, and whatever was sprayed on the couch caused a severe allergy reaction in her dog. Once she kept a cover on the couch - voila - no more red spots and itching.

 

Hope something here helps.

Claudia & Greyhound Gang
100% Helps Hounds

GIG Bound!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Petra just started itching recently and finally yesterday upon thorough examination with my eyes, I found a red raw shoulder blade which I will call her hot spot. I just needed a starting point and I now am armed with several good weapons to control this. I've searched her for fleas over and over and she is on a preventative but Woodie shows no itch activity and I can't see any on her. So I think it is an allergen and I hope it's not the different brand of kibble. My husband couldn't find our brand and went with something totally different. Woodie has turned up his nose to it once or twice already! I think it's something outside and she now has some fresh scrapes from out there too. She had a bath at the beginning of the month but she will get one today as well. I was going to take her to the e vet of I thought it was really bad but I will take the day to clean, bathe, buy benadryl (maybe) and supplement her diet. I'll report back.

Bow Wow Wow Yippie Yo Yippie Yay :)

Siggy4.jpg

Johanna with hounds: Woodie (Molly's Marvin) (Grenade X Kh Molly) and Petra (Make Her a Pet) (Dodgem By Design X Late Nite Oasis)

and forever missing Hurley (Jel Try Out) (Gable Dodge X Kings Teresa) with Kalapaki Beach in Kauai as the background

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nevermind. She has fleas. I finally found one. Bathed her. At the e vet. Damnit!

Bow Wow Wow Yippie Yo Yippie Yay :)

Siggy4.jpg

Johanna with hounds: Woodie (Molly's Marvin) (Grenade X Kh Molly) and Petra (Make Her a Pet) (Dodgem By Design X Late Nite Oasis)

and forever missing Hurley (Jel Try Out) (Gable Dodge X Kings Teresa) with Kalapaki Beach in Kauai as the background

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...