Itchy Keva

[wolf_Q]

About 2 weeks ago Keva started getting really itchy. She's been biting at her skin and scratching a lot more often than normal. If you try to pet her she's instantly kicking her leg and scratching at the area you are petting.

I bought a furminator package that came with a bag of furminator treats. I never used the furminator on any of my dogs (I bought it to use on dogs at work) but I did give them the treats. I've never given the dogs those treats before and she started it soon after I gave it to them - so I figured that was likely the cause of it, though none of them have ever reacted in that way to anything they've eaten (if food doesn't agree with them it tends to cause digestive upset). Nebo and Skya have not been itchy at all but I thought maybe the treats just didn't work well for Keva.

It's been a week since I stopped giving them the treats and she's still itchy. She's started blowing her coat so I brought her to work and gave her a good bath, hoping it would help with her itchy skin too. I bathed her in an oatmeal and aloe shampoo and a coal tar shampoo and let them soak on her for 5 minutes. It helped a little, but she's still scratching. Her skin doesn't look red and she doesn't have any dandruff. Her skin and coat appear very healthy.

Any ideas of what this could be? She's never been like this before. None of the other dogs are acting that way. It's highly unlikely its fleas as we really do not have a flea problem here at all, I've inspected her closely and haven't found any, and none of the other dogs are affected. She's been on the same food (Wellness Lamb and Salmon) since around Sept-October of last year. I've been thinking of taking her to the vet but I'm not sure what they could do to determine the problem since her skin and coat look fine.

[anna_66]

I wish I had some sort of a idea, but unfortunately I don't.

Just hoping she quits itching soon.

[Kfamr]

Could it just be a seasonal allergy? Maybe try giving her some benadryl?

Poor Keva!

[Kater]

I'll throw some ideas out there.....

Post the ingredient list of her food and the ingredient list of the Furminator treats. Then we could try to see if there is a "likely" culprit. She's also in the age range where we see the development of food allergies (33% of dogs developing food allergies were less than 1 year old and 51% were 1-3 years according to one study).

Even just one (long gone!) flea could cause long-term itching...if she has flea allergies. I know they are pretty rate in Utah. It's a possibility.

There are definitely other parasites that are more likely to become problematic for a younger dog, so those are also possibilities. Again not super likely in Utah.

Is there any localization to the itching? I know you mentioned when you're petting her you stimulate it, but what about otherwise?

In terms of environmental/seasonal allergies (atopy) - you would probably see itching manifesting as face rubbing and foot licking. Not always, but usually. Are you seeing this?

If her skin is not reddened at all, then it's probably fairly minor. If it's getting severe or chronic you will start to see skin changes in color, texture, etc. It's quite possibly nothing significant at all. Otherwise the top three causes of itchiness are probably food allergies, parasitism or atopy.

I hope Keva is itch-free soon! Maybe she is just adjusting to the heat and her coat is bugging her since it's still fairly thick (heat rash kind of thing?).

[wolf_Q]

I'll throw some ideas out there.....

Post the ingredient list of her food and the ingredient list of the Furminator treats. Then we could try to see if there is a "likely" culprit. She's also in the age range where we see the development of food allergies (33% of dogs developing food allergies were less than 1 year old and 51% were 1-3 years according to one study).

Here's the ingredients of the dog food:
Lamb, Menhaden Fish Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Tomato Pomace, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Rice Bran, Tomatoes, Ground Millet, Natural Lamb Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Chicory Root Extract, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products.

Here's the dog treat ingredients (what I found online, I'll have to see if I can find the bag still and double check this):
wheat gluten, glycerin, natural flavor, shed reduction premix (salmon meal, rice bran extract, sunflower oil, salmon oil, safflower oil, methionine, borage oil, primrose oil, betaine, chelated zinc, mixed tocopherols), powdered cellulose, mono and diglycerides, magnesium, stearate, sodium metabisulfite, and tocopherols (preservative).

Even just one (long gone!) flea could cause long-term itching...if she has flea allergies. I know they are pretty rate in Utah. It's a possibility.

There are definitely other parasites that are more likely to become problematic for a younger dog, so those are also possibilities. Again not super likely in Utah.

Is there any localization to the itching? I know you mentioned when you're petting her you stimulate it, but what about otherwise?

What other parasites could it be? She's been to Florida and through some other southern states/Texas where they have fleas and although I never found fleas on her there's a chance she's been bit before...and if so she didn't react. But I don't know for sure, I didn't have flea preventative on her other than washing her in flea shampoo once while I was there.

The itching seems to be on her body mostly. She'll chew her hind/base of the tail and scratch her shoulders with her back feet.

In terms of environmental/seasonal allergies (atopy) - you would probably see itching manifesting as face rubbing and foot licking. Not always, but usually. Are you seeing this?

Not at all, she doesn't act like her face is itching and I haven't seen her licking her feet.

If her skin is not reddened at all, then it's probably fairly minor. If it's getting severe or chronic you will start to see skin changes in color, texture, etc. It's quite possibly nothing significant at all. Otherwise the top three causes of itchiness are probably food allergies, parasitism or atopy.

I hope Keva is itch-free soon! Maybe she is just adjusting to the heat and her coat is bugging her since it's still fairly thick (heat rash kind of thing?).

She doesn't seem to be scratching/biting herself as frequently...if it was a food allergy (to the treats) how long would it take to go away? I wondered about the coat thing as well but when I washed her on monday pretty much all of her undercoat blew out (that's what I love about her coat...it all comes right out...Nebo holds onto undercoat for dear life ) and she's still scratching. I guess she could just be continuing to scratch from an earlier heat rash. She has been on some hikes on pretty warm days. Thanks for the info Kate!