My Dog Dutchey cant quit scratching help

[Jessika]

My Charlie will go through spells where he will scratch so much he looses huge clumps of fur. The most recent one left him completely bald on his butt and above his tail (yeah, he chewed off ALL of his Aussie "butt fuzz". We called him baboon butt for the longest time, hehe).

What helps him is first off making sure he has no fleas. I give him two benedryl a day -- one with each meal (one morning, one night). In addition I have a bottle of bitter apple spray on hand to spray over areas that are still really itchy. He will chew and scratch till he bleeds and has huge scabs so I try to nip the problem in the bud as soon as I see him scratching so he doesn't get to that point.

In addition, bathing too often will dry out his skin and make it even more itchier, so bathe maybe once a month (unless your vet recommends otherwise).

Bottom line though take him to a vet... if he can't help you, take him to another vet until you start getting answers. I can't stand watching Charlie scratch that bad, you can tell how miserable he is.

His are seasonal though so that's how I know benedryl works, and boy does it work well for him most of the time. Now that the weather is ice cold again and he got his bath for the month he hasn't scratched or chewed at ALL. Once it starts warming up though he'll go crazy again as he always does... certainly doesn't help that Missouri can't decide what season it wants to be in, keeps bouncing between winter and spring it seems.

[dukedogsmom]

Dasher has been itching right above his tail since the cold weather came. I thought after a bath he'd be better. He's still rubbing up against walls to scratch. Anyone know how to moisturize the skin there? He can't reach it with his mouth.

[Jessika]

Dasher has been itching right above his tail since the cold weather came. I thought after a bath he'd be better. He's still rubbing up against walls to scratch. Anyone know how to moisturize the skin there? He can't reach it with his mouth.

Fish oil pills might help with that. In the winter Charlie's skin can get dry (boy does he have some problems, eh?) So a fish oil pill with his meal every other day does the trick.

[DixieDad]

Lady Belle, our rescued Border Collie, itched so bad she scratched all the hair off both sides of her face. Also off the back of both front knees, under both legs and her chest. After several visits to the vet where steroids were prescibed without results, I read an article about some dogs having allergic reactions to the corn in her food. I changed her to a feed with rice instead. She has stopped scratching and her hair has grown back. I don't know if this is your dog's problem but I thought I'd pass ikt on.


Mack
Dixie Belle's & Lqady Belle's Dad

[Freedom]

Mandy -- be sure to call and check with your vet BEFORE you give her any Benadryl. The dose is set by the dog's weight so the vet has all the info to tell you how much to give.

[Catlady711]

I would call the vet and see if there are any other suggestions he has for you.

If you don't have confidence in your regular vet's ability to deal with this issue, then seek a second opinon.

Either way I'm thinking this is a problem that needs to be treated by a vet.

Good luck.