Scratching & Itching Dogs

[Bonny]

I took my dogs to the veterinary & he checked them over, We gave them Frontline & treated any spots that had some hair missing mainly around the ears with Pet-Gaurd Insecticide Gel. They were both given a shot to stop the itching for 24 hours it was a steroid. Both dogs are very active & go for a run everyday in the woods & out in the hay fields. The veterinary thought they were both allergic or had an allergy due to a plant growing in the area that caused them to itch. He took samples of dander & scrapped the skin & checked everything out. This has been over a month now.

There is still itching going on but no more hairless spots. I did go get some Aloe & Oatmeal shampoo with a moisturizer in it. There are no hot spots where the skin is rubbed raw on either dog. It is just this continued scratching the flank area & around the ear & jaw area. They were checked for fleas & ticks, none were found.

I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their dog or dogs?

[kokopup]

Koko my dog has had this same problem before and is going through the same problem now. Test before revealed that she was allergic to molds and these were being inhaled. It seems that skin allergies in pets in most cases is through inhaling the allergen. We have a lot of molds right now because it has rained every day here for what seems like forever. You might try giving benadryl to see if that helps. Koko receives a shot once every 3weeks for her allergies. This is a special formulation made by Auburn Veterinary school. She had to have a whole series of $cratch and blood te$t before they came up with her diagnosis.

[Bonny]

Kokopup, We have had the opposite here with no rain in the last 30 days. I have noticed the pumpkin leaves in my garden have a dusty mold on them. It is dusty & dry here. The leaves are starting to change on the trees & the soybean leaves are turning yellow from the cool nights we have been having. I had washed all the rugs & covers that our dogs lay on plus sanitized the bushes & combs, washed out the dog house. The veterinary thought once the weather gets colder, a good frost would take care of whatever is causing the itching. The frost could be a good couple of weeks away.

What gets me is my dogs sleep down stairs with me in the sunroom. I hear scratching in the middle of the night & let both the dogs outdoors. Laying in the wet dew grass seems to help them along with chasing & barking at whatever is out there, mainly deer eating apples on the ground & raccoons. I hate to have them wake our neighborhood up.

I hope your dog gets to feeling better too. All that itching makes my own skin crawl.

[Freedom]

Gold Bond medicated powder helps with the itch.

Bichons are prone to allergies, and my Sugar has a slew of them! Not sure to what, but every year from August to November she is more pink than white. The saliva works with something in their white coat and it turns pink / brownish.

I also use Gold Bond for the itch from sebacious cysts, and warts, which older dogs get sometimes.

[Bonny]

Thanks Freedom, I will check out the Gold Bond medicated powder. The bichons are such cute playful dogs. There must be a change in their whole system that would make their salvia change the color of their coat.

[Asiel]

Mine have been scratching since August but they were growing their winter coats and now with the drastic change in the weather they're shedding their coats again. They had a medicated oatmeal and coal tar bath yesterday and their skin is clear of anything so I'm chalking it up to the weather. After their baths when I brushed them there was nothing left to come off. I know when we use the fireplace in winter they scratch more too and the groomer always uses a conditioner. A lot of dog owners are complaining of scratching this year so it must have to do with the weather.
Have you tried adding oil to their diets? Mine always get oil but they scratch anyway , was thinking of adding olive oil with the fish oil.
At least they've shed everything so they don't leave clumps of fur laying around.

[Bonny]

I thought combing the dogs would help too. I was looking for lice, ticks, etc. Their skin looks good no flakiness. They get combed out often. One has long thick hair & the other short thick hair & their coats have a silky feel to them. We have a wood stove too & I have not ever noticed dryness or dandier in their coats over the winter months. They can sleep in the sunroom which is like an ice box in the winter during the nights. The olive oil sounds good to add to their dry dog food diet.