golden retriever

[chas2008]

anyone else have problems with these dogs, ie skin/sctratching issue...and yes , he has been deflead etc..(+house)
this is our second , we had similiar problems with the first one...he seems to be constantly scratching & chewing himself until he bleeds, tried various things from the vet & pet shops but nothing seems to help..any suggestions???

[ickis22]

My cat was the same turns out it was an allergic reaction to his food. One injection later and some experimenting with food sorted it.

[woofgang]

no personal experience but our neighbours have had two rescue retrievers who have both had the same kind of itchy chewy problem...I wonder if its in some strains of the breed?

[chas2008]

think its a breeding thing , pedigree !!!...had a bitsa dog with no problems at all...

[jules77]

Sounds like an allergy as opposed to a 'breed thing'. Does he have any oils added to his daily diet, have you tried a change of diet and something without grain?

In the interim, I have always found Quistel shampoo and coat spray (the latter can be used daily) to be very effective for itchy areas on a dog.

http://www.quistel.com/index.php?page=info

[Clanad]

Wonderful dogs that they are, Golden's suffer much more than other breeds from allergies. Most goldens that we know of here in the western U.S. have allergies of one kind or another. A Vet friend of ours believes it to be genetic, of course. Your dog(s) probably also chew their feet. Typical as well. Many Vet's resort to a Prednisone regime for several weeks in an attmept to restore their immune systems. Some also give steroid injections, but this is know to produce unintended side effects, especially life shortening.
It's probably a good idea to have the dog tested for allergies, but failing that, I'd try one more product if it's available in the U.K. A neighbor claimed great success with a product marketed here as N-Zymes. I do know the dog was greatly improved but, of course, it might not have been the medication. If you can find it or something similar, it's worth a try.
To bad these great dogs are so weak in that area of their conformation...

[leelapops]

Hi chas, some dogs are definitely prone to skin problems and sensitive to allergies (like Westies, for example).

Our Collie has a flea allergy (despite a tight flea control routine). He is now flead every 3 weeks rather than every 4.

It can often be a process of elimination, as allergies can be to anything from food, to dust mites, to pollen, to grass, to particular detergents or cleaning agents.

Lankeela and jules (the doggy duo!) both recommended Liverine Unction Cream to me, for the sore, red patches where Jack had been scratching or biting. I got it on Ebay, reasonably priced, and it does soothe his skin. Tea tree spray (available from Pets at Home) also calms his skin down.

Jack is also gluten intolerant. Dogs, eh!
Give your Goldie a hug from me; they are lovely dogs. x

[jules77]

I have heard of N Zymes but it is not available in the UK.

Whilst reading the weekly dog paper, I had another thought which has proved successful with a lot of dogs, which is spinach......feed either fresh and liquidised or you can buy frozen..

[lankeela]

What sort of food is he on? If it is too high protein (i.e. over about 19%) his blood could be heating up and making him itch. Feed him a lower protein complete food and add something like pilchards in oil once or twice a week.

[terambulan]

This is the time of year when fleas are rampant & rife....breeding fast and everywhere dogs go. Regular flea powdering and bathing itchy areas with salt solution (pinch salt in cup) applied with cotton wool should sort problem

Microwave (1min) dog blanket (kills fleas & eggs)!

Fly spray dog (mind eyes & nose) and areas dog inhabits in home or kennel.

[chas2008]

have tried various diets, hes on chudleys senior at the moment and we are always fighting the fleas ( 3 cats ) we are off to the vets next week for yearly jabs so will have yet another word...

[leelapops]

knobby, might that be the most sensible answer I have ever seen from you?! ;)

Give your Bouncer a hug from me x

[tigerlily11]

Have u tried a tea tree dog shampoo?
Just a thought.

[terambulan]

Spray yourself, cats, dogs & butler with insect repellant.....the fleas will soon starve and die

[leelapops]

Ahaha knobby, problem is, I get about! In an AB kind of way anyway...SO I spotted you! Tell you what, mate, I won't say a word. How is that?

[ruthann58]

have you tried him with piriton if it is an alleregy they might help stop the itch cassie gets bad eyes due to the pollen and the vet told me she can have two twice a day but all she needs is one in the morning .only use piriton not any of the other hay fever stuff as they have different ingredients

[Jillius]

Our dog is allergic to grass seeds and pollen at this time of year and scratches himself red raw. We give him a piriton tablet every day and it works. Don't buy antihistamines from the vet, it will cost you a fortune. It was our vet who told us to use Piriton or one similar that you can buy over the counter for a fraction of the price.

[chas2008]

cheers for that, going to give the piriton a try, nothing to lose..

[Noweia]

You can ask if your vet will do an intradermal allergy test to see what he's allergic to.