Itchy Dog

[moz1959]

HI. We have a 7 year old mongrel ( Sorcha )
During the summer she took chunks of fur off of her back till her skin bled. After several vets visits things are not much better. They seem to think it is a skin allergy to pollen. Don't think it is that now as the pollen has almost gone. Does anyone have any advice for a frustrated owner.
Thanks in anticipation.

[leelapops]

Aw moz, your poor pup.
Jack has the same-he's been in last week for skin biopsies and blood tests. Biopsies showed an allergy, but bloods will confirm what it is! Frustrating though. However his itching has diminished now the weather is colder. And his isn't at ll bad compared to your poor dog's.

Fingers crossed, Jack sends big licks :)

[leelapops]

PS Sorry I can't offer more practical help! What breed is your dog?

[Noweia]

Itchy skin is notoriously hard to deal with, both in finding what's causing it and treating it.

If it's definitely not flea allergy, is could be another allergy, either to food, house dust mites or to something plant-wise. You can get skin tests done to see if it is pollen or dust mites, ask your vet about this. If nothing is found, it could be atopy, which can be treated.

Is Sorcha part Westie or labrador?

[TIGGERLIT]

hi is this the first time shes doe it?, have you changed her food? sometimes if you feed a dog a cheap food it can cause it, as they keep changing the receipe. there is one quite big company that do different types with different names, and say for example it was chicken flavour, then they would use the most expencive one for that then the cheapest chicken for the cheapest food. ive been behind the scences when companies have made food, and there are only a couple of companies that you can trust of what goes in food, j.w.b is one of them.
even though it says beef, it could still have chicken in.
also the other thing it could be is has she been stressed?

[donella]

hi, i help out at a dog groomers and also have a dog prone to scratching myself,
i couldn't help you with the cause but the main thing to remember is that scratching/licking behaviour is very addictive, so even when the cause is long gone the dog may still scratch,
so, try not to give attention when she scratches (like..oh poor doggie, is it sore there there) but instead without making a fuss move her muzzle from the area gently and try to get her to relax without making a fuss (not easy and can become quite infuriating!!) you could try a lampshade collar from the vets so she cant get to the area or if its possible bandage the area, maybe put some soothing aloe on first, (mine likes to scratch his ears so its fun trying to stop that!!!)
good luck with finding the cause and hopefully you will all get some rest when the itching subsides

[donella]

haha, just re read, my dog is prone to scratching himself not me!!!!!!

[ruthann58]

hi we have used camosa ointment in the past when our dog had a really itchy leg after being shaved at the vets she licked her leg raw and we tried all sorts to stop her in the end we had to put a muzzle on her . we also have a horse that itches on one side of his rump tried all sorts on him as well at the moment i mix peppermint oil tea tree oil and lavender oil with baby oil and rub it into his hair touch wood its working at the moment

[babybop6379]

our dog had a similar problem his skin kept coming up sore and itchy and after many vets opinions it turned out that he had an allergy to cat fleas which our cats kept bringing in so could she possibly be picking it up from other cats in the area maybe. Hibiscrub is always good for sore skin just bathe her in it and it soothes as well as being antibacterial too good luck on getting to the root (scuse the pun) of the problem x

[Bellringer]

Take her for a swim in the sea (if you can)
Salt water cures all sorts of skin complaints.
If you can't reach the sea try salt water baths.

[Internet fan]

Might be sarcoptes which is mange which can be caught from foxes. My dog is a Bichon and he scratched for 18 months and was diagnosed as having food allergies. His itching was getting worse and he had to wear a buster collar 24 hrs a day because he was making his ears bleed everytime he scratched. He was on steroids and antibitotics but he was scratching worse than ever. I couldn't stand watching him suffer with his scratchng anymore and pleaded with the vet to try something else - we had tried the atopica tablets to see if they would work but they didn't - so he decided to do an ear scrape and test his blood for sarcoptes. They found nothing on the ear scrape but two weeks later they rang and said he had tested positive for sarcoptic mange. It was easily treated just by using Stronghold on the back of his neck every two weeks for 6 weeks and then for a further 6 weeks because he was still scratching a bit having had it so long. The steroids were helping the mites to breed.