Dog scratches himself vigorously

amywise9

My dog has started scratching himself again. The vet gave me some spray which I used on him two months ago. It did the trick. But now the dog has started scratching himself again. His paws are like windmills when he is doing it!!
He scratches his ears, chest and belly.
What is the reason for this?
Anyway I can stop him doing it, rather than spraying his coat all the time?

seamus

What breed?

What kind of spray did you get?

Itching is usually caused by infection (mange, mites, fleas) or allergens. If you're sure he's not infected, then it's time to look at allergies.

andreac

Could be the food hes on is not agreeing with him. I would try and rule out everything it could be, food, bedding, fleas, etc etc. It could be anything.

Are you giving him anything to eat, treats or something that might not be agreeing with him?

Wisco

I second ruling out fleas and other creepy crawlies
Have you treated him recently with a spot on like Frontline or Advocate (for fleas, lice, etc)? If not, go get one from your vet or chemist and do so ASAP. If the scratching continues you'll probably need to take him back to the vet as most of the sprays/creams that are effective with itchy dogs that don't have parasites are prescription drugs.
Probably no harm to change the dog's bedding at the same time as you put on the flea treatment to prevent re-infestation.

minkynuts

Do you use Shake n Vac on the carpets?

Zapperzy

Check his coat for fleas and ticks, and have a look in his ears as he might have ear mites (they should be clean and free from wax and dirt, if theres's a large amount of black waxy grainy sort of dirt then he has ear mites).

If it's ticks you'l need to remove them and treat him with a spot on tube that you squirt on the back of their necks and can be gotten from the vets.

If it's fleas (you'l see black flea dirt on his skin and you may see the fleas crawling through the coat and on his bedding) you need to get the spray again from the vets and get the same spot on stuff I mentioned above. You'l also need to treat your house and any outdoor kennels by washing all bedding and hoovering all surfaces (and then dumping the hoover bag), if it's a bad infestation you can get flea bombs.

If it's ear mites it's best to bring him into the vets and ask a nurse to clean out the ears properly as if you've never done it yourself you'l probably leave behind most of the dirt deeper inside the ear. They will also give you drops to put in the ears.

There's also other types of parasites like mange and ringworm, if you can rule out the above ones I mentioned a vet visit really is needed to rule out mange and ringworm. Then there are also food allergies that can cause itching and allergies to things like new washing powder.

tishandy

I have the same problem. Just back from the vet this morning actually. Been monitering it a few weeks. Its not fleas , mites or anything, it just seems to be sensitive skin.
I have a rough coat terrier and through her white coat you can see her skin is a little pink.
Vet said to use a wash called hibiscrub twice a week. In the last rinse use some baby oil on her coat to sooth her. A few drops of olive or sunflower oil in her dry food each day also.

Steve30x

seamus wrote: »

What breed?

What kind of spray did you get?

Itching is usually caused by infection (mange, mites, fleas) or allergens. If you're sure he's not infected, then it's time to look at allergies.

If a King Charles has Syringomyelia the dog will scratch its head all the time and there nothing can be done about that except get the dog put down. There is an operation to remove the top of the dogs skull , but most of the time it doesnt help.

lorebringer

Steve30x wrote: »

If a King Charles has Syringomyelia the dog will scratch its head all the time and there nothing can be done about that except get the dog put down. There is an operation to remove the top of the dogs skull , but most of the time it doesnt help.

This is totally false information.

sotisme

Yes i agree with lorebringer i, I know a cavalier with a severe case of Syringomyelia; yet she is coping and seems to be improving.