Very itchy doggie!

ShaShaBear

So, my dog Shadow, over the past week or two, has started itching really bad. He'll literally drop whatever he is doing to bite or scratch the living bejaysus out of himself. I promptly got some flea treatment and spotted the neck and tail. One week later he's still at it! I've stopped him mid-scratch and checked the areas he seems to target most - no bite marks, no ticks - I'm at a loss! Vet is in order, but I can't afford to until the end of the month.

Any ideas? He does have a bit of flaking through his coat, but I can't tell if that's dandruff or him ripping himself asunder!

SillyMangoX

My cats are currently going through the same thing, their itching doesn't sound as frantic as yours though! What spot on did you use, was it one that covers mites? Because frantic itching would usually be a sign of them, or else an allergy or something along those lines?

Knine

It could be harvest mites as it is now harvest mite season. Spot on does not seem to be that effective against them. Zooplus do a Beapher Harvest Mite foam which is effective.

Any shampoo that is oil based such as mint or tea tree oil also helps. Another idea is to create a sort of foot bath that you can dip their paws in before and after going on grass. Use a strong solution of the above shampoos. For some reason some dogs are not bothered by them and it drives others mad. I have one puppy here that is scratching like crazy with them.

Millem

Knine wrote: »

It could be harvest mites as it is now harvest mite season. Spot on does not seem to be that effective against them. Zooplus do a Beapher Harvest Mite foam which is effective.

Any shampoo that is oil based such as mint or tea tree oil also helps. Another idea is to create a sort of foot bath that you can dip their paws in before and after going on grass. Use a strong solution of the above shampoos. For some reason some dogs are not bothered by them and it drives others mad. I have one puppy here that is scratching like crazy with them.

Malaseb shampoo is amazing stuff to relieve itching but you can only get it from the vets!

ShaShaBear

Mites, hadn't thought of that. It was just the Spot-On treatment I picked up in the petshop, had two tubes - one for the neck and one for the tail. No idea if it covers mites but I'll go and look in the petshop tomorrow!

Would there be any signs of them in a black collie coat?

tk123

Pirotin is fine to give them if you think it's an allergy. Could it be his food - my guy used to break out in a rash before I switched him to a cereal free diet?

ShaShaBear

He's on Red Mills Star this few months now (know it's not the best, but it's just till I get on my feet to get Nature's Best). But the itching is only recent.

Rommie

ShaShaBear wrote: »

He's on Red Mills Star this few months now (know it's not the best, but it's just till I get on my feet to get Nature's Best). But the itching is only recent.

Just to be aware, with lower quality foods like star, they only have to put in 4% meat of whatever taste it's supposed to be, so if it's a chicken based food, they only have to put in 4% chicken. This means the remaining meat content can be whatever meat is cheapest the week that batch is made, so one week the bag could have beef in it, the next it could have pork, the next it could just be chicken. My housemate has a dog allergic to chicken so cannot feed low quality foods as it's impossible to know what meat actually goes into it. So your dog may have an allergy to something that you don't know about and it's impossible to figure out what.

That of course if it's down to the food. Otherwise, there are all sorts of mites and seasonal allergies it could be attributed to. I would give him an advocate rather than spot-on, advocate kills a lot more parasites than spot-on. I would also consider changing him to another food as soon as you can, have a look around, there are some reasonably priced good dog foods

ShaShaBear

Rommie wrote: »

Just to be aware, with lower quality foods like star, they only have to put in 4% meat of whatever taste it's supposed to be, so if it's a chicken based food, they only have to put in 4% chicken. This means the remaining meat content can be whatever meat is cheapest the week that batch is made, so one week the bag could have beef in it, the next it could have pork, the next it could just be chicken. My housemate has a dog allergic to chicken so cannot feed low quality foods as it's impossible to know what meat actually goes into it. So your dog may have an allergy to something that you don't know about and it's impossible to figure out what.

I'm getting paid at the end of the month and buying him the Nature's Best, but to be honest it sounds more like mites than an allergy. What way does an advocate work?

Lambo28

My dog went through a really itchy phase a while back. I got flea treatment and worm treatment and she seemed to calm down. I started giving her a bath every week for a month and she stopped.

ShaShaBear

He's had a worm and flea treatment, but still itches. Now, it's not every 5 minutes, it's less frequent than a flea itch, but when he does get it, he literally drops to the ground and sinks his teeth in or digs the foot in, or sometimes both. He can be scratching the same spot for a minute or two before he's relieved.

Also, dunno if its worth noting that if Ive seen him, and scratch the spot hes been at, he pulls the face :rolleyes:

Rommie

To be honest, it really sounds like my housemate's dog. She ended up doing skin scrapes which didn't show up anything and it wasn't until she started her on a sensitive salmon only diet that the dog stopped scratching. Then she tried to put her on Royal Canin (chicken-based) and the dog started scratching again. The same kind of way, would just be walking along and suddenly started scratching mad, after a few weeks she was raw on her sides and underbelly.

Advocate is a spot-on treatment you can get from the vets, it kills fleas, ticks, mites, and even types of mange from what I can remember so might be worth trying a dose.

ShaShaBear

I'll see if I can scrape some money together and buy a bag of food for him then, just to be on the safe side! Can go to the vet and see about the advocate as well. Suppose if it isn't one or the other it's well worth a vet visit!

Rommie

How do you feel about feeding raw? Might be worth a try for a week to try and eleminate any potential problems with food?

ShaShaBear

I'd been looking into raw feeding but am in the midst of moving with the OH so finances are tight and he already has a large bag of the Star here. Obviously if its causing the problem I'll make sacrifices, but in the meantime...

KingIsabella

ShaShaBear wrote: »

He's on Red Mills Star this few months now (know it's not the best, but it's just till I get on my feet to get Nature's Best). But the itching is only recent.

Mine started itchin like mad after star too!! DogsFirst on here suggested a turkey mince, brown rice and fish oil diet for a few days and its helped alot!! She's still itching but nowhere near as much or as aggressively.

ABajaninCork

I bathe my boy's paws with Hibiscrub as he has a grass allergy. He gets very itchy sometimes (no known reason!) so I rub him over with a couple of drops of tea tea and lavender oil made into a weak solution with warm water, when he's bad. Seems to help.

ShaShaBear

You know, I think I may just go out and get some new food. It seems too far-fetched of a coincidence that so many people have itchy dogs after feeding them Star! :rolleyes: