Help! My dog is scratching like crazy! Open skin!

[dressage_tb_gal]

Hi there! I'm a new member to dog grooming supplies. I've been a member of horse grooming supplies and just love it - So I bet this is just as wonderful!

I have two dogs, a 10 year old Rott/Pit and a 5 year old Black Lab. My Black lab is continually scratching, licking and chewing his paws. The vet said that he has allergies and to give him Bendryl. I've checked him for fleas and he doesn't have them. I've given him the Bendryl and it helps but it does not obviously 'cure' him. His back is losing hair and you can see spots of dry, flaky, red and broken skin.

Also I've tried giving him different baths too, with Oatmeal, etc. And I've put him on sensitive skin food..

I've recently moved to the Beach, could this have something to do with it? What do I do!?!

Thanks in advance!
Carolyn

[FairyDogMother]

I had a lab mix years ago that went through the same type of thing. Finally a vet told me Lab's often have allergies to wheat/wheat flour and to check her dog food (no other apparent problems existed). Her food did have wheat, switched it and she healed without another problem of that sort the rest of her life. I applied bag balm to help with the healing as well. Hopefully your ailment is as simple of a fix. Good luck.

[bernicesmama]

what kind of dog food do you feed? my dog does this when fed anything with corn in it.

[dressage_tb_gal]

It's Science Diet. He's been on it since I first got him, 5 years ago. Now he is on their - sensitive skin formula, which doesn't seem to have changed anything.

Thanks guys for your help so far! Keep it coming, I hate seeing him like this..

[bernicesmama]

I would try changing his food to something without any corn or other additives in it. also, how often is he bathed? what kind of shampoo do you use?

[WestieLove]

I have a Westie with terrible allergies, so I know how frustrating it can be.

Seeing as he has been on the same food since you got him, I wouldn't think it was a food allergy.

Benadryl only works in about 30% of dogs-maybe you could try Tavist (clemastine)? You would have to call your vet to get the correct dosage. Benadryl didn't work for Tucker but Tavist seemed to help some.

It sounds like he probably has an infection from all the licking/scratching so I would recommend taking him to his veterinarian and getting some antibiotics. Prednisone (a steriod) is very effective at controlling the itching but has negative side effects, especially when used long term. We have tried everything for Tucker- Benadryl, clemastine, depo-medrol (a steriod like prednisone), Atopica-and the only thing that gives him enough relief from itching is Prednisone. He has been on Pred for the last two years so we have to do a hepatic panel every 6 months to make sure his liver and kidneys are still functioning properly.

If you have the money, I strongly recommend getting the blood allergy panel done on him. It tells you what they are allergic to and how allergic they are. There is an environmental allergen panel and also a food allergen panel. This is a great place to start because once you find out what he is allergic to, you can try and eliminate the problem(s). And if he is allergic in high enough quantities (they have a scale to determine this) you can do immunotherapy injections. Intradermal skin testing, also expensive, is another type of allergy testing which will tell you what he is allergic to. With both of these tests, you have to make sure they are off of certain medications (steriods, antihistamines, etc) for a certain period of time before testing otherwise the results will not be accurate. Tucker had the blood allergy panel done twice, and we have found that he is allergic to many things in the environment, but not enough so that we could do immunotherapy with him. He also had an intradermal skin test done and he only tested positive to the control But with most dogs they get better results. Tucker is just special

I also suggest having some skin scrapings done to see if he has mites.

I'm sorry your boy is itchy. Allergies are no fun! I hope this helps.

Here is a good page with an allergy overview.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...S=0&C=0&A=1699

This page is about itch relief.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...&S=0&C=0&A=599

And this page is about canine atopic dermatitis, which is what Tucker has.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...S=0&C=0&A=1535

[whimzikal]

Wow Westielove has GREAT info & advise!

My dogs don't do well with ANY wheat or corn in thier diet. If they have either my littest guy will start to chew his feet and legs. Good luck, I hope your dog gets some releif quickly.

[dogcraz_ee]

Most dogs allergeries are do to the food, but also what you might be cleaning with on your floors can trigger itching. Such as carpets and chemicals in steamers, doing kitchens n bathrooms with cleaners in the bucket, the dog walks or lays and starts to itch. The more they itch the worse it seems to get. Try some apple cidar vinegar in a bottle half water, half apple cider, spray the feet and where else it is scratching daily and it should subside. Vinegar is great for the skin, coats, and a good tonic of one tbsp daily.

[Dax]

It might not be allergies. I remember Babyelephant's lab also getting a skin problem shortly after her first swim in the ocean.

Send her a pm, and I'm sure she'll be glad to fill you in on all the tests, etc.

[WestieLove]

I did a search for "allergy" and found this post by Moo that I like.

http://www.prodoggroomingsupplies.co...hlight=allergy