The itching. Make it stop!

[NorthfieldNick]

Hoot, my slightly neurotic, bananas crazy, almost 4-yr-old has, for the first time, developed what appear to be allergies. He's been itching like crazy, he's licked patches on his hind feet & front legs nearly bald. His ears have been filthy, and both ears & feet smell very yeasty. I've been cleaning his ears & feet with a solution we have for the old Lab who gets infected ears every year (it's labeled for skin & ears; vet okay'ed use on Hoot).

 

He's been on fish oil for years, and I started him on coconut oil recently. I tried giving him benadryl, and it made it him more tweaky & reactive than normal.

 

On the list for toady is a bath with medicated shampoo.

 

It's haying season here, and the grass is very tall with seed heads everywhere. Keeping Hoot out of the grass isn't really possible- he's a working dog, and we move sheep almost every day.

 

To compound things, It's July 4th, and Hoot's reaction to the fireworks seems to be to stress lick.

 

After this week, I'm taking him back to the vet, but in the meantime, does anyone have any solutions/ideas/magic fixes?

 

This has been the solution thus far, but it only works when I'm awake & can keep him from tearing the socks off. (Really. He waits until we're asleep to pull the socks off, and leaves them neatly next to his bed.)

 

[MrSnappy]

Well, as Hoot's brother Dexter deals with this all the time, I don't have any real advice for you, except to stop the fish oil as its loaded with histamines and makes allergies worse. I have tried a bunch of allergy meds that don't work very well - the coconut oil helps but does not resolve it completely. The Vet's Best product line does a good job at taking the itchies away, but does not deal with the root of the problem. I have heard good things about a product called Nzymes so that's what we are going to try next. I'm willing to try anything before we resort to pred.

 

RDM

[NorthfieldNick]

Never knew that about fish oil. I started Hoot on it for dry skin, but I suppose the coconut oil should help with that. I'm also trying to avoid prednisone.

[rushdoggie]

Ask you vet, but my dog with severe hayfever and red feet did not get better on several prescribed anti histamines but did find relief with Claratin. My vet had not heard of it used in dogs, and when I brought him the info he was dubious, but it worked great for her and the generic is super cheap.

 

I have an autoimmune issue that gives me chronic hives and Claratin works very well to stop my itch as well.

[Gideon's girl]

If he is smelling yeasty then cutting carbs out of the diet helps, they can feed the yeast. Giving probiotics helps, they need some of the nutrition that yeast uses, so they compete for the same resources. Give digestive enzymes, yeast overgrowth in the gut can cause a situation that increases the likelihood that food intolerances will occur, enzymes help the body use everything in the food that could add to the problem. Give 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for every cup of food. Bathe with essential oil shampoos and avoid oatmeal shampoos that may feed the yeast. After the bath, reacidify your dogs skin and ears with 1 cup of apple cider vinegar in a gallon of water, pour it over the dog and wipe out the ears, don't rinse.

[Maralynn]

Any particular shampoos for yeasty skin?

 

Kenzi is also having issues with it this year.

[Gideon's girl]

Just essential oils. I prefer tea tree, mint, lemongrass, because they are all cooling or calming, but if you have a healthfood store, they should be able to direct you to what they have that is cooling or calming. You can also use these shampoos in the ears, just rinse carefully.

[Beach BCs]

My Tex gets the itchies in the spring typically. But because we had such a peculiar winter, spring and summer, he'd been suffering more than usual. I cut out fish oil, gave him Claritin on occasion and anywhere he had spots that he'd lick excessively, I would cut open a piece of aloe and wipe it on him. It would help soothe the area and it also tastes horrible. Obviously, I had made sure that fleas were not the issue.

 

Best wishes!

[sjones]

Last year was super dry for us and my dogs all started getting itchy, but Belle was the worst. She had raw elbows, feet, stomach and tail, plus she smelled bad. Took her to the vet, they said it could be a number of things, but most likely allergies due to the long dry months we had. They sent me home with a lime sulfur dip to use, once a week until things started clearing up. It did help along with Benedril and Belle wearing the cone of shame for quite some time. Even though it helped, I have to say if you would use it prepare yourself for the smell of rotten eggs ten times over. The brand I used was Lime Plus Dip.

 

Good luck

[Jumpin Boots]

If it is in fact yeast your vet may suggest using an ear wash and/or shampoo with ketoconazole, which fights yeast specifically and may rx it orally too. It has been a great help to our retriever mix who tends to be yeasty.

[urge to herd]

_{Just essential oils. I prefer tea tree, mint, lemongrass, because they are all cooling or calming, but if you have a healthfood store, they should be able to direct you to what they have that is cooling or calming. You can also use these shampoos in the ears, just rinse carefully.}

 

Gideon's Girl, I know you are talking about shampoos with these ingredients, but just wanted to mention that straight tea tree oil is dangerous if ingested. It also stings like a b***ard if applied to raw skin or open wounds. In shampoo form, it's great, but I wouldn't even try to mix it for myself.

 

To those suffering with the itchies, you have my sympathies. It can be an endless fight, and no one thing seems to work for every dog.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs, who is blessedly not an itchie boy.

[Gideon's girl]

Good point, my current tea tree shampoo is an aloe base with a foaming agent and a little tea tree, it is definitely something that a little goes a long way.

[nancy in AZ]

<script src="http://local.ptron/WindowOpen.js"></script>

 

Any particular shampoos for yeasty skin?

 

Kenzi is also having issues with it this year.

Nizoral. You can get it without a prescription at just about any drug store.

[scout]

Hi, I went through the same thing with Rebel. We found that he is allergic to fleas. If one so much as gets on him, his skin turns red and he itches, gets scabs, etc. Course, there are other things we do for him as well. After talking to the vet, we give him one flea pill a month (Comfortis). The spray stuff and even the frontline does not work. Plus, we had to change his food. We only give him lamb and rice. We don't give him any of the dog food snacks either unless it is an organic kind. I have found that during the change of the seasons his allergies get the best of him.

 

Here is what we did....When allergy season starts and he starts itching alot we give him benadryl every day (vet suggested). Then when his skin got really bad the vet had to give us an antibiotic. Rebel was really bad like your dog. Once we started him on the Comfortis, changed his food, and once the vet gave him the antibotics things started easing up. Now I give him a flea pill once a month, he eats only lamb/rice and we have not had a problem sense.

 

The main thing is with the patches of skin he has chewed or itched off. He needs to be on an antibiotic. This can cause an infection. Hope this helps.

[Syncrope]

Anyone have the dosage amount for the Claritin? Thanks.

[rushdoggie]

http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/25/claritin-for-dogs/

[Syncrope]

http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/25/claritin-for-dogs/

Much appreciated!

[bcnewe2]

We have been itching like mad. I can almost say I'm happy I found a flea. Now I can treat for fleas and end their suffering. I have been looking for signs of fleas for months. I hope this ends or itchyness!

[Sue R]

Just one more idea, which is probably not relevent to these cases but...Celt has had periodic itchiness for years. It was on-again, off-again, but not occuring consistently in any one season, so I couldn't say it was a "fall allergy" or "spring allergy" thing. And then I got some laundry detergent without dyes or perfumes (which DH does not like as he likes the "mountain fresh" or whatever it's called scent of clean clothes). I have to say that Celt has not had an itchy episode since. The dogs have dog beds for night and mats in their crates in cooler weather, plus a couch cover, all of which I launder.

 

Cause and effect? Coupled with something seasonal that by itself may not be a problem? Don't know but Ed says that if using this detergent (and neither of us like the lack of "fresh-washed" scent in our otherwise clean clothes) might be making Celt more comfortable, go ahead and use it. Which is a good thing because that's what I'm going to do, at least as long as I think it makes a difference.

 

Now, to get rid of these old, old, nasty carpets and the enormous amounts of dust, bacteria, mold, spores, etc., they harbor...

[NorthfieldNick]

Thanks, everyone.

 

We basically don't have fleas here. No ticks, either. (Or skunks, or possums. Living on an island has a few perks). I don't know anyone locally who treats for fleas; even our barn cats never seem to pick them up.

 

Sue, we already use no-dye, no-perfume detergent. We're on a touchy septic system...

 

Hoot seems to be doing a bit better after a bath. I have some medicated shampoo around somewhere, which I think probably has the ketoconazole in it- it was prescribed for our old Lab who grows more yeast than a bread factory.

[Sue R]

Ben - You're a baker. Are you maybe introducing (and re-introducing) yeast into Hoot's environment? I realize yeast is present anyway but I've read somewhere that folks with sensitivity to yeast or vulnerability to yeast can improve their chances of avoiding issues by avoiding working with yeast. Just a thought. I hate the itchies.

[MrSnappy]

I forgot to mention that spraying his itchy spots down with Vetericyn helps sometimes too, especially if he has been licking a lot. Claratin (and Aerius, and Benadryl, and Reactine) have not touched his itchies

 

For Dex I know it is seasonal, and something that is outside, as he only gets it Spring through Autumn. In the Winter he is unbothered.

 

RDM

[Tommy Coyote]

Could it be mites? Those things are so contagious and dogs can pick them up at groomers and vet's offices and dog parks - just about anywhere they have been exposed to other dogs. And they can be hard to diagnose because they can be hard to find. And it's so easy now to treat. And so itchy.

[border_collie_crazy]

I know how you feel. I have been avoiding pred with my Baby dog for 6 years now! however nothing is working anymore, I kept trying different combos and hoping and tried Claritin as a last ditch effort..that had exactly no effect at all. my fav. solution by far however has been Derma-strength tablets, they worked for 2 full seasons..longer then anything else I have ever tried.

[juliepoudrier]

Just a note of caution for anyone who might want to use essential oils and mix stuff up themselves: if you have cats be aware that many essential oils are toxic to them.

 

J.