# Help. My dog has itchy skin



## chillipep (Sep 17, 2012)

Hello everyone, 
I was wondering if anyone can help me with a health issue with my dog. My dog, Riley 1yr 3months, is a collie x staffie x pattindale and has suffered with itchy skin since we got him when he was couple months old but it has never caused him much distress. Recently though he has been really suffering with it to the point that he is losing hair on his back just above his tail. Hes had treatment for fleas ticks and mites. Ive also treated the house for fleas. He constantly scratches him self and obviously that makes it worse, He has actually drew blood on him self when he scratched himself so much and i do try to stop him when he starts scratching but i cant monitor him all the time, like at nights. I took him to the vets when he first started getting bad and they told me it was fleas, but now i know it cant be that as everything has been treated and there is no visible signs of fleas on him. He also seems quite nervous recently and when i took him out and had to leave him for a couple mins while i dropped my son into school he started howling like mad which is very unlike him as he never usually barks. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be going on with him and if there is any homely remedies that could ease his itchy skin. Thanks


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

What are you feeding him and what products did you use to treat him and the house for fleas?


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## chillipep (Sep 17, 2012)

At the moment hes got dog biscuits that are from my local shop and hes got cat meat, felix, as im struggling to get him to eat dog meat, ive tried (a few times) slowly transitioning him to dog meat but he wouldnt eat it, tried different brands aswell :-/ Ive been told that a dog shouldnt have cat meat but he wont eat anything else, he's a fussy fella. The vet treated him with frontline i think and i gave him a bath with johnsons flea shampoo.


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

chillipep said:


> At the moment hes got dog biscuits that are from my local shop and hes got cat meat, felix, as im struggling to get him to eat dog meat, ive tried (a few times) slowly transitioning him to dog meat but he wouldnt eat it, tried different brands aswell :-/ Ive been told that a dog shouldnt have cat meat but he wont eat anything else, he's a fussy fella. The vet treated him with frontline i think and i gave him a bath with johnsons flea shampoo.


His food may well be causing, or at least not helping, the problems - own brand biscuits etc, and brands such as Bakers, Pedigree etc, are full of cereals which are well known to cause allergies in some dogs, and all the artificial colourings and additives only further irritate the skin.

I'd recommend trying him on a cereal free fish & potato based diet - Fish4Dogs, Orijen six fish, James Wellebeloved fish & veg, or Arden Grange Sensitive would be my recommendations - with no treats and titbits (and especially no cat food!) and see if that makes a difference. A potato/fish combo is generally quite soothing on the coat and digestion, and is normally very palatable to fussy dogs - although put the food down in the bowl, leave for fifteen minutes and if he doesn't eat it, then take it away again until the next meal time, and offer nothing but water inbetween - he'll soon learn he eats what you say, when you say! A salmon oil and vitamin E supplement, added to his meals, would be advisable too, as these help condition and protect the skin and coat.

Johnsons flea shampoo is useless I'm afraid, and Frontline is decreasing in effectiveness these days.

Firstly, put a flea collar in the dirt compartment/bag in your vacuum cleaner and then hoover your ENTIRE house - absolutely everywhere, even rooms the dog does not go in - don't forget all nooks and crannies, sofas and underneath them, the stairs, rugs, under beds, curtains, all soft furnishings and pay particular attention to around skirting boards, and wash then wash all hard floors with boiling water.

Wash all bedding (human and canine) as well as all soft toys, dog towels/blankets and collars in a hot wash.

Next, get yourself a good quality flea spray (not a pet shop brought one - one from your vet or online such as Acclaim, RIP fleas or Indorex) and spray EVERYWHERE - all carpets, hard floors, mats and rugs, soft furnishings, pet beds etc - again paying particular attention to around the skirting boards. Don't forget to hoover and spray your car too.

If you have tried Frontline this time round and that hasn't been effective ask your vet for a different brand such as Advocate or Advantage, and apply to your dog again (don't forget to treat any other animals in the house with suitable products too).

If you do all that, and continue hoovering your entire house daily for at least a week, you should get on top of the fleas, if any.

If, after making sure your house is absolutely flea free, and trailing your dog on a hypoallergenic fish/potato based diet for at least six weeks, there is still no improvement, then you'll need to go back to your vet for more investigation.

If your dog is itching to the point of making himself bleed then he sounds very uncomfortable, so you might want to have a look at the Dermacton range too, to help alleviate his discomfort whilst you tackling the problem. This comprises of a shampoo, spray lotion and cream, and is an all natural product to help soothe itchy irritated skin. Dermacton - Skin Relief for Dogs with Itchy Skin


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

chillipep said:


> Hello everyone,
> I was wondering if anyone can help me with a health issue with my dog. My dog, Riley 1yr 3months, is a collie x staffie x pattindale and has suffered with itchy skin since we got him when he was couple months old but it has never caused him much distress. Recently though he has been really suffering with it to the point that he is losing hair on his back just above his tail. Hes had treatment for fleas ticks and mites. Ive also treated the house for fleas. He constantly scratches him self and obviously that makes it worse, He has actually drew blood on him self when he scratched himself so much and i do try to stop him when he starts scratching but i cant monitor him all the time, like at nights. I took him to the vets when he first started getting bad and they told me it was fleas, but now i know it cant be that as everything has been treated and there is no visible signs of fleas on him. He also seems quite nervous recently and when i took him out and had to leave him for a couple mins while i dropped my son into school he started howling like mad which is very unlike him as he never usually barks. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be going on with him and if there is any homely remedies that could ease his itchy skin. Thanks


Lots of things can cause itchy skin, from allergies to fleas, food, environmental things like grasses and pollens and dust mites, skin mites, bacterial infections, fungal infections, yeast and bacterial ovegrowth on the skin and in the gut. So its hard to say, also what often starts as one problem causing it often leads to other things, from the sctratching and itching and traumatising the skin it then leaves them open to further infections like bacteria or fungal infections, so what starts as one thing can end up being caused by several things together.

Pups often suffer from demodectic mites that live in the hair follicles most dogs have a few present, but the immune system keeps the numbers down so you dont have any problems or symptoms, in pups though who have immature immune systems they can often run riot and then you get symptoms. With demodex mites you can get localised which means a few odd areas or generalised wider areas are affected.

With fleas you dont always see them, as they mostly get on the animal to feed, they spend most of their time in the environment and its where they also lay eggs, usually flea allergies are a reaction to the saliva when the flea bites.

It depends what products you used as well, Things like stronghold does fleas and sarcoptic mites but you usually have to do more then just one treatment and I believe it doesnt do demodex mites. Advocate on the other hand as well as fleas also does demodex and sarcoptic mites. Depends too what environmental products you used to kill fleas in the home some are not so efficient as others.

If there is fungal or bacterial infection either causing it or a secondary infection from the itching and scratching, then that requires anti-fungal treatments and anti biotics.

Certain foods can cause allergies as well resulting in itchy skin, so it may be worth looking at his diet, things like maize and wheat are known allergens and some dogs are effected by grains or cereals full stop as they can encourage things like yeast overgrowth.

Things that can help as well as looking at diet and making sre you have used effective flea and mite and household treatments are:-

Dermacton products, comes in the form of a shampoo bar that is anti bacterial and anti fungal and also comes in a spray form or cream that helps with itchy skin
Dermacton - Skin Relief for Dogs with Itchy Skin

Things that can help promote skin health and help with the itching are supplements. Yumega plus can be brought over the counter and helps with itchy sensitive skin in a lot of cases and general skin health
Itchy Dog? Treat Dog Skin Problems, & Conditions with YUMEGA Plus - Lintbells

Another you can buy is Bionic Biotic
Probiotic for Dogs | Dog digestion / skin + coat supplement | Pooch and Mutt

Both the above pets at home does.

There are also vet strength skin supplements that you can buy on line from vet pharmacies.
Efavet is one that can help with skin allergy dermatitis and other skin allergys
Efavet 330 Efavet 660 EFA Capsules - From £23.36

Viacutan Plus is another good one
Viacutan Plus Capsules 550mg EFA - From £9.58

Veterinary treatment wise for fleas sarcoptic and demodex mites plus other parasites is advocate
Advocate for Dogs - BayerAnimal - Product Detail

Or for sarcoptic and demodex mites there is aludex wash
Aludex 50 g/a concentrate for cutaneous solution - Product Data Sheet

Acclaim 2000 is usually an effective environmental spray for fleas and protects for up to a year
http://www.boots.com/en/Acclaim-2000-Flea-Spray-400ml_871086/

Obviously if there is bacterial infection either primary or secondary from the itching and scratching then he will require anti biotics from the vet.

For things like yeasts fungal infection there are prescription anti fungals from the vet.


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## Forza10usa (Sep 17, 2012)

Hi chillipep, sorry to hear about your pups distress :-( I noticed you didn't mention what you are feeding your puppy, which could be the underlying problem. This could be caused by toxins and chemicals in the food you're feeding him. A low intake of Omega3 will lead to the manifestation of itching and MANY more side effects. (you can read more about these here Intolerances & Inflammations | Forza10 usa) I suggest you switch to a holistic pet food diet. This will not only help improve skin condition but will improve your pups immune system in general, and you can avoid food residue syndrome and other allergies.

I hope this has helped you to understand what food can really do to a pet and most people don't realize it! Keep us updated!


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## Juecat (May 21, 2013)

Have the vet treated him with Advocate?? My rescue dog has been treated with it and the rescue have told me that 80% of their dogs have had this reaction.
Regards
Julie xxx


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