Dogs extremely itchy

[Cori Braun]

Hi there,

I am trying to decipher what is going on with my doodles. Both of them are extremely itchy and scratching, and biting often. We just switched their dog food and buy-in less to store in air-tight containers. Otis has been itchy since we picked him up in August and Bodhi is just starting again to itch a lot! He was taking vanectyl-P but with the Addison's disease diagnosis we needed to take him off to do the test. He was doing well and now back to itchy!!

I swear that it is something in our back yard that they get into so is there a site that would be recommended to see what outside plants cause allergies in dogs?

I am going to get the OTC itch spray and try the evening primrose oil. Hope that it works. I feel bad for these poor fellas! 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Seems strange they are both itching.  It has been a extremely mild year in most areas- is it possible they could have fleas or mites?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. It would be extremely unusual for them both to not only have allergies, but allergies to the same things. And the puppy is really too young to have any kind of allergy. 

[Cori Braun]

I thought so too but just thought I had bad luck..so do you think maybe mites? Body's ears have never looked better so there is that improvement since switching food!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Cori, any type of plant can cause an allergic reaction in any individual dog. Allergies are very specific to the individual, and the only way to know is to have skin scratch testing done by a veterinary dermatology specialist. But it's the pollen from the plants that causes the symptoms, and I would be very surprised if anything is pollinating at this this time of year. Allergy symptoms are caused by protein molecules from the allergens entering the blood stream thru inhalation or ingestion. 

I don't think you are dealing with allergies.For one thing, the pup is too young.  think Linda's suggestion of mites is a possibility. Your vet would have to do a scraping to diagnosis that. But honestly, given Bodhi's health issues, I personally would find a dermatology specialist and make an appt for a consultation. Vanectyl-P was never the right way to treat itching or suspected allergies to begin with, let alone the MMM. Very few GP vets are well versed in either the diagnosing or the treatment of immune mediated diseases in dogs, and both allergies and MMM are immune mediated diseases. He should be seeing a specialist.  Hormonal diseases like Addison's in themselves can also cause itchiness. But since both dogs are affected, probably not.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but here's some info: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

How's your humidity level? If the air is very dry it could be affecting them. 

[Doris]

Bodi was itchy and it was ONE flea. Yes, the vet says I have thousands of eggs, but NO - it was just ONE FLEA. Now he is fine. . .

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Our Bella came to us as an itchy pup at 10 weeks.  I have tried everything possible and found that frequent bathing helps. I started doing her more frequently from the beginning as she is white and goes from pure white to 50 shades of grey within a week or two. So since she looks like a dust mop, I figured there must be irritants on her by the look of her. The Duoxo shampoo is very helpful as is the Tropiclean Oatmeal and I alternate between the two as the Duoxo is a bit expensive. 

Murphy has always been the average dog when it comes to itchy but I do use the Tropiclean on him as well. I like how it cleans. They get fish oil and / or EPO , food container washed monthly before each new fill up, paws wiped about 5 times a day, brushed at least every other day.  Good luck, I've never been able to eliminate Bella's scratching, but have decreased it considerably with all this.