Scratching and Food Allergies?

[Esther and Joey]

Joey is a month away from 2. She has been on Acana since we got her as a pup. She's never been a licker or a scratcher but in the past 4 weeks she's been scratching heavily. So much so that we can feel scabs on her neck. She doesn't scratch her face so much but she does bite her foot and scratches her ribs/side. On her tummy, there are no scabs nor rashes visible. She's also constantly licking herself now, which she never did before.

This morning was our 2nd trip to the vet to figure out what was going on. He said it could be scabies mites or food allergies. He's treating her for mites just in case but I really don't think it's it cause I've combed her for fleas and other parasites. So then he thinks it's good and tried to peddle us some hypoallergenic food that they sell. Do you all have recommendations on how to go about determining food allergy?

I also wonder if perhaps it's the sea water. We moved to SF from NYC about 5 months ago. For the past 3 months, Joey goes to the beach every day for an hour with her dog walker. Sometimes she goes in the ocean, sometimes she doesn't. As of this week, we've also cancelled her doggy playgroups to the beach/park thinking that it might be environmental. 

Anyone with similar issues?

Thank you

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, there may always be something in bloom, but that doesn't mean anyone is allergic to all of it, lol. JD is allergic to maple pollen, but not any other tree pollen. He's allergic to fescue but not rye grass. So I don;t see what the fact that there is always something in bloom has to do with the fact that Joey might be allergic to some of it. Allergy symptoms usually show up between 1 and 3, so Joey is right on target to first be showing signs. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

An article I wrote on Basic Information about Allergies in Dogs: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[Esther and Joey]

thank you karen, this post was super helpful.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Esther, I keep thinking about Joey and something doesn't make sense to me. You said that if the shot causes the itching to stop within 48 hours, that means it was mites, and if not the vet will do a scraping to test for mites? Why would you not test first before injecting a drug? Is it possible that he said that if the shot helped, it was NOT mites? And if it didn't help, then he would check for mites? That would make more sense, but it still bothers me, especially if it was a steroid shot. You never want to give steroids unless it's absolutely necessary. A scraping is painless and has no side effects, so wouldn't it make more sense to rule out mites with a scraping before giving drugs?

 

[Donna K & Quincy]

Karen, just a thought but maybe it was an antihistamine and not a steroid but it would be helpful to know.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And an antihistamine wouldn't get rid of mites or stop the itching from them. 

[Donna K & Quincy]

It would make sense if it was to stop the itching not related to mites and Esther had what he said about the shot reversed.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think it may well stop the itching from scabies just as they do with many other things. Obviously getting rid of mites is paramount if they are there but this would be a way to help with the itching.

[Esther and Joey]

the other thing i should note is that when i inspect the skin where she is scratching, i see no red spots. i've checked her all over and i don't see any flares or hot spots....

[Esther and Joey]

The shot that Joey got is called: Ivermectin

The vet said that we'd need to do 10 different skin scrapings to determine what kind of mites she has and that even then, it might come up inconclusive. Before he did that, he thought we should give her this shot to see if her itching was from scabies (I guess which is the most common around here).

And yes you are correct, if the shot helped, then it was NOT mites, but rather scabies? I suppose I'm confused at this point between scabies and just other mites. I thought scabies were mites...

Regardless...we went out for dinner last night and came home to clumps of hair that Joey's managed to scratch off. I noticed her itchy and scratching but it seems to have gotten multiple times worse in the past 2 weeks.

And thank you for the note on shots with steroids, I will be more vigilant next time.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Scabies is caused by mites and Ivermectin will generally kill most mites as well as roundworms and lice : )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If this was my dog, I would get a consultation with a veterinary dermatologist.