Itchy Doodle

[AliandShooter]

Anyone else experience an itchy doodle before? We haven’t changed his food or done anything different the weather has been warm except a little bit more rainy. He’s 5 months old and started itching it started with his ears so I cleaned them out and that seemed to fix that but now he’s licking his paws scratching his shoulders bitting his legs and close to his tail. I know it’s not fleas as he’s on trifexis and I’ve looked at his skin and see nothing. But I do notice when he scratches sometimes some hair comes it and he’ll whine. When we go outside he scratched his face on the wet grass or trampoline. I bathed him and figured maybe because this is the longest he’s gone without a bath (over a month). 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Since it seems that most people are using smart phones online and for some reason have difficulty opening links, lol, here is some of the info from the link I posted all spelled out: 

For temporary relief of inhalant allergies, here are some things that you can do:

Give Omega 3 fatty acid supplements. You want the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA & EPA, which are only found in fish. You can also give GLA in the form of evening primrose oil supplements. In both cases, use human softgel supplements. 

If you feed dry dog food, check the Omega 6:3 ratio. You want a ratio of 5:1 or less, the lower the better, and the Omega 3 content should come from fish.

Give antihistamines. Different antihistamines are more effective for different dogs. Typically, you want second generation antihistamines that do not cause drowsiness, like Claritin, Zyrtec, Atarax, etc. rather than Benadryl.

Use OTC anti-itch sprays on the affected areas. These are available at most pet supply stores.

Wipe the dog down every time he comes in from outside, paying particular attention to the feet. Brush the dog daily.

Keep the indoor areas where the dog spends the most time as clean and dust free as possible. Wash bedding weekly, wash food & water bowls daily. Vacuum as often as possible.

Keep dry foods in air-tight storage containers and don't buy more than you can use in a month unless you can freeze it. Discard the bags the food came in and use ziplock freezer bags. 

If the feet are affected, you can soak them in tepid water with epsom salts. Be sure to dry thoroughly afterwards.

Bathe the dog often, weekly if possible, with a shampoo formulated for allergic dogs. (I like Douxo Calm). Do NOT use leave-in conditioners or other grooming products. Use a cool dryer setting or air-dry. 

As much as I hate doing it, keeping windows closed really helps with pollen allergies. Run the A/C in warm weather especially, the allergy symptoms are exacerbated by humidity. Use a furnace filter with a high allergen rating and change it monthly. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/some-basic-facts-about?gro...

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

If your doodle's allergies get really bad (Luna's worsened a lot when she was 2-3 years old) then the vet may recommend something stronger than over-the-counter allergy meds.

If that is the case then I'd recommend asking about Apoquel instead of the more "traditional" treatment of a prednisone-based medication.  It's a relatively new drug and is an itch blocker/anti-inflammatory instead of a steroid.  It has a lot less side effects and (for us, anyway) seems to work just as well.

I don't think all vets offer it, but it's worth looking into.  Can't be given to puppies though so you'd have to wait until next Spring at least.  It is definitely more expensive, though not outrageously so, but if cost is a concern to you then steroid med side effects are definitely liveable if slightly annoying.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I use Allegra (fexofenadine)  on my dogs. Luca weighs about what your pup does and he does fin on it. Calla gets it for a few weeks in the fall. 

[AliandShooter]

Just a quick update I have found the culprit to his itchiness it’s due to this plant I’ll attaché a picture it stick to his skin so if I brush them out he doesn’t scratch too much but I’ve missed a few on his foot near his nail that he’s been licking and it seems to be bleeding now

[AliandShooter]

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ali, please talk to your vet. I'm not sure but that looks like it might be a foxtail, and foxtails can burrow into the body, especially the feet and the head,  and cause some real damage to dogs, sometimes even requiring surgery. There's a good chance there's one embedded deep in his toe or foot. 
http://www.dogscatspets.org/dogs/foxtails-in-dogs/foxtails-dogs-sym...

[AliandShooter]

Yes I just googled it and I had no clue they were dangerous like that! Looks like Shooter won’t be allowed in the backyard till it’s fixed and I will have to go through his skin. We just noticed the plant as we’ve never seen it and they do stick it! My poor baby 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If a foxtail gets deep enough (and they do), you won;t be able to see it. I would have the vet take a look at that foot he's licking. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One of our members' doodle had to have surgery to remove foxtails, and even with that, there were foxtails missed, and they had to go back in. Here are some blogs about it. Please take him to the vet, this can really be serious.
http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/gracie-doodle-goes-back-for
http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/gracie-doodle-is-in-surgery

[AliandShooter]

Karen you were right it is foxtails. Our whole yard is covered in them and we have a pretty good size yard. I don't ever remember seeing them in the past couple of years that we lived there, but I guess because its never affected us. Shooter has his appointment this Friday morning as he has 3 areas in between his toes that seem to be affected by them. I'm looking at around 200-400. I never realized this could be such a big problem I just thought it was grass till I realized they were sticking to his skin and I had to take them out. It's one thing after another we've been using the front yard to go potty now, but my neighbor has 5 German Shepherds  and one of them got out (because his fence is all kinds of broken) and came launching right at Shooter luckily she didn't bite him she grabbed him, but didn't do any damage. Wish us luck.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really hope that there aren't any that have gone deep into his skin, because that will require surgery. Good luck, please let us know how the vet appt goes. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, be sure to tell the vet about all the areas you mentioned in your original post, including his shoulders, legs and tail.