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Dog scratching and licking himself bald/bleeding

17K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Ilovedogs2 
#1 ·
Our 8yr old dog(28lbs)is constantly licking and scratching himself raw. It started when we moved to a new house (July 2010), after 2 months it started with just his feet, vet did a scraping and said there were allot of pollen spores, neg for mange, we gave him diphenhydramine once a day (25mg) not much change. That winter Nov - Apr he was fine, end of APR it was his feet, forearms and fronts of both thighs and hair loss around his eyes. Vet upped the dose to 3x a day it did little to help also bought a special shampoo no change. This winter (mild) he had maybe 2 months of relief now his feet, forearms and thighs are almost bald and the area between his front legs and chest is red and almost black (it is not a scab) from his constant scratching and has a musk/oily smell. I just noticed hair loss his eyes and the back of his front legs are cut from scratching his belly. This is likely environmental, we have 3 other dogs so wiping them down everytime they go out is not practical. The yard is sod and grass that browns out during the winter, and is relatively new 2010, I have also treated for weeds and crabgrass. I am just trying to get him some relief, we will be moving in the next year and can only hope things will change. We live about one mile from our previous home of 1.5 yrs so not a big environmental change. Not sure if this is important but he has a droopy left ear and it would stay moist and every so often it would bother him itching, turn red , smell, and have brown gunk in it that we would clean and add drops. This has only happended once since moving here but was 2-3 times a year in the past. What about Hydrocourtizone for his chest it is not an area he can lick. Any suggestions to give him some relief would be helpful.
 
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#2 ·
Have you changed his food? It could possibly be a food allergy. I assume your vet is already treating him for enviromental allergies, right?
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#3 ·
Have you changed his food? It could possibly be a food allergy. I assume your vet is already treating him for enviromental allergies, right?
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I apoligize I had this all in my first question but when I went to post it stated I was not logged in and I had to start over, and by then it was late. Yes, he had been on Iams for the first 6yrs or so, but after we moved and this started we changed to another brand (don't remember the name, none of the dogs liked it) and now for the last year they are eating science diet. The vet recomended 25mg of diphenhydramine 1/day the first year. Then last year it was upped to 3/day with minimal relief and at the end of the year antifungal/microbial shampoo. He just broke out in the last 2 weeks or so and have just started using the shampoo. We have a great vet but I get the impression it is kind of hit or miss when it comes to dogs with allergies. Thanks for the reply.
 
#5 ·
By meat do you mean adding meat or selecting a flavor they have not had. I looked a bluebuffalo before and 2 vets did not recomend it, nor did they recommend any other. How can his food cause problems only during the summer, and not year round? I'm all for giving it a try, any sugestions for getting him some relief right away for his itching? Thanks for the reply
 
#9 ·
By meat do you mean adding meat or selecting a flavor they have not had. I looked a bluebuffalo before and 2 vets did not recommend it, nor did they recommend any other. How can his food cause problems only during the summer, and not year round? I'm all for giving it a try, any suggestions for getting him some relief right away for his itching? Thanks for the reply
You need a meat that the dog has not ever eaten and that is hard because some foods have 3 or four meat sources in one food. Check the label and make sure that the meat and the fat are the same or it's OK if the fat is say canola oil.
The vets recommend what the dog food companies tell them to so I would not go by that unless they have nutrition training. I adopted a Rottie that had been diagnosed by a vet with allergies to about 5 different things. She was 7 years old when I adopted her. I changed the meat in her food from lamb to chicken and with in a few weeks she had no more scratching or skin problems. She lived 4 more years and never had any allergy symptoms. I thought it odd that the vet would not have recommended a food change some where in that 7 years he treated her. That is just my opinion. I would start there what do you have to loose?
 
#6 ·
You said you trreated your lawn. It is possible that your dog is reacting to these chemicals, since it is better during the winter (lawn is snow covered? Dogs are less outside?).

I would make sure the nails are short and smooth to minimize damage from scratching. Cool cloths could help calm those nerves under the skin. The feeling of itchiness is actually the lowest level of pain.

My first thought to help with the itchy skin was to give oatmeal baths, but you may want to call your vet about that first since this is more a treatment for humans with problem skin.

I hope you get to the bottom of this soon, it must be awful for your dog being so uncomfortable all the time! In the meantime, do you have family or friends who could take your dog for a while, it could help rule out if it is related to the lawn treatment, provided their lawn is not treated?
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the reply, no the lawn was treated after this started, and it was last done 8-9 months ago. If it was my house I would rip it up and start over, but that wound not do much good here due to all the weeds in the areas outside the houses. His nails are trimmed and the vet said to keep baths to 2/week and we are using the antifungal/microbial shampoo. Unfortunatly we do not have anyone we can leave him with. He was a physically abused dog and not trusting of others, he has never snapped at anyone (but me) but he puts on a good show that is very intimidating, but I could never be sure. Only dog I have seen that growls the same when he is happy and mad.
 
#8 ·
Given the fact that he had two months of relief over the winter, it's probably not the food. With food allergies, there should be no periods of relief. That being said, doing a food trial would be an easy thing to do if you wanted to try that.

Sounds like an environmental allergy and it's time to change anti-histamines. At this point, he sounds like he's in need of a steroid to help quell the itch before the anti-histamines take effect. This sounds so severe that you should probably look into a Veterinary Dermatologist at this point to do some intradermal allergy testing: https://www.acvd.org/locator/locator.asp
 
#10 · (Edited)
Holly Thanks for the reply,I'm going to try a different food again probably bluebuffalo, I agree its probably something in the area, but mayby the change will boost his system. What other anti-histamines are there is it something we can pickup for him or something we need to get from the vet? I picked up some pet hydrocortizone for him and will also try some hot spot treatment Just for some relief. The link did not work for me and when I googled it none of those links worked, so I will try a different computer a little later. Thanks again.
 
#11 ·
Dawnben Thanks for the reply, we are going to try a new food, I don't think it is the issue because it is not year round, but maybe it will give him a boost. We moved back to the states in June of 08 and Max never had any problems until we moved to a new house July 10 and only during summer/warm months..
 
#12 ·
You can google "Board Certified Veterinary Dermatologist".

There are other over the counter anti-histamines he can take, but it is probably best to consult your vet about them anyway since only he/she really knows your pup's background and medical history.

And, like I said, if he's scratching himself raw he may need steroids in the meantime (orally). Topicals can be iffy because of the chances of them licking/rubbing it off and it getting messy.

No harm in trying the food change but be very strict about it. No table scraps, no treats etc. Only give the dog food or, if you absolutely neeeeeed to give treats, treats with the same protein source as whatever food you try.
 
#13 ·
Hello everyone its been a while since I posted an update, we have gone thru alot of testing trying to help our dog. After posting last we took him back to the vet, and had blood sent off to to be tested, we also placed him on Atopica once a day, and changed him to claritin. The Atopica had a fast effect but he was still itching, a few days later he developed a hematoma on his ear. we took him back to the vet and they did not feel he would need surgery. A week later he developed a second hematoma that covered the rest of his ear. The vet commented that he did look alot better (skin) when we picked him up from surgery, we got the results of the blood tests, nothing not the slighest bit of reaction to anything we started giving him the claritin at night to help with thru the night. When we got home I had one of those AH HA moments we have had a bird feeder in the yard, and last year we feed year round, I went to get it to place the remaining food in it, and realized bird mites. It fits they would be inactive in the cold months, and they do bite other animals. we removed the feeder and he is doing great, we will start weaning him from the Atopica and see how he does. He is now back to his old self and wants to play all the time. I just wanted to share this incase anyone else ever had this hair puller. Thanks to everyone who responded, I will post if we determine what it is for sure.
 
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