[Penguin08]

Hey to all! I’m new here but am so happy to have finally found a forum to help with my pup!
I have a 1 1/2 year old pup, Jill. We rescued her when she was 2 months old from the shelter. From when we first adopted her, she had skin patches and diagnosed with a skin infection because of all her scratching.At about 8 months old, her itchiness got REALLY bad. She’s had so many tests done, and skin grafts multiple times (breaks my heart). She tests negative for mange, fleas, and anything else. The doctors give her antibiotics for a while with some anti-itch meds which work for as long as she’s taking them and then, right back to it. She eats FreshPet food, takes supplements for her skin, and we’ve bathed her with everything that’s been recommended.
I’m looking for ANY suggestions on what can help. Thank you in advance for the help!!

 

[dogslife]

Disclaimer: I am neither a doctor nor a veterinarian, just a well meaning amateur and no much more than that!

That said, once you have eliminated the usual suspects (fleas, mites, lice), maybe talk to the vet about a vitamin supplement. I know some vitamin deficiencies can be related to various skin disorders, some of which have similar symptoms to what you are describing.

This might be worth trying regardless of whatever else you have the dog on. My thinking is that if it doesn't help a vitamin supplement won't hurt the dog either.

Failing that, there could be an underlying medical issue like a poorly functioning kidneys. Has the vet done blood-work on your dog?

 

[Penguin08]

First, thank you so much for your reply!

Yes, she’s had blood work and everything comes back negative (thank goodness). They say she may have really bad allergies but there HAS TO be something to help relieve some of that itchiness. If anyone can advise any home remedies or foods they’ve seen actually work, I’ll take any advice.

 

[JoanneF]

When you say anti itch meds, are these antihistamines? If so, and they stop the itching while she takes them, that would suggest an allergy. Finding out what she is allergic to is a challenge though. For food, can you find a food with a unique and novel protein such as kangaroo (and no grain as that is also a common cause of intolerance), being something that she hasn't had before, and feed that for at least 6 weeks. If there is an improvement, you know it is something in the food.

But it could be something environmental, maybe even something you would find hard to avoid. So I would also wash off her paws and at least lower body with just water after every walk in case it is something she is contacting outside.

 

[Choclab]

Hi I’m not a vet but I do work at a pet store. From my experience it sounds like an allergy. Common allergies are chicken, beef, potatos, corn, wheat, and soy. I would try the novel protein kangaroo like the comment above.
Look into cold press organic coconut oil. You can place it on your pets skin and also orally (start small orally like 1/8 of a tsp).
It takes the body 2 weeks to 2 months so I would keep your dog on that novel limited ingredient food for two months unless you don’t notice a difference after 3-4 weeks.
Also, maybe look into Ultra oil: it has omega 3,6,9 really good for the skin and coat.