Help needed - itchy dogs

[nagblagger]

Long one, sorry.
We have 2 dogs, border collie and beagle x lab, about a year ago they started scratching on their back and base of tail making it sore and bald, house and dogs deflead with no effect, dogs bathed, different flea stuff used (spot on and spray). No evidence of fleas or mites. We then went to Ireland itching stopped, thought ? food related or the wormer given pre travel. Kept on same food when we returned and started scratching again, wormed again with no effect. Went to Ireland again last month scratching stopped, we have been back 2/52 and started scratching again. Thinking down the allergy / irritant route - we use the same washing powder for the dog beds and cleaning stuff for the houses, changed the rubber flooring in my 4x4 in case that was an irritant, have used an allergy medicine in the past, just made them drowsy with minimal effect Could there be something in the fields they run in in England? If it was fleas, mites, mange why does it stop in Ireland with no treatment. We are at a loss, the collie suffers more than the beagle x lab.
Ideas please.... Thank you in anticipation.

 

[twiggy2]

What does your vet say?
What products have you used?
Do you treat the house and hoover repeatedly etc?
Do you change the dogs food in Ireland?

 

[nagblagger]

Dog food got changed once in ireland so we continued it in England started scratching, vet thinks allergy, frontline, acclaim and others including medicated shampoo, yes treat everything house hoover etc

 

[twiggy2]

It would seem very odd that both dogs would have the same allergy come up at the same time.
I would think fleas or mites or similar

 

[Aru]

Base of the tail and back is often flea bites causing a allergic reaction. Keep treating the house and use one of the -laner family drugs- nexgard etc. I'd be worried the house or garden could be the issue.
Use a flea comb a few times a day to check for passengers. If they are treated the adults will be dying because you have a frontline on....but may have bitten enough to set off the reaction if the dogs are sensitive. Check for any flea dirt as well.
Might seem obvious as well but if you also have a cat make sure it's treated as well as the dogs.

It's an odd site to be affected by most allergies. But check to see what else they could be coming into contact with on their backs. Trees? Under couches etc?
When both dogs are affected it's more likely to be parasitic or infectious and directly related to your environment in England.

 

[nagblagger]

Thank you..yes house regularly treated, including furniture, as with flea comb - no unwanted guests seen, no flea dirt..i'm a bit paranoid! The fields in UK have had sheep and horses in them, but empty when we dogwalk, dogs do roll in them..
Vet cannot see evidence of fleas.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Do you use anything like Shake'n'vac inyour house? What do you wash the dog bedding in? Do you use air fresheners of any kind?

 

[nagblagger]

No to air fresheners or shake and vac, we wash the dog beds in normal hypoallergenic powder (i'm sl sensitive). The dog beds get washed in UK and taken with us to Ireland - same washing powder and rinsed twice.

 

[Karran]

I had the same issue with Mrs Collie last autumn, her alone and not Mrs Spaniel. I dont wash their bedding in anything, I didn't have a flea problem, I treated them and the house just in case though. Hadn't changed their food.

I ended up getting a supplement called Skrap the scratch or something similar I can't find a link to it now, it was a greeny powder supplement that I added to her meals, it seemed to do the trick of breaking the cycle and i've not had any issues since (touch wood). I think yumove do something similar that might be worth trying?

 

[Bellasophia]

Just throwing this idea in..
are these dogs male? Is the itch on top of the tail? could this be stud tail?
my male dog sometimes gets itchy on the top of his tail..you can see tiny raised follicles there..I use an antibiotic powder and it resolves quickly.

 

[nagblagger]

The one who itches the most is a castrated dog, its base of tail up the back, the bitch isn't so bad at all, just occasional general scratching, no biting. Thank you for your idea Bellasophia.

 

[Bellasophia]

Nags. chlorexyderm products( antibacterial)..eg shampoo..spot gel etc are worth a try..I occasionally use this on my males winkle when it’s gets a brown tint on the skin..not repeatedly just,occasionally?

 

[nagblagger]

Update !
After the dog getting progressively worse, the bitch only mild we were at a loss. even thought about the water difference, its from a pump in ireland so no chemical, but (drum roll) my OH found the cause.
At night, dog obviously guards us by sleeping on front door mat, which we didn't know as he is normally in his bed, (or sofa), it was made of coir. OH threw it out, took a few days to settle his inflamed skin, but now happy healthy dog. So obvious in hindsight, we had checked his bedding etc.
Thought I would post update in case anyone else has similar problem.

 

[Clodagh]

Update !
After the dog getting progressively worse, the bitch only mild we were at a loss. even thought about the water difference, its from a pump in ireland so no chemical, but (drum roll) my OH found the cause.
At night, dog obviously guards us by sleeping on front door mat, which we didn't know as he is normally in his bed, (or sofa), it was made of coir. OH threw it out, took a few days to settle his inflamed skin, but now happy healthy dog. So obvious in hindsight, we had checked his bedding etc.
Thought I would post update in case anyone else has similar problem.

Thank you for updating, I’m so glad you’ve found the problem.