Itchy dog - not fleas, so what is it?

[CazD]

My cairn terrier is very itchy. I'm fairly sure its not fleas as I cant find any evidence on her. She's also been treated with Nex Gard as a precaution. She is brushed regularly and enjoys a quick go over with the hoover when I'm doing the carpets (her choice, she's quite insistent about it). She's fed Skinners biscuits mixed with cooked white fish. She does have some scabby bits on her hind legs, close to the base of her tail which obviously irritate her as she will sit down and "twirl" on her bottom occasionally. The vet has checked and its not anal glands so we've concluded she is itching. The vet's advice is to give her piriton but I'd prefer not to medicate if possible. Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations.

 

[s4sugar]

Which skinners? Some are good but some less so.
Salmon & rice often suits cairns.

 

[Umbongo]

Allergies? Could do some allergy testing at the vets for indoor/outdoor/food allergens?

 

[CazD]

She's on the salmon and rice skinners. She's aged about 6 and I've had her four years. This is the first year she's been so itchy but its the scabby bits round her tail that bother me most. They do seem a bit like bites, sort of similar to the scabby, itchy bites I get when I've been bitten by something when doing the horses but they are in a small cluster and are either side of the base of the tail.

 

[wildhorses]

Has she been treated for mange? or checked for mites?

 

[Bellasophia]

I also thought mites .Suggest a vet check for a skin scrape...they do respond to thornit powder rubbed on the area,but best to see what it is you are treating first.
I would also give her a good bath in an antibacterial shampoo..eg chlorexyderm,letting it sit for ten mins to really be effective.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Sent you a PM

 

[0310Star]

My dog gets itchy on dog biscuits. Really itchy back legs (tried Royal Canin and James Wellbeloved) but as soon as I swap to wet food it stops completely.
Us and the vet have come to the conclusion there is something in dog biscuits that just doesn't agree with her!
Having great results on Naturediet wet food!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Remove all grains as a trial.

Could be grass or dust mite allergy or something else environmental. Did you wash floor/bedding with biological washing product?

Some dogs are allergic to rice, so might be an idea to trial a grain free food.

 

[JillA]

I would be inclined to feed raw for a while, most pet shops do frozen beef or chicken mince these days. Then if the itching stops after a week or so, introduce prepared foods gradually. You should be able to identify the culprit if it is a food allergy. If not, as above, get skin scrapes and then if nothing results you are probably left with eczema and you can get creams for that.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

There is a proprietory brand of pour-on flea repellent which is being mentioned on FB as there are suspicions that not a few dogs are/have been reacting badly to it. One dog is now on a drip at the vets after developing a severe reaction.

Clue: it is NOT Frontline...... think of an abbreviated form of Robert - then think of another name of a guy beginning with "M". It's their "Clear" brand. I bought a flea-collar under this brand name for my terrier and within two hours of putting it on he was a very agitated, unhappy, stressed little dog. He just wasn't himself. Took him on a walk and he just kept stopping and looking at me, not at all like him. Got home and he just couldn't settle, wouldn't go to his bed, was obviously stressed. So took the thing off and within ten minutes he was fine.

But other dogs have not, apparently, been so lucky, I so nearly bought the pour-on stuff......

I mention this OP as whilst appreciating that you have not used the brand I am referring to, but I just wonder if it is the pour-on flea stuff that might be the problem????

 

[CazD]

Sent you a PM

Received your pm. Many thanks.

I haven't used a pour on flea killer, NexGard is vet prescription tablet for fleas and ticks.

I had wondered if she might have some kind of mites - how would I know and what would I do to get rid of them?

 

[Bellasophia]

Two good links..

Itchy dog???
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.it/2013/02/wash-your-dog-for-healthy-canine-skin.html

And a good cairn link,,re diet and allergies etc

http://cairncroft.cairn.dk/new/care.html

 

[Crugeran Celt]

One of my springers is the same so took her to the vet who took skin scrapings to check but nothing showed up. I just give her vegetable oil in her food and that seems to help.

 

[I*HM]

Many possibilities for itchy dogs!
Could be diet related, in which case the cause can be determined by using exclusion diets - remove everything extra bar the vital nutrients from the diet and slowly reintroduce (often is form of protein that causes reactions - hence why alternative proteins are frequently used in hypoallergenic diets).
Another option would be "walking dandruff" aka cheyletiella mites, which can be easily determined by a vet or vet nurse.
Dermatitis is also a possibility and whilst that may link back to dietary allergies, your dog may have developed hyposensitivity to normal allergens (pollens, environmental causes) or may have a flea allergy.

Its worth really looking at the coat - is it oily or is the skin at all dry or flaky? Could be indicative of the cause.
Best way of determining the cause is to get a vet's opinion but in the mean time, perhaps you could bath with a medicated shampoo or even hibiscrub.

If you want to use any sort of treatments (fleas, mites, etc) best port of call is to buy from the vet. Many over the counter remedies sold in pet stores/super markets lack the more effective ingredients as they aren't licensed the sell certain drugs that would otherwise be allowed to be sold or prescribed by a vet.

 

[DiNozzo]

My little Yorkie gets very itchy every now and again.

I dont think its related to the seasons/allergies, as it can occur all year round. He's always fed on the same food, on a regular worming/flea program, and gets bathed regularly too (though not as often as perhaps he should be- lives up to the nickname of a yorkshire terrorist!!).

The vet can't find anything, but the third time it happened we went full assault on the poor dog- bathed, brushed, wormed and deflea'ed which seems to stop it if all in conjunction with everything else. Poor creature wouldnt speak to us for days! Has worked since too.

 

[Aru]

Skin issues in dogs are rarely simple and often multifactorial. Theres so many possibilities a step by step approach helps.
Step
1 rule out the easily and cheaply treated-parasites.
so skin scrape and tape to check for mites and see if theres a yeast or bacterial infection on the skin.
I usually advise parasite prevention even if scrape is negative-in case we were unlucky and had a dud scrape.usually advocate-kills most mites. Also go back through history-severe itchyness over the hindquaters means flea allergy is always a possibility.only takes one bite to set off a flea allergy and most products on the market require fleas to bite before they die.Can cause recurrent issues without wver seeing one of the little blighters.generally dogs have secondary infections from the itchong trauma and we use washes like malaseb or in some cases antibiotics and steroids or antihistamines if very bad.
2.any changes at home that could be causing a contact allergy?bedding-washing deteregent new air freshener_ if new stuff present remove and see if issues recurr.
3.food intolerances.any change in food over the last few weeks to months_food intolerance develop over time but can sometimes be acute .try a novel protein trial_takes weeks to see affect.zd is expensive but works well in severe cases.i like potato and fish foods as a cheaper alternative.once dog is stable on food add more proteins and monitor reaction.ideally can isolate the allergen and go back to normal foods in time.
4 environmental allergies...these are not fun to treat.sometimes seasonal esp summer so pollens etc sometimes year round-dust mites trees in the garden grass!so mamy options here its crazy.these can start off at any stage of a dogs like but generally are young to middle aged. Finding the triggers are difficult unless seasonal,
Did have some chronic itchy dogs (3 plus years)that resolved completely when they moved house!
specialist treatment is possible to do intradermal testing and then immunotherapy but its prohibitively expensive.
If I have a dog im suspecious of an allergy and we have other infections under control usually a antohistamine trial is worth a go.not always sucessful but always worth a go.few side effects of antihistamines and massive benifits for the dog if they work. Its not pleasent being itchy.

Loads more info options and possibilites are also around but thats a basic run down...

Id visit the vet again if you are not willing to give piriton a go.you need to figure out why shes itching and rule in and out some of the basic issues..those scabs suggest shes traumatising the skin itching or that a skin infection is present.worth getting it properly checked out before it properly flares up.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

There is a proprietory brand of pour-on flea repellent which is being mentioned on FB as there are suspicions that not a few dogs are/have been reacting badly to it. One dog is now on a drip at the vets after developing a severe reaction.

Clue: it is NOT Frontline...... think of an abbreviated form of Robert - then think of another name of a guy beginning with "M". It's their "Clear" brand. I bought a flea-collar under this brand name for my terrier and within two hours of putting it on he was a very agitated, unhappy, stressed little dog. He just wasn't himself. Took him on a walk and he just kept stopping and looking at me, not at all like him. Got home and he just couldn't settle, wouldn't go to his bed, was obviously stressed. So took the thing off and within ten minutes he was fine.

But other dogs have not, apparently, been so lucky, I so nearly bought the pour-on stuff......

I mention this OP as whilst appreciating that you have not used the brand I am referring to, but I just wonder if it is the pour-on flea stuff that might be the problem????

I hear the westie in question died Westies are known for skin issues, but no way should that have happened. I would only get flea treatments from the vet.