Scratching HELP!

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lula

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My collie has been scratching badly for about 3 weeks now. I always keep me flea treatment programme up to date so when it started i assumed she'd got fleas (although she should still have been covered by her previous dose of Frontline which is what i use)
I treated her with Frontline 2 weeks before she was due although when i examined her i couldnt see any definite fleas.
The Frontline treatment didnt seem to stop her incessant scratching so i gave her a dose of '4fleas' which are tablets which promise to kill fleas within 15minutes.. (would you believe!)

still scratching...

she IS moulting her coat at the moment however and when i go through her coat to reassure myself whether it IS fleas she's scratching at or not i really dont think i can see any.. i can see the occasional black dot on her white tummy but she's a 'mud-wallow' hound so often has tiny bits of dried mud in her and im finding it hard to tell the difference.
for the amount of scratching she's doing you'd think she was jumping with them and i definitely havent come across any jumping things and the cat she lives with is fine...no itching.

on sunday i examined her again and i found she'd scratched a patch of hair off on her chest.. here's pix..


IMG-20111030-00033.jpg

IMG-20111030-00034copy.jpg


Panic set it!
i treated this with low strength hydrocortisone cream to ease itching but im getting worried.ive checked her ears for earmites or any gunge as its her face she's scratching at too.
i can see no ezcema/rashes/skin irritations or raw areas apart from in the photos that could be causing so much irritation so i havent called the vet in yet.
in desperation ive given her another dose of Frontline one week after the first. JUST to be sure on the flea front. (although i DO buy my frontline off the internet..im hoping its an 'official' product and Im not buying a placebo!?)

could this major scratching just be caused by coat moult does anyone know?
Ive examined her 4 times a day and brushed as much loose hair out of her coat as i can but just cant understand whats causing this.

Anyone have any ideas or have you had anything similar with your dog?

when i come down in the morning there's little piles of fur everywhere that she's scratched out in the night at the moment! Getting a leetle bit frantic for the poor dog!

:(
 
What are you feeding? Many prepared feeds cause allergies in a lot of dogs.one of the most common symptoms is irritated skin.

I dislike chemical flea killers and have used Neem oil all this year with a great deal of success. It also helps alleviate skin irritations.
 
I have a very itchy Large Munsterlander; he's four now and for the last three years, particulary at the end of summer/early autumn, he used to scratch until he made himself sore. Wasn't a flea problem (even though gun dog trainer said to me - light-heartedly during a training session, "Call your flea-bag to you!". Tried shampoos from the vet but without success. However, this year, OH (who is a homeopath, but no longer practising) told me to try two suphur 30C potency tablets each day....result! No longer scratching! Also give him one "human" cod liver oil capsule a day to try to improve the dull patches of coat in the areas where he's scratched.
 
keeperscottage said:
I have a very itchy Large Munsterlander; he's four now and for the last three years, particulary at the end of summer/early autumn, he used to scratch until he made himself sore. Wasn't a flea problem (even though gun dog trainer said to me - light-heartedly during a training session, "Call your flea-bag to you!". Tried shampoos from the vet but without success. However, this year, OH (who is a homeopath, but no longer practising) told me to try two suphur 30C potency tablets each day....result! No longer scratching! Also give him one "human" cod liver oil capsule a day to try to improve the dull patches of coat in the areas where he's scratched.
Click to expand...


interesting. where can i buy sulphur tabs?

im feeding Burgess 'Superdog' kibble Foxhunter. It is a recently new feed for her and i did consider the feed to be a cause but im sure she was scratching like a loon before we started on this food.

She has quite pink skin under the white hair and in the first pic the marks you can see i think are mild healing scabs from her claws but tonight it does seem to have spread (the photos posted were taken on sunday) and while hasn't broken the skin with her scratching the bald patch is definitely getting bigger.

very odd.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
What are you feeding? Many prepared feeds cause allergies in a lot of dogs.one of the most common symptoms is irritated skin.

I dislike chemical flea killers and have used Neem oil all this year with a great deal of success. It also helps alleviate skin irritations.
Click to expand...

also thanks for neem oil rec FH. I'll try anything.!

just really dont know if it IS fleas..cant SEE any fleas and only a few dark dots vaguely here or there on her belly which could just as easily be crumbs of dried mud and she has had flea treatments up to her eyeballs by now!! :D

ah hell, haz a feeling this might end up with a trip to the vets if only for my peace of mind..
 
You are unlikely to find actual fleas, it's the flea dropping that would be the wee black dots. To check if it is flea droppings, use a fine comb (you can get flea combs but as long as it's really fine it doesn't have to be a flea comb) and comb from the base of the neck to the bum. Wet a white paper towel or some cotton wool and wipe the hair from the comb into the paper to clean it. Look carefully for any small black dots. If there are any, squish them with the paper. If it's flea droppings it will be blood red when it bursts and some blood will soak into the cotton wool. I don't think i've explained this very well but I hope this helps. Have you noticed any irritation on your skin? Have you changed any floor cleaner, washed dog bedding with new washing powder, changed dog food, changed air freshner, furniture polish? Anything new chemical that you use in your home your dog is likely to come into contact with could cause irritation to your dogs skin either from your dog ingesting it or skin contact.

Hope you find out what's wrong!
 
lq22 said:
You are unlikely to find actual fleas, it's the flea dropping that would be the wee black dots. To check if it is flea droppings, use a fine comb (you can get flea combs but as long as it's really fine it doesn't have to be a flea comb) and comb from the base of the neck to the bum. Wet a white paper towel or some cotton wool and wipe the hair from the comb into the paper to clean it. Look carefully for any small black dots. If there are any, squish them with the paper. If it's flea droppings it will be blood red when it bursts and some blood will soak into the cotton wool. I don't think i've explained this very well but I hope this helps. Have you noticed any irritation on your skin? Have you changed any floor cleaner, washed dog bedding with new washing powder, changed dog food, changed air freshner, furniture polish? Anything new chemical that you use in your home your dog is likely to come into contact with could cause irritation to your dogs skin either from your dog ingesting it or skin contact.

Hope you find out what's wrong!
Click to expand...

thanks for all your suggestions. cant think of anything regarding new products ive used but i'll definitely use the idea about the wet paper and comb..
If it is fleas though they must be bloomin indestructable, ive used about the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in flea treatment products on her so far!
 
Frontline spot on has apparently stopped working, there's been a few threads on here about this recently. The spray still works but maybe see the vet for a prescription treatment instead.

Do look at food ingredients, cereal is a typical itch making ingredient.
 
The feed could be part of it also - wheat being the main ingredient and a lot of colour additives.

Have you thought about feeding raw?

Try the Neem. Mix 5 ml Neem 3 ml of liquid shampoo and make up to 1 litre. Just soak the dog in it and what is left put on the garden as it keeps slugs and snails at bay.
 
One of my dogs is an itcher, he has very sensitve skin!! After a hair cut his skin will be irritated, after washing etc etc. I have a nice skin calming spray from the vet which works wonders. Its called Allermyl Lotion for allergies.
 
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