Stafford scratching herself raw

Luci07

Luci07

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This is the youngest one who has almost no hair under her chin and stomach anyway. This happened before, off to the vets and had fungiderm which got rid of it. Problem is back and we are back at the vets tomorrow - using MSM cream to stop the itching before I get more gel but any ideas? She will, if not creamed up, scratch herself till she bleeds. Always under the chin.

I know Staffords are highly sensitive and prone to skin problems (eldest one is allergic to long grass... groan) but would like to sort out the root problem rather then keep treating the symptoms. This bitch is so sensitive I have had to line one of her coats with sheepskin as the pad under her stomach was rubbing her armpits.

Raw is not an option for me I'm afraid. I do not have the storage to move 3 dogs onto this. Diet is JWB (young small dog mix), mixed with some butchers chunks. Also has liver biscuits, fish oil and the requisite dental chews. All the dog bedding, collars and coats are now washed in non bio as well as had thought that might be contributing..

What are your thoughts?
 
s4sugar said:
What is in the liver biscuits and the chews?

Maybe remove anything other than the JWB for a week?
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liver biscuits are made at the local feed mill - only gets 3 in each meal but will take them out. Dental chews are the pedigree ones and mean that all my dogs get a clean bill of dental health when they have their 6 monthly vet check ups. None of my dogs have any plaque (and the oldest is 12)..so loathe to take them away..
 
I would spot on with Promeris fortnightly for a while.If the areas are in hot spots like armpits or any "foldy" places then Canistan twice daily is excellent.Also Malaseb washes I believe are good for fungus probs.Athletes foot powder is another good idea.An old old remedy is to feed three or four cubes of frozen spinach mixed in the meaty part of the food.....it works!
There is also a steroid spray for topical application
 
You could try sulphur tablets and a lump of rock sulphur in the drinking bowl. This was the only thing that helped our Border Terrier who would make himself raw within hours if given the chance but a daily tablet soon sorted him out. I got tablets from the natural health counter and rock sulphur from the pet shop. Both very cheap so nothing to be lost by trying them even though it's an old fashioned remedy.
 
If you're sure the dry food doesn't cause the itchiness, then I'd continue feeding that, but once a day add more natural food to the biscuits, instead of tinned food. Something like this

http://prizechoice.co.uk/

is very easy and convenient. You can either leave it outside the freezer to defrost, or use a microwave. If you don't want to feed it raw, use a microwave. I usually buy the 'freeflow' minced bags and add loads of water to a portion of it before defrosting, then cook it in the microwave. By adding water, you get a nice meaty sauce too and it's easy to mix it into the biscuits. You don't have to use a lot of meat at all in one go, and you'll probably find that it works out cheaper than Butchers!

For the itchiness, I'd try Camrosa ointment

http://www.camrosa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=129

It's quite expensive, but it's good stuff! You could always use it on your horse if it doesn't help your dog!

Just another thought - is she wearing a collar all the time? Is the material from the collar maybe causing the itching?
 
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Mine has licked himself raw recently. He was covered in sticky scabs which have all but disappeared with evening primrose oil. I'm tearing my hair out over what the issue is, removed all cereal etc. Even messaged CC!

After a long evening of wine, I was hit with inspiration-it might be environmental (obviously I'd considered this!!) in that we've started walking him in a new place and as the dog he is walked with has suddenly developed hot spots, we've decided to go back to our other woods in case it's environmental. Have you changed where you walk recently, OP?
 
I only have a cat and have him on raw so that was my first suggestion, but Fish4Dogs is a very pure food that might be worth trying - has no rice or wheat and I feed the cat version in small quantities alongside a mainly raw diet.

I had a cat a few years ago that pulled its fur out and went through a ton of testing - they asked me at the beginning if I treated for fleas, I said yes, so they ignored that. By the time we got to the AHT they tested for a flea allergy and he was allergic so that is a likely route as well. If you treat him intensively for fleas make sure you treat all other animals as well as the house, and for all stages of the lifecycle. Worked for mine.
 
I'd switch to a raw diet. Mate of mine has 3 staffs and a bulldog. The youngest staff scratched herself silly- vets, creams, steroids, lotions, baths made little difference. I happened to be out with her and mentioned Dex was on raw, she said yeah so was the youngest before they got her- I said i'd switch back, she did, scratching stopped within a week. Although i do not think she was on a kibble of the same standard as JWB.
 
Luci

If this is a reoccuring problem, as already pointed out there are 2 reasons enviromental or the more likely cause, food. JWB used to be considered a half decent feed but recently it has changed its recipie. Also the rice, despite many companies saying that it is tolerated by dogs it is in fact still a source of complex carbohydrate like the cereals/grain fillers used in other brands and dogs will still react to it as it is not a food that their bodies can cope with properly.

If raw is not an option there is a new kibble based food on the market which is the raw equivlent all made with human grade meats, high in protien and fats with added vegetables to make an diet considered more biologically aligned to that of the needs of a dog. No cheap fillers of grains, cereals, potato or rice of any kind. It is called Eden and they have a group on Facebook where the owner and an independant animal nutritionalist are there to anwser any questions that people may have. They also have a website, just google Eden Pet food and I am hearing plenty stories of how dogs within a month of changing to Eden have stopped scratching with itchy skin or how their dog is finally able to put on weight or how tear stains on dog prone to them have almost disappeared when changed to this food and how even the fussiest of dogs have started eating with excitment. Eden is suitable for dogs of any age, from weaning pups to the old dears.

Dont get me wrong, I dont work for this company, I use this food myself alongside the RAW diet.

The other thing to think about is a barrier cream when out and about and if there is any connection to fleaing treatment to try out the more holistic approach of using garlic or neem as a natural repellant.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Eden sounds like an option and my feed merchant was getting sulphur in for me.

She only wears a collar when out, never in the house. All the dogs are on the same flea and worming treatment and the other 2 don't scratch. She does tends to go to a lot of different places as comes out hacking..the middle one has elbow displaysia so will only do certain walks he knows and play at the yard. Oldest one walks everywhere but not hacking as is not 100% on the recall.

I really appreciate all the advice guys. I can manage it as it happens but as it is recurring I know I have to change some part of her management!
 
If you want to find the root of the problem maybe get your vet to do a full skin workup, they will hopefully be able to find the allergens quicker using blood tests/scrapes/biopsies then you can get treatment going quicker. Every time you do elimination diets u have to do them for 6 weeks until you can decide if it's working or not, long process. Xxx it may be a particular meat it could be a type of plant, so could take you a long time to work out the problem xxx
 
Luci07 said:
Thank you all for your replies. Eden sounds like an option and my feed merchant was getting sulphur in for me.

She only wears a collar when out, never in the house. All the dogs are on the same flea and worming treatment and the other 2 don't scratch.
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MY cats were all on the same treatment and the others didn't scratch - a flea allergy (which came on suddenly in an adult cat for me) means even one flea bite can send them crazy hence it's so important to treat really thoroughly. It would have been a hell of a lot cheaper if I'd gone that route first, treating comprehensively for fleas, rather than my local vets testing for other stuff, then AHT. Cost £700 total!! Not saying this IS the issue, but when even one flea bite can cause huge issues....
 
Watch out with the F4D, don't forget they've added tons of pea flour recently. A girl on the other dog forum says her bully is scratching like mad since the change of recipe. :( I think the new superior range is good.
 
My first thought would be to rule out mites, most likely culprit being demodex which SBT's seem very susceptible to. Has your vet done skin scrapes??
 
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