Very itchy dog!

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Twiglet

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We currently have a very itchy (and miserable!) labradoodle, and we're reaching the end of ideas as to what to do
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He has been blood tested for flea, tick, mite, dust and water allergies, and numerous food ingredients - all negative. He is often miserable with scratching and is sensitive to be stroked when it's at its worst. He's on maximum dose piriton on a daily basis and is bathed in allergy shampoos (from the vets). They want to do more blood tests for more obscure things, but I'm really not sure they have a clue
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Does anyone have any ideas as to what we can do to help him?? Have never had a dog with so many problems before
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My bulldog has itchy skin and we have spent thousands at the vet hospital trying to find the cause, all to no avail. So firstly I would be careful you don't end up swept along by ' we could try this we could try that ' whilst wracking up the ££££'s.

All we can do for mine is medicated shampoo, piriteze, hypo-allergenic wipes when he comes indoors and a course of steroids when he becomes unbearable. I tried biotic biotin and this helped his eyes but not his skin. I feed him on JWB and lean fish or meat.

I am talking to the vet about keeping him on a low dose of steroids permanently but I've heard this can be dangerous.

It sounds like you are doing all you can but it may be a case of managing the skin rather than finding a cure.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the reply, sounds like your dog has had a rough time of it too.

I find it weird that he hasn't developed this itchiness before the last 4 months or so - at around the age of 3 and a half. He swims a lot but the vet is adamant that it's not water causing the issue - and stopping him from swimming would probably make him more miserable than the itching does! Luckily he's a really sweet boy and doesn't mind the bathing and constant vets trips.....just feel so sorry for him
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CaveCanem has had dreadful troubles with poor Bodo and his skin, I'm sure she will be along later and will be able to advise.

You could try aloe vera gel to get some relief for him - I used to slather it onto a horse I shared that had sweet itch and idiot owners that left a Boett on him literally 24/7, so it was all full of prickly loose hair, and he seemed to find it soothing. You need the 100% stuff they sell in places like Holland and Barratt.
 
Doh, why didn't I think of aloe vera? I use it all the time for the horse, don't know why it didn't occur to me to try it on the doodle.....and it's on special offer in H&B at the moment. Thanks for that
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Yes its awful seeing them so uncomfortable, my dog is like he's five years younger when he's on steroids and the difference really brings it home how miserable this skin makes him.

Mine developed the skin problems at maturity and we lived in London in his formative years and I wondered if it could be the 'smog' but we moved to the country and its no different. The common denominator is that whatever it is is caused by horses or the trappings of horses cos when I lived horse free for a year whilst doing a renovation project his skin cleared up. Again we saw top skin specialists and they can't pinpoint the triggers and think it maybe immune system problems.

Anyway I can't really get rid of the horses so I'm trying to manage the skin as best I can. I even chose a dog with a small amount of white ( chest and two paws ) cos the bulldog research I did said the white ones are prone to skin probs. I guess we were unlucky.
 
Thanks for that - will check with the vet as to whether he's definitely had it tested. He is really a sickly dog generally, we must be the vets' favourite customers!
 
Bless him...

I have an elderly labrador who has a terrible allergy to wheat, grass and dust mites - she literally tears her coat out and makes herself bleed when its really bad so i can definately sympathise.

Hope they manage to sort him out!
 
Nothing else to add really other than keep him out of water if you can, unless you know it's really clean.
Our lab had an itchy rash on her tummy & it was driving her mad - we did have to have antihystamines etc but it turned out it was something in the water she'd been paddling in...
 
Hi - It sounds like you have great suggestions already but I had an itchy mutt and was advised to try sulphur and it really helped. It is a homeopathic remedy in tiny tablets, normally found next to arnica. Good luck and hope you find something that works.
 
Hi there, yes, I have one too!

He is on very simple fish based food.

Raw meat/meaty food make him itch.
Tree and grass pollen
He may also be allergic to natural bacteria on his own skin
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He had a dreadful secondary atopic infection over Christmas which had to be blitzed with a month of antibiotics.

He is on piriteze, malaseb and a wax-stripper shampoo, he will have to be washed pretty much every week, forever!

We just had his kennel powerwashed to get rid of any nasty bacteria which may have built up.

Aloe vera is good to take the heat out of itchy bits, you could also try an oat bath.
I actually changed vets as I was not happy and the new ones are much better at firefighting and getting to the source.

You may have to discount the simplest of things, household products, carpets, beds, toys/plastic/bowls. perfume, spray, trees, plants, human skin cells - more and more dogs are just becoming sensitive to...life!

We also queried thyroid but it wasn't that, or cushings.

Good luck x
 
We tried to keep him out of water and it didn't improve....vet seems to think it's not connected to that. Bar walking him on a lead all the time, I think he'd be impossible to keep out of water anyway.....he's a total water baby, and will attempt to swim wherever he can!
 
Thanks for that Cavecanem, your dog sounds like it's gone through the mill too!

He's on I think James Wellbeloved Allergy food - for his senstive tummy more than this skin condition, he really is a walking vets bill! - and they discounted food allergies....although that doesn't count the stuff he steals obviously....definitely has the lab attitude to food!

I think the bacteria thing is something the vet mentioned before actually - can they test for that?

I doubt it's pollen or grass as it's been so much worse through winter.

Will definitely be using the aloe vera though, has helped the horse loads.
 
Hi Twiglet,
We occasionally get the 'itch' and through our very helpful huntsman now use Noromectin (contains Ivermectin). 2ml for our labrador. It is an injectable pig and sheep wormer and is commonly used amongst those in the know. Stops the problem in about four or five days. Not licensed for dogs so at your own risk, but the only ones I know of that you shouldn't use it for are sheepdogs / border collies and lurchers as they quite often have some collie in them. Have never had a problem and used it for several years on our terriers who were prone to the itch and vet checks were going to run in to several hundred £££££££££££'s.
 
Oh, with the pollen - I said to the vet 'it couldn't be pollen, we'll have to start all over again, when he was bad, everything was covered in a foot of snow' - he said it could have been building up from the summer months and just happened to get bad at that time of year?

A point - when my boy goes to kennels, he always comes back immaculate with lots of regrowth and if he gets bad again he will be having a wee holiday, where I will visit him every day (cheaper than the vets
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The difference is, no evergreen trees or any trees indeed, for miles, and he lies on sawdust in an indoor run.
 
I know, it's easier said than done!
Sounds like your boy is really going through the mill - we, fortunately, didn't have as many problems and ours were easily cured (we TRY to keep her out of very dirty water now at least!).
Really hope you can make him more comfy - fingers crossed for aloe vera!
 
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