Severe scratching in a boxer! Please Help!!!?

Question

My 1 yr. old boxer scratches all day long to the point that his neck and ears are one big sore. I took him to the vet few times now but he keeps giving him the antibiotic, which helps only for a while. The skin scrape test came out OK. I give him a bath every week with the oatmeal shampoo, but it doesn't seem to help. I also noticed little bumps on his back, and the hair on it is not as thick as elsewhere on the body. I tried drops, sprays benedryll, nothing really seems to be helping. PLease help!! I cannot stand seeing my puppy like that. Should I try another vet?

That was the vet's idea to give him a bath in an oatmeal shampoo every week...

Answer 1

STOP the oatmeal shampoo---TRUST ME!
I also switched food to Purina One-SALMON formula, that helped with the farting, too.

They are itchy freaks--I have one and he goes crazy at certain times of the year--right now he gets all itchy bec it's dry with the heat on in the house. I bought him this shampoo called "ITCH STOP" and you leave it on for 5-10 minutes and that really really helps.
ALSO--do not bathe him in hot or even warm water--that releases the histamines (itchies)--"tepid" water--not cold, not cool, like "room temp" water will also help.
And finally--give him some EFA--essential fatty acids--ie, FISH OIL capsules in his food.
So to review:
NO oatmeal bath
YES "Itch Stop" shampoo
YES 'tepid' bath water
YES fish oil

Good luck and you can always give him a benadryl (1) at night DEPENDING on his size (mine is a full grown adult).

Answer 2

He may have allergies-food included. Look at what you are feeding your dog. Are you feeding him a high quality diet-from the pet store or vet? Or are you feeding him a grocery store brand or walmart Ol'Roy? If you are try switching to a lamb and rice food. I would seriously consider switching vets-if all he/she is doing is giving him antibiotics-they are not finding the sourceof the problem. Did they do a culture-to see what type of bacteria is the problem-so they can prescribe the proper type of antibiotic? You say he has hair loss, talk to a vet about having his thyroid tested. Often dogs that are hypothyroid, will have loss of hair and skin problems, some will be overweight too. You may also want the vet to do more skin scrapings-sometime mites can be elusive or easily missed.

Good Luck. Boxers are my favorite breed.

Answer 3

Giving him a bath every week may be a part of the problem, even if you're using an oatmeal shampoo. Bathing strips the skin and fur of its natural oils which aid in keeping the skin healthy. Without those oils, the skin will dry out. Try easing up on the number of times you bathe him.

Answer 4

My boyfriend's family has a boxer (he's so cute) and he has a lot of skin problems as well as my current (poodle mix). The vet does not sound like a good vet, because they should really look into the problem and/or investigage it instead of sending the vet home with an antibiotic. I suggest you try to take your dog to another vet, perhaps a one that knows about skin problems and/or allergies so that they can really look into it. I know that boxers do have skin problems but his didn't show up until he was an senior.

Answer 5

I would probably try another vet. Has the vet mentioned the possibility of allergies? It could be anything from food to the sun. My dog did the same thing & he turned out to be allergic to beef dogfood. He could eat beef tablescraps but not the beef dogfood. I gave him Purina's Lamb & Rice and he did fine. I also got an anti-fungal shampoo from the vet. All the scratching caused a secondary fungal infection that perpetuated the problem. Good luck

Answer 6

Boxewrs can be prone to skin allergies.
Fisrt stop bathing him so often. Do it only as much as you have to and no more. Even with the shampoo it can be hard on the skin.
I had a doberman who had bumps on his back and thin hair. We changed dog food to something with no corn no wehat and no soy and only chicken maet in it. He did better. Also I had a creme compounded that we used on him. It had a setroid in it and some antibiotic and that helped much more than anything else. As he got older it got better but to some degree he always had some problems.
Good luck with your pup.

Answer 7

You might try a different type of puppy food, something more natural. Some dogs are allergic to the stuff used in dog food, and causes the type of reaction your describing. My father-in-laws dachshund had the same problem, and he switched to a lamb and rice dry food, and after a couple of weeks it all cleared up.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

i would take him to the Vet ASAP. it could be something serious. especially if he is at the senior age for a dog (7 and up).

Answer 10

Friendly Hello,

This is a comon problem with families and their pets. Often something as simple as diet can prevent this. I would recommend getting a better qualtliy dog food. Maybe billjac. This is only the start as even the preium dog foods do not have the essential vitamines to support your dogs health problems. So here I go.

The B Complex

This range of vitamins is necessary for a healthy nervous system.
Cats need almost twice as much of these vitamins as dogs do for proper absorption of nutrients throughout the body.
These vitamins require each other to work and so are taken in the B-complex unit, with occasional additions of the other single B vitamins. Mouth, eyes, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and reproductive organs are B deficiency disease sites, as well as behavior, intelligence, and brain and nerve functions.
Stress depletes the B vitamins, as it does vitamin C, and so does extremely cold weather. The individual B vitamins known to be of primary use for pets are listed in the following sections.

Now as well as this information you can give Vitamin B-5 (Pantothenic Acid) B-5 adds to animals' (and humans') longevity.
It is important for good immune system and adrenal function, and vitamin and food utilization. It is essential in fighting allergies, inflammations, asthma, and infections. Vitamin C and B-5 together are highly important for skin diseases and allergies in both cats and dogs. The presence of allergies or infections is considered a B-5 deficiency symptom. It also helps animals to combat stress, reduce depression, and ease anxiety.

Biotin

Biotin deficiency results in hair loss and in hair and skin disorders in cats and dogs, but the exact requirements for it are unknown in both. This B vitamin is essential for thyroid and adrenal health, strong nervous systems and nerve tissue, healthy reproduction, normal sweat glands and bone marrow, and healthy skin. It is necessary for utilization of fat, proteins, and carbohydrates in the body. Biotin is a cure for dogs that eat their feces; they may be looking for this vitamin, which is produced to some extent in the intestines. Raw egg whites contain an enzyme that depletes biotin. For this reason, eggs fed to pets should be cooked to deactivate this enzyme

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is one of the wonder vitamins, and both dogs and cats need supplements. It is essential for healing diseases of the circulatory system (and preventing them), including heart tachycardia and arteriosclerosis. It promotes fertility, slows aging, prevents cataracts, boosts the immune system, protects the body against pollutants and cancer, and heals the skin.
Vitamin E prevents steatitis in cats and boosts muscle power and endurance in working dogs. It helps in dissolving tumors, especially in breasts, and in relieving posterior paralysis and disc problems in dogs. The vitamin oxygenates the blood and improves the function of all internal organs; its antioxidant abilities protect the lungs. In humans, vitamin E deficiency disorders include heart disease, muscular dystrophy, brain and neurological problems, and reproductive failures.
Doses range from 100 IU per day for cats to 400 IU or more for larger dogs (in healing disease). Diane Stein used up to 800 IU per day on a 45-pound puppy for a period of 3 months with good results and no side effects; higher doses resulted in vomiting.
Wendell Belfield used amounts of 1200 IU per day to cure cats of steatitis, a vitamin E deficiency disease. This is one of the vitamins to supplement daily as part of a routine diet; it is a must for cats that eat fish and for dogs with skin ailments.

With this information I would recommend to everyone. Give your dog a human prenatal vitamine. We give our females this daily, along with cod liver oild for vit A & D, Biotin, folic acid, and B12. These vitamines are essential for your dogs health and most all dogs food lack a % of the necessary vitamines in a daily diet. We tried pet tabs but it took 10 pet tabs per day to equal what was necessary for a dogs diet even when providing a preium brand dog food.

Blessings,

Kelly