My dog had a couple months last fall where she itched non stop and chewed on her fur-- I took her to the vet who gave her steroids and eventually she stopped, they said it might be fleas-- since that time we have completely rid the house of fleas, but now she has just started itching again-- Is she OCD? What could be the problem?
2007-03-09 13:18:11 · 16 answers · asked by Mary Beth 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Sounds like allergies to me. It could be a seasonal thing, it happens to so may dogs. You need to take her in and ask to have her allergy tested.
Then your vet can better guide you as to what to do for her.
2007-03-09 13:24:04 · answer #1 · answered by ♥Golden gal♥ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are lots of reasons that dog itch besides fleas. If the itching is on the rump area or back legs....then I'd suspect fleas. If the dog licks/chews it's paws and rubs it's face, along with other itchy areas, it could be allergies. Although steriods are often necessary, you might try an antihistamine like Benedryl at 1mg per pound every 8-12 hours over the weekend to see if it gives some relief. It won't hurt your dog. For a big dog, only give 50mg max per dose.
2007-03-09 13:28:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My Peke gets yeast infections and itches and bites miserably all over if we don't bathe him in a special shampoo prescribed by the vet. Your dog may have a skin problem or allergies, but it is possible that it could be OCD. A few years ago my Peke started biting his tail non stop. We took him to the vet and the vet said it was a flea allergy, and gave him a shot of benedryl, which did nothing. He still kept biting on his tail, and even did more damage to it while wearing a victorian collar. So we took him to see another vet who diagnosed him with OCD. His tail was such a problem that we had to amputate it, so now I have a docked peke, but he hasn't shown an obsessive compulsive behaviors since.
2007-03-09 13:40:01 · answer #3 · answered by marina 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be allergies.
Dogs can be allergic to a lot of things. Their food, grass, pollens, cleaners, and yes even fleas.
What food are you feeding her now? Have you switched foods in the last 6-8 weeks? Has your dog been on a flea prevention program?
The steroids are just a band-aid, if you really want to help your dog quit being itchy you need to find the root cause.
You can have allergy testing done by your vet to find out what she is allergic to. Once you know that you can hopefully eliminate the offenders, or at least minimize them.
If your dog has a flea allergy, all that's needed is single flea bit to set off a reaction. The same with other allergens, once there has been a reaction, the next time your dog comes in contact with the offender, the worse the reaction can be.
What I would recommend is to skip the steroids and get to the root cause. To keep your dog comfortable you can put a 100% cotton t-shirt on her. I know it sounds crazy but it works. I've tried it on a few dogs, and they stop itching even in areas the shirt doesn't cover, for example feet chewing due to allergies.
Next I'd have her tested for allergies by the vet. Also look at her food, you may want to switch her to a high quality diet. High quality diets are less likely to cause allergy problems. A few high quality commercial foods off the top of my head are Natural Balance, Innova, and Canidae.
If she is allergic to fleas, be sure to keep her on Advantage or Frontline to help keep those under control.
I can post my food article for you if want as well, just let me know.
2007-03-09 13:33:50 · answer #4 · answered by Bindi *dogtrainingbyjess.com* 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Likely the fleas are back. You can spray and clean for fleas, but they hibernate and can hatch later when conditions are appropriate, and you have to start all over again.
If the steroids helped ( which by the way is a horrible idea for fleas unless she has a serious allergy ) and getting rid of the fleas at the time helped, why would you think she had some psychological disorder?
2007-03-09 13:25:36 · answer #5 · answered by DP 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give her a flea bath, if that does not work take her back to the vet. Good Luck
2007-03-09 13:23:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
OCD could definately be a possibility. Discuss it with your vet. Alot of the times they will actually recommend putting a dog or cat on prozac. Good luck and I hope ur pup gets better!
2007-03-09 13:22:45 · answer #7 · answered by kristy_dehaven2001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have a Bichon Frise that has had this problem for a few years. We tried all kinds of things. What finally helped was a change in diet. She still itches a bit, but not as bad as before. It was awful.
2007-03-09 14:18:40 · answer #8 · answered by angel 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get your dog a flea collar. It most likely could be fleas if she is biting at her fur. It works cuz I put a flea collar on my dog and she stopped itching.
2007-03-09 13:26:44 · answer #9 · answered by cmm 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Allergies...possibly. Dogs can have allergies to food also..like corn and wheat in commercial dog food.. Try changing her food to like Nutro Lamb and Rice. It is also high in linoleic acid...a good oil for their skin and coat. No table scraps while you are doing this to eliminate all variables. Also feed the Lamb and rice dog biscuits.
Flea allergy..if even they have one flea it will cause them to itch all over. Monthly flea preventative like Advantage.
2007-03-09 13:30:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋