Our dog has a skin problem.....?

Question

Our 10 year old stray fixed female dog is scratching with her back feet on her stomach to the irritating point. After we talk to her, she stops and goes over to infernal licking.
We cannot see anything wrong with skin, no bugs, no animals, nothing.
If we put some olive oil, it seems to cool her down for a while.
This usually happens every year at this time, and finally it will all stop, but I feel so sorry for her now that she is at this stage.
Any idea what this can be or be caused of, and is there anything else we could do for her (last year we went to the Vet and he told us to bath her, which we did and everything just seemed to be worse....)

Answer 1

My dog has the same problem. To help, add fish oil to her food!

Answer 2

I can offer one suggestion to see if helps. A product we have used with much success when all else failed. Readily available at pet supply areas, stores. I know at PetSmart it is near the shampoos/conditioners. It is a spray containing Tea Tree Oil/Aloe Vera and may say Anti Itch control. And there are Tea Tree Oil shampoos, also sold for us humans! It is not an overnight cure but used daily on the bad areas you will expect to see less skin problem and less scratching within a week or so. It may not work but it is worth a try! I treated a dog that had cost the owner a fortune and was on lots of meds, including steroids---for years! Within 2 wks it was under control. Once the areas cleared up and skin looked normal/hair growth it never came back. 3 yrs ago and has never broke out again! Never had to use after that first spring we used. By the way, Tea Tree Oil is a natural defense against fleas. Not sure if you have questioned any shampoos, flea/tick products as being part of problem?? If you try and see some improvement then keep at it for a few weeks. Then taper off to only 3/4 times a week until places are healed up. Obviously, if it appears at any time to be making worse then cut back or stop use. Re bathe dog and wait awhile to see how it goes. I keep a bottle on hand during the flea/allergy season. Can also be used for the occasional scrape or boo boo.

Answer 3

It could be allergies, my dogs have allergies and htey get worse around now. I used Benedryl and other meds and stuff from the vet but I did not like the way my dog acted, it did not work, and it was hard to see my one dog go bald underneath. Giving them a bath will make some dogs even worse like mine. I use holistic meds and treatments now and they work excellent. There is a spray called Richard's Organic Incredible Skin SPray. It is the most amazing stuff. You keep it in the refrig and it sprays on cool giving the dog instant relief. It also has natural antibiotic properties so it prevents infection. You can get ii at an all natural pet store, and it is one of the very few things that works. I also use Allerg' and Yucca Intensive from Azmira to help calm the allergies.

Answer 4

I have a cat that does the same thing. He will lick his belly until it is raw (he does this in the fall). This is called seasonal alergies. Im not sure what your vet told you to wash her with (he may have given you something medicated) but if you have not tried an oatmeal bath it may be worth a try (it may have the same effect as the bath you gave last year too). In some cases a shot of corterzone at the vet will help. If your vet does not want to do this for you, the best thing you can do is keep her busy. Give her extra toys, play with her a bit more, and give her chewies (rawhide bones, or whatever your dog does best with, my dog does not do well with rawhide bones, but you could get a Kong from the pet store and fill it with peanut butter to keep her busy.) By keeping her busy as much as possible she wont be as prone to the itching or licking because she is "busy". I learned this when I worked as a vet tech. myself. Although are furry friends can be very intelegent, they are also very easily distracted. Try this method and see if it helps you any. The point is not to get her to completely stop, but to make it so that she is not digging quite as often. Good luck. Lots of love to your pup!

Answer 5

I have a 12 year old field spaniel with a very heavy coat. This time every year she would get a hot spot at the base of her back near her tail. I have fought with it for many years until I put her on flea and tick meds very early in the year. Since she has a heavy coat it was compounded by her need to be bathed and to comb out that old coat. It is a tedious job but it is what really works. I bathe her, I dry and comb her out...this usually takes a couple of hours to do correctly...I let her dry and then I put on a quality flea/tick etc medication. I then try to be vigilant and brush her a couple of days later to get out the newly released old hair and I have finally stopped that vicious cycle. I believe the medication kills other things that might be on their skin as well as the fleas, etc and the bath moisturizes a very dry and itchy winter coat that hasnt been bathed all winter. Good Luck

Answer 6

It sounds like seasonal allergies, especially because you say it happens at this time of year every year.. but it could be many things. However here is a link to an excellent vet site with information on several causes of itching, the symptoms and the treatments for them. It may help you narrow down the cause and help you treat it. I still suggest consulting a vet to verify your suspicions but there are things you can try at home first.

Inhalant Allergies... http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_inhalant_allergies.html

Food Allergies.. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_food_allergies.html

Here is an excellent page from the same great site that has all the options for Itch Relief.... http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_itch_relief.html

Seriously though this website is an awesome resource for any pet owner, it helped me figure out that my dog has food allergies and how to treat them. The vet merely got me to give her antihistamines which while they work for a dog with inhalant allergies dont really solve the problem for food allergies. I reall suggest you browse through the site add it to your Favorites and consult it when you need an idea about your dogs health problems. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/the_pet_web_library.html

Answer 7

My mom owns a kennel, and she has run across dogs with skin problems in the past. If it only happens around a certain time of the year, you can pretty much bet it is some sort of allergy. You can give dogs benadryl, the amount depends on the size of the dog. It should help with the problem. Another suggestion is to buy some "witch hazel" It helps with skin irratations just put some on a rag and cover her coat it will not hurt her and it does not leave them oily.

Answer 8

If she has been indoors most of the winter, she could have a dry skin condition. In that case, shampooing with something like an oatmeal formula would give her relief.

She could also have acquired mites which require a skin scraping to test for.

To cover all your bases, I would bathe her with a skin formula shampoo, and then put Revolution on the back of her neck and along the spine. This is a pesticide that will take care of fleas, worms and mites.

If she continues to scratch after doing all this, you really should have the skin scraping done to see what it shows.

Answer 9

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Our dog has a skin problem.....?
Our 10 year old stray fixed female dog is scratching with her back feet on her stomach to the irritating point. After we talk to her, she stops and goes over to infernal licking.
We cannot see anything wrong with skin, no bugs, no animals, nothing.
If we put some olive oil, it seems to cool her...

Answer 10

we are in the same boat with you. my dog, janis, has skin allergies; she is over 10 and this time of year, she does the same exact thing. she has seen numerous vets who said she was allergic to everything from sand to carpet to laundry detergent.
i use this stuff called vermont original bag balm on those hot spots. it is really for cows, but seems to work effectively to an extent. the oil does help the look of the skin, but if your dog likes the taste, then that is causing the licking. and the oil is actually closing the skin pores.
you have to think about it like you would for your own skin...if your skin is dry, what do you do?
the hot spot liquid stuff works, too. you can get any of this stuff at your local cosco or walmart or whatever.
good luck with your puppy. tell her janis and i said hey.

Answer 11

My pit has extreme allergies (more than most dogs) However, my vet gave her Omega-3 tablets and I give her Anti-histamines daily. The omega-3 tabs help with her dry skin. But I'm betting she has a grass allergy and that why her belly is bothering her. Pollen count has been high this year. You may want to take her to your vet.